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Restoring S.F. Bay Area Wetlands10-01-07 | News

Restoring S.F. Bay Area Wetlands

Estuary wetlands in San Francisco Bay have long been converted into housing developments. Dredge spoils (fill) raise the level of the wetlands enough to ?EUR??,,????'?????<

It is estimated that from the 1850s to the 1960s, San Francisco Bay was filled in at a rate of two square miles a year. About one-third of the bay is no longer bay, and about 95 percent of its wetlands are gone.

Today, there is greater ecological awareness of the bay and its wetlands and one group, Save The Bay (avesfbay.org), is leading the effort to restore native wetlands.

Save The Bay seeks to return to wetlands the 36,176 acres of land around the bay bought for restoration by government agencies, private organizations and land trusts. About $370 million in state, federal and local funds have been spent to buy the land.

Save The Bay released a report in Aug. 2007 that estimated the cost at $1.43 billion. A 2006 poll done for Save The Bay found 83 percent of residents polled said they would be willing to pay $10 per year in taxes or fees to restore bay wetlands.

David Lewis, executive director of Save The Bay, said that if costs were spread out over 50 years and everyone in the Bay Area paid a share, it would be less than $4 per year per person.

Save The Bay has also worked for decades to secure public control of salt production ponds in South San Francisco Bay and is now working to help advance the largest wetland restoration project in the history of the bay. Over 16,000 acres of diked ponds will be restored gradually to tidal and nontidal marsh.