Hooks Island
Palo Alto |
Hooks Island is an uninhabited, approximately 36-acre (15 ha)
Geography
-
1899
-
1955
-
2018
Like many areas on the periphery of San Francisco Bay, Hooks Island is classified as California coastal salt marsh. As part of the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, it is a protected area, and local governments prohibit humans from traveling to it;[3] like many parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, development (especially of housing) is not permitted.[4][5]
It is home to members of several
Flora
Several species of
The S. alterniflora, originally introduced to the area in 1973 by an
When the 1973 attempt to reverse damage to the marshes was eventually found to be harmful for wildlife, it was itself reversed—the California Coastal Conservancy's San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project was able, with the aid of the herbicide imazapyr as well as physical removal methods, to heavily reduce the overall footprint of S. alterniflora growth across a 70,000-acre (28,000 ha) "work area", from 805 acres (326 ha) in 2005 to 28 acres (11 ha) in 2016 (at which point $30 million had been spent).[8] According to the manager of the manager of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, the project was a "resounding success".[8]
Despite the success of the project, however, federal officials required the conservancy to reverse part of their reversal of the initial reversal, after it was found that the (then-endangered) California clapper rail had taken up residence in thickets of the invasive species.[8][9]
Fauna
Numerous birds have been known to live on Hooks Island, such as the
-
The California clapper rail
See also
- List of California Department of Fish and Game protected areas
- List of islands of San Francisco Bay
- Salt marsh harvest mouse
References
- ^ a b c "Palo Alto Flood Basin Tide Gate Structure Replacement Project" (PDF). Santa Clara Valley Water. September 2020. p. 42. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ a b Petra Unger; Diana Edwards (December 2017). Palo Alto Baylands: Existing Conditions (Report). AECOM, 2020 L Street, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95811. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ a b "San Francisco Bay Area Water Trail: Site Description for Palo Alto Baylands Sailing Station" (PDF). California State Coastal Conservancy. 29 May 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
Boat users need to be sensitive to wildlife, high tide refugia, and marsh habitat, observe buffer distances, and not land in any location besides the Sailing Station, including Hooks Island, located across from the Sailing Station. Additionally, there are areas located nearby where a boater who lands inappropriately could disturb nesting Western burrowing owls (Mountain View) or Western snowy plovers (Alviso or Ravenswood). The City of Palo Alto Municipal Code prohibits trampling vegetation and/or harassing wildlife and non‐permitted activities in the marsh constitute violations and are subject to fines of $1,000 or more
- ^ "Palo Alto Open Space". City of Palo Alto. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "History of Baylands Nature Preserve". City of Palo Alto. 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "GNIS Detail – Hooks Point". U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System. 9 April 1999. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Dremann, Sue (1 November 2013). "Saving the Baylands: Scientists, nonprofit groups work to protect Palo Alto marshlands". Palo Alto Online. Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d Rogers, Paul (17 April 2016). "San Francisco Bay: Massive effort to remove aquatic invader nearly finished". The Mercury News. Bay Area News Group. Archived from the original on 3 May 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Poor, William (7 August 2018). "This monster plant is taking over Silicon Valley—should we let it?". The Verge. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d Dremann, Sue (14 September 2013). "Wildlife experts: Cats are killing Baylands wildlife". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Eslinger, Bonnie (14 November 2013). "East Palo Alto man says city is a dumping ground for feral cats". The Mercury News. San Mateo County Times, Bay Area News Group. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2020.