 |
|
 |
Audubon Society gets $1.6 million for wetland restoration near Novato
Salzman given wetlands award
Links to More Information About Baylands
Audubon Society gets $1.6 million for wetland restoration near Novato
By Mark Prado, IJ reporter
Friday, March 26, 2004 - The state Coastal Conservancy yesterday agreed to hand the Marin Audubon Society $1.6 million for the wetland restoration of 102 acres near Novato, area that is critical animal habitat.
“This is an important restoration site for us,” said Dick Wayman, a spokes-man for the conservancy. “It's an important area for wildlife, in particular as a fish nursery and habitat for migrating birds.”
California clapper rail, steelhead, salmon and other native fish and birds will benefit from the work.
Last year the Marin Audubon Society bought a 182-acre piece of property adjacent to the Redwood Landfill that at one time was intended to be a dumpsite.
The owner of the wetland had it diked in the 1960s in hopes it would become part of the dump. But permits could not be attained and the land sat empty, Wayman said.
Then, in November, Audubon purchased the land from Waste Management Inc. - which operates the landfill - for $275,000, half of its assessed value.
Last month, Marin Audubon began to restore the 102 acres of the site to tidal marsh, which is adjacent to the 2,000-acre Petaluma Marsh. The remaining 80 acres already are tidal marsh.
The restoration will involve breaching a series of levees. The work will take up to three years to complete. Some of the work includes building a levee to protect the Northwestern Pacific Railroad right of way.
After the restoration is completed, the site will be donated to the California Department of Fish and Game, which will manage the marsh as part of the Petaluma-Marsh Wildlife Unit. The 2,000 acre Petaluma Marsh is the largest existing tidal marsh in California.
“It's exciting to get this money,” said Barbara Salzman, president of the Marin Audubon Society. “This will allow us to complete the work.”
Also yesterday, the conservancy approved $90,000 to complete the Triangle Marsh restoration in Corte Madera, Salzman said.
Salzman given wetlands award
By Mark Prado, IJ reporter
Friday, April 02, 2004 - Audubon president honored by federal environmental groups
Marin Audubon Society President Barbara Salzman has been named one of six recipients of the 2004 National Wetlands Awards for her work in saving county wetlands.
“I am thrilled,” said the Larkspur resident, who was selected from more than 90 others who were nominated for the award. “There was a lot of competition. It is nice to be recognized.”
Salzman and the other recipients will be flown to Washington, D.C. to accept the award, which will be presented May 20 in the Senate Caucus Room on Capitol Hill. Since 1989, the Environmental Law Institute and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have co-sponsored the National Wetlands Awards Program, along with other agencies.
Salzman has been a workhorse in Marin's environmental movement, credited with saving some 870 acres of wetlands, allowing for unfettered bay views and the saving of fish and bird habitat.
Smith Ranch Road Pond, Redwood High School Marsh, Corte Madera Ecological Reserve, Bothin Marsh, Gallinas Creek Marsh, Rush Creek/Cemetery Marsh, Petaluma Marsh, Triangle Marsh and Olive Avenue wetlands are all sites Salzman has worked to preserve.
One of the biggest projects Salzman was involved with is Bahia. In January 2003, Marin Audubon finalized a $15.8 million deal for the land from a developer who had designs to build homes at the site.
The Bahia property was the subject of emotionally charged debates and a ballot referendum in 2001. The developer won approval from the Novato City Council in January 2001 for a 424-home development.
For years, Salzman had sought to preserve Bahia, which includes 333 acres of diked salt marsh, 18 acres of seasonal wetlands, coves created by hills extending to the bay and a 214-acre blue oak forest.
“I'm not sure if everyone realizes how important wetlands are,” said Salzman, who grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia. “They clean the water, they serve as wildlife habitat and they rejuvenate the spirit.”
A former social worker, Salzman came to Marin in 1968 and soon became a follower of naturalist Elizabeth Terwilliger.
When plans were announced for a regional shopping center in Greenbrae in the 1970s, Salzman took an interest and opposed the plan. From there she joined the Marin Audubon Society and has been leaving her mark by savings wetlands ever since.
Carl A. Strock of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - which co-sponsored the award - praised the winners.
“Their efforts to protect and preserve our nation's wetlands help sustain healthy aquatic habitats for diverse species of plants, fish and wildlife,” he said. “The well-being of natural communities is essential to the quality of our lives.”
Despite her successes, Salzman still wishes she would have done more over the years. But she conceded she has surprised herself with how much she has been able to accomplish.
“I'm amazed at what I've done,” she said with a laugh. “If someone told me 20 years ago that I would be able to accomplish all of this, I would have thought they were daffy.”
Links to More Information About Baylands
http://www.bay.org/
The Bay Institute, an organization founded "To protect and restore the ecosystems of San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and the rivers, streams, and watersheds tributary to the Estuary."
http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/sanpablobay/
The San Pablo Bay Watershed Study has a remarkable satellite photo of San Pablo Bay. The study is sponsored by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of California Coastal Conservancy, will provide a framework for a diverse group of interested citizens to collaboratively identify and prioritize restoration opportunities in the San Pablo Bay watershed.
http://www.abag.ca.gov/bayarea/sfep/sfep.html
The San Francisco Estuary Project
http://www.sfei.org/
The San Francisco Estuary Institute, founded as a non-profit organization in 1994 to foster the development of the scientific understanding needed to protect and enhance the San Francisco Estuary.
http://www.sfbayjv.org/
The San Francisco Bay Joint Venture, a partnership to protect, restore, increase, and enhance wetlands and wildlife in and around the San Francisco Bay
http://www.farmedanddangerous.org/
a website about the dangers of farmed fish, how toxic they are for eating, and how destructive their farms are to the environment.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
