Discovery Bay Construction Ends

Well, as usual, construction season has been so busy we have been remiss in keeping you all posted on happenings. This summer’s work at Snow Creek Estuary wrapped up August 27^th. The project went off very well and now we await the growth of the salt grasses that will populate the tidal areas and look forward to planting the spoils pile with volunteer and student help! Here are some pics of the construction process.

Geese were our constant companions, foraging on the new ground.

The excavators worked from "swamp mats" to keep from sinking in the soft soils while cutting grade.

Trees that had grown up on the manmade creek berms were cut and sold for pulp and milling.

On Saturday September 5^th I stopped through the site with Chrissy, my wife, to look for fish. And boy was I surprised to find three summer chum hanging under a logjam we built two weeks before and spawning right before our eyes!

On a separate visit, I joined US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to observe other changes Maynard has taken on. We saw 45 great blue herons eating fish out of Discovery Bay waters, then spooked a golden eagle from a roosting spot and it swooped above our heads. This was interesting given the USFWS grant that the Salmon Coalition used to implement a portion of the project looked closely as bird usage of area wetlands.

That's all for now.

Kevin Long, Project Manager