Martinez in Contra Costa County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
From an Accident to a Preserve
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 2, 2020
1. From an Accident to a Preserve Marker
Inscription.
From an Accident to a Preserve. . In 1988, a massive oil spill from the nearby Shell Refinery inundated the Carquinez Strait and downstream marshes including McNabney Marsh. As a result of a settlement with a number of agencies, Shell Oil paid over $12 million into a Natural Resources Fund to restore, rehabilitate, and acquire the equivalent of the resources damaged by the spill. The Shell Oil Spill Litigation Settlement Trustee Committee was created to manage this effort.
In 1992, the California Department of Fish and Game established a technical advisory committee, which was later renamed the McNabney Marsh Management Advisory Committee, to coordinate landowner and regulatory activities within the Peyton Slough Marsh Complex. The East Bay Regional Park District was asked to serve as the acquisition agent for the southern marsh in 1992 and subsequently purchased 198 acres including 46 acres of the southern marshland.
The Mt. View Sanitary District had already acquired about 68 acres of the northern marsh in cooperation with the Department of Fish and Game and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The Sanitary District was the first public agency in the State to create a wetland to meet the effluent disposal requirements of the Regional Board.
The Contra Costa County Mosquito and Vector Control District cooperates with the Management Advisory Committee to plan the control of mosquitoes in the marsh. The Martinez Land Trust operates interpretive programs for local school children in the Preserve under an agreement with the East Bay Regional Park District.
Waterbird Regional Preserve is an excellent example of an accident that turned into an opportunity to jointly and cooperatively restore, enhånce, and manage prime wildlife habitat in the public interest. Today, the McNabney Marsh Management Advisory Committee works together as one unit to conserve and enhance the marsh and its wildlife resources.
In 1988, a massive oil spill from the nearby Shell Refinery
inundated the Carquinez Strait and downstream marshes
including McNabney Marsh. As a result of a settlement with
a number of agencies, Shell Oil paid over $12 million into a
Natural Resources Fund to restore, rehabilitate, and acquire the
equivalent of the resources damaged by the spill. The Shell Oil
Spill Litigation Settlement Trustee Committee was created to
manage this effort.
In 1992, the California Department of Fish and Game
established a technical advisory committee, which was later
renamed the McNabney Marsh Management Advisory
Committee, to coordinate landowner and regulatory activities
within the Peyton Slough Marsh Complex. The East Bay
Regional Park District was asked to serve as the acquisition
agent for the southern marsh in 1992 and subsequently
purchased 198 acres including 46 acres of the southern
marshland.
The Mt. View Sanitary District had already acquired about 68
acres of the northern marsh in cooperation with the Department
of Fish and Game and the Regional Water Quality Control
Board. The Sanitary District was the first public agency in the
State to create a wetland to meet the effluent disposal
requirements of the Regional Board.
The Contra Costa County Mosquito and Vector Control District
cooperates with the Management
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Advisory Committee to plan
the control of mosquitoes in the marsh. The Martinez Land
Trust operates interpretive programs for local school children
in the Preserve under an agreement with the East Bay Regional
Park District.
Waterbird Regional Preserve is an excellent example of
an accident that turned into an opportunity to jointly and
cooperatively restore, enhånce, and manage prime wildlife
habitat in the public interest. Today, the McNabney Marsh
Management Advisory Committee works together as one unit to
conserve and enhance the marsh and its wildlife resources.
Location. 38° 1.493′ N, 122° 5.866′ W. Marker is in Martinez, California, in Contra Costa County. Marker can be reached from Waterbird Way south of Waterfront Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Martinez CA 94553, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. The marker is located in Waterbird Regional Preserve on the west side of the shelter by the parking lot.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 2, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 284 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on February 2, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
