Salt Marsh Restoration
By Natelee Kleinbaum
In 1915 the US military disregarded the wetlands of the san
Francisco bay as wasteland and was used for dumping presidio
trash. A few years later the army developed Crissy airfield which
was used for housing and industrial operations until 1994 when the
area was released to the National Park service. Ninety percent of
the bays two hundred thousand acres of perimeter wetlands were
lost to urban growth and flood control practices by the early
1960’s. from 1995 through the year 2000, laws were being passed
to protect California wetlands and require restoration. We have
managed to restore eleven thousand acres around the Bay area. Our
goal is sixty thousand more in the next three decades.
Salt marshes are protected from the full forces of the
oceans waves, winds, and storms because of the fingers of land,
mud or sand that define the estuaries boundary. Only in places of
relatively gentle erosion can salt marshes occur because there is
low energy being pushed on the vegetation. The Mediterranean
climate also plays a key role as to why salt marshes can thrive in
our region.
The high tides sweep nutrient rich brackish water into the
salt marsh which gathers at the roots of the vegetation, making it
extraordinarily fertile. Providing food, nesting and resting grounds
to the migratory birds that come in during their journey south on
the pacific flyway. There are common algae blooms that occur in
shallow unshaded water that also promote the biodiversity of this
ecosystem. The most productive type of flora in North America is
the Cord Grass which produces five to ten times as much food and
oxygen per acre as compared to a highly cultivated crop such as
wheat. Mud flats are an important substrate for marsh productivity
including eel grass, cord grass, and pickleweed. They consist of
