Reviving a Vital Coastal Habitat
Along California’s central coast, Morro Bay’s sheltered waters support an abundance of animals, from foraging snails to waterbirds. Beneath the surface, eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows provide essential food and shelter for a diverse community of fish and wildlife. However, poor water quality and habitat degradation led to a dramatic decline of eelgrass meadows in this region. A dedicated partnership worked together to help these underwater meadows flourish again.
In September 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Coastal Program, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, and Morro Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) joined forces to restore upland and wetland habitats throughout the estuary. The effort focused on expanding eelgrass meadows, removing invasive ice plant from the Morro Bay sandspit, and honoring Kendra Chan, a beloved Service biologist and passionate ocean advocate who lost her life, along with 33 other passengers and crew, in the September 2019 Conception boat fire.
Eelgrass is among the world’s most productive coastal habitats. Its ribbon-like leaves provide food and shelter for a variety of fish and wildlife, including Pacific herring, brant geese, and southern sea otters. These underwater meadows also benefit coastal communities by improving water quality and reducing erosion and flooding.
Kendra had a special connection to these underwater ecosystems. As a University of California, Davis, student, she studied eelgrass food webs and spent her free time exploring tidepools and discovering the small creatures that made these habitats their home.
Science Guides Restoration
Between 2007 and 2017, eelgrass meadows in Morro Bay fell from 344 acres to just 13 acres. In 2018, the Coastal Program partnered with MBNEP to recover these important habitats by updating a bathymetric map of the estuary – documenting water depths and seafloor conditions. This information helped identify suitable restoration sites and guide planting recommendations.
From 2020 to 2025, partners put plans into action by harvesting and transplanting eelgrass by hand and with scuba divers. The restoration also extended to the land by removing the invasive ice plant, planting native wetland and upland vegetation, and monitoring restoration sites.
Honoring Kendra Chan Through Education
The project also celebrates Kendra's love of the ocean and its wildlife. In her honor, partners installed an educational sign along the Morro Bay waterfront that features her photographs of underwater and intertidal life. Karen Sinclair, a Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office biologist and Kendra’s longtime friend, contributed original paintings.
MBNEP’s Nature Center also created an interactive exhibit featuring Kendra's photographs, inviting visitors to discover the remarkable creatures living among eelgrass leaves. Together, these displays carry forward her curiosity and inspire others to protect the coastal environment she loved.
A Remarkable Recovery
The restoration results have been extraordinary. Eelgrass coverage in Morro Bay grew from 13 acres to nearly 750 acres by 2023, marking a remarkable turnaround for this vital habitat. Expanding meadows now provide renewed habitat for fish and wildlife, while strengthening the health and resilience of the estuary.
