From Salt Ponds to Wetlands
For more than 100 years, the southern shoreline of San Francisco Bay has been a center for industrial salt production. Now, in an attempt to roll back the clock, federal and state biologists are working on a 40-year, $1 billion project to restore the ponds to healthy wetlands for fish, wildlife and public recreation. QUEST visits the largest wetlands restoration project in the West.
You may view the "From Salt Ponds to Wetlands" TV story online, as well as find additional links and resources.
Chris Bauer is a Segment Producer for television on QUEST, and is the producer for this story.
3 Comments
I wonder how much thought has gone into the matter of the Artemia (brine shrimp) populations
in the South regions of the SF Bay? These animals are not only critical parts of several food chains but are among the most unique species of Artemia in the world. It would be a disaster to those who use these organisms for basic research if they were to disappear, or even be reduced to very small populations.
You'll be glad to know that approximately 9600 acres of active salt ponds will remain within the Refuge. These ponds are what we call "mid-salinity" ponds where brine shrimp pre-dominate and you find the avocets, black-neck stilts and other shore birds. Indeed, these ponds formed the core of the Refuge when it was created in 1979 and have served a dual use ever since. They slowly concentrating salt brines and provide habitat. Over several years, the brines are moved to Cargill's industrial plant site in Newark where the salt precipitates on crystallizer beds and is mechanically harvested.
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