National Park Service and Point Reyes Field Seminars to offer a Series of Free Giacomini Restoration Field Seminars

Date: August 18, 2008
Contact: Lorraine Parsons, 415-464-5193

To celebrate the second phase of construction of the Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project, Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA) and the Point Reyes National Seashore are hosting a series of field seminars. The seminars will be held on the fourth Saturday of every month, starting on Saturday, August 23, 2008, and are open to the public at no cost. The workshops and seminars will meet at 10 a.m. at the corner of 5th and C Streets in Point Reyes Station.

Field Seminar Topics include:

• Saturday, August 23: Construction methods and challenges in constructing wetland restoration projects (Mark Cederborg, Project Manager, Hanford ARC);
• Saturday, September 27: Challenges and opportunities in restoring estuarine wetlands and changes expected with the Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project (Lorraine Parsons, Project Manager/Wetland Ecologist, Seashore);
• Saturday, October 25: Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project: Dynamics of bird use (Jules Evens, Principal, Avocet Research Associates);
• Saturday, November 22: Changing flow patterns and fish use in the Giacomini Restoration Area (Brannon Ketcham, Hydrologist/Water Resources Chief; Michael Reichmuth, Fisheries Biologist, Seashore).

A short update on the status of the construction project will precede the seminars.

Project Update Meetings:

In addition to the Saturday Field Seminars, Lorraine Parsons from the National Seashore will update interested members of the local community and general public on status of the restoration project the first Friday of every month through Friday, November 7, 2008. Those interested in attending should meet at 5th and C Street in Point Reyes Station at 10 a.m. at the interpretative sign.

What’s Happening at the Giacomini Wetlands This Week (Weeks of August 8 – 18, 2008):

Construction contractors continued to remove portions of the Giacomini Ranch levee system during the fourth full week of construction. At some of the southernmost areas, levees have been completely removed, but in the middle and northern portions of the ranch, a small amount of outer levee material is being retained as a berm to maintain dry working conditions through late October. At this time, most of the East Pasture levee material is being used to fill drainage ditches, with some being stockpiled at the Dairy Mesa for later use in restoring the natural topography of the Mesa. Levee material being excavated from the West Pasture is being hauled to the quarries, although some was used to repair three breaches that occurred in the levee system during recent flood events. Construction has been requiring careful coordination and interaction with Park Service and contractor biologists to ensure that no special status species occur in the work zones.

Starting the week of August 11, construction contractors will begin working on creation of some of the tidal channels and sloughs and high tide refugia for rails in the northern portion of the East Pasture. In addition, the final section of levee in the northernmost portion of the East Pasture will be excavated to leave a small berm, and the culvert and tidegate on the diked East Pasture Old Slough will be removed. In the West Pasture, the main activity will be continued hauling of excavated sediment to the quarries. Hauling roundtrips will not exceed a maximum of 40 daily, and the contractor is used biodiesel-fueled trucks.

Visit our Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project: Phase II Construction Updates page for more information.

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