• The Point Reyes Beach as viewed from the Point Reyes Headlands

    Point Reyes

    National Seashore California

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  • Operational Changes Took Effect on May 1

    The Lighthouse Visitor Center is now only open Fridays through Mondays. The Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center will be closed through late December 2013. More »

  • 2013 Harbor Seal Pupping Season Closures

    From March 1 through June 30, the park implements closures of certain Tomales Bay beaches and Drakes Estero to water-based recreation to protect harbor seals during the pupping season. Please avoid disturbing seals to ensure a successful pupping season. More »

Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project: Summary of Construction Under Phase I and II: What Aspects of Construction Substantially Differed From What We Expected?

 

Careful planning paid off for this project in that there were very few "surprises" during construction (other than accidental levee breaches!). However, some aspects that differed from what was anticipated during final design included:

  • Ditches Proverbial "Black Holes" In Terms of Fill Volume: Drainage ditches took an estimated 50% more material than expected, because of the highly unconsolidated nature of the ditch soils (Mark Cederborg, Hanford ARC, pers. comm.), while the borrow ditch north of the West Pasture took less.
  • Dry Areas Not Necessarily "Dry": Shallow groundwater table interfered more with on-site hauling than expected in both the West and East Pastures, even in areas that were seemingly "dry." Changes in hauling conditions even differed depending on the tide despite the fact that the site was not tidal, because hydraulic pressure on the groundwater table during high tides elevated the shallow groundwater table in the pasture.
  • High Tides Even Higher than Expected: Tides were amplified substantially this year relative to the predicted tides at Inverness. The strong winds this summer amplified tides relative to predicted tides in Inverness by as much as 0.2 to 0.8 feet (Mark Cederborg, Hanford ARC, pers. comm.), which increased the difficulty of keeping tides out of the construction site and exacerbated the tendency of "thinned" levees to erode or breach.
  • Abundant Wildlife: There was a lot more wildlife present than might have been expected with the amount of construction activity ongoing. Download the Construction Critters: Wildlife during Construction poster (191 KB PDF) for some photos and discussion of species observed.

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Did You Know?

Deathcap Mushrooms © John Lennie

Deathcap mushrooms are found throughout the Point Reyes region and are the most poisonous mushrooms in the world. But they're fairly new arrivals here. They invaded the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1930s, likely brought over on cork trees from Europe for the wine industry. More...