Arnold Slough is located in eastern Suisun Marsh, adjacent to Blacklock Restoration Project and across Nurse Slough from Bradmoor Island Restoration Project. We purchased the 182-acre parcel and will restore approximately 161 acres of managed wetland to tidal wetland. Like Bradmoor Island Restoration Project (below), Arnold Slough Restoration Project was seasonally flooded as a duck club.

We have a leaseback agreement with the former landowner and will manage the property for recreational purposes until 2019. Modeling to choose the best restoration design will be complete by December 2017.

Construction of restoration site features will begin in summer of 2019 following the termination of current lease agreements. Breaches are expected to be constructed in fall of 2020 to complete the construction phase of the project.

In addition to 8,000 acres of restoration credit for the Biological Opinions, this property also fulfills DWR’s 800 acre tidal restoration requirement pursuant to Action 7 (2009 CDFW Longfin Smelt Incidental Take Permit) and 5,000 to 7,000 acres of planned restoration under the Suisun Marsh Habitat Management, Preservation, and Restoration Plan (SMP) for multi-species benefits in Suisun Marsh.

Bradmoor Island is located in northeastern Suisun Marsh. It is surrounded by Nurse Slough to the West, Denverton Slough to the East, and Little Honker Bay to the South. Elevations at Bradmoor Island are mostly intertidal and associated subtidal with a wide tidal berm on the exterior of the managed wetlands and a hill in the center of the property. We purchased 744 acres at Bradmoor Island for the purpose of tidal habitat restoration and will be restoring approximately 500 acres of managed wetland to tidal habitat.

We have a lease agreement with the former landowners and will manage the property for recreational purposes until 2019. We have completed preliminary modeling and will be finalizing a restoration design by December 2017. The project’s restoration activities include water management, revegetation, and removal of levee segments to restore tidal inundation to the property and promote the establishment of emergent marsh vegetation.

Construction of restoration site features will begin in summer of 2019 following the termination of current lease agreements.  Breaches are expected to be constructed in fall of 2020 to complete the construction phase of the project.

The project will provide approximately 500 acres of credit towards the 8,000 acres to meet RPA 4 (2008 USFWS Delta Smelt Biological Opinion), 800-acre tidal restoration requirement pursuant to Action 7 (2009 CDFW Longfin Smelt Incidental Take Permit), and 5,000-7,000 acres of planned habitat restoration under the Suisun Marsh Habitat Management, Preservation, and Restoration Plan (SMP) for multi-species benefits in Suisun Marsh.

Tule Red is adjacent to Grizzly Bay within the Suisun Marsh. The vast majority of the site is a managed marsh, with the northern end being a tidal marsh. The State and Federal Contractors Water Agency (SFCWA) is undertaking the restoration of the Tule Red Tidal Habitat Restoration Project in conjunction with FRP to convert roughly 662 acres of existing managed wetlands to tidal habitat.

Through a Non-Competitive Bid Public Entity Contract with SFCWA, we will provide project oversight and purchase an estimated 610 habitat acreage credits. The project’s restoration activities include grading, revegetation, and other associated activities on the landside of a natural interior berm.

Following a period of one to two years to allow revegetation of disturbed soils, the site will be breached to allow the site to become fully tidal. In mid-September 2016, SFCWA started construction of the initial restoration activities. Due to contractor issues, the project will be delayed one year, but we anticipate project completion in 2019.

Wings Landing is located within the north-central portion of Suisun Marsh, approximately half a mile south of Suisun City in Solano County. The property is adjacent to Paytonia Ecological Reserve and contains ideal elevations for tidal habitat restoration.

In coordination with staff from EcoRestore, DWR developed a Request for Proposal and posted it for solicitation in December 2016. One of the successful proposals, Wings Landing, was submitted by Natural Resources Group, Inc. We entered into a Habitat Restoration Project Agreement with Natural Resources Group, Inc. on August 1, 2017, for the restoration of approximately 254 acres of tidal marsh habitat.

The project design seeks to restore tidal and sub-tidal marsh habitat through the excavation of channels, breaching of an existing levee, and the removal of an interior levee and water control structures. The project’s restoration activities will restore tidal action with an estimated 190 habitat acreage credits. 

Construction of the initial restoration activities is estimated to begin in September 2018.