The Parsons Slough Project Find out more about this important slough restoration project...

The Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project is a collaborative effort to develop and implement strategies to conserve and restore estuarine habitats in the Elkhorn Slough watershed.  This collaboration, initiated in 2004, involves over 100 coastal resource managers, scientific experts, representatives from key regulatory and jurisdictional entities, leaders of conservation organizations, and community members.

Fifty percent, or 1,000 acres, of Elkhorn Slough’s salt marshes have been lost over the past 150 years due to human actions.  Marsh loss and estuarine habitat erosion in Elkhorn Slough is currently ongoing with channel bank erosion rates from 1 to 2 feet per year and interior marsh dieback rates of at least 3 acres per year.  These rapid changes not only affect the estuary’s animals and plants, but also impact public access sites and railroad and road infrastructure.  In addition, Elkhorn Slough’s estuarine habitats suffer from subsidence, degraded water quality conditions, and invasion of non-native species.

 

The final Philip Williams and Associates report on the projected effects of major actions on Elkhorn Slough hydrodynamics, geomorphology and habitats is posted here.

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Download the Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project Strategic Plan!  This document describes Elkhorn Slough’s estuarine habitats, characterizes the main impacts causing loss and degradation of those habitats, and provides conservation and restoration recommendations.

 

Map of Elkhorn Slough's Estuarine Habitats

Fact sheet about Elkhorn Slough’s Marsh Loss and Habitat Erosion

The Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project is a collaborative effort led by the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve. The Elkhorn Slough Reserve is owned and managed by the California Department of Fish and Game in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Elkhorn Slough Foundation.

Grant funding for this project has been provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Impact Assistance Program, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Coastal Conservancy.