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2012 Harbor Seal Pupping Season Closures
From March 1 through June 30, an annual closure of Drakes Estero and certain beaches of Tomales Bay is implemented to protect harbor seals during the pupping season. Please avoid disturbing seals to ensure a successful pupping season. More »
Coastal Dune Habitat Restoration Project: What Are We Doing to Protect Sensitive Resources During Construction?
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coastal dune habitat restoration project includes: The project area supports a number of federally listed threatened and endangered wildlife and plant species, as well as plant species listed by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). For this reason, construction and hand removal activities will be subject to limitations imposed by requirements of the Seashore's formal consultation and Biological Opinion with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), as well as internal agency guidelines and standards. Because there are so many sensitive resources to protect—and restore—at the Dunes, the Seashore has several levels of project oversight, including a team of Construction Managers (Winzler & Kelly, San Francisco, CA) and a Seashore Environmental Monitor (Sarah Minnick). These teams will be working together with the construction contractor to ensure that all avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures stipulated in all the project's permits and consultations are adhered to during the construction process. Sensitive Resource Areas (Wetlands, Rare Plant Areas, Native Dune Communities, Identified Wildlife Habitat) 
Federally threatened beach layia (Layia carnosa) Sensitive Resource Areas include wetlands, rare plant areas, dune mat areas or native dune communities, identified wildlife habitat, and patches of western dog violet (Viola adunca), the larval plant of the Myrtle's silverspot butterfly. Rare plant areas, most of which occur in the native dune mat, support at least two federally endangered plant species—Tidestrom's lupine (Lupinus tidestromii) and beach layia (Layia carnosa)—along with a considerable number of species considered rare by the CNPS. Sensitive Resource Areas will be off-limits to all mechanical equipment with the exception of one crossing areas that will allow access the northern portion of the backdune area. This secondary access route will cross a large Rare Plant area: the alignment was carefully chosen to represent the shortest route through the Sensitive Resource Area that would have the least impact on native dune resources, including rare and endangered plant species. 
Silt fence adjacent to seasonally ponded wetland. Other than these designated access routes, the only activity that can be conducted in Sensitive Resource Areas is hand removal of European beachgrass and iceplant. During the period when mechanical work is being performed adjacent to Sensitive Resource Areas, silt fencing will be installed to ensure that soils do not accidentally move during construction into these areas. The silt fencing will be placed such that the bottom of the fence is in contact with the ground, but it will not necessarily be buried. The silt fence will be removed once work in the area is complete and moved to another area of construction. 
CNPS rare Curlyleaf monardella (Monardella undulata) Rare plants, including federally endangered plant species and those with a higher priority listing by CNPS or the Seashore, require a 10-foot buffer in which no mechanical removal will be performed. Rare plant mapping has been conducted in this historically, and mapping was updated in 2009 and 2010 to better locate Sensitive Resource Areas, buffers, and primary and secondary access routes. Grassland areas east of the treatment area were specifically surveyed in spring 2010 so that the primary access road and staging areas would avoid as much as possible wetlands, rare plants, and western dog violet. Threatened and Endangered Wildlife Some of the threatened and endangered species that occur in or on the perimeter of the Project Area include the federally threatened western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus var. nivosus), the federally threatened California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii), and the federally endangered Myrtle's silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene myrtleae). 
Snowy plover and two chicks Snowy Plover Snowy plover nesting season officially extends from March 1 to September 15, but, at Point Reyes, historical records indicate that almost all nesting occurs after April 1 (NPS, unpub. data). Most of the nesting occurs above the high tide line on coastal beaches just oceanward of the foredunes, however, plovers and their chicks will enter the dunes to forage and seek cover from predators. Plovers also nest on the western edge of Abbott's Lagoon. The Seashore will have a plover biologist monitoring nesting activities on the beach this year, as it has done during the past several years. This person will be in close communication with project staff to ensure that, should plovers start nesting on the beach adjacent to the Project Area, the USFWS-stipulated 500-foot buffer will be established between active nests and construction activities. This buffer will need to be demarcated by construction fencing on every side except the ocean side if construction is occurring within 700 feet of a plover nest. Otherwise, the native dune areas that fall in between the foredunes and backdunes serve as a natural barrier to movement of nesting plover into the construction work areas. 
