ESF Stewardship Report

Elkhorn Slough Foundation
Stewardship Report

The photographs below show your stewardship dollars at work. You'll see heavy equipment building drainage channels and sediment basins to keep eroding soils on the land and out of the slough. You'll see invasive non-native plants threatening rare native plant communities, and the hundreds of acres where we have removed them. You will also see what we are protecting – one of the last great estuaries in California.

Blohm Ranch

The fields of Blohm ranch have been planted in perennial herbs, which has reduced soil runoff.
ESF has managed these lands for the Nature Conservancy since 1993.



This channel, which had completely filled in with sediment, once again feeds a pond on Blohm Ranch. ESF cleaned out the channel and constructed sediment basins upstream to reduce sediment buildup.

Hambey Ranch

ESF leases 45 acres to local strawberry growers at Hambey Ranch,
which we acquired in 2003.

	ESF has invested thousands of dollars building 600 feet of drainage channels and three sediment basins at Hambey Ranch to reduce soil erosion in order to continue farming in a way that is environmentally and economically viable.

Land Manager Kim Hayes surveys one of three sediment basins on Hambey.

Reducing Soil Erosion

The Foundation 's 1999 Watershed Conservation Plan identifies soil erosion as one of the major threats to the health of Elkhorn Slough. We use a variety of methods to reduce erosion on the 3600 acres of land under our care.

Here, our land staff has spread spread straw on the exposed roads
of Hambey Ranch to reduce erosion.

We've planted cover crops on the steep, eroding hillsides of Renteria Ranch,
shown here in August and December of 2004.

Removing Invasive Non-natives

Half of California's top ten most invasive non-native plant species are on ESF lands, of which jubata grass is the most widespread. The Foundation is engaged in a five-year program of removing jubata from its lands.

A hillside at El Chamisal Ranch, before and after the removal of jubata grass.

Jubata grass on the Hambey Ranch is competing with
the rare native maritime chaparral plant community.

What We're Protecting

Elkhorn Slough is among the nation's top birding areas –
more than 340 species can be seen here.


American Kestrel	Great Blue Heron

Red-tailed Hawk	Great Egret

The North Slough with
Porter Marsh and Blohm Ranch

This ridgeline at the end of the North Slough runs along Carneros Creek,
the primary source of the slough's fresh water. ESF has now protected 1300 acres
(and the habitats they provide) running two miles along this ridge.


Red-legged Frog	Anise Swallowtail

Blue Damselfly

All of this work is made possible by the generosity of our members and supporters.
To join them, click here.