How we work with nature to bring back the Bay’s historic salt marshes
A typical salt pond looks like a moonscape in the dry of summer.
![Moonscape](/sites/default/files/2018-04/moonscape_1_0.jpg)
Digging in the Mud
We launch restoration by digging holes in the dirt levees surrounding ponds, and Bay tides rush in to cover crusted salt flats.
![Bay creatures](/sites/default/files/2018-04/mud2_0.jpg)
Vegetation Emerges
Once enough sediment has built up, it can support snails, shellfish, and other creatures, and the growth of marsh plants – so seedlings begin to pop up.
![Vegetation emerges](/sites/default/files/2018-04/06-4577A_0.jpg)
Animals Find Refuge
![Harvest mouse](/sites/default/files/2018-04/04-2916A.jpg)
![Ridgway's Rail (formerly Clapper Rail)](/sites/default/files/2018-04/15-2568A.JudyIrving.jpg)
We are now seeing two key San Francisco Bay endangered species living and breeding in our restored wetlands. Scientists caught sight of the animals earlier than was expected, less than a decade after restoration began.
Breach, salt marsh, and endangered species photos credit: Judy Irving, Pelican Media.