Giacomini Wetlands Restoration, Point Reyes Station, CA

For hundreds of years the south end of Tomales Bay was a productive wetland regularly visited by egrets, herons, and shorebirds in search of their favorite food found in the mudflats and tidal marshes that edge the bay. An extensive tidal marsh complex once spanned the entire width of the headwaters of Tomales Bay, extending south towards Bear Valley and north towards Inverness. In the early 1940s, Waldo Giacomini with the help of the US Army Corps of Engineers diked the south end of Tomales Bay to create additional pasture for his dairy in order to produce milk for the war effort. More than 550 acres or 50% of the wetlands in Tomales Bay were diked to reclaim this marsh that, at that time, was thought to be an unproductive wasteland. From this land, the Giacominis created one of the largest and most productive dairies in Marin County, which the family maintained until recently.

The Giacomini Wetlands Restoration Project restored the approximately 550 acres of tidal wetlands at the head of the Tomales Bay. The National Park Service (NPS) and Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA) lead a collaborative effort to raise funds and execute the project along with several local, state, and federal partners. Funding came from several sources including The California Coastal Conservancy, Caltrans, National Fish and Wildlife Fund, SWRCB, Us Fish & Wildlife Service, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Wildlife Conservation Board.