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Spring 1996 |
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Page 7 |
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Inside |
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Elkhorn Slough Research |
pg. 7 |
Wetlands, like estuaries and sloughs, provide some of the most productive habitats in the world. California has lost all but ten percent of its original wetlands, so areas like Elkhorn Slough, the largest remaining coastal wetland area on the Central Coast, have become even more precious. From marshes that provide a stopover on the Pacific Flyway for migrating birds, to small channels that offer safety to juvenile fish and other animals, the Slough plays a vital environmental role. But erosion threatens its future.
Erosion began after the Moss Landing harbor was built, in 1946. The harbor created a wide opening between the Slough and the bay and allowed direct flushing up and down the Slough with the tides. Fine sediment from the Slough began to be washed out to the bay, channels widened, soft slopes were replaced by steep banks and marshes began to disappear.
Three separate organizations work in various capacities to preserve the Slough. The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, a cooperative effort between NOAA and the California Department of Fish and Game, conducts research to improve understanding and management of estuarine areas. The Elkhorn Slough Foundation, a non-profit group, works with Fish & Game to develop educational and research programs for the Reserve. Finally, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) has jurisdiction over waters up into the Slough. As sister organizations within NOAA, the Sanctuary and the Reserve can deal with the Slough's waters as they really are &emdash; a single system, from watersheds through to the bay.
Researchers are studying ways to stop erosion in the Slough. One suggested remedy is to erect a steel wall at the Highway 1 bridge to reduce the tidal flows and keep more sediment in the Slough. "While that might solve one problem, it would also create more," says Andrew DeVogelaere, MBNMS Research Manager, pointing out that the wall would also hinder movement of sharks, harbor seals and other animals to and from the Slough, affecting its ecosystem.
Hydrologists suggest that erosion may stop on its own as channels widen and water travels ever more slowly. But how wide will the channels have become then? Is it a matter of a few more feet, or will erosion stop only when the Slough has become a bay and all the marshes are gone?
To help answer these questions, the Sanctuary funded a study, carried out by Moss Landing Marine Labs, to create a bathymetric survey (which maps depths of channels, delineates the bottom contours, and measures tidal levels) of the Slough and to measure present erosion rates. The study shows that erosion rates are faster than they were ten years ago. The next step, presently underway, is to develop a model to show how much more erosion will take place before it naturally stops.
Researchers hope to save the Slough before it joins the
ranks of California's other former wetlands. Stay tuned for
updates on this critical research. 
For further information, contact Mark Silberstein, Elkhorn Slough NERR, at (408) 728-5939, or Andrew DeVogelaere, at (408) 647-4213.
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