Deer Island Basin Complex Tidal Wetlands Restoration Project

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Construction of this project is made possible through grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority. The project team has actively consulted the San Francisco Bay Restoration Regulatory Integration Team (BRRITT) which coordinates permit applications for the project. This included site tours with key regulators and multiple rounds of project design discussion and comment. Soliciting early input from regulators has been an asset to informing the project’s permitting approach. During the past century, former tidal marshes at Deer Island Basin have been diked, drained, and converted to pasture. The District proposes to restore ecologically valuable tidal wetlands for endangered species and to improve tidal connectivity to the diked areas that were historically tidal wetlands along Novato Creek. The District’s Deer Island Basin Complex is located in the lower Novato Creek watershed just north of Highway 37. It includes two stormwater ponds, Heron’s Beak Pond and Duck Bill Pond along the south side of Novato Creek, as well as the Deer Island Basin on the north side of Novato Creek.