Tidal Wetland Project Newsletter
November 2010
The Tidal Wetland Project (TWP) is an initiative of the
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
and is also supported by the Elkhorn Slough Foundation. |
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Construction in the Slough
The Parsons Slough Project has begun! The staging for construction materials is underway at Kirby Park and work on the water is set to begin November 12th.
 | | The construction of this restoration project will be performed by Cooper Crane (seen above restoring wetlands in the San Francisco bay) under the oversight of Ducks Unlimited and the Tidal Wetland Project. |
Kirby Park has been selected as the staging area for construction. Materials began arriving at Kirby Park during the week of November 1st with construction at the mouth of Parsons Slough to follow this Friday. The staging area will include the middle section of the parking lot at Kirby Park and will have safety fencing. Access to trails and the water at Kirby Park will remain open to the public through the duration of construction, which is expected to last through mid February.
The project will facilitate public access by repairing the Kirby Park parking lot. In addition, the Elkhorn Slough Foundation and Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve will provide a new dock to the Moss Landing Harbor District to facilitate kayaking and canoeing in the slough.
The purpose of the Parsons Slough Project is the construction of an underwater sill, a structure that acts like a submerged speed bump to slow the outgoing tide. The sill is designed to reduce erosion in the Elkhorn Slough, caused by strong tidal currents, and in doing so the project will conserve key wetlands, protect wildlife and reduce impacts on infrastructure.
The sill that will be built has been designed to permit marine mammals, fish, and other slough life to pass through the sill safely. The structure will be built of interlocking sheet piles and rock and will be submerged across most of the channel. Its construction will entail use of barges that will travel along the three miles of the channel between the staging area at Kirby Park and the construction site at Parsons Slough.
The project has been planned with input from over 100 coastal resource managers, scientific experts, representatives from key regulatory and jurisdictional entities, leaders of conservation organizations, and community members. The planning effort has been lead by the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. The sill site, part of the reserve, is owned and managed by the California Department of Fish and Game in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Funding for the project includes $4.5 M from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Additional funding from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Coastal Conservancy supported the planning process preceding this award, for a total expected investment of more than $6 million.
For questions about the latest progress on the Parsons Slough Project, please email your thoughts to twpinfo@elkhornslough.org.
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