THE In 1769, a squad of Spanish soldiers stumbled upon a vast bay surrounded by marshland teeming with life. This bay and inland WILDLIFE ETHICS delta, which in those days covered 500 square miles of open water and another 850 square miles of wetlands, eventually came to be called the San Francisco Bay Estuary. Early explorers described Pay Attention to Behavior. Paddle at a Constant Speed. Plan Your Trip to Avoid Sensitive Habitat. whales and sea otters playing at the bay’s surface, huge salmon and sturgeon cruising beneath, oysters and mussels blanketing the bottom, and sky-darkening flocks of ducks, geese and shorebirds overhead. Pay attention to signs that wildlife are Avoid paddling directly at wildlife. When Avoid narrow sloughs, seal haul-outs, and being disturbed, such as moving away, passing, maintain constant direction and other areas where you know sensitive As the population of the Bay Area grew, much of this historic abundance was diminished by habitat loss, overexploitation, and pollution. Alongside this restoration has been a rediscovery of the Bay as a place for recreation. Today, the growing observing you, and fidgeting. If you notice speed, and avoid sudden stops or changes. species occur. Only land in designated areas these behaviors you are too close and and respect seasonal closures and wildlife Over 90 percent of the historic that surrounded the San Francisco Bay and its tributaries were diked or filled for agriculture, Water Trail and over 350 miles of connect should quietly back away. buffer distances. industry, and housing for generations of residents and migrants to the Bay Area. Once plentiful species, like the Ridgway’s rail and communities to iconic waterfronts and an expanding network of parks, beaches, and steelhead trout, became threatened with extinction. By the early 1960s, the Bay was choked with pollution and citizens had access to open spaces, including one of the nation’s largest urban wildlife refuges. only a few miles of Bay shoreline. So get out there and explore, learn, and do your part to protect the Bay. Stormwater runoff is the single largest source of Bay pollution In the past few decades, thanks to the vision and hard work of passionate citizens, thousands of acres of shoreline have been protected and it is one of the most visible environmental problems plaguing the Bay Area. and thousands more are being actively restored to tidal wetlands. Despite a continually growing population, progress has been made to In most Bay Area cities, trash in our streets flows directly into curbside storm drains improve water quality, protect and expand habitat, and to make shorelines more resilient to sea level rise. For the first time in decades, and out into San Francisco Bay, untreated. Plastic and Styrofoam, particularly bags, bottles, and species like harbor porpoises and whales are returning to the BayBay.. CREEKS & RIVERS cigarette butts, comprise most of our region’s trash. Every year, marine wildlife like harbor seals, sea birds, and turtles, are killed when they eat or are entangled in trash.

The San Francisco Bay watershed begins in the Mountains and ends at the . ! The best way to solve our region’s trash crisis is by reducing trash at the Connecting these two is a vast network of creeks, rivers, and wetlands. While providing wildlife habitat source—a responsibility that we all share. Small actions, like using reusable bags and coffee and fantastic places to recreate, these waterways and open lands also provide important ecosystem mugs, can make a big difference. Incorporating “Bay Smart” solutions into our communities, services that include filtering pollutants, reducing flood hazards, sequestering carbon, and recharging such as greening urban areas with street trees, rain gardens, and trash capture devices, is also critical for our Bay to thrive. groundwater supplies.

