|
Cash for Drakes Estero will help species
|
By Mark Prado
|
The Drakes Estero watershed is in line for a major habitat improvement program that benefits three imperiled species, the Point Reyes National Seashore announced Wednesday. The seashore has received almost $2.5 million from the federal government to rip out or replace nine culverts or dams in disrepair, blocking the movement of water-based species. The work will restore natural conditions and improve habitat, officials said. "This is very exciting for us," said John Dell'Osso, seashore spokesman. "This will be a major improvement for coho salmon, steelhead trout and red-legged frogs, all of which are endangered or threatened." Overall, the project - which will begin in late summer and take 18 months to complete - will restore fish access to 20 miles of streams. The culverts and dams were built as part of development through the late 1950s. Congress established the seashore in 1962. The structures serve as barriers to the natural flow of fish and are generally bad for habitat, said Don Neubacher, seashore superintendent. "They cause fish passage problems," he said. "This is a fabulous project. We hear so much bad news about climate change, so this helps balance out some of that bad." Drakes Estero is a nationally-recognized marine resource. The waters of the Estero were designated by Congress as wilderness by the 1976 Point Reyes Wilderness Act. It is the only federal marine coastal wilderness between Washington state and Mexico and one of only 11 marine wilderness areas in the U.S. The estuary was recently designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, a site of regional Importance in the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan because it is critical to a diversity and abundance of shorebirds. A similar waterbird designation is pending. Drakes Estero is adjacent to Estero de Limantour, a state Ecological Marine Reserve, established in 1974 by the California Department of Fish and Game. "Money is tight at the federal level, but this project has been working itself through the process and is ready to go," Neubacher said. "It's good news we got the money." Contact Mark Prado via e-mail at mprado@marinij.com |
Copyright © 1999-2005 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers