Acreage/Location
The Azevedo Marsh Complex is located on eastern side of Elkhorn Slough, approximately 4.5 miles from the mouth. These marshes are named Northern Azevedo Pond (12.2 acres),
  
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Middle Azevedo Pond (6.3 acres),
 
and Southern Azevedo Pond (2.3 acres).
In some reports, the Northern Azevedo Pond (NAP) is further divided into north and south sections.
Past Human Activities (Modifications/Restoration/Management)
The Azevedo Marshes are separated from the main system by a railroad embankment (built in 1872).
 
There are openings under the railroad embankment that contain four wooden box culverts (three contain 8-15 inch diameter pipes) located in Northern Azevedo Pond-North site,
Northern Azevedo Pond-South site,
Middle Azevedo Pond, and
 
Southern Azevedo Pond.
  
There is also an earthen, horseshoe-shaped levee on the east side of the railroad culverts at  the NAP North site (which seems ready to fail and is definitely overtopped at high tide). It is likely that the levees were built to prevent tidal inundation to farmland after the Harbor mouth was constructed and to provide greater control of freshwater drainage.
The 135-acre Azevedo Agriculture and Natural Resource Site was purchased in 1991 by the Monterey County Agricultural and Historic Lands Conservancy (MCAHLC) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) through a State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) grant (included both wetlands and uplands). The reason for this acquisition was to protect agricultural and natural resources on the site by developing a working farm and research site to evaluate methods to reduce impacts from agriculture on resources areas in a cost effective and practical manner. Agricultural use was pulled back from the edges of these pocket marshes for the establishment of 100-ft wide vegetated buffers strips from 1994 to 1995. Since the 1990’s, sediment basins and other erosion control improvements have been installed at the Azevedo sites and continue to be installed as needed. In 1993 an Enhancement Plan for the Azevedo Marshes: Hydrologic Elements report was prepared by Robert Coats of Philip Williams & Associates, Ltd. for The Nature Conservancy. Then, in February 2000, an Azevedo Agricultural and Natural Resource Site Management Plan for the MCAHLC and SCC (in cooperation with TNC and the Elkhorn Slough Foundation (ESF)) was prepared by Laurel Marcus and Associates. These plans recommended wetland enhancement activities for Northern and Southern Azevedo Ponds, and that a plan for these activities would be developed.
 
 
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Current Management/Ownership
TNC owns the Azevedo Marsh Complex (21 acres). TNC and MCAHLC jointly own the adjacent upland areas (114 acres). TNC’s lands are managed by ESF.
ESF, with approval from TNC, is currently funded (by the State Coastal Conservancy from Port of Santa Cruz Mitigation and Proposition 50 funds) to restore and enhance Azevedo NAP and SAP Marshes. The wetland enhancement project will aim to reduce tidal erosion and conserve/create marsh habitat. The project plans have been permitted and the implementation of the proposed wetland enhancement and restoration activities will likely be completed by spring 2008.
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