Spotlight On Refuge Projects: Tidal Wetlands Restoration Project – first of its kind in Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge

A multitude of benefits and a model for the future. That’s the result of the recently completed White Slough Tidal Wetlands Restoration Project.

It is the first project in Humboldt Bay to tackle a failing levee, sea level rise and the loss of important habitat by improving infrastructure. This “proof of concept” pilot project has been a team effort spanning five years, two project leaders, three project managers and other professionals. The project provides a resilient living shoreline and flood protection for ranchlands and roads (as a part of US-101). This pilot project would become a team effort, spanning five years, two project leaders, three project managers and many other partners and professionals.

The project consists of 41 acres on the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It began in 2014 shortly after a tide breached the dike in the area, threatening to convert critical marshland to mudflats.