Creeks and rivers form corridors that many species rely on to migrate between upland habitats and the Bay, including river otters and endangered steelhead trout. Restoring creeks and rivers to their natural form and function supports SHORELINE & OPEN BBAYAY threatened species and will increase the resilience of our region to climate change. The beautifulbeautiful shorelineshoreline andand openopen water of the San FranciscoFrancisco Bay ggivesives the Bay Area itsits iconiciconic identity,identity, Go Explore! lies just below the confluence of the Sacramento and Delta. contrcontributingibuting to the qualityquality of llifeife for over 7.5 mmillionillion residentsresidents and drawingdrawing visitorsvisitors from all over the world. Before it was diked and drained, the fresh waters of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, Mokelumne, and But the BayBay is more than justjust a scenic backdrop - below the surface, waters nourish diverse habitats Cosumnes rivers collected and moved downstream through a complex array of channels into the San Francisco Bay. includingincluding eeelgrass,elgrass, mudflats,mudflats, and oyster reefs.reefs. TThesehese habitats,habitats, sustainedsustained byby nutrientsnutrients from marinemarine and Today, the Delta, with its rich farmland, is freshwater systems, create a richrich environmentenvironment criticalcritical to a widewide varietyvariety of speciesspecies for feeding,feeding, shelter, and the engineered junction of one of the reproduction. Harbor seals, cormorants, leopard sharks, and Chinook salmon, alongalong with ooverver 380 speciesspecies largest plumbing systems, where of fish and wildlife,wildlife, lliveive in or pass through this open water habitat during their life cycles.cycles. much of the system’s fresh water is diverted to supply TheThe San Francisco Bay Estuary attracts over a millionmillion TThehe daily turn of the tides has a profound ininfluencefluence on the ’s population centers shorebirdsshorebirds every year — more thanthan any otherother wetlandwetland areaarea in SSanan Francisco Bay. Much ofof the Bay is less than 15 feetfeet deepdeep,, and Central Valley California.California. In addition to providingproviding year-roundyear-round habitat to ssoo as the tide recedes vast mudmudflatsflats are exexposed.posed. These Agriculture. species like the black-necked stilt and the American avocet,avocet, mudmudflatsflats support a complex theh EstuaryEstuary is an important winter stopover forfor migratorymigratory ecosecosystemystem ooff crabs, clams, shorebirds like sandpipers,sandpipers, terns, and plovers.plovers. Because worms anandd other migratorymigratory birdsbirds oftenoften travel thousands ofof miles, being able to invertebratesinvertebrates.. When feedfeed and regain energyenergy without disturbance is critical to theirtheir exexposedposed at low tides, health as theythey make their wawayy along the PPacificacific FlFlyway.yway. these mumudflatdflat ororganismsganisms provide a SaveSave the Bay! LLargearge ggroupsroups of flofloatingating birds, known as rrichich buffetbuffet forfor birbirdsds “rafts”, are particularly vulnerable to disturbance byby anandd terrestrial boaters. RafRaftsts proprovidevide birds withwith protectionprotection fromfrom predatorspredators sspecies.pecies. SimilarlSimilarly,y, MARSHESMARSHES & SSLOUGHSLOUGHS aandnd allows them to feed and replenish their energy for the when the titidede turns rest of the migratmigration.ion. DisturbingDisturbing thesethese exhausted, aandnd these arareaseas Where rivers meet ocean tides, life thrives. In the San Francisco Bay,Bay, these transition zones ffamishedamished birds depletes their energy and bbecomeecome submesubmergedrged of saltsaltyy and fresh water are home to tidal marshes that harbor an abundance of species. may afaffectfect their survival. If you nonoticetice aagain,gain, aquatic hunters like rafting birds changing theitheirr Established marshes are characterized bbyy snaking channels and sloughs winding bat raraysys and leopard sharks move behavbehavior,ior, you are too iinn to ffeed.eed. through habitat dominated bby ppacificacific cordgrass and pickleweed – plants cloclose!se! speciallyspecially adapted to survive in saltsaltyy water. Marshes are rich habitats that provide Safety FirstFirst!! BeBeforefore every launch, alwalwaysays knknowow what the critical winter feeding grounds foforr over a mmillionillion migramigratorytory bbirds,irds, a nursery for young ttidesides are doingdoing and how they mmightight affect your ababilityility to fishfish and crabs, and a full-time home for manmanyy others. return to shore. Plan your trtripip based on favorable ttide,ide, current, and weather predpredictions.ictions. If a paddlpaddlinging trtripip iiss Throughout the Bay, most of the historic tidal marshlands have been filled in or isolated from the Bay’s poorly plannplanned,ed, youyou can get caughtcaught fifightingghting stronstrongg waterswaters byb levees and converted for industry, farms, or salt production. Through habhabitatitat restoration,restoration, many ofof ccurrentsurrents or stuck durduringing low tidetide iinn mudflats these diked baylandsbaylands are being returned to the tides. Wetlands reborn from levee breaches, in managed far frfromom a llaunchaunch ssite.ite. ponds and marshes that have been disconnected from the tides, have shown speedyspeedy recoverrecoveryy rates. These recovering wetlands provide important habitat for wildlife and ideal opportunities for explorationexplorationo bbyy kakayak,yak, canoe, or ppaddleboard.addleboard.

