Bolinas Bay and Bolinas Lagoon. Photo: Jason Thompson

Excerpt from 'Projecting the Future Evolution of Bolinas Lagoon'

In 1996 Marin County Open Space District suggested in the Bolinas Lagoon Management Update that the lagoon had lost significant tidal prism since 1968. It was recommended that additional studies be conducted to corroborate this finding and determine the future magnitude of tidal prism loss. A Reconnaissance Study conducted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (COE) in 1997 concluded that corrective action - dredging and/or other means of removing accumulated sediment or minimizing its entry into the lagoon - was a matter of national interest because of the environmental significance of the lagoon. The COE, with financial support from the federal government, the State of California, and the Marin County Open Space District (MCOSD), commenced a Feasibility Study in 1998 to develop a plan to restore habitats of the lagoon. The COE released the Draft Bolinas Lagoon Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study and Draft EIR/EIS in 2002. The study called for dredging approximately 1.4 million cubic yards of sediment from the lagoon. Public comments challenged the conclusions of the Draft EIR/S and cited the need for a clear, scientifically sound description of how the lagoon would evolve if no action was taken - without which the purpose and need for taking corrective action could not be supported.

In response, MCOSD hired a consulting team to conduct a rigorous scientific review of the assumptions of the study and conclusions and to provide a 50-year projection of the hydrological and ecological evolution of the lagoon. As part of this effort, MCOSD assembled two panels of independent scientists with expertise in a variety of relevant disciplines to assist the consultant team in identifying data gaps and collecting and analyzing new data. These panels, known as the Technical Review Group and the Project Reformulation Advisory Group, also provided peer review of the reports. The consulting team prepared a series of five reports documenting its findings. The conclusions contained in the most recent report, entitled 'Projecting the Future Evolution of Bolinas Lagoon', are based on previous reports by the consultants related to lagoon management objectives, data review, sediment delivery, and other subjects.

In December 2006, the Executive Committee and the Bolinas Lagoon Technical Advisory Committee formulated recommendations to go forward to the Board of Directors of the Marin County Open Space District to continue the Bolinas Lagoon Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study and EIR/S. The study would engage the regulatory agencies, scientists and the public in identifying actions that would reduce, and possibly reverse, sediment accumulation and habitat shifts caused by human impacts in Bolinas Lagoon.

The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, Marin Open Space District, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers have developed a plan to address human impacts and to maintain a healthy lagoon ecosystem.

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