Hoffman Marsh is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s on San Francisco Bay in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

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 ...

. The marsh has been protected within

Eastshore State Park McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is a state park and wildlife refuge along the San Francisco Bay shoreline of the East Bay between the cities of Richmond, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland. It encompasses remnant natural wetlands, rest ...

, and adjacent to

Point Isabel Regional Shoreline Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, California, is operated by East Bay Regional Park District, and is a multi-use park for joggers, windsurfers, kayakers, photographers, picnickers, and people walking dogs. It has access for pedestrians ...

. The marsh is an important nesting ground for wildfowl and stopping ground on the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

, as it is one of only a handful of undestroyed wetlands in the Bay Area. It borders Point Isabel Regional Shoreline and Interstate 80.

Hoffman Channel

Hoffman Marsh is the delta for the mouth of

Fluvius Innominatus Fluvius Innominatus (Latin for "unnamed river") or Central Creek
Well.com, retrieved Au ...

creek into the Hoffman Channel, which lead to San Francisco Bay.
Museum of California Hoffman Channel is a constructed channel that runs between Point Isabel Regional Shoreline and North Point Isabel, both of which are landfill. The marsh is bounded on the west by the San Francisco Bay Trail, which runs along a berm built by Santa Fe Railroad. After the berm was built, Hoffman Marsh developed behind it.

Development proposal

There was a controversial proposal to add a 98,000 sq. ft. (9,100 m²)

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...

department store on a site between the

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (Trade name, doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only Big-box store, big-box retail stores (warehouse c ...

store and the marsh.New Kohl's store proposed for Richmond
by Katherine Tam, ''

Contra Costa Times The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East ...

'', May 30, 2008, access date August 8, 2008 Many residents were worried about potential negative effects on increased nighttime lighting that will make endangered birds such as the

California clapper rail Ridgway's rail (''Rallus obsoletus'') is a near-threatened species of bird. It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay to southern Baja California. A member of the rail family, Rallidae, it is a chicken-sized bird that rarely fli ...

and

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 ...

more susceptible to predators. This is in addition to other birds that make overnight stopovers at the marsh that would also possibly decrease in number and therefore reduce biodiversity. The Richmond Annex Neighborhood Council officially opposed the project.

Park

Hoffman Marsh was saved from development, to be protected within

Habitat restoration Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

plans are being developed.San Francisco Bay Area Conservation Commons: Hoffman Marsh Restoration Project, Eastshore State Park
. accessed 1.13.2013

References

External links

Panoramic photo of Hoffman Marsh
Geography of Richmond, California Parks in Richmond, California Wetlands of the San Francisco Bay Area Marshes of California Landforms of Contra Costa County, California {{ContraCostaCountyCA-geo-stub

Hoffman Channel

Development proposal

Park

See also

References

External links