Wetlands act as gigiantant spsponges,onges, absorabsorbingbing flfloodwatersoodwaters duduringring sstormtorm events and slslowlyowly rreleasingeleasing Bay Miwok,Miwok, Coast Miwok, Ohlone/Costanoan,Ohlone/Costanoan, Plains Miwok, runoff back into the Bay.Bay. Established marshes act as the first line of flfloodood defense to protprotectect Yokuts, and Patwin tribes thrivedthrived alongalong the San Francisco BayBay shoreline communities and infrastructureinfrastructure ffromrom storm wave action and tidal sursurge.ge. In order EstuaryEstuary forfor at least 8,000 yearsyears and skillfullyskillfully navigated the BayBay in boats toto provide habitat and ttoo protect the shoreline from storms and sea level rise, aagencies,gencies, mademade ofof bundledbundled tuletule reeds.reeds. non-profits,non-profits, and ththee privprivateate sector have been workingworking towardstowards a goalgoal of re-establishingre-establishing TheseThese craft,craft, some ofof whiwhichch werweree larglargee enouenoughgh to hold 1122 peoppeople,le, were 100,000100,000 acres ofof marsh on the San Francisco BayBay shoreline. usedused for hunting, fishing, and gathering, and to traverse the BayBay for trade.trade. Go Explore! Suisun City Marina proviprovidesdes boat access to the ssloughsloughs and channels ooff , which is one of the largest contiguous wetland preserves in the nation. GoGo Explore!Explore! Paddling from the Antioch Marina or Big Break Regional The 84,000-acre marsh lures bird-watchers,bird-watchers, fishermen,fishermen, hunters, and all cacategoriestegories of ShorelineShoreline providesprovides excellent withwith opportunitiesopportunities to see a wwideide varvarietyiety boaters to explore and enjoy. Extensive restoration is turning former farmlands back to of birdsbirds includingincluding great blue herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, green tidaltidal marsh, provprovidingiding a home to a varvarietyiety of specspeciesies iincludingncluding RRidgway’sidgway’s rarail,il, black rarail,il, heronsherons andand white-facedwhite-faced iibis.bis. ExExtensivetensive mmarshesarshes known ttoo concontaintain ssensitiveensitive andand sasaltlt mmarsharsh hharvestarvest mmouse.ouse. speciesspecies and habitatshabitats occur on islandsislands and along the shorelineshoreline of the San JoaquinJoaquin and Sacramento Rivers so enjoyenjoy,, but take caution to avoid lalandingnding in sensitive habithabitatsats or disturbing nesting birds.

INVESTINGINVESTING FOR THE FUTURFUTUREE

In 2016, BayBay Area residents overwhelminglyoverwhelmingly voted forfor the San Francisco BayBay Clean Water, PollutionPollution PreventionPrevention andand HabitatHabitat RestorationRestoration MeasureMeasure. The Water Trail is a ggrowingrowing network of launch and landinlandingg sites, or "tra"trailheads,"ilheads," that encouraencouragege people iinn non-motornon-motorizedized smasmallll boatsa to TheThe EstuEstuaryary PartnershipPartnership iiss a coalcoalitionition of resourceresource agencies,agencies, safelsafelyy enenjoyjoy the scenic, cultural, and ecological richness of the San non-profits, citizens, and scientists workingworking to protect,protect, restore,restore, OverOver the next 20 yyears,ears, this measure will provide funding to restore thousands of acres of wetlawetlandnd habhabitat,itat, enhance and expand access The BayBay TrailTrail isis a planned 500-mile shoreline walking and ccyclingycling Francisco BaBay.y. With over 500-square miles of open water, rivers, and aandnd enhance water qualitqualityy and fish and wildlife habitathabitat in and in shoreline parkss and oopenpen space, improve water qualitquality,y, and protect vulnerable infrastructure from flooding and sea level risrisee. ThesThesee path that will one dayday encircleencircle the entire Bay.Bay. With over 350 miles sloughs to explore, the waters of the BaBayy are ththee BBayay Area’s largest aroundaround the San FranciscoFrancisco Bay Delta Estuary. WorkingWorking investments, managed byby the SSanan Francisco BaBayy Restoration AuthorAuthority,ity, wwillill help our communities to adapt as climate chchangeangeg aandnd alreadalreadyy in place, the BayBay Trail connects communities to parks, open open spaspace.ce. WWhetherhether you prefer a kayak, SUP, kkiteboard,iteboard, or outroutrigger,igger, cooperatively,cooperatively, the PartnershipPartnership shares informationinformation and resources spaces,spaces, schools, transit,transit, and to each other. seasea level rise increasinglincreasinglyy stress our natural and urban ssystems,ystems, ensuring BaBayy Area residents and wildlife a healthier and mormoree resilresilientient there are manmanyy amazamazinging destdestinationsinations to explore. Illustrations by Blaze Syka that result in studies, proprojects,jects, and programs that improve the future.futureu . Estuary and communicate its value and needs to tthehe public.public.