Salt Marsh Sediment Augmentation Project

Subsidence, limited sediment accretion, and sea level rise all contribute to the complete inundation of the Refuge’s Pacific cordgrass (Spartina folisa). During the higher high tides, the water level eliminates natural nesting areas for the rail.

This pilot project is not only intended to improve the habitat quality for the rail, but also to evaluate the success of this project as a regional strategy to combat sea level rise. Hopefully, this will ensure long term sustainability of coastal marshes along the Pacific Coast.

Other areas along the Pacific coast, such as San Francisco Bay, are also employing similar pilot projects:
West Coast Marshes Are Drowning, But There’s Still Time to Save Their Birds
View time lapse video of the augmentation process.

Science Advances Article
U.S. Pacific coastal wetland resilience and vulnerability to sea-level rise

Webinar
Testing a Novel Adaptation Strategy in a California Salt Marsh
Presented by Karen Thorne, USGS Western Ecological Research Center and Evyan Sloane, California State Coastal Conservancy on March 15, 2018.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - 2015 Cooperative Recovery Initiative Grant
California Coastal Conservancy - Grant
Orange County, OC Parks - Sediment and Application Contract
California Department of Fish and Wildlife - Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Ecosystem Management & Restoration Research Program

Meet the Research Team
USGS – Western Ecological Research Center, Karen Thorne, Ph.D.
UCLA – Richard Ambrose, Ph.D. & Glen MacDonald, Ph.D.
CSU Long Beach – Christine Whitcraft, Ph.D.
Chapman University – Jason Keller, Ph.D.
Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy – Richard Zembal, Ph.D. and Susan Hoffman
Friends of Seal Beach NWR – John Fitch and Carolyn Vance

Other Partners
Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association
Jeff Crooks, Ph.D., Research Coordinator, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Contaminants Program, Coastal Program, I&M, and CA LCC
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach (Landowner)
State Lands Commission (Landowner)
Moffatt & Nichol (Engineering contractor)
Curtin Maritime (Dredge contactor)

Webinars
Ecological Function of Coastal Salt Marshes in Response to Sea Level Rise - Part 1
Ecological Function of Coastal Salt Marshes in Response to Sea Level Rise - Part 2
Ecological Function of Coastal Salt Marshes in Response to Sea Level Rise - Part 3

Additional project information can be found in the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Final Environmental Assessment. These documents can be found on the Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, Volume 2, page 49.

For more information on this project, please contact:
Chantel Jimenez
Acting Project Leader
San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Cell 760-450-6534

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