FT 3
CANCELLED - Tidal Marsh and Managed Salt Ponds Surrounding San Francisco Bay
Saturday, August 9, 2014: 8:00 AM-3:00 PM
J Street Entrance, Sacramento Convention Center
Organizer:
Lacy M. Smith, USGS
San Francisco Bay is the largest estuary on the west coast of North America, but it has lost nearly 80% of its tidal marshes and 40% of its tidal flats over the past two centuries due to urban development, agriculture, and salt production. Despite the extensive habitat loss, the estuary supports numerous wildlife and is a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site of hemispheric importance used by migrating and wintering birds along the Pacific Flyway. In addition, San Francisco Bay is home to federal and state protected endemic species, such as the California clapper rail (
Rallus longirostris obsoletus), the California black rail (
Laterallus jamaicensis coturniulus), and the salt marsh harvest mouse (
Reithrodontomys raviventris). Recently, large scale estuarine restoration efforts have been undertaken to restore the ecological functions of historical baylands. Approximately 10,000 ha (25,000 acres) of salt ponds have been transferred to state and federal agencies for restoration and wildlife management. Join us in our visit to Arrowhead Marsh, near Alameda, where USGS has been conducting research to evaluate the impacts of sea-level rise on endangered clapper rails and other marsh species. Next we will travel to the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve to see an example of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, where 50-90% of former salt production ponds are being restored to tidal marsh within an adaptive management framework over the next 50 years. We will walk along the levee of former salt ponds E12 and E13 and discuss current USGS research on pond management for waterbirds. Ponds E12 and E13 underwent construction in 2013 to create regions of different water salinity levels and elevation for foraging shorebirds. USGS is evaluating the effects of salinity and water depth on shorebirds and invertebrates across these experimental ponds. We will have the opportunity to view the foraging mounds within the ponds. These were constructed to have a gradually sloping elevation to increase habitat for different sized shorebirds. This trip will be led by biologists of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station.
Registration Fee: $80
Equipment and Attire: This field trip involves 2 miles of easy walking along flat gravel roads. Participants should wear good walking shoes and be prepared for weather conditions that may consist of sun, heat, wind, and dust. Please bring a day-pack, extra water, hat, sunscreen, and binoculars. We will provide 1-2 spotting scopes.
Itinerary: 08:00 – Leave Sacramento Convention Center Complex for Arrowhead Marsh, arriving by 09:30.
09:30 – Presentations/discussion.
10:30 – Depart Arrowhead Marsh for Eden Landing Ecological Reserve, arriving by 11:00.
11:00 – Distribute box lunches. Walk 1 mile along gravel roads to ponds E12 and E13. Carry box lunches to eat during a stop in the field.
12:30 – Walk 1 mile along gravel roads to return to the vehicles by 13:00.
13:00 – Leave Eden Landing Ecological Reserve for Sacramento Convention Center Complex, arriving by 15:00.
