County: Greenbrae Marshland Restoration to Help Endangered Species

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Marin County Parks is set to restore a small section of marshland in Greenbrae beginning the week of October 24, and safety measures will be in place for those using an adjacent pathway for the next few months.

A construction firm will use a variety of equipment in the marsh at Hal Brown Park at Creekside, located next to the campuses of Marin Catholic High School, Bacich Elementary School, and Marin General Hospital. The park and pathways are used frequently by students and parents of the schools as well as recreational walkers, and brief delays could be required in the area to steer people clear of the equipment. No closures are anticipated along the pathway during the project, which is expected to be completed by the end of January 2017.

The marshland rehabilitation is part of a mitigation effort to offset impacts caused by the recently completed Phase 1 of the Central Marin Ferry Connector Multi-use Pathway project, about a mile east of Hal Brown Park along San Francisco Bay.

The goal of the project is to restore habitat for several wildlife species, including two classified as endangered, Ridgway’s rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse. About 1.4 acres of the salt marsh at Hal Brown Park will be revegetated with native plants after workers haul out old soil and replace it. These areas will be graded in such a way that will provide additional habitat for wildlife. Marin County Parks will monitor and maintain the restoration and enhancement site to ensure success of the revegetation efforts.

The construction cost of the marshland rehabilitation project is not to exceed $360,000.

— Photo and story submitted by County of Marin.