Duggan, Tara. (2021, 7 Dec.) $63 Million Wetland Restoration Could Be a Blueprint for How California Adapts to Climate Change. But It’s Taking Forever. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 1, 2022, from https://www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/This-delta-wetland-restoration-will-help-16680372.php#photo-21796303.
This article goes over advances in a project to restore and protect 30,000 acres of California wetlands as a means to bring back wildlife and sequester carbon. The first phase has been completed, and wildlife in the restored area is flourishing. Scientists hope to use wetlands as a carbon sink instead of forests, which are easier to burn. The California Department of Water Resources plans to set an example to other restoration projects with the Dutch Slough Tidal Marsh Restoration Project. However, the project is only expected to be complete by 2025, making it already two decades long (it started in 2003). The article explains the importance of wetlands, such as acting as a carbon sink and providing a water barrier to sea level rise, as well as providing sanctuary for salmon and other animals.
This is a fascinating article because it addresses the goal of carbon sequestration, which we have gone over in class with the lecture from UC Steve and the Drawdown project. It is very remarkable that such advancements are happening in California. I am excited to see if this project succeeds because wetlands are permanent carbon sinks. Hopefully, the project can be finished quicker because wetlands are crucial ecosystems. This article is directly related to environmental science since it involves scientists studying the environment and finding ways to solve environmental problems such as restoring wetlands.
This was really interesting to read, Uliana. Great find. While Drawdown is recommending more forests, of course here in CA we are dealing with massive fires… but not in the wetlands. In the Bay Area, over 95% of historic wetlands are gone. This represents a great opportunity for carbon sequestration, among other things. I hope you, as you mentioned, this Dutch Slough project can be a model. As you also mention, we need to speed up the process. 20 years isn’t going to cut it. And $63 million sounds expensive. Did the article mention if the projects could be made more cost effective and efficient. Seems like a great focus for CA. Thanks for all your good work on this topic, Uliana!
Thank you! The article doesn’t say anything about reducing the price and making the project more efficient.