You are reading Bay Crossings, which suggests you've probably been near San Francisco Bay today, and maybe can even see it from where you're sitting.
By Christopher Richard
Published: May, 2016
You are reading Bay Crossings, which suggests you’ve probably been near San Francisco Bay today, and maybe can even see it from where you’re sitting.
You’ve probably heard that San Francisco Bay is an estuary and that it’s an ecosystem. But try thinking about it as a giant factory. Think of the terrain as the buildings and grounds of the factory campus. Raw materials coming in are water, sediment and sunlight. The workers are the plants and animals living in the Bay, and the products are clean air, seafood, recreation, flood protection and the setting for a quality of life that is envied throughout the world.
Continuing the metaphor, some of the most productive parts of the factory are the salt marshes and other wetlands that once ringed most of the Bay shoreline. Their productivity cleans the air and releases oxygen, provides rearing habitat for young fish and crabs, filters impurities from the water and provides flood protection. But since the California gold rush, we have lost 90 percent of these wetlands. Think of trying to run a factory with that percentage of your most productive assembly lines shut down.
There is a great opportunity to restore those assembly lines, and your voice can be heard on the question. But more on that later. Much of the lost wetland acreage was diked off from the Bay to exclude the flow of the tides, and then drained for economic purposes: primarily the grazing of animals and production of salt. But almost all of the pastures are no longer grazed, and most of the salt ponds are no longer in production. The Bay needs 100,000 acres of wetlands to be healthy and sustainable. More than 30,000 acres are already awaiting funding of projects to restore them to their original functions of producing, cleansing and protecting.
Measure AA for a Clean & Healthy Bay is on the June ballot in the nine Bay Area counties. It’s aimed at restoring productivity and function to the Bay ecosystem while providing flood protection, increasing shoreline recreational access, and thereby supporting the quality of life we all appreciate here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It is a $12 parcel tax for the Bay Area counties that will, over time, raise $500 million for wetlands restoration and access. It was placed on the ballot by the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority with support from business groups like the Bay Area Council and Silicon Valley Leadership Group; and environmental groups including Audubon California, Ducks Unlimited, the Trust for Public Land and the Nature Conservancy.
Senator Dianne Feinstein said, “Measure AA is an unprecedented opportunity for all Bay Area residents to unite in support of the Bay we love, and improve it a lot for very little cost.” A San Jose Mercury News editorial stated, “We’re happy to urge voter support for Measure AA.” Even though polling shows that a large majority of residents across the Bay Area support this measure, the two-thirds majority required to win is a high bar to meet. Your vote can make a difference.
These maps portray the 90 percent loss of wetlands, shown in green, from the shores of San Francisco Bay between the time of the gold rush and today. But much of the lands within the areas outlined in magenta remain feasible sites for wetland restoration and improved access projects funded by Measure AA.
Christopher Richard is a retired Curator of Aquatic Biology at Oakland Museum of California. He is on the board of directors of Save the Bay, and past president of the Alameda County Fish and Game Commission.
