Four foundations: Goals and context shape the restoration of the South Bay Salt Ponds
Four San Francisco Bay Area foundations — the Hewlett, Moore, and Packard Foundations, and the Goldman Fund — sought our help in facilitating the transfer and acquisition of lands, then owned by Cargill, Incorporated, by government agencies. More than 16,500 acres of commercial salt ponds, located primarily along the southern edge of the San Francisco Bay, could be turned from industrial salt-making to a haven for birds, fish, and people.
We knew from experience that the moment sensitive lands change ownership is often a resource's greatest point of vulnerability, and that saline content can increase quickly, complicating any subsequent restoration. We also knew that federal and state funds should be available to leverage our clients' contributions. Finally, we knew that to achieve the maximum conservation values from the property, restoration planning had to begin immediately, and be coordinated and viewed in the context of the Bay system. The resulting strategy has been successful:
- Rather than footing the entire bill, we helped build a magnet for public funding; the foundations paid $20 million of the $100 million purchase price, with government sources covering the rest.
- We worked to ensure appropriate condition of the land when transferred, and to ensure that the agencies were prepared to manage the lands.
- We helped the agencies create a plan to halt salt concentration, stabilize pond salinities, maintain and enhance habitat values, and preserve the marsh's flood protection capabilities.
- We also helped design a five-year, long-term restoration planning effort to develop a scientifically sound, broadly supported plan to allow a return of natural processes and function.
- When the foundations contributed $15 million to help fund the Initial Stewardship and Restoration Planning, we helped the government agencies secure the additional public funding needed.
The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project is now the largest tidal wetlands restoration project ever undertaken on the west coast of the United States.
A mosaic of tidal marshes will return to their natural state, improving critical habitat for resident and migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, and for the aquatic and terrestrial life forms that make up their food chain. Restoration will expand haul out areas for harbor seals, provide expanded habitat for shorebirds, and provide a rich and colorful scene, giving a softer edge to an urban boundary. All of this will take place in full view of the millions of people who pass by these lands each year. For those who stop to look — and the numbers are increasing rapidly — public access will be granted. As the salt-making stops and ponds become reconnected to the Bay, we are beginning to see unexpected benefits: education and hope. With a focus on the long-term, more than marshes are being restored. We remain actively involved in this project on behalf of our clients.
For more information, please visit: http://www.southbayrestoration.org/home.html.