Wetlands and Estuaries Blog Posts

This year has been a roller coaster for scientists keeping tabs on the Bay Area’s most at-risk insect—the San Francisco forktail damselfly. They’ve had some good news—the first population estimate in five years revealed stable numbers despite the drought—but also been confronted with diminishing water levels threatening the species' remaining stronghold near Fort Point like never before.

Riparian ecosystems have a vital role in performing functions that are essential for coho salmon and steelhead trout and other native wildlife. The San Francisco Bay Area I&M Network salmonid monitoring team is currently performing vegetation assessments on the riparian zones within the Lagunitas Watershed. Watershed Stewards Program (WSP) corps members also organize a Watershed Awareness Volunteer Event (WAVE) to help restore the riparian corridor.

Sonoma alopecurus is a federally endangered species at Point Reyes. It is in danger of extinction, particularly as it may occur nowhere else. When grazing was eliminated a number of years ago from a wetland area that supports one of the park's largest populations, that population plummeted almost 10-fold. In 2020, the park constructed almost 2,000 feet of barbed wire fencing around the wetland to help reinstitute grazing in collaboration with a park rancher.

The Presidio Trust, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area have worked to restore the Tennessee Hollow Watershed for over two decades. However, one key part of the watershed, where the creek connects to Crissy Marsh, remains buried under a sea of pavement and confined to a 72-inch storm drain. Next month, that will start to change.

October 27, 2018, marked 10 years since the levees were removed as part of the Giacomini Wetlands Restoration Project, a collaborative effort between Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. One of the goals of the restoration project was to shift vegetation communities at the site from dairy pasture to tidal salt and brackish marsh. We also hoped to see an increase in native plant-dominated communities. Overall, it has been a success.

- How Will Climate Change Affect National Park Bird Communities?
- Will Tidal Wetlands Survive a Rising Pacific?