PG&E joins Save the Bay in cleaning wetlands
Save the Bay, an environmental advocacy organization, led the 4th annual Ring the Bay Day so that the land can eventually be restored to its natural wetlands state and opened to the public after more than 150 years in salt production. PG&E chief executive Tom King presented a $40,000 check to Save the Bay. "Wetlands are important for birds and fish — salmon still exist here," said Marilyn Latta, restoration director for Save the Bay. "The plants also act as a big filter and a sponge to prevent and control flooding." The volunteers collected 1,000 pounds of trash. They also gathered seeds and cuttings from the alkali heath and the gum plant, known for secreting a sticky resin to defend against the insects that try to eat its yellow flowers. The volunteers potted about 800 seedlings, which will be replanted at the 600-acre pond after the winter rains start and once the levies at Old Alameda and North creeks are opened, to help restore a nesting habitat for the snowy plover. The PG&E donation funds a watershed education program that involves local children in planting, pulling and trash collection projects. It also funds the Canoes and Sloughs program, through which high school and middle school students learn about restoration while canoeing in the marsh habitat. Bill Gaedtke, a duck hunter from Stockton, said, "This is the most amazing place. You step through those gates and you're in 50,000 acres of wilderness." The Eden Landing levees were erected in the 1850s when pioneer families began salt harvesting operations that were bought by Cargill in the early 1900s. In the early 1990s, the California Department of Fish and Game bought the land. |
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