Rodeo Wetland Restoration Supporting Threatened and Endangered Species

The endangered marsh sandwort has been successfully reintroduced to restored wetlands near Rodeo Beach.

NPS / Eric Wrubel

August 2018 - In 2013, the National Park Service launched a major effort to restore the wetlands and native habitats near Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands.

Once a thriving marsh, the U.S. Army made significant changes to the site’s landscape when they created the roads, buildings, and batteries at and around Fort Cronkhite. As a result, water flowing into the wetland from the hillside above created an incised channel rather than spreading out evenly as it once did, causing the wetland to shrink to a fraction of its original size. A portion of the wetland was also later converted into a parking lot.

The restoration project included regrading the parking area and surrounding landscape to restore the site’s hydrology, removing invasive plants, and planting native wetland species. The Parks Conservancy has been supporting these wetland habitat protection and restoration efforts—in particular by removing highly invasive cape ivy. The restored area is now supporting a small but expanding population of reintroduced endangered marsh sandwort, and threatened California red-legged frogs now also live here in the summer.

To learn more about this project contact Darren Fong.