Salt Pond SF2 Restoration, Wildlife, and Habitat Protection

In March of 2003, Federal, State and private agencies initiated the largest tidal wetland restoration on the west coast. SF2 is a 260-acre managed pond project intended to be a bird habitat with controllable, variable water depth and salinity, and featuring nesting islands and public access/viewing areas. The work includes improvements to the existing flood control levee and construction of berms, canals, islands, water control structures and public access features. The soft soils of the tidal marsh areas and the need for fine control over water depths and flow rates present challenges for the project. While typically a project challenge, funding for SF2 serves as an opportunity for other agencies and developers to meet their own project mitigation goals. Over the next few decades, biologists will make use of SF2 and other ponds to study wildlife in controlled habitats, a fine example of how civil engineering can be used to achieve both environmental and public policy goals.