SAN FRANCISCO, California, December 17, 2002 (ENS) - Federal and state officials have completed a deal with Cargill Inc. to buy 16,500 acres of salt ponds around San Francisco Bay, a first step toward restoring some of the region's tidal marshes and wetlands. The agreement was reached Monday following more than six months of intensive negotiations with Cargill, the owner of the salt ponds. Cargill has conducted salt making operations in the Bay since 1978 and is the latest salt making company in a long line stretching back more than 150 years.
"This project offers Californians an unprecedented opportunity to improve the physical, biological and chemical health of the San Francisco Bay," said California Governor Gray Davis. "This is the single largest wetlands restoration on the West Coast, and it lies in the heart of a heavily urbanized area. This is a one of a kind project that will benefit the environment and people of California for generations to come."
The agreement meets principles outlined in May, and sets the stage for the largest wetlands restoration project on the West Coast, on a par with current restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay, Everglades, and along the Mississippi River.
Under the terms of the conveyance agreement, 16,500 acres in the San Francisco Bay and Napa County will be purchased from Cargill for $100 million, with funding coming from the state and federal governments and several philanthropic foundations. The agreement is contingent on a vote of the California Wildlife Conservation Board, which will consider the issue at its February 11, 2003 public meeting.
"This historic agreement sets in motion the largest wetlands restoration undertaken in California history," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who worked with federal, state, philanthropic foundations and Cargill officials to reach an agreement. "By forging a public private partnership, we have developed a project that will benefit generations of Californians to come and may serve as a model for future environmental projects."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) will own and manage the properties. Cargill will continue to operate and maintain the ponds after the USFWS and CDFG acquire title, until the ponds meet the transfer conditions specified in the phase out agreement.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton called the agreement "an example of a new environmentalism in which government works hand in hand with conservation groups, corporations, tribes, private landowners, and others to conserve our land."
"The restored marshes will improve water quality by filtering storm water runoff, provide a buffer between the bay and urban areas, and benefit hundreds of species of fish and wildlife, including endangered and threatened species such as the California clapper rail, the salt marsh harvest mouse, the California least tern, and the western snowy plover," Norton added.
The full funding package includes $100 million for acquisition and $35 million for five years of initial stewardship and restoration planning. Funding for acquisition includes $72 million from the state of California, $8 million from the USFWS, and $20 million from a consortium of the Hewlett, Moore, and Packard foundations and the Goldman, and Resources Legacy Funds.
The private foundations are also providing $15 million toward the cost of initial stewardship and restoration planning. The remaining $20 million will come from both the federal and state governments to be provided over a five year period.
"San Francisco Bay is a site of international significance, and this acquisition sets the stage for the largest tidal wetlands restoration ever attempted on the U.S. Pacific Coast," said National Audubon Society president John Flicker.
Environmental site assessments of the property, the details of Cargill's responsibilities for site cleanup, the agreement regarding the phase out of salt making operations, and a full summary of the conveyance document will be finalized and made available to the public in January.:
