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Wetlands Not Warehouses
Suffice it to say, relations between the Port of Oakland and environmentalists haven't always been smooth. But on June 10, there were smiles all around as the water began flowing into a newly restored patch of wetlands at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline.
The levee breaching ceremony ended years of legal wrangling over the 70 acres bordering the Arrowhead Marsh. In the 1970s, the Port had begun filling what had once been part of a vast tidal marsh, planning to build a distribution center for the nearby Oakland Airport. In 1987 a coalition of environmental groups filed suit, charging the Port's actions violated the Clean Water Act.
After battling it out on the legal front, the two sides agreed on a settlement - rather than warehouses, there'll be a mix of tidal and seasonal wetlands on the site. Instead of trucks hauling freight, clapper rails will build nests deep in the freshly planted cordgrass and shorebirds will stop for a rest on the way to and from breeding grounds.
The Port's Jody Zaitlin says that it cost $2.5 million to create the 37 acres of tidal marsh, and 27.5 acres of seasonal wetlands. Bulldozers carved out three seasonal wetland ponds on the higher ground, and cut channels to let the waters of the Bay into tidal marsh. Crews "seeded" some areas with native cordgrass, and dug tunnels into several small hillocks for burrowing owls. They also built a pathway for birdwatchers along the edge of the site and two "loafing islands" for the avians themselves.
The project was designed by Levine-Fricke-Recon. The company's Rob Levanthal says designers faced technical challenges, such as creating suitable habitat for the endangered clapper rails, and at the same time had to satisfy the sometimes diverse interests of various stakeholders. Everything from the height of the fences surrounding the site to the configuration of slopes near the seasonal ponds had to be negotiated between the S.F. Bay Commission, the East Bay Regional Park District, environmentalists and the Port before the actual work could begin.
It's up to nature to put the finishing touches on the project. The cordgrass will take a decade or more to fill in, and the tides will reconfigure at least some channels over the years. At some point the property will be turned over to the park district and added to the Shoreline.
Right now, everyone is excited about the results. "This is going to bring back important habitat to San Leandro Bay," says the Audubon Society's Arthur Feinstein, who notes that tidal marsh once occupied 1,800 acres, stretching from the Airport to the Oakland Coliseum and beyond. Feinstein praises the Port staff for working cooperatively with environmentalists once the legal issues were resolved. Zaitlin adds that the results show that when the Port and environmentalists work together, "Something good can come out of it."
The Port plans to develop 33 acres next door for commercial uses, and the project makes the site more attractive, Zaitlin says. "This is gong to be a great amenity for people working over there."
Contact: Jody Zaitlin (510)272-1100
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