After three years of planning, Ducks Unlimited (DU) completed the 153 acre Moss Landing Salt Marsh Enhancement Project. This state Wildlife Area is situated on former commercial salt ponds that are intensely utilized by wintering waterfowl and nesting shorebirds. However, the Area's water infrastructure was designed for salt production, not wetland management. The project replaced structures and reconfigured dikes enhance salt/tidal marsh habitat.

The "replumbing" re-introduced natural tidal regime and managed salt marsh habitats into five ponds. Each pond can be now independently managed to provide deepwater wintering habitat for diving duck, mudflats for nesting shorebirds, and tidal marsh waterfowl feeding habitat.

The Moss Landing Salt Marsh Enhancement Project is a collaborative effort between Ducks Unlimited, California Department of Fish Game, and Point Reyes Bird Observatory Conservation Sciences. This project has received funding from Ducks Unlimited, the California Wildlife Conservation Board and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

This project is one of several active tidal/salt marsh restoration projects either underway or in development along California's north coast. Information gathered from this completed project will be evaluated and incorporated into upcoming Ducks Unlimited conservation projects, particularly in the San Francisco Bay area.

 

 

Salt Marsh Habitat at Moss Landing Wildlife Area
Salt Marsh habitat at Moss Landing Wildlife Area.