Bair Island Restoration

Status In-progress County San Mateo
Project Type Non-mitigation Location 37.51295° N, -122.23298° W Map
Project Area (Acres) 1,515 Last Updated 14 November 2024
Project Abstract This project restored salt marsh habitat and a more natural tidal hydrologic regime to the Bair Island complex and improved public access through a new bridge and walking trail. Current activities include restoring native vegetation to ecotone slope habitat and extending the public access trail.
Project Groups San Francisco Bay Adaptation | San Francisco Bay Joint Venture | San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (Eligible)
Administrative Region San Francisco Bay Joint Venture - Jemma Williams, SFBJV

Project Identification

IDType
8-06 BCDC - Permit Number
CN1-07 BCDC - Permit Number
590 JV - Record Number
254460 USACE - DA File Number

Habitat Plan

Site NamePhaseActivitySubActivitiesHabitatSubHabitatAcresActivity StatusWater Regime
Bair Island Complex None Enhancement Vegetation Management Estuarine Wetland Marsh 100.0 Implementation in-progress Fully tidal
Bair Island - Inner None Restoration/Rehabilitation Buffer area None 27.00 Implementation in-progress None
Bair Island - Inner None Restoration/Re-establishment Estuarine Wetland Marsh 250.0 Completed Fully tidal
Bair Island - Inner None Environmental Education/Outreach/Stewardship/Access Programs Upland Grassland 250.0 Completed Non-tidal (unspecified)
Bair Island - Middle None Restoration/Re-establishment Estuarine Wetland Marsh 697.1 Completed Fully tidal
Bair Island - Outer None Restoration/Re-establishment Estuarine Wetland Marsh 468.0 Completed Fully tidal

Related Habitat Impacts

Impact Project NameHabitatAcres LostType of Loss
No Data

Sites

NameStatusAcres
Bair Island Complex In-progress/Implementation 100.0
Bair Island - Inner Completed 277.0
Bair Island - Inner - Project Boundary Unknown/Unspecified No Data
Bair Island - Middle Completed 697.1
Bair Island - Outer Completed 468.0

Events

DateTypeDescriptionSite Name
2016-01-21 Groundwork end All public facilities complete Bair Island - Inner
2015-12-15 Levee breach planned Inner Bair Island breached Bair Island - Inner
2013-01-16 Levee breach planned Four levees at Middle Bair breached. Internal levees at Middle Bair were breached earlier, in December 2011. Bair Island - Middle
2012-09-15 Groundwork end Bair Island - Middle
2009-09-15 Levee breach planned Levee breach transferred from Project Event to Site Event: "Outer Bair Island restored to tidal action" Bair Island - Outer
2008-12-15 Groundwork end Bair Island - Outer
2006-12-06 Project start date
2002-01-01 Report Restoration Plan Issued.

People

TypeNameOrganizationDepartment
Contact Ivette Loredo USFWS - San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex Don Edwards
Partner Chris Barr USFWS - San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex Don Edwards
Partner Renee Spenst Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Not applicable/Unknown
Partner Laura Thompson Association of Bay Area Governments Not applicable/Unknown

Funding

PhaseActivityFunderAmount
None Restoration/Re-establishment SCC State Coastal Conservancy $1,320,000
None Restoration/Re-establishment CDWR California Department of Water Resources $1,232,500
None Restoration/Re-establishment Peninsula Open Space Trust $1,184,597
None Restoration/Re-establishment Cosco Busan Fund $1,063,000
None Restoration/Re-establishment San Francisco Public Utilities Commission $930,109
None Restoration/Re-establishment California State Parks Foundation $660,000
None Restoration/Re-establishment USFWS National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Program $554,485
None Restoration/Re-establishment WCB Wildlife Conservation Board $512,802
None Restoration/Rehabilitation Ducks Unlimited, Inc. $417,049
None Restoration/Re-establishment NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $307,650
None Restoration/Re-establishment City of Redwood City $300,000
None Restoration/Re-establishment USFWS North American Wetlands Conservation Act $206,910
None Restoration/Re-establishment Association of Bay Area Governments $200,000
None Restoration/Rehabilitation National Fish and Wildlife Foundation $171,301
None Restoration/Rehabilitation Peninsula Open Space Trust $92,367
None Restoration/Re-establishment Ducks Unlimited, Inc. $64,379
None Restoration/Re-establishment One Marina Homes $25,000
None Restoration/Re-establishment Lester Family Foundation $20,000
None Environmental Education/Outreach/Stewardship/Access Peninsula Open Space Trust $0

Related CRAM Assessments

Visit DateVersionSite NameWetland TypeIndex Score
2007-09-12 4.6 Inner Bair Island estuarine perennial saline 61
2005-09-13 3.55 Middle Bair Island estuarine perennial saline 76
Name File Type Submitted On Submitted By
Bair Island Web Page Other 2018-05-22 Cristina Grosso, San Francisco Estuary Institute

How to Use the Habitat Development Curve

Habitat Development Curves (HDCs) are used to determine the developmental status and trajectory of on-the-ground projects to create, restore, or enhance California wetland and stream habitats. Each HDC is based on assessments of habitat condition for different age areas of one habitat type that in aggregate represent the full spectrum of habitat development. The assessments of condition are provided by expert applications of the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM). Visit the CRAM website for more information about CRAM.

For each HDC, reference condition is represented by areas of a habitat that consistently get very high CRAM scores, have not been subject to disruptive management practices, and exist within landscapes that are protected and managed for their natural conditions. The horizontal lines intersecting the top of an HDC represent the mean CRAM score and standard deviation of scores for 25 qualifying reference areas.

The age of a project is estimated as the elapsed time in years between the groundwork end date for the project and the date of the CRAM assessment. To add or update a groundwork end date, use the Project Events form in Project Tracker (ptrack.ecoatlas.org). The minimum age in years of a non-project area, including any natural reference area, is estimated from all available local information, including historical maps and imagery, historical written accounts, and place-specific scientific studies of habitat development.

An HDC can be used to address the following questions:

  1. At what time in the future will the area of assessed habitat achieve the reference condition or other milestones in habitat development? The HDC can answer this question if the CRAM score for the assessed area is within the confidence interval of the HDC. The answer is the time in years along the HDC between the current age of the assessed area and the future date corresponding to the intersection of the HDC and the reference condition or other milestone.
  2. Is the area of assessed habitat likely to develop faster, slower, or at the same pace as most other areas of the same habitat type? The habitat area is likely to develop faster, slower, or at the same pace if the CRAM score for the area is above, below, or within the confidence interval of the HDC, respectively.
  3. What can be done to improve the condition of the habitat area or to increase its rate of development? HDCs by themselves cannot answer this question. Possible answers can be inferred by the following analysis that involves HDCs:
    1. Examine the HDC for each of the four CRAM Attributes;
    2. Identify the Attribute(s) scoring below the HDC;
    3. For any low-scoring Attribute, examine the component Metric Scores (note: the Metric Scores for any public CRAM assessment in the CRAM database can be obtained through EcoAtlas);
    4. Assume the low score of an Attribute is due to its low-scoring Metric(s);
    5. Consider modifying the design or management of the habitat area in ways that will sustainably increase its score(s) for the low-scoring Metric(s).

For more information about CRAM Attributes and Metrics, including their scientific rationale, see the CRAM Manual.

Display Habitat Development Curves For Wetland Type:

CRAM Site Scores