| Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary |
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Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
Located a few blocks from the center of Arcata, the Marsh is a popular spot for bicycling, walking, jogging, and bird watching. Bird blinds and 4.5 miles of trails provide visitors with easy access while minimizing human impact on plant and animal life.
The Arcata Marsh lies along the Pacific Flyway, a major migrating route for thousands of birds that breed in the far north and winter in California, Mexico, and Central and South America. These wetlands provide homes and migratory resting places for over 250 species of birds. Redwood Region Audubon Society leads tours every Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at the foot of I Street.
Numerous species of plants, mammals, insects, and amphibians inhabit the marsh, including River Otter, Raccoon, Gray Fox, Bobcat, Pacific Tree Frog, Red-legged Frog, Rough-skinned Newt and Dragonflies.
Arcata Marsh Interpretative Center
The Arcata Marsh Interpretative Center, with interactive exhibits on the historical, biological, and technical aspects of the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, is a focal point for students and visitors. Open Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on major holidays. A free public tour leaves the Interpretative Center every Saturday at 2 p.m. year round.
Volunteers are recruited to staff the Interpretative Center and lead special request tours and Saturday tours. Stop by the Interpretative Center to pick up an application. Docent training takes place twice a year, spring and fall.
The History of the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
Human use of Humboldt Bay began thousands of years ago when the Wiyot people settled here and made use of the area's natural resources. At that time the Bay was surrounded by salt marshes, wet meadows and forests. The Wiyot called the area Goal-la-nah, meaning a land a little above the water. The Wiyot, recognizing the life-giving qualities of the bay, were intimately tied to its seasonal and daily cycles for food, transportation and materials. Their lives depended on the productivity of the bay. Despite their presence there for thousands of years, the bay and surrounding lands remained essentially unchanged.
In 1849 European explorers found their way to Humboldt Bay and by 1860 European settlers had taken control of the area. Changes to Humboldt Bay and the surrounding wetlands occurred quickly following the takeover by European settlers. Starting about 1870 most of the area's wetlands were diked and drained for agriculture. Arcata's commercial development was assisted by the construction of a two-mile wharf with a railroad track, the first railroad in California. This railroad provided a connection between dry land and the shipping channel farther out in the bay. In 1908 this railroad partially burned but it remained operational until the 1920's. The wharf pilings can still be seen extending out from the parking area of the Arcata Marsh.
In 1945 a log deck for lumber storage was constructed in the area that is now Allen Marsh. Two mills operated in what is now the Butchers Slough/Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center area. To accommodate the mills, the slough was channelized and a nine-acre log pond was built. After closing in the late 1960's due to poor economic conditions, the mill deteriorated due to several fires.
In 1964 the site of Mt. Trashmore was diked off to create a 40-acre landfill. In less than a decade, the landfill degraded the area. Dominant animal life consisted of 100 domestic cats and 1,500 to 2,000 glaucous winged gulls. A Caspian tern area on neighboring islands was depredated by gulls. The leachate from the landfill began contaminating Humboldt Bay. In 1973 the Department of Health condemned the landfill and it was closed. Bay mud was taken from what is now Klopp Lake and Hauser Marsh to cap the Landfill. This brought up the obvious question of what to do with the closed landfill. Proposals for its development included a marina, golf course, baseball field, motor-cross area or nature center/marsh restoration area. The City of Arcata opted to restore the area to wetlands. Arcata's decision to restore its degraded waterfront in the 1970's coincided with changing water quality laws.
Even though the City of Arcata built the first wastewater treatment plant on Humboldt Bay, there were few environmental impacts. Constructed in 1949, the plant only provided primary treatment without chlorinating, with release directly into Arcata Bay (which is the north portion of Humboldt Bay). This kind of treatment did not remove suspended solids, BOD's (biological oxygen demand), and possible pathogens (EPA, 1993).
In 1957 oxidation ponds spanning 55 acres were added to the facility to treat the wastewater to secondary treatment standards. Chlorination and dechlorination was added in 1966.
