SOUTH BAY SALT PONDS RESTORATION PROJECT
The State of California and the Federal government have embarked on the restoration of 15,100 acres of recently acquired salt ponds in the South San Francisco Bay. Acquisition of the South Bay salt ponds, which was made possible by the assistance of the Packard, Goldman, Hewlett, and Moore Foundations, provides an opportunity for landscape-level wetlands restoration, improving the physical, chemical, and biological health of the San Francisco Bay. The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project (Project) will integrate ecosystem restoration with flood management, while also providing for wildlife-oriented public access, recreation, and education opportunities. The Project will restore and enhance a mosaic of wetland habitat types, including tidal marshes, salt ponds, and tidal mudflats that will create a vibrant ecosystem supporting a large number of threatened and endangered species.
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Recognizing the great challenge of planning for the restoration of the salt ponds, the lead State and Federal agencies (California Coastal Conservancy, California Department of Fish and Game, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, hereafter referred to as the “Project Partners”) asked the Center for Collaborative Policy (CCP) to complete a stakeholder and organizational assessment to elicit the interested community's issues and concerns regarding the restoration planning process. From June through the end of July 2003, the CCP conducted nearly 80 interviews with various parties. Based on the information gained in these interviews, the CCP assessment team prepared a comprehensive report to the Project Partners detailing the findings from the interviews along with a detailed set of recommendations including revisions to the overall planning structure (to read the assessment report, please see the link below).
The revised organizational structure calls for a prominent role for independent scientific input and intensive public participation in collaborative planning for restoration of the salt ponds. CCP’s recommendations also call for direct interaction between technical experts and public stakeholders. The rationale for this recommendation was two-fold: first, the assessment team wanted to ensure that the public’s input to the Project Partners is based on sound science; second, and conversely, through direct dialogue with members of the public, the scientists advising the Project Partners will be better grounded in the policy visions and concerns of those who will need to take broad ownership of the overall restoration project. The CCP assessment team worked closely with the Project Partners in refining the organizational recommendations which have been adopted by the Project Partners and approved by the Project’s Executive Leadership Group.
At the conclusion of the assessment, the Project Partners asked the CCP team to implement a robust collaborative planning process for the restoration effort. In addition, CCP has developed and has been charged with coordinating a broad general public outreach and education program for the duration of the planning process. CCP has initiated both efforts and is continuing to assist the Project Partners with this unprecedented opportunity to improve the overall health of the San Francisco Bay.
To read more about the process:
