The Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project is a collaborative effort to develop and implement strategies to conserve and restore estuarine habitats in the Elkhorn Slough watershed. This collaboration, initiated in 2004, involves over 100 coastal resource managers, scientific experts, representatives from key regulatory and jurisdictional entities, leaders of conservation organizations, and community members.
Fifty percent, or 1,000 acres, of Elkhorn Slough’s salt marshes have been lost over the past 150 years due to human actions. Marsh loss and estuarine habitat 
erosion in Elkhorn Slough is currently ongoing with channel bank erosion rates from 1 to 2 feet per year and interior marsh dieback rates of at least 3 acres per year. These rapid changes not only affect the estuary’s animals and plants, but also impact public access sites and railroad and road infrastructure. In addition, Elkhorn Slough’s estuarine habitats suffer from subsidence, degraded water quality conditions, and invasion of non-native species.
The final Philip Williams and Associates report on the projected effects of major actions on Elkhorn Slough hydrodynamics, geomorphology and habitats is posted here.
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Download the Elkhorn Slough Tidal Wetland Project Strategic Plan! This document describes Elkhorn Slough’s estuarine habitats, characterizes the main impacts causing loss and degradation of those habitats, and provides conservation and restoration recommendations.
Map of Elkhorn Slough's Estuarine Habitats
Fact sheet about Elkhorn Slough’s Marsh Loss and Habitat Erosion
