South Bay Salt Ponds: Alviso - A8 Pond Cluster - Ponds A8, A8S, A5, A7

Status Permitting County Santa Clara
Project Type Non-mitigation Location 37.42858° N, -121.99165° W Map
Project Area (Acres) 1,460 Last Updated 18 September 2021
Project Abstract This project linked four former salt ponds and converted them to reversibly muted tidal habitat. Goals of this controlled tidal restoration were to benefit endangered and aquatic species and manage ponds for migratory shorebirds and waterfowl. Additional work will create 20 acres of ecotone habitat.
Project Groups San Francisco Bay Adaptation | San Francisco Bay Joint Venture | San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (Eligible) | South Bay Salt Ponds | South Bay Salt Ponds: Phase 1
Administrative Region San Francisco Bay Joint Venture - Jemma Williams, SFBJV

Project Identification

IDType
645 JV - Record Number

Habitat Plan

Site NamePhaseActivitySubActivitiesHabitatSubHabitatAcresActivity StatusWater Regime
Pond A5 None Restoration (unspecified) Estuarine Wetland Open water 615.0 Completed Muted tidal
Pond A7 None Restoration (unspecified) Estuarine Wetland Open water 255.0 Completed Muted tidal
Pond A8 None Restoration (unspecified) Infrastructure, Water Management Estuarine Wetland Open water 410.0 Completed Muted tidal
Pond A8S None Creation/Establishment Unspecified, Wildlife-specific Measures Bay Habitat (SFBJV Only) Tidal marsh 20.00 Permitting Fully tidal
Pond A8S None Restoration (unspecified) Estuarine Wetland Open water 160.0 Completed Muted tidal

Related Habitat Impacts

Impact Project NameHabitatAcres LostType of Loss
No Data

Sites

NameStatusAcres
Pond A5 Completed 615.0
Pond A7 Completed 255.0
Pond A8 Completed 410.0
Pond A8S Permitting 180.0

Events

DateTypeDescriptionSite Name
2018-10-30 Permit The environmental permits were issued over several months in 2017 and into mid-2018.
2011-06-01 Levee breach
2011-06-01 Project end date
2010-01-13 Groundwork start
2006-12-06 Project start date

People

TypeNameOrganizationDepartment
Contact Dave Halsing State Coastal Conservancy Not applicable/Unknown
Contact Brenda Buxton State Coastal Conservancy Not applicable/Unknown
Contact Anne Morkill USFWS - San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex Not applicable/Unknown
Contact Amy Hutzel State Coastal Conservancy Not applicable/Unknown

Funding

PhaseActivityFunderAmount
None Restoration (unspecified) Santa Clara Valley Water District $1,300,000
None Restoration (unspecified) SCC State Coastal Conservancy $1,100,000
None Restoration (unspecified) NOAA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act $1,024,549
None Restoration (unspecified) State Water Resources Control Board $1,000,000

Related CRAM Assessments

Visit DateVersionSite NameWetland TypeIndex Score
2018-08-22 6.1 CC-135-Tidal tidal riverine 52
2018-05-22 6.1 CC-135 riverine non-confined 58
2007-06-20 4.6 Guadalupe Slough estuarine perennial saline 76

No files found.

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