The amazing restoration of wetlands on the former Hamilton Army Airfield is a joint agency effort to restore the former military airfield that were once airstrips to its natural habitat and the wild variety of species that inhabit the area, including animals and native vegetation. The project involves a total of nearly 2600 acres of land at the Hamilton Airfield and at the adjacent Bel Marin Keys properties. Millions of cubic yards of dredged material was transported to Novato from the Port of Oakland. The Project was authorized by Congress in 1999 under the Corps’ civil works authority. For more than two decades, environmental groups and numerous agencies have worked on this project. In 2014 paving and fencing of the Bay Trail around the wetlands wildlife refuge was complete and the seaside levee was breached, allowing the wetlands to become tidal once again. 

 

In addition to Marin County's 34 open space preserves totaling 16,000 acres, many thousands of additional acres are owned by neighboring city, special district, state, and federal jurisdictions, with treasures such as Muir Woods. State Parks include Angel Island, China Camp, Mt. Tam, Samuel P Taylor, Tomales Bay, Olompali Historic Park and Heart’s Desire Beach state parks. With natural beauty, outdoor recreation, and ideal weather Marin is a destination for hiking, bird-watching, running, biking, surfing, sailing, kayaking, and horseback riding.

 

Numerous creeks running through Marin make it special. A neighbor contributed a Fish-Friendly Guide

to teach us about creek setbacks and what we can do to help protect salmon populations.