Montara resident Bill Bechtel couldn't help but notice the construction activity just across from the old Chart House on Highway 1. Orange fences had sprung up and bulldozers were digging. It looked like a major construction site.
Except that nothing was actually being built.
This month Caltrans contractors are nearing the final stages of the Chart House Wetlands Mitigation Project, a task aimed at restoring a plot of Montara open space to its original soggy state.
Caltrans began the $1.3 million endeavor in 2005 in anticipation of construction of the Devil's Slide tunnels. Federal law requires that the state replace any wetlands harmed by construction - in this case, a one-acre stretch at the north end of the tunnel at Shamrock Ranch in Pacifica.
"We tried to go well beyond the requirement," explained Laurie Smith, a Caltrans landscape architect.
The restoration site, owned by the Peninsula Open Space Trust, covers more than five times the size of the land actually disturbed by the project.
Jason Minton, the Caltrans biologist overseeing the project, said a century of human activity had taken its toll on the site.
Agricultural fields had covered parts of the area in past decades, he said. And in recent years, invasive weeds had taken over much of what remained.
"When we're finished we'll have seasonal and transitional wetlands instead," Minton said.
But work hasn't been easy.
Crews spent months preparing the site, removing leftover fill from a bygone railroad line that had even discarded its old tracks there.
Next, workers unearthed truckloads of soil, redistributing it to create multiple elevations.
Officials expect the varied texture of uplands and wetlands will allow for greater biodiversity in the small site. Already the site is showing signs of revival as spring arrives on the Coastside.
Local species, including coyote bush, willows, reed grasses and juncus are starting to take root.
A man-made swale - 25 feet wide and 300 feet long - will provide a seasonal environment for herons, cattails and local bobcats that are known to come down from nearby mountains.
And a constructed pond nearby may eventually provide a home for local endangered species such as the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake.
Paul Ringgold, director of stewardship at POST, said the Chart House project joins a growing list of restoration projects on the land trust's properties that include erosion control at Pillar Point Bluff and replanting natives near Pigeon Point Lighthouse.
Eventually, Ringgold said the land will be transferred to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. But for now the trust has refurbished a trail that will allow visitors to see the site once the fences are taken down.
Bechtel, a member of the local Audubon Society, couldn't wait that long, however.
On Tuesday, he and a group of residents joined biologists for a walking tour of the site. Afterward, the group meandered around for a little bird-watching.
"We've seen the site under construction for some time now," he said. "Naturally we were curious what was going on in there."
