Highlights from the State of the Estuary conference

At the end of September, I attended the highly anticipated State of the Estuary Conference held in Oakland, California - at least anticipated among the San Francisco Bay Area conservation community. The conference has been presenting research on the health of the San Francisco Bay estuary for the past 18 years, and is now a leading regional ecological conference in the US.

The San Francisco Bay estuary fed by the San Joaquin-Sacremento Delta.What makes the State of the Estuary so interesting is that it goes beyond the emerging research topics of most scientific conferences to “reflect the ownership and responsibility we share in sustaining a healthy estuary.” The conference is attended by a very diverse group of participants - scientists, conservation practitioners, consultants, engineers, government officials and community leaders. This commitment by all was highlighted in its 2009 title: “Our Actions: Our Estuary” with a particular focus on climate change and sea level rise.

The head of the US EPA, Lisa Jackson, kicked off the event with opening remarks. She spoke of her desire to “see a huge leap forward like we saw in the 1970s with the Clean Water Act.” She declared the new administration’s commitment to addressing pressing environmental concerns in the region and identified the Sacramento / San Joaquin Delta as an area of interest.

Over seventy presentations followed over the next three days covering topics ranging from resiliency to climate change, emerging contaminants in the estuary, species conservation, and urban retrofitting.

I attended the more science-oriented presentations, like that of William Bennett from the Center of Watershed Sciences at University of California, Davis. He discussed the loss of variable complexity within the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. Farmers and developers have simplified the once complex channels over the years, filling wetlands and straightening channels. This has ultimately increased tidal fluctuations and homogeneity within the Delta as a whole. His research suggests that the Delta has undergone hysteresis - a difficulty in stopping or reversing regime shifts.

Bennett recommends that we try to increase total fish biomass, instead of following the current management practice of unsuccessfully trying to remove exotic species. In order to achieve this, he suggests altering the environmental conditions in regards for native fish preference.

I think interdisciplinary conferences, such as State of the Estuary, are crucial because they bring together the latest science with innovative and realistic solutions. This is especially important in the San Francisco Bay Area where climate change will likely have a major impact on the local ecology and economy. SOE was not only interesting and enjoyable, but it also kept true to its mission statement to “bring the latest information about the estuary’s changing watersheds, impacts from major stressors, recovery programs for species and habitats, and emerging issues.”

In doing so, it created an opportunity for real, and immediate change. 

--by Evyan Borgnis