In 1969 Dr. George Allen, a fisheries professor at Humboldt State University, started an experimental wastewater aquaculture project in the oxidation ponds. His objective was to determine if salmon and cutthroat trout fry would survive and flourish in mixtures of seawater and partially treated wastewater.
1972 saw the passage of the Federal Clean Water Act. As that act was administered by the State Water Resources Control Board 9SWRCB), discharge of treated wastewater into any enclosed bay or estuary was prohibited unless the discharger could demonstrate "enhancement of the receiving waters." This prohibition was interpreted as meaning the Humboldt Bay Region would have to have a regional treatment facility with discharge into the ocean.
A Joint Powers Agency was formed in 1973 consisting of the City of Eureka, City of Arcata and Humboldt County to find a solution. The engineering firm of Metcalf & Eddy designed a regional facility to be located on the Samoa Peninsula. The project was estimated to cost $25 million. The Humboldt Bay Wastewater Authority (HBWA) was formed in 1974 consisting of those agencies with the addition of the McKinleyville Community Services District and the Humboldt Community Services District with the responsibility of carrying out the regional project.
The HBWA project was to include a sewer interceptor line running from McKinleyville to Arcata, then to Eureka following US 101. From Eureka the raw sewage would be pumped under Humboldt Bay to the treatment plant. No one agency could afford an ocean outfall so a regional solution was the only answer. Eureka alone could not afford the costs of pumping under the bay to the treatment plant and had to have Arcata and McKinleyville to share those expenses.
The first and primary objection of the City of Arcata was over the location of the pipeline between Arcata and Eureka. The City Council feared that a sewer pipeline in the area would lead to development of the agricultural land between the two cities. Also, the investment by Arcata in the existing treatment plant would be lost along with George Allen's fish project. For two years the City Council tried to convince both HBWA and the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) that there had to be a better way.
In 1975 a group of Humboldt County people formed "Citizens for a Sewer Referendum," circulated petitions calling for a vote and eventually sued HBWA. This action had the effect of bringing the HBWA project to a halt. It was clear that for Arcata to go alone it had to find an alternative treatment method that would demonstrate "enhancement." During 1976 the idea was developed of using George Allen's fish project and a treatment marsh as "enhancement." The marsh idea was refined by another Humboldt State University Professor, Dr. Robert A Gearheart.
In 1977, after the basic idea was developed, the City of Arcata team of Dr. George Allen, Dr. Bob Gearheart, Public Works Director Frank Klopp and City Councilman Dan Hauser took the Arcata Marsh idea on the road. They made presentations at RWQCB meetings in Fort Bragg and Rohnert Park, at an all-day hearing before the RWQCB in Ukiah and before the SWRCB in Sacramento.
At the same time they sold the idea to the people of Arcata. Many people in Arcata became very enthusiastic about the concept of a marsh and wildlife area. There were many in the environmental community who were afraid that Arcata was simply shirking its responsibility or that by allowing Arcata to go its own way HBWA would fall apart and Eureka would keep polluting. Most of the development community and most of the financial interests around Humboldt Bay opposed Arcata.
As other arguments against HBWA were developed, allies joined Arcata. Those arguments included the very high energy costs which would be passed on to the users of the system. There were arguments raised by shipping interests over the liability exposure of the under-bay pipelines.
The hearing before the SWRCB had resulted in allowing Arcata to establish a pilot project but still required that Arcata remain a member of and continue to support HBWA.
The 1978 elections had changed the area's representation in Sacramento. In early 1979 Arcata City Council convinced newly elected Assemblyman Doug Bosco to introduce legislation eliminating or defining "enhancement of receiving waters." When the Chairman of SWRCB could not define the term "enhancement" the Assembly Committee passed the legislation unanimously! The legislation did not have to go any further because the point had been made. A few weeks later the SWRCB convened a hearing in Eureka to consider the issue. A large group of Humboldt County people convinced the SWRCB that the HBWA project was dead and that Arcata had a viable solution.
The Coastal Conservancy had been observing this process and came forward to work with the City of Arcata to help fund the wetlands restoration that resulted in the three original marshes of the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Refuge.
