Transformative Quartermaster Reach Restoration Project to Begin in the Presidio

The Presidio Trust will break ground on the Quartermaster Reach Restoration Project in September. The project will turn what is now a sea of pavement into a seven-acre tidal marsh connecting the Tennessee Hollow Watershed to Crissy Marsh. Presidio Trust

August 2019 - The Presidio Trust, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area have worked to restore the Tennessee Hollow Watershed for over two decades. They have successfully brought thousands of feet of creek back above ground and revitalized several wetlands that were buried or filled in long ago by the Army. However, one key part of the watershed, where the creek connects to Crissy Marsh, remains buried under a sea of pavement and confined to a 72-inch storm drain. Next month, that will start to change.

In September, the Presidio Trust will break ground on an exciting, ambitious project to unearth and restore this 850-foot section of creek known as Quartermaster Reach. The restoration will expand precious brackish marshland in the Presidio. Such habitat attracts and supports hundreds of native wildlife species, and having more of it should help to improve the ecology of the shoreline. In addition, the Tennessee Hollow Trail will be extended through the reach. The quarter-mile extension will give visitors access to a new nature and wildlife-viewing hotspot. It will also allow people to traverse the full 1.5 mile length of the Tennessee Hollow Watershed for the first time.

Following a period of excavation and construction this fall, staff and volunteers will begin kickstarting nature’s return to the site. They will plant at least 40 species of Presidio Nursery-grown saltmarsh and dune plants this winter. Biologists also plan to help native Olympic oysters reestablish in the area by building in reef-like surfaces where their larvae can attach and grow. Quartermaster Reach will open to the public in the spring of 2020.

Visit the Presidio Trust press release or the Quartermaster Reach Marsh webpage to learn more.

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• Golden Gate National Recreation Area
• Presidio of San Francisco

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