Gray fox kit at the Baylands Bill Leikam 12-14-2011

Rosa californica at Pink Rose Gray Fox Den Palo Alto Baylands Leikam 2015-06

The Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, known officially as the Baylands Nature Preserve, is the largest tract of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay. Fifteen miles of multi-use trails provide access to a unique mixture of tidal and fresh water habitats. The preserve encompasses 1,940 acres in both

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

and

East Palo Alto East Palo Alto (abbreviated E.P.A.) is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 30,034. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of ...

, and is owned by the city of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. It is an important habitat for migratory shorebirds and is considered one of the best birdwatching spots on the West Coast.

Geography

The Palo Alto Baylands is located at in

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...

. The preserve consists of the former Yacht Harbor area, the Palo Alto Airport, the Municipal Golf Course, the Duck Pond and public picnic area, the Baylands Athletic Center, the Sailing Station, the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center, the Harriet Mundy Marsh and the Palo Alto Flood Basin. The flood basin is bordered by Adobe Creek and

Matadero Creek Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, where it joins Ado ...

and is maintained a couple feet below sea level in order to serve as a catchment basin in case of flooding in lower Palo Alto. At the northwest edge the Baylands extend past

San Francisquito Creek San Francisquito Creek (Spanish for "Little San Francisco" - the "little" referring to size of the settlement compared to Mission San Francisco de Asís) is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States. Histo ...

, although the creek used to flow into the Bay at the site of the former Yacht Club. In the late 1920s levees were constructed to re-route San Francisquito Creek away from its former mouth, to a sharp north turn for about half a mile, then to the northeast, before exiting to the Bay. Dredging of the former Yacht Club produced landfill for the filling of marshlands to construct the Palo Alto Airport and Municipal Golf Course. By 2004, filled areas such as the Palo Alto golf course and the

Palo Alto Airport Palo Alto Airport is a general aviation airport in the city of Palo Alto in Santa Clara County, California, United States, near the south end of San Francisco Bay on the western shore. Facilities Palo Alto Airport covers and has one asphalt ...

had reduced the

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...

to .

History

The Byxbee Park Hills area of Baylands was named for John Fletcher Byxbee Jr., Palo Alto City Engineer from 1906 to 1941. Byxbee was a member of the first graduating class of Palo Alto High School. At Stanford University he studied under C. D. Marx, founder of the City of Palo Alto utilities system, and graduated with a B.A. in Civil Engineering with the class of 1902. At first named Assistant City Engineer, he became City Engineer in 1906. Lucy Evans graduated from Stanford in 1929 and taught at Mayfield School for 23 years. She fought for the preservation of the Baylands, and her determination earned her the appellation "Baylands Lucy." She died suddenly in 1978. The Baylands Nature Interpretive Center was rededicated to her memory in December 1978. The Harriet Mundy Marsh extends from Lucy Evans Nature Interpretive Center to Sand Point and was dedicated on October 23, 1982, honoring Harriet Mundy who circulated a petition which resulted in the City Council stopping development of a $30 million private proposal to develop the Palo Alto Baylands for commercial and industrial use. The Byxbee Park Hills area of Baylands was named for John Fletcher Byxbee Jr., Palo Alto City Engineer from 1906 to 1941. The Emily Renzel Wetlands restoration project was completed in 1992, utilizing a $1,000,000 grant from the California Coastal Conservancy to enhance the salt marsh portion of wetlands with bay water, and creating a new 15-acre fresh water pond. The freshwater pond uses pumped reclaimed water from the nearby Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant and was named for former City Councilmember Emily Renzel for her tireless work over 20 years to preserve and protect Palo Alto's Baylands.

Ecology

The Baylands are home to numerous species of plants and animals including the

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

Ridgway's rail and the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

salt marsh harvest mouse The salt marsh harvest mouse (''Reithrodontomys raviventris''), also known as the red-bellied harvest mouse, is an endangered rodent endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area salt marshes in California. The two distinct subspecies are both endangere ...

. Several

gray fox The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littor ...

(''Urocyon cinereoargenteus'') breeding pairs inhabit the Baylands where they are relatively safe from large predators like puma (''Puma concolor'').

Recreation

Palo Alto Baylands January 2013 004 edit

The preserve contains 15 miles of multi-use trails and also includes the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center, the Palo Alto Duck Pond (originally built as a public swimming pool), and baseball and softball fields at the Baylands Athletic Center. The Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center is built on pilings at the edge of the salt marsh. A plank walk leads a quarter-mile across the marsh to open water and a panoramic view of San Francisco Bay. The interpretive center was renovated in 2017 and the boardwalk was renovated in 2019.

References

External links