Environmental Impact Statement - Sonoma Land Trust

California Department of Fish and Game
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Section 3.5. Biological Resources
McAteer–Petris Act, Coastal Zone Management Act and
San Francisco Bay Plan
The McAteer Petris Act was passed by the State of California in 1965 when it
established the San Francisco Bay Conservation Development Commission
(BCDC) as the state agency responsible for regulating development in an around
San Francisco Bay. The federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972
encourages states to voluntarily develop Coastal Management Programs to
preserve and protect the unique features of each coastal area. BCDC is the state
coastal management agency for the San Francisco Bay Area coastal zone, and its
laws and policies constitute the federally approved state coastal management
program for the Bay.
The San Francisco Bay Plan was completed and adopted by BCDC in 1968 and
amended in May 2002. The BCDC developed the Bay Plan to use as a guide in
governing development activities, including tidal restoration, in and around the
Bay and its shorelines. The objectives of the Bay Plan are to:
• protect the Bay as a great natural resource for the benefit of present and
future generations; and
• develop the Bay and its shoreline to their highest potential with a minimum
of Bay filling.
According to the Bay Plan, the project site is a designated priority use area for
wildlife refuges. The following Bay Plan policies are applicable to the project
area (BCDC website 2004).
• Where and whenever possible, former tidal marshes and tidal flats that have
been diked from the Bay should be restored to tidal action in order to replace
lost historic wetlands or should be managed to provide important Bay habitat
functions, such as resting, foraging and breeding habitat for fish, other
aquatic organisms and wildlife. As recommended in the Baylands Ecosystem
Habitat Goals report, around 65,000 acres of areas diked from the Bay should
be restored to tidal action. Further, local government land use and tax
policies should not lead to the conversion of these restorable lands to uses
that would preclude or deter potential restoration. The public should make
every effort to acquire these lands from willing sellers for the purpose of
restoration. (Bay Plan - Tidal Marshes and Tidal Flats Policy 4).
• Any tidal restoration project should include clear and specific long-term and
short-term biological and physical goals, and success criteria and a
monitoring program to assess the sustainability of the project. Design and
evaluation of the project should include an analysis of: (a) the effects of
relative sea level rise; (b) the impact of the project on the Bay's sediment
budget; (c) localized sediment erosion and accretion; (d) the role of tidal
flows; (e) potential invasive species introduction, spread, and their control;
(f) rates of colonization by vegetation; (g) the expected use of the site by fish,
other aquatic organisms and wildlife; and (h) site characterization. If success
criteria are not met, appropriate corrective measures should be taken. (Bay
Plan - Tidal Marshes and Tidal Flats Policy 5).
Sears Point Wetland and Watershed Restoration
Project Final Environmental Impact
Report/Environmental Impact Statement
3.5-10
April 2012