Myrtle's silverspot butterfly resting on a fern. Myrtle's Silverspot Butterfly The Project Area is also home to the Myrtle's silverspot butterfly, which uses the common plant, western dog violet (Viola adunca), as its only larval plant. Western dog violet does not occur in the dunes, but many of the plants that the adult butterfly uses as nectar sources occur in the native dune or dune mat communities, which is another reason why these areas are designated as Sensitive Resource Areas and are off-limits to mechanical removal of European beachgrass. Some of the other avoidance measures for this project included detailed mapping of western dog patches in the adjacent pasture where this species does occur, so that all access, staging, and stockpiling could be located in areas without this plant species and other rare plant species. One of the primary impacts to the butterfly in the Seashore is mortality associated with speeding cars. For this reason, speed within the Project Area and access routes is limited to 10 mph during the flight season, which stretches from June 15 to July 31. 
California Red-legged Frog California Red-Legged Frog California red-legged frog does not breed in the Project Area, but it does breed on the perimeter of the Project Area in a drainage swale that flows through the pasture to Abbott's Lagoon. A number of avoidance and minimization measures will be performed to minimize indirect project impacts on this species. A trenched, buried silt fence will be installed to preclude or at least minimize the potential for red-legged frogs to move from the drainage swale into the more inhospitable, sandy European beachgrass habitats. A qualified amphibian monitor will be present during installation to ensure that there are no impacts to frogs. Pre-construction surveys will be conducted by a qualified amphibian biologist several times after installation of the fence to evaluate whether red-legged frog are present in the construction work area. Should frogs be detected—or the potential for frogs to be present still appear high despite the trenched silt fence—a full-time qualified construction monitor will be present during construction within the 100-foot-buffer or construction work area closest to the drainage swale, which is approximately 6.06 acres in size. Should frogs be detected, a 100-foot buffer will be established between the frog and any construction activity, and the resident U.S. Geological Survey reptile and amphibian biologist, Gary Fellers, will be notified. Nesting Birds Other non-listed species may nest or breed in the dunes, too. There is no known information on which species might breed in the primarily European beachgrass-dominated dunes or the density of breeding birds in this habitat. The construction work areas consist of large monotypic expanses of European beachgrass, with some areas supporting an intermixed community of coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) and mock heather (Ericameria ericoides). Weekly breeding bird surveys will be conducted by a qualified avian biologist in the construction work areas to determine presence of nesting birds. Should breeding birds be found, a 100-foot buffer will be established between the nest and any construction or hand removal activity. Archaeological and Historic Resources In addition to biologically significant resource areas, archaeologically significant resource areas also exist. Within these zones, contractors must take special care during excavation to ensure that no previously undiscovered buried archaeological or historic resources are damaged. The contractor would also be required not to excavate below any dark, organic horizons encountered as these soil strata may contain archaeological or historic resources. The primary access routes, untrailering, staging, and stockpile areas have all been chosen to have no impact on the historic RCA radio transmission facility, its surrounding landscape, and underground and aboveground lines and poles. Per the consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), a qualified cultural resources specialist would be on-site during construction performed in culturally related Sensitive Resource Areas. This monitoring will be performed by a representative of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR). Should the contractor encounter any archaeological or historic resources relating to middens, burial grounds, shipwrecks or the nearby radio facilities, all construction in this work area must cease, and the Seashore's Cultural Resources representative must be contacted, investigate, and give his approval before work in this area can resume. coastal dune habitat restoration project includes: |
Did You Know?
A 1-foot sea level rise can lead to shorelines eroding back 100 feet, and increase the chances of a 100-year flood event in low coastal areas to once every 10 years. More...