The Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals (1999) is a consensus, scientific blueprint which recommends that a healthy, sustainable Bay required at least 100,000 acres of tidal wetlands. In 1999, there were about 40,000 acres of tidal wetlands around the Bay. Yet today, the ambitious 100,000 acre goal is actually in sight.

• Government agencies, private organizations and land trusts have purchased 32,850 acres of restorable Bay shoreline, and are working toward restoring them today.
  
• Tidal action has been restored to some 4000 acres of shoreline areas.

To reach the 100,000 acre goal, an additional 22,000 acres will need to be purchased and restored from remaining diked historic baylands and salt ponds.

Save The Bay Charts a Course to Fund Wetland Restoration

"Greening the Bay: Financing Wetland Restoration in San Francisco Bay” is our vision for a vibrant, healthy Bay ecosystem. Wetland restoration can happen all around the Bay. Steady, sufficient funding is the main hurdle, and Greening the Bay charts a path on how we get there.

“With a modest annual average investment over 50 years – equivalent to $4 annually for each Bay Area resident – we can restore thousands of acres of thriving wetlands on the shoreline and reverse more than a century of degradation that reduced the size of our Bay by one-third,” according to Save The Bay Executive Director David Lewis. Polling shows overwhelming public support for Bay restoration and willingness to bear the cost.

Download Full Report (PDF) - 2MB
Download Press Release (PDF) - 90K

List of Endorsers:

• Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC)
• California Coastal Conservancy
• SF Bay Joint Venture
• Girl Scouts Bay Area
• PG&E
• SF Convention and Visitors Bureau
• William K. Reilly, former head, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Donald Kennedy, PhD., Editor-in-Chief of Science Magazine
• Bay Area Council
• Contra Costa Times

Generous support for Greening the Bay has been provided by: Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, Eucalyptus Foundation and Smart Family Foundation

Save The Bay is sponsor of AB 2954 (Lieber), a bill to establish the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, a regional special district that will raise and grant funds to restore shoreline wetland habitat around San Francisco Bay.

AB 2954 will help make San Francisco Bay healthier by implementing the principal recommendation of Save The Bay’s August 2007 report, “Greening the Bay: Financing Wetland Restoration in San Francisco Bay.” Greening The Bay strongly recommends a San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority to achieve the goal of a healthy Bay. For more information, click on the Greening tab, above.

Wetlands are the lungs of the Bay, giving life to hundreds of fish and wildlife species that depend on them for survival and billions of small organisms that thrive in Bay mud to form the base of the food chain. In addition to providing vital habitat for fish and wildlife, wetlands provide major benefits to the community:

• Clean water
• Economic benefits
• Helps Curb Global Warming
• Flood and Erosion Control

Save The Bay gives you an opportunity to participate in hands-on restoration of San Francisco Bay wetlands near you. These restoration activities improve habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife, and enhance our region’s quality of life. Join Save The Bay for a restoration program in your corner of the bay and while you get your hands dirty, learn about wetland ecology, how native plants improve Bay health, and threats affecting the Bay.

Learn More

Minnesota-based agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. is threatening to fill in and build on 1,433 acres of Bayfront salt ponds in Redwood City. Tell Cargill that San Francisco Bay cannot be sacrificed for profit. 

These former tidal wetlands must be included in the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge to benefit residents and as wildlife habitat. Learn more.