The lower college of marin (COM) corte madera creek restoration project (project) will restore approximately 1.5 acres of aquatic, tidal, transition zone, and riparian upland habitat in an important…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $1,541,128 Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration (CFDA 15.614) Project Grant to the State Coastal Conservancy to implement the Lower College of Marin Corte Madera Creek Habitat Restoration Project. This project will restore approximately 1.5 acres of aquatic, tidal, transition zone, and riparian upland habitat in the San Francisco Bay Estuary through the partial removal of a concrete channel and the restoration of native habitats. The project will also provide educational opportunities, public access paths, and long-term monitoring by the College of Marin and the Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed. The State Coastal Conservancy will provide a sub-grant to the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to execute the restoration work, which includes lowering concrete walls, installing large wood structures, and revegetating the site with native plants. This project aims to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of concrete channel removal as a method to restore natural creek processes and improve ecological connectivity between the creek and the San Francisco Bay.

The lower college of marin (COM) corte madera creek restoration project (project) will restore approximately 1.5 acres of aquatic, tidal, transition zone, and riparian upland habitat in an important part of the SAN francisco BAY estuary that has been degraded by channelization for flood control in the 1960S. The existing concrete channel deters the natural processes that build and maintain wetlands. The project will remedy the consequences of historic channelization by lowering one side wall in a 450-foot section and both walls in the downstream 150 feet of channel, enabling restoration of native habitats and improving natural creek processes. Lowering concrete walls will increase connectivity between stream flow and groundwater and will allow habitat for special status and other important local species to transition upwards with SLR, ensuring that fish and wildlife will have habitat into the future. Construction of this project will provide regional proof of concept and a model for similar projects that restore aquatic environments through the removal of concrete channels. The project is located where fresh water in corte madera creek mixes with the tidal waters of SAN francisco BAY. Mixing zones are some of the most ecologically rich and heavily impacted parts of the SAN francisco BAY area, and the project will restore these key habitats, benefitting a multitude of impacted species. The mostly non-native vegetation on site will be replaced with native vegetation, and other habitat enhancements will be made to benefit aquatic organisms, especially migrating steelhead trout. The project will provide water quality and flood risk benefits. IT will divert and treat stormwater using swales with native vegetation. Widening the channel will allow for more runoff water to flow, reducing flood risk in the area. The project will also provide educational opportunities and public access paths. The project was designed with input and collaboration with COM and the adjacent A.E. Kent middle school to provide students from local schools with environmental education opportunities. Friends of corte madera creek watershed, a community-driven non-profit, and COM, will collaborate to develop and implement monitoring programs and usage of the site as an outdoor classroom to learn about restoration and local ecosystem science. The project also includes paths to provide recreational benefits, safe routes to local schools, and connections for pedestrians and bicycle riders from communities in the upper watershed to reach the regional ferry and train transit system.with this funding, the state coastal conservancy will provide a pass-through grant to the marin county flood control and water conservation district for implementing the project. Other key partners include friends and COM. The funds requested will construct a project that (1) restores resilient habitats, (2) demonstrates the feasibility of creating living shorelines in place of concrete channels, (3) improves ecological connectivity of the creek to the BAY, (4) has a strong educational component, and (5) is part of a larger watershed-wide flood risk reduction program. The grant will fund project coordination and administration, pre-construction surveys for and protection of biological resources, site preparation, mobilization, dewatering, excavation of artificial fill, lowering of concrete walls, installation of boulder-anchored large wood, and final grading for RE-vegetation designed to adapt to SLR. Local and private funding will support revegetation and long-term monitoring of RE-vegetation in the restored habitats.