Coastal Resiliency Basics 

What is coastal resiliency?

Coastal resiliency is a community’s ability to rebound after an extreme weather event.  Resilient, healthy coastal ecosystems serve as the first line of defense for coastal communities facing stronger storms, more frequent flooding, and sea level rise.  These resilient coastal ecosystems, in turn, greatly benefit bird communities. Audubon is advancing nature-based strategies to help coastline communities weather the impacts of climate change.

Audubon’s conservation, policy, and science teams prioritize potential restoration sites in and around socially vulnerable communities to protect both birds and people where they are at highest risk from sea level rise. 

Audubon's Coastal Resiliency Work

Aramburu Island

Aramburu Island is a 17-acre human-made island located in Richardson Bay.  The island was created in the 1960s from the dredge spoils from a nearby boating channel. Over many years, the unmanaged island became host to a wide variety of non-native and invasive plants and the banks significantly eroded due to wave action. 

In 2007, after the Cosco-Busan oil spill, Audubon California staff observed a large percentage of birds in Richardson Bay were using Aramburu Island as refuge from the toxic waters.  This observation led Audubon California to designate Aramburu Island as critical bird habitat and quickly made plans for an enhancement project. 

The Enhancement Plan improved aquatic, wetland, and upland habitats for a range of local species, stabilized the rapidly eroding eastern shoreline, and helped the island and surrounding communities adapt to sea level rise.  Since the completion of construction in 2012, thousands of native plants have been installed and hundreds of adult and youth volunteers have contributed thousands of hours restoring and maintaining the island.  Today, Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary staff host restoration workdays where volunteers can actively contribute to this ongoing restoration success.

Sonoma Creek

Sonoma Creek runs from Sonoma County into the San Pablo Bay on the northernmost end of the greater San Francisco Bay. 

The California Gold Rush caused a rapid increase in human population across California.  During this time, mining and agricultural practices skyrocketed, causing a devastating effect on one of California’s most sensitive ecosystems- coastal wetlands.  In the San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma Creek marsh displays the scars of these practices- poor hydrology that causes stagnant pools and form algal mats, harbor mosquitos, and suppress native vegetation as well as steep levees, which cut off the natural movement of plants, animals, and water.

Audubon California partnered with the Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District and the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge to restore this wetland to its highest potential. The core of the project involved constructing a network of tidal channels within the marsh to drastically improve tidal exchange, nutrient cycling, and provide habitat to a myriad of marsh-dependent wildlife species. The channels provide spawning and feeding grounds for endangered and commercial fish.

Improving hydrology improved water quality by increasing circulation and drastically reducing the amount of pesticides applied to areas  of ponded water that currently facilitate heavy mosquito production.  The project also had a vital climate change adaptation component. The construction of a gently-graded high marsh transition zone reduced storm surge flooding of adjacent private lands and provide crucial high tide refuges for rails and small mammals. 

A string of lagoons can be found along the coast of San Diego County, providing unique habitat for migrating birds, protecting communities from storms and sea level rise, and sequestering large amounts of carbon. However, two major sites, Buena Vista Lagoon and Mission Bay, remain impacted from development. Audubon CA, Buena Vista Audubon, and San Diego Audubon are working together with local community and indigenous partners to restore these impacted areas through hands on restoration events, storytelling, and advocacy.

Through this community-driven project, we will work together to heal these lagoons and ensure that they become healthy and thriving ecosystems for people and birds.

San Francisco Bay Conservation Strategy

• Audubon California created a San Francisco Bay Conservation Strategy that aims to protect, restore, and build resilient coastal ecosystems in San Francisco Bay.
• Audubon’s conservation, policy, and science teams prioritized potential restoration sites in and around socially vulnerable communities to protect both birds and people where they are at highest risk from sea-level rise
• Read our Blueprint for Resilient Coastal Communities in San Francisco Bay

Policy Work

Audubon is the voice for birds from Town Halls to the U.S. Capitol. We will bring the full power of our expansive network to bear on behalf of the most important policies that will lead to protection for birds, ecosystem restoration and resilience, and healthy coastal habitats.

California

• Secure state funding that prioritizes investments in natural infrastructure solutions to address climate change and sea-level rise, and legislation to improve sea-level rise adaptation planning and create other incentives for natural infrastructure projects.

• Leverage our science expertise and Audubon network to advocate for investment in nature-based climate solutions, such as wetland and eelgrass restoration.

  • Inform and work with state agencies, including the Coastal Conservancy, Coastal Commission, and Ocean Protection Council to create a resilient coastline.  

Federal

• Advance San Francisco Bay Restoration Act and appropriations for the EPA Geographic Program.
• Support federal bills that protect seabirds, fisheries, and coastal communities from climate change.
• Work with Congress to ensure that there are plenty of forage fish in the ocean for seabirds, make fisheries climate-ready, and protect and restore vital estuarine ecosystems in coastal places that sea and shorebirds need to nest, rest, and forage for food.