The City of Arcata and a team from Humboldt State University formed a Task Force on Wastewater Treatment which came together to demonstrate that the natural processes of a wetland wastewater treatment facility would offer an appropriate solution to its unsatisfactory polluting procedures. From 1979 to 1982 experiments were executed with partially treated wastewater and constructed wetlands to show that constructed freshwater wetlands could be used to treat Arcata's wastewater and also enhance the biological productivity of each constructed wetland that received the wastewater. The Task Force's final plan implemented the concepts put together by the original four participants, Dr. Allen, Dr. Gearheart, Frank Klopp and Dan Hauser, the key concepts were that it was cost effective, simple and most importantly to the community, it was appropriate.
The project had the support of the Arcata City Council and gained the support of the community. The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Refuge was dedicated by then-Mayor Hauser on July 3, 1981. In 1983 the City was given authority to use wastewater to run the marsh and to use the marsh as part of the treatment system. Prior to that, the water came from a well and from Janes Creek. The integrated wetland wastewater treatment system was completed in 1986. The Arcata Marsh project is an example of a community's involvement in environmental politics, an ethical evaluation of land and its uses, and application of appropriate technology in a small urban community.
In 1986 the Coastal Conservancy funded the Butchers Slough Restoration. The Butchers Slough restoration project increased saltwater wetlands by reconfiguring Butchers Slough to a more natural meandering channel and created another freshwater marsh in the former log pond. This expanded the Sanctuary to its current size of 154 acres.
Arcata's system has become an international example of appropriate wastewater reuse and wetlands restoration technology. Individuals, schools, and state officials have come to Arcata to learn more about this system. In 1987 Arcata received a grant of $100,000 from the Ford Foundation's "Innovations in Government" awards program http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/awards.html?id=3478awards (this website provides video clips) for the City's approach to the treatment of its wastewater. In response to the widespread interest that has been generated by this program, the City of Arcata used the Ford Foundation funds and funds received by the Friends of the Arcata Marsh ($56,000) to construct the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center (AMIC).
Opened in 1993, the AMIC is the focal point for the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary. Visitors come here to learn about the political, biological and engineering aspects of the program. The AMIC is staffed by the City of Arcata on weekdays and by community volunteers on weekends and holidays. A grass-roots organization, Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM), provides educational tours of the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary and wastewater treatment facility free of charge.
The City recently received funds from the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program and the Wildlife Conservation Board to purchase 75 acres of diked agricultural lands lying to the west of the Sanctuary. Plans are underway to cooperatively restore and enhance up to 250 acres of the former tidelands.
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Time Line
The History of the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary
Pre 1849
The Wiyot people lived peacefully on the lands surrounding the Humboldt Bay. However, all was not peaceful. The Wiyot were frequently raided by the more aggressive Chilula, Whilkkut and Nongati people who lived in the hill country surrounding Humboldt Bay.
1849-1860
Settlement of the area by European type people. The Wiyot people were removed and, more often, massacred.
1870-1900
White settlers began to dike the wetlands around the Humboldt Bay.
1855-1900
The Arcata Wharf was built two miles out into Humboldt Bay. A railroad was built on top of the wharf. That railroad, which later became the Arcata and Mad River Railroad, was the first railroad west of the Mississippi River.
1890's
The railroad was completed between Eureka and Arcata. The railroad bed became the first dike on that part of Humboldt Bay. At about the same time, dikes were constructed west of Arcata eliminating more wetlands.
1941
Construction of VanVleet Sawmill on South G Street, which was then US 101, at the site of the current Marsh Interpretive Center.
1945
A log deck is constructed for lumber storage at the present day George Allen Marsh site.
1949
Arcata's first wastewater treatment plant, which provided primary treatment, is constructed. This facility discharged directly into Humboldt Bay.
1957
Oxidation ponds, spanning 55 acres, are created by diking off a portion of the Bay.
1964
Humboldt County constructed and operated a bay side landfill dump on 40 acres of Arcata Bay by diking off mud flats.
