Bay Delta Conservation

COMING UP: HOOVER RANCH

John Muir Land Trust’s work at Pacheco Marsh has piqued the interest of many of you who are eager to learn more about our initiatives in the San Francisco Bay Delta. Here's a sneak peak at Hoover Ranch, to be announced formally as a campaign next year. It just received an award of $2.2 million to JMLT from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy.

An Imperative

Few conservation priorities are as important to Bay Area residents as restoring and protecting the health of our San Francisco Bay waters and the rivers that flow into them—especially the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta system. The health of the Bay Delta region is essential to the health of local freshwater and marine ecosystems and to the well-being and economic vitality of the area’s many human communities.

BAY DELTA: AT A GLANCE

• The Delta drains more than 40 percent of California and forms the largest estuary on the western coast of the two Americas.

• Nearly half of California's migrating waterfowl and shorebirds and two-thirds of the state's spawning salmon pass through this vital habitat, home to 750 animal and plant species.

• Salt marshes along the Bay provide essential nutrients, refuge, and nursery habitat for fish species at risk. Some species are found nowhere else on Earth.

• 25 million Californians depend on the Delta for drinking water. The system supplies water to millions of acres of farmland where nearly half of the country’s produce is grown.

• The health of the Bay Delta is crucial for wildlife preservation, the state’s economy, public welfare, and our quality of life.

Photo courtesy of: Jeff and Wendy Photography

HUGE STRATEGIC PRIORITY

The Bay Delta is in crisis. Invasive species, pesticide runoff, nutrient pollution, industrial discharges, dredging, water diversions, and poor management have put this ecosystem at high risk. Human activity has resulted in the loss of more than 90% of historic tidal wetlands. Climate change increases the region’s fragility, bringing saltwater into freshwater areas and placing additional pressure on weakened levees. The good news is that conservation groups are tackling these issues. JMLT’s Pacheco Marsh is just one example of decades of progress.

Hoover Ranch

On the JMLT horizon is Hoover Ranch, a 600-acre purchase/design/restore project on Bethel Island in eastern Contra Costa County. We’re in the early stages, but eager to share some aspects now. This is among the largest privately-owned properties in Contra Costa County. Its nearly 2 miles of shoreline along the northeastern edge of Bethel Island provide sanctuary for fish, birds, and wildlife. As a destination for birders, the area is known for greater sandhill cranes and snow geese, and as nesting for species such as loggerhead shrikes. Migrating salmon pass by its shores every season.

Ambitious Plans

One of the greatest threats in the Delta is subsidence—sinking that is caused by the drainage of wetlands and the subsequent oxidation of peat soil. This harmful process releases carbon dioxide and has caused elevation loss as much as 25 feet below sea level in some areas. Bordered by about 2 miles of levees, parts of Hoover Ranch have subsided as much as 12 feet.

JMLT’s early-stage restoration planning for Hoover Ranch uses nature-based solutions to address the multiple threats of encroaching development, levee failure, carbon emissions, and subsidence. Elements of the plan include:

• Establishing wetlands and riparian forest, with special consideration of existing sand dunes

• Improving habitat for native wildlife, including special status species

• Actively stewarding the land, employing scientists and partners for monitoring and ongoing maintenance

• Raising surface and groundwater levels, reducing hydrostatic pressure and thus mitigating the risk of failure along the property’s 2 miles of levee

• Reducing carbon emissions through carbon sequestration

• Increasing resilience to natural disasters

• Creating new access for passive recreation and preserving the rural character of Bethel Island for the health and well-being of residents and visitors.

Learn more and receive updates: jmlt.org/hoover

BAY DELTA: MUCH TO DO

Generations ago, the San Francisco Bay Delta supported abundant upstream freshwater marshes and downstream salt marshes and mudflats. These serve as vital pathways for migrating birds and fish species that spawn in streams and then live adult lives in the ocean. Piece by piece we’re protecting what remains and bringing these places back. Protecting Hoover Ranch will establish wetlands, expand forest, reverse subsidence, create flourishing habitat for native plants and animals, and reduce carbon emissions. It will protect the welfare of human communities who love and depend on this region of unique natural beauty.

Through these projects and more to come in the Bay Delta, JMLT donors and volunteers like you are protecting and restoring one of the most important ecosystems on the planet.

BAY DELTA: PACHECO MARSH UPDATE

The news from Pacheco Marsh is about as good as it gets!

The county's largest public works project is flourishing. 28,000 out of 31,000 new native plants survived their first year, shorebirds are nesting, newly-built channels are flowing, and seasonal ponds are full. Next up: construction of 2.6 miles of trails, kayak launches, viewing areas, boardwalks, and interpretive

JMLT’s Pacheco Marsh restoration project is a decades-long effort to bring back a salt marsh habitat suffering from a century of harsh industrial overuse. Along Suisun Bay we are creating a pristine wildlife refuge, an unprecedented opportunity for recreation, and an educational center that will teach young people about marsh ecosystems and how we can successfully reverse decades of harmful human activity.