NOAA administrator visits Ducks Unlimited restoration project in California
NOAA administrator visits DU project site Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under-secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and administrator of the NOAA, visits the Napa Plant Site Restoration Project in the California Bay Area. Photo courtesy NOAA.gov. |
Officials from Ducks Unlimited's Western Regional Office met with Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under-secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—the nation's top science agency for climate, oceans and the atmosphere—after she asked to visit DU's most recent restoration project in California.
Dr. Lubchenco's visit comes on the heels of the first wave of work at DU's Napa Plant Site Restoration Project (NPSRP), which will restore approximately 1,400 acres of tidal wetlands that will benefit a variety of fish and wildlife species and provide sustainable economic opportunities to local and regional communities of the San Pablo Bay area. Ducks Unlimited partnered with NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation on the project.
Located within American Canyon, Calif., a city just north of San Francisco, the NPSRP is part of one of the largest restoration projects in U.S. history, the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Restoration Project. Over the last six years, DU and its partners have successfully restored more than 6,000 acres of an 11,000-acre expanse of former salt evaporation ponds lying within the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area. This area is owned by the California Department of Fish and Game, which manages the NPSRP.
"We are extremely pleased that Dr. Lubchenco wanted to visit a project that symbolizes the wonderful restoration work that has resulted from DU's partnership with NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation," said Chris Unkel, director of public policy at the WRO. "We have collaborated on a number of projects in the Bay area and hope to continue this relationship moving forward. This visit served as an excellent opportunity for her to see firsthand the benefits that these projects can have for both wildlife and people."