1966
Chlorination and dechlorination are added to Arcata's wastewater treatment plant.
1969
Humboldt State University professor, Dr. George Allen, starts a wastewater aquaculture project to raise Pacific Salmon and cutthroat trout in mixtures of seawater and partially treated wastewater.
1970
Main parking lot and boat ramp constructed on South I Street.
1972
Federal Clean Water Act passed. California State Water Resources Control Board administration of the Clean Water Act results in prohibition of discharge of treated wastewater into any enclosed bay or estuary unless discharger can demonstrate "enhancement of the receiving waters."
1973
A Joint Powers agency consisting of Eureka, Arcata and Humboldt County commissions a study to find a "regional" solution to the treatment of wastewater. County Health Department and Regional Water Quality Control Board force Humboldt County to close the landfill. The area is sealed with bay mud dredged from the area now called Klopp Lake, creating Mt. Trashmore.
1974
The study completed by the engineering firm of Metcalf & Eddy proposed a regional wastewater treatment plant estimated to cost $25 million. The Humboldt Bay Wastewater Authority (HBWA) is formed to carry out the regional solution. McKinleyville Community Services District and Humboldt Community Services District are added to the Joint Powers Authority.
1975-1977
Arcata City Council tries to negotiate changes to the HBWA Plan. HSU Professors Gearheart and Allen, Arcata Public Works Director Klopp and Arcata Councilman Hauser develop marsh treatment alternative to HBWA. Humboldt Bay area activists bring HBWA to a halt - primarily on economic arguments.
1979
Arcata authorized to demonstrate "enhancement" by the State.
1979-1982
City of Arcata, under direction from Humboldt State University Professor Gearheart, conducts experiments with partially treated wastewater and constructed "pilot" wetlands to demonstrate that wetlands can treat wastewater.
1981
Funding from the Coastal Conservancy facilitates construction of three wetlands and a tidally influenced lake at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. The original AMWS covers 75 acres.
1983
The Arcata Marsh Project is authorized to accept treated wastewater by the California State Water Resources Control Board.
1986
Integrated Wetland Wastewater treatment plant is completed at a cost of $7.1 million.
Coastal Conservancy funds Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Butcher's Slough Wetlands Restoration Project. Completion of this project expands the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary to 154 acres.
1987
Arcata is selected out of more than 1,100 entries for a Ford Foundation / Kennedy School of Government innovation in Government Award. Arcata receives $100,000 to develop the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center.
1990
Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM) Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center Drive raises $56,000 locally.
1993
The Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center is completed and opened to the public, for information and hours call (707) 826-2359.
1998
City of Arcata obtains funds from the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program and the Wildlife Conservation Board to purchase 75 acres of diked agricultural lands lying to the west of the Sanctuary.
Plans are underway to cooperatively restore and enhance up to 250 acres of former tide lands.
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Birding
With a bird list now topping 425 species, the Arcata area is an outstanding birding destination. The area's three coastal Christmas Bird Counts are always among the top 20 in the nation, and the current record for a single'party "big-day" effort in Humboldt County alone is 176 species.
"Arcata is located on the Pacific flyway, at or near the southern range limit of some northern species, and the northern limit of many more southerly birds. Birders hoping to add Ruffed Grouse, Gray Jay or Black-capped Chickadee to their California list will want to pay us a visit, and this can be one of the best places in the state to find Rock Sandpiper, Peregrine Falcon or Harlequin Duck in winter...." David Anderson, excerpt from A Guide to Birding In and Around Arcata ©1995. This book may be purchased at the Marsh Interpretive Center or at Arcata City Hall
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F.O.A.M. (Friends Of Arcata Marsh)
Become a prestigious Docent (tour guide) for the Arcata Marsh!
Discover how the Arcata Marsh turns toilet water into top-notch habitat!
Trek into the history of transforming an abandoned dump and sawmill into wetlands!
Call for information on Friends of the Arcata Marsh atl 707-826-2359
| Last Updated ( Friday, 02 January 2009 ) |
