White Slough Wetland Enhancement Project
This Project has an Update in progress.
Project Overview
Basics
Implementation
The purpose of this Project was to restore 40 acres of coastal tidal wetlands
on diked historic tidelands in the White Slough Unit (WSU) of Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge (HBNWR) in Humboldt County. Restoration transformed the site from a near-monoculture of brackish wetland that faced imminent mudflat conversion into a dynamic complex of salt marsh and brackish wetlands, increasing on-site carbon sequestration while providing ecological and climate adaptation co-benefits.
on diked historic tidelands in the White Slough Unit (WSU) of Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge (HBNWR) in Humboldt County. Restoration transformed the site from a near-monoculture of brackish wetland that faced imminent mudflat conversion into a dynamic complex of salt marsh and brackish wetlands, increasing on-site carbon sequestration while providing ecological and climate adaptation co-benefits.
2014
2015
2025
12/22/2023
Project Attributes
Census Tract Income
None
Direct Benefits to Disadvantaged Communities (DACs)
None
EnviroScreen
None
Free and Reduced Lunch
None
Indirect Benefits to Disadvantaged Communities (DACs)
None
Tribal Engagement (True/False)
None
Tribal Engagement
None
Location
None Selected
Humboldt Bay Watershed
Organizations
| Funders | |
| Lead Implementer | |
| Partners | |
| Primary RCD | |
| State Assembly Voting District | |
| State Senate Voting District | |
| Other Partners | National Coastal Wetland Conservation Grant, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, |
Contacts
Performance Measures
Expected Performance Measures
| Habitat Restoration/Creation | Action Taken: Restored Habitat Type: Salt marsh | 40 acres |
| Special Status Fish Species Habitat | Action Performed: Restored Focal Species: tidewater goby Habitat Type: Estuary Listing Status: Federally Endangered | Not Provided |
Reported Performance Measures
| Habitat Restoration/Creation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action Taken | Habitat Type | Total | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | Units |
| Restored | Salt marsh | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | acres |
| Total | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | acres | |
| Special Status Fish Species Habitat | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Action Performed | Focal Species | Habitat Type | Listing Status | Total | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | Units |
| Restored | tidewater goby | Estuary | Federally Endangered | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | lf |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | lf | |||
| No accomplishments to report for: | |
| Year(s): | 2018-2023 |
|---|---|
| Explanation: | Post-implementation acres are N/A because no new construction, only monitoring. Special status species habitat restored in acres, not linear feet. Total special species habitat acres ~equal to acres restored of general salt marsh. |
Financials
Budget
| Comment: | None provided |
|---|
Reported Expenditures
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Conservancy (SCC) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Environmental Enhancement & Mitigation (EEM) Program (CNRA) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program (USFWS) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Prop 1 (SCC) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Wetlands Restoration for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program (CDFW) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Grand Total | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Note: | None provided |
|---|
Project Themes
Project Themes
Restored tidal marsh is expected to sequester more carbon than existing habitats. The Project will convert 25 acres of brackish marsh to salt marsh. This conversion will reduce the potential for the project area to emit methane in the short term, as brackish marshes have a high potential for methane emissions, and salt marsh has a low potential for methane emission.
Salt marshes provide habitat for the endangered tidewater
goby, several species of threatened salmonids, and possibly for the threatened eulachon.
This project plans to follow the priority recovery actions for the Humboldt Bay tributaries set in place by the Recovery Plan for the Southern Oregon Northern California Coast (SONCC) Evolutionarily Significant Unit of Coho Salmon (2014). This is achieved by restoring salmonid access to tidally influenced wetland habitats for rearing and the restoration of natural watershed processes, such as tidal influence and sediment transport.
Project Details
Attachments
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Notes
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