Ducks Unlimited breaches Cullinan Ranch levee, creating new wetlands in SF Bay Area
DU Vice President Paul Bonderson, Chief Policy Officer Margaret Everson, and WRO Director Mark Biddlecomb were on hand to watch the Cullinan breach.
Ducks Unlimited and several partners on Tuesday dramatically reintroduced tidal waters to the 1,575-acre Cullinan Ranch Unit of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge in California by lowering and breaching an aging perimeter levee, capping the restoration of more than 6,100 acres of contiguous tidal marsh habitat in the northern San Francisco Bay estuary.
“It has taken a concerted effort to advance Cullinan Ranch to this point, from the committed individuals who fought to preserve this land, to the many partners who pledged funding to make the vision a reality,” said Renee Spenst, regional biologist for Ducks Unlimited. “It is incredibly exciting to see this giant puzzle piece in the middle of the Napa-Sonoma Marsh complex begin to turn back into something more like what it was historically.”
DU Regional Engineer Russ Lowgren explains the project. – Anne Hansen
To read the full news release, click here.
The media event drew over 100 guests just off Highway 37 in between Vallejo and Sears Point and featured several speakers, including DU Vice President Paul Bonderson, who was on hand to witness the spectacular breach. The seawater that poured through the levee was the first to touch Cullinan’s soil in over 100 years, which was converted to oats and hay farmland in the 1880s.
Cullinan Ranch currently offers public access at the west end of the property, including a walking trail, a kayak launch, and a wildlife observation platform, and the area will eventually provide migration and wintering habitat for mallard, northern pintail, American wigeon, gadwall, northern shoveler, canvasback, and greater and lesser scaup.
MEDIA COVERAGE LINKS:
- SF Chonicle
- KPIX 5 – CBS
- KQED Radio
- Vallejo Times Herald
- Contra Costa Times
