“It’s been amazing to see this island come to life,” said Jones. “We’ve seen Black Oystercatchers nesting there for the first time, as well as dozens of birds making use of the new habitat,” said Andrea Jones, director of bird conservation for Audubon California. 

The Marin Independent Journal recently vistited Aramburu Island to check out the restoration.  In the days following the worst oil spill in San Francisco Bay's history. Audubon California staff observed that a large number of birds in Richardson Bay were using Aramburu Island, owned by Marin County, as a refuge from toxic waters. That observation prompted Audubon to launch a project to turn the barren island, created from dredge spoils years earlier, into much-needed habitat for birds and other wildlife. Funded partially through oil spill reparations, the project created a suite of habitats for a range of local species, and stabilized the rapidly eroding eastern shoreline, and help the island and surrounding communities adapt to sea level rise. Construction was completed by November of 2012. 

Read the full article here.