What is the Dutch Slough Tidal Marsh Restoration Project?
A plan to restore 1,166 acres of rangeland and a dairy to tidal wetlands and create a 55-acre park, trails and access to the Delta for the City of Oakley and the surrounding region.

What are the Goals of the Project?
The goals of the project are to:
1. Provide shoreline access, educational and recreational opportunities.
2. Benefit native species by re-establishing natural ecological processes and habitats.
3. Contribute to scientific understanding of ecological restoration by implementing the project under an adaptive management framework.

Who are the Dutch Slough project partners?
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Coastal Conservancy, CALFED Bay-Delta Program (formerly known as the California Bay Delta Authority), the Natural Heritage Institute (NHI) and the City of Oakley are all working together to restore the Dutch Slough site.

Does the City of Oakley support the project?
Yes. The Oakley City Council voted 4 to 1 to support the Dutch Slough project at their meeting on May 6, 2002. The project partners have been working with the City ever since to create the best possible project for Oakley and will continue working together.

What is the status of the project?
The Emerson, Gilbert and Burroughs families sold the Dutch Slough properties to DWR on October 30, 2003. The project partners prepared a Restoration Conceptual Plan and Feasibility Report and a Community Park and Public Access Conceptual Master Plan.  DWR released a Draft Environmental Impact Report in November 2008 and the public will have 60 days to provide comments.  DWR will begin implementation after they finalize the EIR and obtain permits from regulatory agencies.  Implementation will require at least three years and will not be completed until 2012 at the earliest.  

When will the trails be open to the public?
When complete, the Dutch Slough project will be open to the public and will include approximately six miles of trail, a non-motorized boat ramp, and a Community Park.  The City of Oakley will own and manage these public facilities.

How can I get involved in helping to plan the project?
Please fill out the comment page to let us know how you would like to get involved. Check the events and meetings page to find out about upcoming events.

Will the project increase mercury levels in the Delta?
Mercury from the gold rush period and from modern day pollution is a problem in the Bay-Delta watershed.  In certain wetland environments, mercury combines with hydrogen to form methyl mercury, a particularly harmful form of mercury. Fortunately, fish in the Dutch Slough area havethe lowest levels of methyl mercury in the Bay-Delta region, and several recent studies funded by the State of California indicate that wetlands can reduce levels of methyl mercury in the environment. The project sponsors believe the project design will actually reduce methyl mercury levels in the Delta and will monitor methyl mercury levels after the project is completed.  Meanwhile, the state and federal governments are working on programs to reduce methyl mercury in the Delta and limit human exposure to toxic levels of mercury.

Will the project have negative water quality impacts?
The project partners are working with the Contra Costa Water District to define potential problems. There will be a full scale Environmental Impact Report done before the project is implement, assuring that no harm will be done to water quality. See the Opportunities and Constraints PowerPoint presentation to find out more information.

Will the project increase mosquitoes and West Nile virus?
The project partners are working closely with the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District (CCMVCD) to design the project in a way that limits mosquito growth and West Nile virus. The goal of the CCMVCD program is to prevent mosquito problems before they happen. The CCMVCD has made suggestions for how to design the wetland restoration project that will be incorporated into the project. The project partners will continue to work with CCMVCD to control mosquitoes at the Dutch Slough site.

Please click here if you have any questions or comments.

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