Restoration Vision for the Laguna de Santa Rosa

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | April 1st, 2020

The Laguna de Santa Rosa, located in the Russian River watershed in Sonoma County, CA, is an expansive freshwater wetland complex that hosts a rich diversity of plant a

The Laguna de Santa Rosa, located in the Russian River watershed in Sonoma County, CA, is an expansive freshwater wetland complex that hosts a rich diversity of plant and wildlife species, many of which are federally or state listed as threatened, endangered, or species of special concern. The Laguna is also home to a thriving agricultural community that depends on the land for its livelihood. Since the mid-19th century, development within the Laguna and its surrounding watershed have had a considerable impact on the landscape, affecting both wildlife and people. Compared to predevelopment conditions, the Laguna currently experiences increased stormwater runoff and flooding, increased delivery and accumulation of fine sediment and nutrients, spread of problematic invasive species, and decreased habitat for native fish and wildlife species. Predicted changes in future precipitation patterns and summertime air temperatures, combined with expanding development pressure, could exacerbate these problems. People who manage land and regulate land management decisions in and around the Laguna, including landowners; federal, state, and local agencies; and local stakeholders, are seeking a long-term management approach for the Laguna that improves conditions for the wildlife and people that call the Laguna home. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Sonoma Water funded the Laguna-Mark West Creek Watershed Master Restoration Planning Project to develop such a management approach, focusing on the need to identify restoration and management actions that enhance desired ecological functions of the Laguna, while also supporting the area’s agriculture and its local residents.

Restoring Habitat with Science and Society in Mind

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | April 8th, 2014

This Issue Paper, authored by Jessica Davenport, the Council's Program Manager for Ecosystem Restoration and Land Use, is entitled Restoring Habitat with Science and Soci

This Issue Paper, authored by Jessica Davenport, the Council's Program Manager for Ecosystem Restoration and Land Use, is entitled Restoring Habitat with Science and Society in Mind.  The purpose of the 22-page paper is to survey restoration activities in the Delta; describe the needs, progress and opportunities related to restoration; and propose key areas of focus for the Delta Stewardship Council and other agencies to advance habitat restoration. Some of the areas of focus for Council staff for the next two years include: Continue to provide early consultation on habitat restoration projects that are Covered Actions under the Delta Plan in order to advise project proponents on using best available science and adaptive management and avoiding or reducing conflicts with existing uses, where feasible. Report on habitat performance measures by December 2014 and again in December 2015. Work with others to complete at least one of the landscape-scale conceptual models and associated landscape habitat metrics for the priority habitat restoration areas. Enagage Delta Plan Interagency Implementation Committee members in discussions of challenges and potential solutions related to land acquistion and permit coordination.

Sacramento County | Making Room for Recharge: Cosumnes River Levee Removal and Floodplain Restoration

Nature Conservancy | June 12th, 2014

Reconnecting rivers to floodplains can facilitate groundwater recharge. A recent project along the Cosumnes River is one of the first to intentionally demonstra

Reconnecting rivers to floodplains can facilitate groundwater recharge. A recent project along the Cosumnes River is one of the first to intentionally demonstrate this recharge benefit. While this project was expensive and more complex than many forms of recharge, public funding paid for the project and a partnership with UC Davis is improving the understanding of groundwater-surface water interactions and basin groundwater conditions. In 2014, The Nature Conservancy piloted this concept by selectively removing portions of a private levee system along the Cosumnes River to enhance floodplain processes and restore approximately 500 acres of riparian habitat. The levee removal project offers multiple environmental benefits, including increased groundwater recharge in the floodplain.

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Historical Ecology Investigation: Exploring Pattern and Process

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | September 12th, 2012

In 2012, SFEI researchers (in collaboration with the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife) completed a historical ecology study of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The

In 2012, SFEI researchers (in collaboration with the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife) completed a historical ecology study of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The project improves understanding of what the Delta looked like and how it functioned prior to the significant modification that has occurred over the last 160 years. This historical reconstruction documents patterns of variation and extent of habitat types throughout the Delta for improved understanding of species support functions and controlling physical processes within the native landscape. Knowing how different parts of the vast historical Delta looked and functioned provides needed information for future restoration strategies.

