Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project

TWP Email Bulletin
Sent 11/06

Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project - November Update

1) Reminder: Community Walking Tour on Saturday, December 2nd from 2-3:30 pm
There are still several spaces available on our December Community Walking Tour around the wetlands of Elkhorn Slough’s Kirby Park. Join fellow community members on this educational walking tour, during which we will see firsthand what marsh loss and bank erosion look like at the Slough. We will also focus on how this area of the Slough has changed over the years and what current efforts are underway to keep the Slough healthy for all those who rely on it. Don’t miss this opportunity to see for yourself what’s happening in the Slough! Space is limited so please RSVP to kmerin@elkhornslough.org or at (831) 728-5939 x242. Fore more information, go to http://www.elkhornslough.org/tidalwetland/forums.htm.

2) Consulting Team Chosen to Model Potential Restoration Alternatives
As mentioned in last month’s email update, the Elkhorn Slough Reserve, through the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, released an RFP (request for proposals) to solicit a consulting team to model and evaluate potential restoration alternatives to protect the Slough’s tidal habitats. After much deliberation, the Tidal Wetland Project’s Modeling Advisory Team selected the consulting team of Philip Williams & Associates, Ltd., who will use hydrodynamic modeling to evaluate the potential outcomes of several large-scale restoration alternatives compared with the outcome of a “no action” alternative. To learn more about the scope of this project, check out the RFP description at http://www.elkhornslough.org/tidalwetlandproject

3) Elkhorn Slough’s Ecosystem-based Management at the California and the World Ocean Conference
This past September, Tidal Wetland Project Coordinator Barb Peichel was invited to speak at the nation-wide California and the World Ocean conference in a panel discussion entitled “Local and Regional Perspectives on Implementing Marine Ecosystem-based Management” Ms. Peichel spoke about the innovative ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach being implemented for the Tidal Wetland Project (TWP), which has been made possible by grants from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation. TWP will be using an EBM approach to focus on how different restoration alternatives would affect the interaction of such factors as water quality, sediment changes and tidal velocity within Slough ecosystems, and how each restoration alternative could impact socioeconomic conditions for human users of the Slough. To find out more about EBM, go to COMPASS’ Consensus Statement on Ecosystem-based Management, which can be accessed from http://compassonline.org/?q=EBM.

4) Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Strategic Plan
Within the next several months, the DRAFT Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Strategic Plan will be released. This plan will summarize our current understanding of Elkhorn Slough’s tidal habitats, its main threats, and recommendations to conserve and restore these crucial habitats. Stay tuned for more details about when this document will be released and how to provide your feedback on it.

The Tidal Wetland Project’s monthly email is sent out during the middle of each month and 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 or if you have suggestions of items you would like to see in future emails, please let us know! If you do not wish to receive these emails in the future, or if you only want to receive e-mail updates about upcoming Forums and events, please reply to this email to notify us.

Kind Regards,
The Tidal Wetland Project Team

Barb Peichel, Tidal Wetland Project Coordinator
(831) 728-2822 x308

Kimberly Merin, Tidal Wetlands Program Specialist
(831) 728-5939 x242

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