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Don Edwards SF Bay NWR Alviso BioBlitz, 11/19/23 by Ronald Horii
On Sunday, 11/19/23, I went to the Alviso Environmental Education Center (EEC) of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge for a BioBlitz. This was the first time I've been to a BioBlitz here. The aim of a BioBlitz is to observe and record as many living things as possible within a particular area and time period. The observations are recorded using the iNaturalist app or website. This was the description of the event: "Come join us out in the beautiful tidal marsh areas of Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge to learn about the Refuge and the iNaturalist App. We welcome beginners as well as experienced users of the iNaturalist app. With this community science platform, you will get a guided experience observing and identifying our local flora and fauna as they change during the Fall season. All you'll need is a smartphone, comfortable outdoor wear, and 2 hours of your time!
We will be leading the walk on the New Chicago Marsh Trail at the Alviso Unit of the Refuge to check out native California plants, exciting bird species, and much more! The trail will be approximately 0.5 miles and is suitable for folks with mobility limitations. If you need any more accommodations, please don't hesitate to reach out to watershedwatchers@sfbayws.org." It was sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society (SFBWS) and the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP), with support from Cargill, Inc.
The event was led by the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society's Watershed Watchers Interpretive Specialist Olivia Poulos and Watershed Watchers & Restoration Associate Madison "Maddie" Cline. Here are some links:
iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/.
Today's project on iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/november-bioblitz-at-the-refuge.
Here are my BioBlitz pictures: http://www.rhorii.com/#Bioblitz.
30,000-acre Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/don-edwards-san-francisco-bay.
San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society, which is a non-profit friends group which has been supporting the refuge since 1987:
https://sfbayws.org/about-us. They publish a quarterly newsletter called "Tide Rising": https://sfbayws.org/tide-rising. The Fall 2023 issue mentions BioBlitzes on page 2.
The trails here are part of the San Francisco Bay Trail: https://mtc.ca.gov/operations/regional-trails-parks/san-francisco-bay-trail. Here is the Bay Trail Map (Menlo Park to Alviso): https://mtc.ca.gov/operations/regional-trails-parks/san-francisco-bay-trail/map-numbers/map-6-ravenswood-slough-alviso. Here are my Bay Trail pictures: http://www.rhorii.com/index.html#baytrail. The long trails are closed because of a project to raise the levees along the shoreline to protect against sea level rise. Here's more information about the
South Bay Shoreline Project: https://www.fws.gov/media/2022-05-20san-francisco-bay-shoreline-projectfact-sheetaccessibilitypdf. The retired salt ponds here are part of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project: https://www.southbayrestoration.org/pond-complexes/alviso. Information about visiting the ponds: https://www.southbayrestoration.org/pond-complexes/alviso. Information about restoration work on the salt ponds: https://www.southbayrestoration.org/page/current-work. Project maps: https://www.southbayrestoration.org/page/maps. Here are pictures from 2014, showing what the trails were like before the construction: http://www.rhorii.com/Alviso-MallardSlough/Tour.html. Alviso Marina County Park and the Alviso Slough Trail is a few miles away. This is what they looked like a month ago: https://tinyurl.com/mpzy3eex. Here's more information about plants and animals in the refuge: https://sfbayws.org/species-refuge. Here are recent pictures showing the South Bay marshes: https://exploraspective.wordpress.com/2023/04/11/the-south-bays-urban-marsh-revival/. "Once and Future Bay, Lessons from history for revitalizing the Bay": https://www.sfei.org/sites/default/files/biblio_files/BayNature_all-ebook377.pdf
On Sunday, 11/19/23, I went to the Alviso Environmental Education Center (EEC) of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge for a BioBlitz. This was the first time I've been to a BioBlitz here. The aim of a BioBlitz is to observe and record as many living things as possible within a particular area and time period. The observations are recorded using the iNaturalist app or website. This was the description of the event: "Come join us out in the beautiful tidal marsh areas of Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge to learn about the Refuge and the iNaturalist App. We welcome beginners as well as experienced users of the iNaturalist app. With this community science platform, you will get a guided experience observing and identifying our local flora and fauna as they change during the Fall season. All you'll need is a smartphone, comfortable outdoor wear, and 2 hours of your time!
We will be leading the walk on the New Chicago Marsh Trail at the Alviso Unit of the Refuge to check out native California plants, exciting bird species, and much more! The trail will be approximately 0.5 miles and is suitable for folks with mobility limitations. If you need any more accommodations, please don't hesitate to reach out to watershedwatchers@sfbayws.org." It was sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society (SFBWS) and the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program (SCVURPPP), with support from Cargill, Inc.
The event was led by the San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society's Watershed Watchers Interpretive Specialist Olivia Poulos and Watershed Watchers & Restoration Associate Madison "Maddie" Cline. Here are some links:
iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/.
Today's project on iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/november-bioblitz-at-the-refuge.
Here are my BioBlitz pictures: http://www.rhorii.com/#Bioblitz.
30,000-acre Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/don-edwards-san-francisco-bay.
San Francisco Bay Wildlife Society, which is a non-profit friends group which has been supporting the refuge since 1987:
https://sfbayws.org/about-us. They publish a quarterly newsletter called "Tide Rising": https://sfbayws.org/tide-rising. The Fall 2023 issue mentions BioBlitzes on page 2.
The trails here are part of the San Francisco Bay Trail: https://mtc.ca.gov/operations/regional-trails-parks/san-francisco-bay-trail. Here is the Bay Trail Map (Menlo Park to Alviso): https://mtc.ca.gov/operations/regional-trails-parks/san-francisco-bay-trail/map-numbers/map-6-ravenswood-slough-alviso. Here are my Bay Trail pictures: http://www.rhorii.com/index.html#baytrail. The long trails are closed because of a project to raise the levees along the shoreline to protect against sea level rise. Here's more information about the
South Bay Shoreline Project: https://www.fws.gov/media/2022-05-20san-francisco-bay-shoreline-projectfact-sheetaccessibilitypdf. The retired salt ponds here are part of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project: https://www.southbayrestoration.org/pond-complexes/alviso. Information about visiting the ponds: https://www.southbayrestoration.org/pond-complexes/alviso. Information about restoration work on the salt ponds: https://www.southbayrestoration.org/page/current-work. Project maps: https://www.southbayrestoration.org/page/maps. Here are pictures from 2014, showing what the trails were like before the construction: http://www.rhorii.com/Alviso-MallardSlough/Tour.html. Alviso Marina County Park and the Alviso Slough Trail is a few miles away. This is what they looked like a month ago: https://tinyurl.com/mpzy3eex. Here's more information about plants and animals in the refuge: https://sfbayws.org/species-refuge. Here are recent pictures showing the South Bay marshes: https://exploraspective.wordpress.com/2023/04/11/the-south-bays-urban-marsh-revival/. "Once and Future Bay, Lessons from history for revitalizing the Bay": https://www.sfei.org/sites/default/files/biblio_files/BayNature_all-ebook377.pdf
