Tidal Wetland Project
In This Issue
New TWP Team Members
Outcomes of the Parsons Slough Public Meeting
TWP's Transition into a Decision Making Phase
Quick Links

Tidal Wetland Project Newsletter
March 2009
 

 
The Tidal Wetland Project (TWP) is an initiative of the
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Support is also provided by the Elkhorn Slough Foundation.
New TWP Team Members!
We are excited to announce that the Tidal Wetland Project staff has just doubled to a whopping four!  Our two new members, Monique Fountain and Kevin Fisher, bring a variety of contributions to the TWP team.

Monique Fountain joins us as the new Tidal Wetland Project Manager. She has an M.S. in Marine Science with an emphasis in invertebrate biology and population genetics. She spent six years at Hopkins Marine Station, Pacific Grove, working on the population genetics of salmon and trout. Monique most recently joined us from CTB/ McGraw-Hill where she received her Project Management certification (PMP) and was managing the research projects associated with large K-12 state assessment programs. Monique lives locally and outside of work, she can often be found in her kayak photographing wildlife.

Kevin Fisher is our new Wetland Scientist.  He been working on large-scale ecologic restoration projects since 1997. He specializes in interdisciplinary projects that require significant coordination between scientists and engineers. His applied experience in wetland science includes work in tidal marshes, freshwater wetlands and riparian  ecosystems. Kevin will be assisting TWP with the design, permitting and implementation of various restoration projects throughout the reserve.
Parsons aerialOutcomes of the Parsons Slough Project
Public Meeting

In December 2008 the Tidal Wetland Project hosted a public meeting to discuss restoration project alternatives for the Parsons Slough complex, including South Marsh, the Rookery Lagoon, Whistlestop Lagoon and the Five Fingers areas of the Reserve.  About 20 guests attended including nearby residents, business members, researchers, natural resource managers and docents and staff from the Elkhorn Slough Research Reserve and the Elkhorn Slough Foundation.  TWP Director Bryan Largay described the problem driving the restoration project, whereby historic human alterations contributed to a drop in elevation of former marshes and an increase in the amount of water flowing in and out of the Parsons Slough complex with each tidal cycle. This contributed to drowning of the marshes and conversion from marsh habitat to mudflat.  Chris Webb of the consulting firm Moffatt & Nichol described engineering concepts for potential salt marsh restoration actions. Parsons aerial The leading concept is to reduce the velocity of water moving in and out of the Parsons Slough complex using a submerged structure, or a sill, near the railroad track bridge, and potentially adding large amounts of mud to raise the surface of the subsided ground to elevations appropriate for marsh vegetation.

The presenters addressed several concerns identified by the audience.  They indicated that aesthetics of an implemented project were being taken into consideration, with the intent to retain sinuous tidal creeks and other contours.  Also, recreational use would not be effected since recreational access to the Parsons Slough complex is not currently permitted by the Reserve. 

An optimal restoration plan must accommodate additional values and concerns expressed by both the public and by scientific advisers and natural resource managers alike.  These include financial expense, potential impacts to water quality, the ability for animals to move in and out of Parsons Slough, and the potential loss of some ecologic functions currently provided by existing mudflat habitats within the Parsons Slough complex, such as the leopard shark nursery.  The Tidal Wetland Project is further exploring restoration options that take all of these factors into account. 

Please contact Bryan ([email protected]) or Erin ([email protected]) with questions or comments about this project. More information about the Parsons Slough Restoration Project and the Parsons Slough Restoration Plan draft final report are available on the web at http://www.elkhornslough.org/tidalwetland/parsons.htm
TWP's Transition into a Successful
Decision Making Phase

The primary goal for the next year of the Tidal Wetland Project is to reach agreement on the best course of action to restore and enhance estuarine habitats in Elkhorn Slough. These decisions will identify which conservation strategies to further consider or to eliminate.  Advancements made during the current phase of the Tidal Wetland Project- technical analysis of ecosystem dynamics and restoration alternatives, have largely been guided by the Strategic Planning Team, a group of key stakeholders, with expert input from the Science Panel, a large group of university, government and consulting scientists. The next steps are interpreting the results of technical analysis in light of the restoration alternatives and making a group decision about the optimal course of action to pursue.  The TWP team is dedicated to ensuring that this multi-dimensional process is executed with rigor from both a technical and social perspective.  phase diagram

To that end, we have retained the services of Dr. Brock Bernstein, an expert in crafting strategic processes to guide a group through the evaluation of complex information and coming to agreement.  Working with Dr. Bernstein, we will be challenged to design a strategy that accommodates tradeoffs - such as the loss of one type of habitat in order to gain another, and a strategy for dealing with scientific uncertainty - such as affects of sea level rise. 

The process of reaching group agreement will require effective communication and productive meetings.  Dr. Bernstein brings expert meeting facilitation skills to the process, and has a knack for engaging stakeholders to ensure that their knowledge, concerns and perspectives inform the decisions.  In addition, Tidal Wetland Project team members will be receiving training in meeting facilitation.  We are happy to be working with Dr. Bernstein and look forward to further advancements in our efforts to support the welfare of the Elkhorn Slough.
The Tidal Wetland Project's monthly email is intended to keep community members, local organizations, policy-makers, and other stakeholders up to date about current activities and ways to get involved with the Tidal Wetland Project. If you have any questions about items in this email, the project in general, or if you have suggestions for information you would like to see in future updates, please let us know!

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For general information about the Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project, go to http://elkhornslough.org/tidalwetlandproject/index.html.


Best Regards,

Bryan Largay- TWP Director
Erin McCarthy- TWP Specialist

Monique Fountain -TWP Project manager
Kevin Fisher- TWP Wetland Scientist