Partnering to Protect and Preserve Vital Plant and Wildlife Habitat in the San Francisco Bay Region

We’re pleased to announce a partnership with Ducks Unlimited, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Coastal Conservancy, and South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project to top shorebird nesting islands at the Eden Landing Ecological Reserve on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay next to Hayward and Union City.

The area features restored salt ponds, adjacent diked marshes, and transitional areas to uplands. The Ecological Reserve is managed for resident and migratory waterbirds and tidal marsh habitats and species. Donated material from Vulcan’s Pleasanton Sand & Gravel will provide suitable nesting substrate for terns, avocets, stilts, and other shorebirds as part of the multi-year 2,270-acre Eden Landing portion of the south Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, scheduled to start in 2022. The Bay Area serves as a critical stop along the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. San Francisco Bay has lost an estimated 85 percent of its historic wetlands to fill or alteration. This dramatic decline in tidal marsh habitats has caused populations of marsh-dependent fish and wildlife to dwindle. It has also decreased water quality and increased local flood risks.

Restoration of the South Bay salt ponds provides an opportunity to begin to reverse these trends, by improving the health of San Francisco Bay for years to come.

Ponds are carefully managed to provide for the appropriate feeding, resting and nesting needs of various shorebirds and waterfowl, both resident and migratory, including the threatened western snowy plover, which nests on dry pond bottoms. The Restoration Plan calls for reconfiguring and intensively managing 1,600 acres of ponds for improved bird foraging, roosting and nesting.

The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project is the largest tidal wetland restoration project on the West Coast. When complete, the Project will restore 15,100 acres of industrial salt ponds to a rich mosaic of tidal wetlands and other habitats. Stay tuned for future updates on this important partnership.