The restoration of Pacheco March in Contra Costa County — a project partially funded through San Francisco Estuary Partnership — is now featured on an OpenRoad episode.
Last month the 237-acre restored salt marsh along the shores of Suisun Bay opened to the public after two decades of work, spearheaded by the John Muir Land Trust.
The project was partially funded through San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) managed programs. The jointly staffed San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (staffed by SFEP and California State Coastal Conservancy) provided $10.9 million towards the marsh project.
The destination features 2.5 miles of trails including many ADA-compliant pathways, elevated vistas, 14 interpretive panels about wildlife and the natural and human history of the marsh, aluminum pedestrian bridges with close-up views of serpentine tidal channels, and a kayak launch into a 2-mile loop route through the restored marsh and adjacent Suisun Bay.
“I remember looking for a way to get out on the water here with my paddleboard years ago, but there was no access anywhere in this area,” Ben Botkin, SFEP Priority Conservation Area Grant Manager, told the Knee Deep Times in an article on the marsh.
The new park is part of a Priority Conservation Area designated by regional agencies (MTC/ABAG) as a target location for wetland restoration, resilience to sea level rise, and recreation projects. The area’s designation came with a grant to help the land trust build public access amenities. Botkin hopes Pacheco’s new kayak launch will one day join 54 other designated Water Trail sites across the Bay Area, the Knee Deep Times reported.
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