Making Progress Towards 100,000 Acres of Restored Tidal Marsh

This week, Save the Bay published updated figures tracking the headway made against the regional goal of 100,000 acres of restored tidal marsh throughout the Bay.  To date, 78,000 acres have been acquired, restored, or already existed as healthy wetland, leaving 22,000 acres yet to be acquired and restored. 

Over the last 200 years, as the Bay Area’s population grew, much of the Bay’s natural wetlands were diked and drained for development and agriculture, used as trash dumps, and converted into salt evaporation ponds. It’s estimated that more than 90% of the historic tidal marsh were destroyed, leaving current shoreline communities without the natural protections that wetlands provide.

Restoring sections of the Bay's shoreline to wetlands will recreate some of those protective factors while expanding habitat for the Bay's plants and wildlife, sequestering carbon and improving water quality.

Read more on the Save the Bay website here.