At a public symposium yesterday, scientists from USGS, Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, and other organizations presented research updates on the massive wetland restoration effort happening now in southern San Francisco Bay -- the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project.

Paul Rogers of the San Jose Mercury News reported on the day's worth of science talks in this February 4th article:


"Between 2002 and 2010, the number of dabbling ducks, which include pintail, northern shoveler and other species, increased from roughly five per 2.4 acres to 12 per 2.4 acres in 23 former salt ponds around Alviso. Arriana Brand, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey who conducted the study, also found that medium-size shorebirds, including willets, stilts and godwits, doubled in number in the Alviso ponds over the same time, while smaller shorebirds, such as sandpipers, nearly doubled."


Arriana Brand and other USGS biologists work with lead scientist John Takekawa at WERC's San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station in Vallejo, CA. Science from Brand's waterbird studies will help this restoration project adapt its management and decision plans.

The symposium hall was a full house packed with over 160 researchers, managers and citizens, with over 60 viewers on the live webcast during the day. Video recordings of all symposium talks will be posted on the USGS multimedia page in the near future.

Check out the symposium photos at the Facebook fan page of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, taken by Doug Cordell of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

-- Ben Young Landis

Top: Northern shovelers are a type of dabbling duck. Image courtesy of Tom Munson/Idaho Department of Fish and Game.