Triangle Marsh worth celebrating
The site was once earmarked to be filled and turned into a bayside subdivison, but today it is restored marshland. Marin Audubon has been able to turn back the clock, restoring the acreage off Paradise Drive by removing 8,000 cubic yards of material, reopening the site to tidal action and replanting native landscape. It is small in terms of the square miles of bay wetlands that have been lost to development, but Triangle Marsh is still an impressive step in the right direction and another recognition of baylands' critical link in the chain of San Francisco Bay 's ecosystem. Marin Audubon bought the property in 1999 for $750,000 and has been at work restoring the acreage into a healthy wetlands. "This is one of many little corners of Marin that has been saved from certain destruction and brought back into great natural beauty," said Sam Schuchat, executive officer of the state Coastal Conservancy, which financially supported the Marin Audubon project. Last week's celebration was another example of Marin Audubon walking its talk. We may not agree with its stance on every issue, Marin Audubon deserves respect for its ardent defense of wetlands and praise for its successes. Triangle Marsh is the latest of its restoration projects, which have included wetlands off Smith Ranch Road in San Rafael and land near the Redwood Landfill north of Novato . It is also making progress toward winning approvals for its plan to restore the wetlands at Bahia in Novato . The dedication of Triangle Marsh is another fine example of Marin residents working together to restore wetlands and strengthen the ecological health of the bay. |