Elkhorn Slough to be restored with $1 million grant

Richard and Beverlee Taylor visited the Elkhorn Slouogh on their honeymoon, 50 years ag. Half a century later, they are still coming back to enjoy its beauty. “You can get to see all kinds of animals. Fish, pelicans, and birds, of all kinds. I get to take pictures of them with my camera,” said Richard.

While the Taylors are looking back on the years they’ve visited the slough, scientists are looking ahead. The Elkhorn Slough Foundation predicts, in the next 50 years, the marsh could all be gone. Elkhorn Slough Reserve manager, Dave Feliz, said this is a result of rising sea levels. “Salt marshes naturally respond to changes in water levels of the ocean. Sea level rise is something a healthy marsh should be able to adapt to,” said Feliz.

Feliz said the marshes at the slough are far from healthy. One was of the reasons for this is the Moss Landing Harbor. The hub for the fishing industry was built in the 1940s. Since then, its channel has brought more water to the marshes as tides rise and fall. “Most of the Elkhorn Slough marsh sediments went out to the ocean. They just eroded away,” said Feliz.

The Elkhorn Slough Foundation is trying to preserve what is left. This week, they received a $1 milllion grant through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. With it they will begin to rebuild 63 acres of marsh and coastal grassland. “This is a continuation of some work that we think we’ve been very successful with. I think we will be seeing the benefits very soon,” said Feliz.

The benefits include recreating a safe habitat for wildlife, and a place for people to admire from years to come. “We are keeping our wildlife close to home and able to be seen. I can do that any day that I want to. Where else can you do that? I mean, it’s just great,” said Richard.

The Elkhorn Slough Foundation plans to start the phase two of the restoration project in the coming months.