San Francisquito Creek Baylands Landscape Change Metrics Analysis

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | June 21st, 2016

The goal of this study is to develop a high level overview of the physical and ecological changes to lower San Francisquito Creek and the surrounding tidal marshes and mu

The goal of this study is to develop a high level overview of the physical and ecological changes to lower San Francisquito Creek and the surrounding tidal marshes and mudflats (referred to here as “baylands”) since the beginning of intensive European-American settlement. Building upon a previous reconnaissance-level historical ecology study (Hermstad et al. 2009), this study analyzes the changes in key landscape features (or landscape metrics) within lower San Francisquito Creek and baylands through comparisons of reconstructed historical (mid-1800s) and contemporary (2011/2012) conditions. The results from this study are intended to provide baseline information that can be used to help with developing restoration and flood control redesign alternatives and appropriate habitat restoration targets. This study is one component of the Flood Control 2.0 project, a regional effort funded by the U.S. EPA to help design flood control channels at the Bay interface that support tidal habitats while maintaining the required level of flood protection. Emerging strategies for flood protection focus on reconnecting channels to floodplains and tidal marshes and using available dredged sediment as a resource to increase marsh elevations and help keep pace with sea level rise. Lower San Francisquito Creek is one of three implementation projects that have partnered with Flood Control 2.0 to assess the benefits of an integrated approach for flood control and habitat management at the Bay interface.

San Joaquin River Restoration Program

San Joaquin River Restoration Program | December 13th, 2007

SediMatch Factsheet

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | June 1st, 2018

 SediMatch is a collaborative program of the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture (SFBJV), the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the San Franc

 SediMatch is a collaborative program of the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture (SFBJV), the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI), the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP), and others to bring together the wetland habitat restoration, flood control, and dredging communities to discuss challenges and find mutually beneficial strategies to increase reuse of dredged sediment at habitat restoration sites. 

Shifting Baselines in a California Oak Savanna: Nineteenth Century Data to Inform Restoration Scenarios

Restoration Ecology, Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) | January 6th, 2011

For centuries humans have reduced and transformed Mediterranean‐climate oak woodland and savanna ecosystems, making it difficult to establish credible baselines for eco

For centuries humans have reduced and transformed Mediterranean‐climate oak woodland and savanna ecosystems, making it difficult to establish credible baselines for ecosystem structure and composition that can guide ecological restoration efforts. We combined historical data sources, with particular attention to mid‐1800s General Land Office witness tree records and maps and twentieth century air photos, to reconstruct 150 years of decline in extent and stand density of Valley oak (Quercus lobata Neé) woodlands and savannas in the Santa Clara Valley of central coastal California. Nineteenth century Valley oak woodlands here were far more extensive and densely stocked than early twentieth century air photos would suggest, although reconstructed basal areas (7.5 m2/ha) and densities (48.9 trees/ha) were not outside the modern range reported for this ecosystem type. Tree densities and size distribution varied across the landscape in relation to soil and topography, and trees in open savannas were systematically larger than those in denser woodlands. For the largest woodland stand, we estimated a 99% decline in population from the mid‐1800s to the 1930s. Although most of the study area is now intensely developed, Valley oaks could be reintroduced in urban and residential areas as well as in surrounding rangelands at densities comparable to the native oak woodlands and savannas, thereby restoring aspects of ecologically and culturally significant ecosystems, including wildlife habitat and genetic connectivity within the landscape.

Sonoma Creek Baylands Strategy

Sonoma Land Trust | May 1st, 2020

The purpose of the Strategy is to provide Sonoma Land Trust and partners with a clear and comprehensive plan that coordinates the protection, acquisition, restoration, an

The purpose of the Strategy is to provide Sonoma Land Trust and partners with a clear and comprehensive plan that coordinates the protection, acquisition, restoration, and enhancement of diverse baylands habitats (e.g., subtidal, mudflat, tidal marsh, brackish marsh, freshwater marsh, upland-wetland transition), integrates natural processes to increase climate resilience of the Sonoma Creek Baylands, identifies appropriate public access, and provides recommendations for the redesign of SR 37 and increased connectivity under and across the SMART rail line where they pass through the Sonoma Creek Baylands. 

Streamlining Restoration Project Consultation Using Programmatic Biological Opinions

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | April 24th, 2012

NOAA Fisheries Northwest Region supports efforts to restore the ecological function of our region’s habitat. Restoring habitat contributes to the recovery of species cu

NOAA Fisheries Northwest Region supports efforts to restore the ecological function of our region’s habitat. Restoring habitat contributes to the recovery of species currently protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), ensures that critical habitat designated under the ESA will serve its intended conservation role, and advances the conservation and enhancement of essential fish habitat (EFH) designated under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).