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Protecting Mice and Men

How to best protect Redwood Shores residents--humans from floods and marsh mice and birds from humans -- was the central issue in a five year long dispute now nearing resolution. This July, the S.F. Bay Conservation issued a decision that, if approved in final by U.S. Fish & Wildlife and the Army Corps, will allow the city to upgrade the levee surrounding this South Bay housing and office development while protecting endangered species.

The levee protects 5,200 homes and 4.5 million square feet of offices, as well as the South Bayside System Authority, which treats wastewater from five cities. As Redwood City manager Ed Everett puts it, "You can imagine the disaster if the SBSA flooded."

But since the last levee upgrade in the 1960s, not only has Redwood Shores sank, but also the Endangered Species Act has been passed. And Fish & Wildlife, charged with protecting the endangered California clapper rails and salt marsh harvest mice that live in the wetlands beside the levee, fears an upgrade might do more than protect humans and buildings and disturb species during levee improvements. "Flood protection is necessary but allows for more development," says the Service's Jim Browning. "We're now analyzing the impacts of the levee upgrade in terms of the increased number of people, pets, and predators that could go along with future development--the bigger picture beyond the 'footprint' of the levee itself."

The Bay Commission's July permit decision allows for levee sections near residential and commercial developments to be raised and widened, while sections around wetlands remain unimproved. Public access, which has existed on the top of the levee for decades, will be prohibited in some areas and redirected onto an improved inland trail. A 100-foot buffer zone, including a 50-foot channel, will separate a new development from the levee and rail and mouse habitat.

"We have the most urbanized estuary in the country and that means increased tensions between humans and wildlife," says the Bay Commission's Will Travis. "We're starting to hear from environmental groups that the public has enough shoreline access in these areas."

Contact: Will Travis (415)557-8775

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