The Suisun Resource Conservation District was awarded a $542,546 grant to improve hydrological resilience in Suisun Marsh from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy under the Proposition 1 Ecosystem Restoration and Water Quality Grant Program funded by the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014. Suisun Marsh, water control infrastructure is critical to support seasonally managed wetlands and perform flood-and-drain cycles (“leaching cycles”). This moist-soil management approach is used to grow desired vegetation and sustain the biodiversity of the wetland habitats.
The grant will fund new drainage infrastructure to improve the habitats and water quality of 3,090 acres of seasonally managed wetland areas identified in modeling studies conducted with the California Waterfowl Association and Resource Management Associates (now part of GEI Consultants). The completed project will improve resiliency of the wetlands to climate change threats, including sea-level rise and salinization, by allowing wetland managers to have better control of their drainage and circulation. Project results will be measured in a hydrologic assessment model with before- and after-monitoring data, and climate resiliency will be determined by incorporating projections for sea-level rise and salinization. The project will be undertaken on selected wetlands with both private and public Department of Fish and Wildlife) landowners. The project work will continue through the summer of 2025.
