San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Mudflat as far as the eye can see, vast stretches of lush pickleweed marsh, and a sense of solitude in the midst of seven million people best describe San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Just a stone's throw away from San Francisco and California's famed Napa Valley, San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge offers a rare peek into how the San Francisco Bay Area once was with its expansive marshes and bay waters.

In response to rapidly disappearing wetlands and its prime location within the Pacific Flyway, the refuge was created in 1974 to protect migratory birds, wetland habitat, and endangered species. The refuge and San Pablo Bay supports the largest wintering population of canvasbacks on the west coast, and protects the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and the California clapper rail.

The San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge lies along the north shore of San Pablo Bay in Sonoma, Solano, and Napa Counties in northern California. The refuge includes open bay/tidal marsh, mud flats, and seasonal and managed wetland habitats.

The Napa-Sonoma marshes in San Pablo Bay have been greatly impacted by human activities such as hydraulic mining, salt production, water diversions, and diking, draining, and filling for agricultural and industrial uses. About 85 percent of the historic tidal marshes of San Pablo Bay have been altered, negatively affecting the ability of the remaining tidal marshes to accept winter rainfall and purify water in the bay.

The refuge provides critical migratory and wintering habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl, particularly diving ducks, and provides year-round habitat for endangered, threatened, and sensitive species like the California clapper rail, salt marsh harvest mouse, California black rail, San Pablo song sparrow, and Suisun shrew.

Numerous other threatened, endangered, and sensitive species require tidal marsh habitat for their survival, including 11 fish species that swim through San Pablo Bay to reach their fresh water spawning grounds.

News Release March 17, 2011 - Skaggs Island to Become Part of San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Download the brochure (Requires Acrobat Reader) 779 MB

 

Getting There . . .

Directions to the office from Sacramento:
Travel west on I-80, and exit Hwy 37 W towards San Rafael. Go past Hwy 121. At the next light at Lakeville Hwy, make a U-turn and head back on Hwy 37 east. Go past the weigh station and within 100 yards turn Right into the driveway. You will see a sign for Sonoma Land Trust and the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Directions to the office from San Francisco:
Travel north on Hwy 101, and exit Hwy 37 East towards Vallejo. Pass Lakeville Highway and go past the weigh stationvand within 100 yards turn. Right into the driveway. You will see a sign for Sonoma Land Trust and the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Coordinates to the office: N 38.140338 W 122.463694

The entrance to Lower Tubbs Island and the Tolay Creek Trail is located adjacent to Highway 37, approximately ½ mile east of the Highway 121/37 intersection in Sonoma County.

Be Part of the Process!

Provide your input! Learn about the Refuge's Comprehensive Conservation Planning (CCP) process.

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For more information, contact:
San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge
7715 Lakeville Hwy
Petaluma, CA   94954
E-mail: don_brubaker@fws.gov
Phone Number: 707-769-4200

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