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The first half of 2014 has been good to SFEI | ASC, leaving our organization with a number of notable accomplishments to celebrate. All three of our programs — Clean Water, Environmental Informatics (formerly EDIT), and Resilient Landscapes — share with you some highlights from the last few months. As we head towards the fall, the second half of the year also promises a bright outlook.
Below, you will also observe a number of changes. Our articles describe new reports, speaking engagements, grant awards, and a new program name. Within this diversity of work, one thing is clearly shared in common: a core mission of promoting healthy aquatic ecosystems. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Jim Kelly
Interim Executive Director
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RMP DOCUMENTS DECLINE OF PBDES IN THE BAY
A recent RMP technical report summarizes RMP investigations of the flame retardants polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the Bay. Studies of PBDEs in people and wildlife in the Bay Area in the late 1990s and early 2000s indicated that the region was a global PBDE contamination “hot spot.” State and federal governments responded to the rising concerns over PBDEs by enacting bans and encouraging voluntary phase-outs. Likely in response to the phase-outs and bans, RMP monitoring indicates a decline in contaminant levels for Bay organisms that are routinely monitored. This decline is expected to continue, and should diminish any potential impacts of PBDEs on Bay biota… more >
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NEW RMP MANAGER
Phil Trowbridge, formerly of the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, joins SFEI to serve as the San Francisco Bay RMP Manager. Taking the baton from Meg Sedlak, who remains with SFEI but is currently on leave, Phil will be managing a wide array of tasks for this widely respected program. He will guide RMP staff, budgets, and deliverables; facilitate discussion of technical issues; design studies; and present results to stakeholders and technical collaborators.
SFEI feels very fortunate to attract such a high-caliber professional engineer with an admirable list of accomplishments… more >
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RMP METHYLMERCURY FORUM
 The RMP sponsored a forum to review information and information needs relating to managing methylmercury in restored tidal marshes in San Francisco Bay. The forum was held to address a lack of consensus on the best approach for monitoring methylmercury and using monitoring data in decision-making. The forum addressed the state of knowledge regarding the role wetland restoration and management play in methylmercury impairment locally and regionally, and helped inform decision-making by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and other agencies… more > |
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ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATICS
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NEW NAME FOR PROGRAM ONCE KNOWN AS ENVIRONMENTAL DATA, INFORMATON, AND TECHNOLOGY
Once known as “EDIT” or “Environmental Data, Information, and Technology,” SFEI’s technology program will now be called “Environmental Informatics.” This is the new and inclusive name for the SFEI technology program that produces, manages, and analyzes information for the benefit of California’s aquatic resources. The term “informatics” applies to a broad array of technology-related pursuits, including the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Environmental Informatics denotes the specialization of informatics to the management and processing of data, information and knowledge to address environmental challenges…. more >
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WATER YEAR 2013 STORMWATER DATA: SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED!
In collaboration with BASMAA, RMP, the Regional Water Board and stormwater agencies, SFEI leads a multi-year stormwater monitoring project within the San Francisco Bay area. While this sampling effort fulfills monitoring requirements under the Municipal Regional Permit (MRP), it also contributes to the region’s long-term stormwater dataset… more >
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ECOATLAS, SFEI’S FLAGSHIP PRODUCT LAUNCHED LAST SUMMER, HAS RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM THREE USEPA WETLAND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
 In partnership with the Delta Conservancy, State Water Board, and Regional Water Boards, SFEI staff will (1) add new quantitative field data layers, and enhance the tool’s visualization and dynamic project reporting; (2) develop training materials and cost estimates for regional stewardship of EcoAtlas; and (3) create a business plan to sustain EcoAtlas as an interagency tool into the future. In addition to enhancing the functionality in EcoAtlas, this funding will contribute to wetland protection in California by supporting common tools and shared information… more > |
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UPCOMING RESILIENT LANDSCAPE PROJECTS
The Resilient Landscapes team is poised to complete several major projects and reports in the near future.
Through the Delta Landscapes project, the RL team is developing a set of tools to facilitate landscape-scale restoration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem. Funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the project uses the historical perspective of the Delta developed in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Historical Ecology Investigation as a basis to evaluate changes in landscape scale patterns and ecological functions. The forthcoming report presents quantifiable metrics, conceptual models, and other planning tools… more >
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HEAD OF TIDE STUDY COMPLETE
 Within the tributaries that drain to San Francisco Bay, there exists a transition between fluvial and tidal processes and conditions.The upstream boundary of this transition, called the head of tide (HoT) zone, can be defined as the inland limit of the effects of average high tides on tributary flows and water surface elevation. This zone is characterized by unique and diverse assemblages of plants and animals, cultural resources, as well as a vulnerability to out-of-channel flooding during high river flow and high tide conditions. As many Bay Area municipalities are built near the HoT zone, there is a growing concern about managing the flooding risk as well as the aquatic resources in the HoT zone… more > |
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RECENT PRESENTATIONS BY THE RESILIENT LANDSCAPES TEAM
The Resilient Landscapes (RL) team delivered a number of presentations during the last quarter highlighting recent accomplishments and initiatives.
At the Salmonid Restoration Federation conference in March, Senior Scientist Robin Grossinger presented on the use of spatial tools for determining salmonid habitat condition, while Geomorphologist Scott Dusterhoff co-convened a session on southern and central California steelhead habitat rehabilitation.
In May, Scott Dusterhoff delivered a presentation at the Society for Ecological Restoration (SERCAL) conference on Flood Control 2.0, an initiative to restore San Francisco bayland habitat using innovative approaches to flood control channel design and management…. more >
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ALAMEDA CREEK WATERSHED ECOLOGICAL STUDY
New study points the way to habitat restoration and steelhead recovery on Alameda Creek, the Bay Area’s largest local watershed.
A comprehensive study of the transformation of the Alameda Creek watershed, the largest tributary draining directly to San Francisco Bay, describes the remarkable native habitats that were found in today’s cities of Fremont, Newark, Pleasanton, and Livermore. The study shows how the watershed functioned to support a diverse array of native species and suggests how many of these functions may yet be recovered within the contemporary landscape… more >
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