Skaggs Island Naval Communication Station is a former

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

installation located near

California State Route 37 State Route 37 (SR 37) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay. It serves as a vital connection in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, running from U.S. Route 101 in ...

between Novato and Vallejo,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was a secretive, secure, and self-contained naval base, engaged in a number of communications and intelligence gathering functions for the Navy and other federal intelligence organizations. The site was purchased by the Navy in 1941, and closed in 1993. The antennas continued to be used for some time after that, but by 2013 they were removed along with all of the remaining buildings.

Skaggs Island

Skaggs Island was once a thriving

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 ( ...

next to

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water ch ...

. It is part of 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 ...

for

migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

and was used extensively by Native Americans until the 1800s, when federal legislation allowed the

State of California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to fill in

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 ...

s. Senator John P. Jones, of Nevada, purchased for development by his brother. Chinese laborers, freed from railroad building work, were employed to construct

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

s to control

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing by Sonoma Creek. The area became a

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

d wetland area, converted to

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

farms and salt ponds, before becoming a United States Navy electronic communications station between 1942 and 1993. The VORTAC radio navigation beacon (Identifier: SGD. Frequency: 112.10 MHz) remains operational. It is a medium-power facility, used by aircraft for low-level enroute navigation. On March 31, 2011, Skaggs Island became part of the

San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in California established in 1970. It extends along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay, from the mouth of the Petaluma River, to Tolay Creek, Sonoma Creek, and ending at Mar ...

, created in 1974 to protect migratory birds, wetland habitat and

endangered species 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 inv ...

. Peter Fimrite, "Skaggs Island: Ex-Navy base to wildlife service", ''San Francisco Chronicle'' (March 18 2011)
/ref> Skaggs Island was named for

Marion Barton Skaggs Marion Barton Skaggs (April 5, 1888 – May 8, 1976) was an American businessman and leading member of the Skaggs Family of retailers who expanded the predecessor of Safeway into a major supermarket chain. Career Skaggs was an advocate of the c ...

, who financially helped the struggling Sonoma Land Company during the depression of the 1930s.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* {{authority control Communications and electronic installations of the United States Navy Installations of the United States Navy in California Military installations closed in the 1990s Islands of Sonoma County, California Islands of Northern California San Pablo Bay Wetlands of the San Francisco Bay Area National Wildlife Refuges in California Protected areas of Sonoma County, California Protected areas established in 2011 Islands of the San Francisco Bay Area Closed installations of the United States Navy 1941 establishments in California 1993 disestablishments in California

Skaggs Island

See also

References

Footnotes

Sources