San Francisco Bay Reserve Partners with Smithsonian Institution on Estuary Research

Each National Estuarine Research Reserve (there are 28 of them) monitors estuary health. The Smithsonian Institution is using these data in their MarineGEO initiative, a global effort aimed at better understanding the world’s marine ecosystems and how they might be affected by climate change.

This collaboration between the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Smithsonian, and the Romberg Tiburon Center at San Francisco State University represents the first West Coast monitoring partnership for the MarineGEO program. For this project, biologists at each site will collect data annually and, over time, the information will allow them to predict changes to marine ecosystems, leading to more efficient conservation and restoration efforts.

As part of the first group of West Coast research sites, the San Francisco Bay Reserve is monitoring water quality at the Richardson Bay bird sanctuary, an area with extensive eel grass beds and intertidal habitats that provides an important feeding and resting area for birds. (2016)

More information: news.sfsu.edu/news-story/romberg-biologists-helping-get-new-smithsonian-project-ground

Partners: Richardson Audubon Center, San Francisco Bay Reserve, San Francisco State University’s Romberg Tiburon Center, Smithsonian Institution

“ART” Project Increases Resilience in the San Francisco Bay Area

To help the San Francisco Bay region prepare for impacts associated with sea level rise, state and federal partners implemented the Adapting to Rising Tides, or ART, project. The project developed risk and vulnerability assessments and provided findings and recommendations to local and state officials to improve resilience. Local hazard mitigation and recovery plans, as well as similar plans in place for the international airport, benefited from the information. To further extend the positive impact, other communities are using the new resources developed for this project to support local adaptation planning and provide a “help desk” to assist with neighborhood and regional adaptation efforts.

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, along with NOAA and other partners, initiated this collaborative planning effort. The project used high-resolution topographic data collected by NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the California Ocean Protection Council. Sea level rise maps were developed using the same method employed for the NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer, and social vulnerability index (SoVI) data were used to assess community vulnerability. A NOAA training, Roadmap for Adapting to Coastal Risk, helped communities understand how to integrate coastal hazard and climate data into planning and decision-making. All the aforementioned data, tools, and trainings are available from NOAA’s Digital Coast website.

More information: coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/stories/rising-tides

Partners: Adapting to Rising Tides, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission

Relocation of Highway 1 in San Luis Obispo County

North of the Piedras Blancas Light Station, California Highway 1 touches the sea where decades of coastal erosion have brought segments of shoreline to the highway’s edge. Plans for relocating the highway inland to avoid costly repairs proved to be a challenge, since this part of the coast contains sensitive ecological resources, and the adjacent land is privately owned.

The California Coastal Commission worked closely with the California Department of Transportation, California State Parks, and San Luis Obispo County officials to relocate nearly three miles of Highway 1 beyond the estimated 100-year erosion line. Through an agreement with private landowners and nongovernmental organizations, the area between the coast and the relocated highway will add 73 acres to Hearst San Simeon State Park. This opens new opportunities for beach access and affordable visitor facilities, such as a public campground and 3.5 new miles of the California Coastal Trail. As a condition of approval, the Coastal Commission requires Caltrans to mitigate construction impacts by restoring more than eight acres of coastal wetland and 21 acres of coastal prairie, a grassland plant community that provides habitat for many rare and endangered species. (2016)

Partners: California Coastal Commission, California Department of Transportation, California State Parks, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, San Luis Obispo County

Wetland Restoration at Elkhorn Slough

Fifty percent, or 1,000 acres, of Elkhorn Slough’s salt marshes have been lost over the past 150 years. The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve is a leader in a groundbreaking effort to conserve and restore this resource. The Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project has been in existence since 2004, with over 100 entities participating.

A number of tasks are associated with this effort, including the placement of an underwater sill to reduce flow velocities. Another ambitions task: the addition of over 200,000 cubic yards of soil to create a raised marsh area that will be more sustainable in the face of sea level rise. Fundraising has commenced on the approximately $2.5 million cost, with construction slated for 2016. (2016)

More information: Tidal Marsh Restoration Project

Partners: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Elkhorn Slough Reserve, NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Wetland Loss Causes Organizations to Spring into Action

Southern California’s coastal environments are under intense development pressure. In the Tijuana River Valley, wetland loss is particularly prevalent.

To document wetland importance and wetland recovery needs, the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve worked with the Sacramento State University Center for Collaborative Policy. The team also developed a set of tools and resources useful for investigating, visualizing, and communicating potential wetland scenarios. This information is informing local and regional wetland recovery and management efforts. (2016)

More information: http://trnerr.org/

Partners: Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, Sacramento State University Center for Collaborative Policy, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, California Coastal Conservancy, San Francisco Estuary Institute, Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, Tijuana River Valley Recovery Team

Mud on the Move: Predicting How Marshes Will Change as Sea Levels Rise

As sea levels rise, marshes can drown. The resource can be saved if the elevation increases to keep pace with sea level rise. One way this happens is when sediment suspended in the water accumulates on the marsh’s surface.

A team led by the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve developed a protocol to assess this suspended sediment. The findings are improving the scientific community’s understanding of sediment dynamics, increasing the accuracy of ecological models, and informing marsh conservation and restoration projects. (2016)

More information: www.nerra.org/projects/mud-on-the-move-predicting-how-marshes-will-change-as-sea-levels-rise

Partners: California Sea Grant, California State Coastal Conservancy, Grand Bay Reserve, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve, Point Blue Conservation Science, San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, San Francisco Bay Reserve, University of Alabama, University of San Francisco, University of South Carolina, U.S. Geological Survey’s Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Visualization Tools Help Plan for Climate Change in San Francisco

The San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve developed a high-resolution digital elevation model for the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks to this model, officials were able to develop 40 sea level rise and storm scenarios and 10 king tide scenarios. These visualizations are helping people understand, visualize, and anticipate vulnerability to storms and sea level rise, which in turn influences regional conservation and federal environmental initiatives. (2016)

More information: www.nerra.org/projects/our-coast-our-future-planning-for-climate-change-in-san-francisco

Partners: Bay Area Ecosystems Climate Change Consortium, Coravai, LLC, Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Point Blue Conservation Science, San Francisco Bay Reserve, U.S. Geological Survey’s Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. National Park Service

A Future for Native Oysters along the Pacific Coast

Native oysters are in decline along the Pacific Coast. A team led by the Elkhorn Slough and San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserves investigated the causes, including impacts from climate change. With this information, the team developed science-based planning tools that officials are using to select restoration “sweet spots.” The project spurred a citizen science program that involves local high schools undertaking long-term monitoring of water quality and oyster populations. (2016)

More information: www.oysters-and-climate.org

Partners: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Elkhorn Slough Reserve, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, San Francisco Bay Reserve, San Francisco State University’s Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, State of California Coastal Conservancy, University of California Davis’ Bodega Marine Laboratory