Giacomini Wetlands Restoration Turns Five

On Saturday, October 26th, Point Reyes National Seashore and the Point Reyes National Seashore Association celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Giacomini Wetlands, a 613-acre floodplain and tidal wetland restoration project that was completed in 2008. It was five years to the date that the first high tides flowed into the restored wetland, wetting the feet of a crowd of 500 who gathered to see nature do its work.

The fifth anniversary was celebrated with a number of different events. Nearly 50 people braved the chilly morning air to join noted avian biologists Jules Evens and Mary Anne Flett on a bird walk. Others decided to take to the water, kayaking with hydrologist Greg Kamman of Kamman Hydrology & Engineering around the southern part of the Giacomini Wetlands. At the same time, more than 40 people went on a hike through the wetlands to learn more about the history of the project and changes in the landscape since restoration was implemented.

In the afternoon, the emphasis switched to a series of presentations by park managers and scientists involved in developing and studying the restored wetland. Eighty people listened to talks on changes in hydrology, vegetation, water quality, invertebrates, and birds and learned what impacts climate change and sea level rise may have on the Giacomini Wetlands and other wetlands in the Tomales Bay watershed. Wetland-themed cookies donated by the Bovine Bakery made the afternoon especially sweet.

The afternoon culminated with a discussion of the power of partnerships and how this project would never have been constructed without the help of its many partners, including the Point Reyes National Seashore Association, which raised the money needed to make the project a reality. Other partners in the project included the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, San Francisco Bay Joint Ventures, California State Lands Commission, Audubon Canyon Ranch, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sancutuary , Tomales Bay Watershed Council, Kamman Hydrology & Engineering, Avocet Research Associates, Winzler & Kelly, and the construction contractor for the restoration component, Hanford ARC.