Press Release
April 13, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Barb Peichel, Tidal Wetland Project Coordinator, ElkhornSlough National Estuarine Research Reserve (831) 320-4142
Becky Christensen, Reserve Manager, ElkhornSlough National Estuarine Research Reserve (831) 728-2822
Community Forum to Help Protect ElkhornSlough
Meeting about the Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project
A community forum about the Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project will be held from
7-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 at the Moss Landing Chamber of Commerce. The goals of the meeting are to raise community awareness of the problems facing Elkhorn Slough's tidal wetlands, describe the current planning process to conserve and restore these habitats, and encourage community members to get involved in protecting Elkhorn Slough. The meeting is intended to foster participation and dialogue about ecosystem and community needs in and around Elkhorn Slough.
The Elkhorn Slough Reserve's Barb Peichel will describe how dramatic changes to the estuary are resulting in rapid tidal wetland loss and degradation. Josh Collins from the San Francisco Estuary Institute will highlight the large-scale planning effort he led that drastically changed the future of San Francisco's tidal wetlands.
The Elkhorn Slough estuary, containing California’s second largest tract of salt marsh, is currently facing unprecedented rates of tidal wetland loss and degradation. Due to human changes to the estuary, the ecosystem has become unbalanced, resulting in accelerated rates of tidal flooding and erosion. This has resulted in a 50 percent loss of tidal marsh through flooding that “drowns” the vegetation and through bank erosion that causes the marsh to collapse into the channel. Not only are habitats being lost and degraded, but public access sites are also being threatened through tidal erosion. Based on a number of meetings with a science panel over the past two years, there is agreement that the estuary is not in a stable state. These trends are predicted to continue in the near future if no management actions are taken.
Sound management of Elkhorn Slough’s tidal habitats is essential because estuaries are among the most threatened ecosystems in California, with past rates of habitat loss between 75 and 90 percent. Conserving and restoring Elkhorn Slough’s tidal wetlands is important because they act as buffers to minimize shoreline erosion and flooding, are a source of income for local recreation businesses, act as a filtration system for harmful pollutants, and provide critical food sources, nursery areas, and resting places for hundreds of species of birds, marine mammals, and fish.