ESA is excited to sponsor, present, and attend this year’s Annual Conference of the California Society for Ecological Restoration (SERCAL), taking place April 21-23 in Sacramento. This year’s theme is “Be the Delta, Be the Change.” Don’t miss the opportunity to engage with our experts during or after the technical sessions. We look forward to sharing our recent successes and challenges in restoration.
ESA’s team of restoration engineers, ecologists, and biologists will be attending the conference this year and we look forward to connecting with you.
Eddie Divita, PE
Stephanie Bishop
Merritt Shepherd
Leonard Liu
Melissa Carter
Sonya Vargas
Linnea Cutler-Tucker
See our team speak at the following sessions.
Working on the Delta’s Edge: The Knightsen Wetland Restoration Project
Tuesday, April 22, 2025 | 1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
Presenters: Melissa Carter (Environmental Science Associates), Abigail Fateman, (East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy), David Shaw (Balance Hydrologics)
The Knightsen Wetland Restoration Project, led by the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy (Conservancy) in partnership with the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), will restore a mosaic of wetland and upland habitats to a 645-acre site in unincorporated Contra Costa County, in the community of Knightsen. The site lies in a unique position at the edge of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, adjacent to a rural residential community, and with rare opportunities to restore a range of habitats to support a special status species. Unlike most of the Delta, elevations at the site range from 10 feet above sea level to near sea level, allowing for a mosaic of habitats to be restored, from upland grassland, oak savannah, and interior dune to seasonal wetlands and tidal marsh. At the edge of the built environment, input and feedback was sought from the community, so that existing flood risks could be mitigated through project design elements, and so that neighbor concerns about changes associated with the project could be evaluated and addressed. The project team has navigated these numerous design and permitting challenges and this project is set to start construction in 2026. We will present the project as a case study of the benefits and constraints that come with restoring habitats at the edge of the Delta.
Heron’s Head Park Shoreline
Wednesday, April 23 | 10:40 AM – 11:15 AM
Presenter: Eddie Divita, PE
Heron’s Head Park is a 21-acre waterfront park in San Francisco, managed by the Port of San Francisco. Established in the late 1990s on a former marine terminal, it is home to over 100 bird species, including two endangered ones, and attracts thousands of visitors yearly. The park’s shoreline faces erosion issues due to wind waves and boat wakes, with over 50 feet lost since 1999. To combat this, the Heron’s Head Park Shoreline Resilience Project, designed by Environmental Science Associates and constructed by Dixon Marine in 2022, implemented nature-based solutions. These include a 1,600-foot gravel beach, nearshore oyster reefs, rocky headlands, and wooden habitat structures, along with ongoing native planting and invasive plant management efforts.
Revegetating Lower Walnut Creek Post Restoration – Outcomes and Lessons Learned
Wednesday, April 23 | 3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Presenter: Stephanie Bishop
The Lower Walnut Creek Restoration Project is situated on Suisun Bay in Martinez, Contra Costa County, California. This project, led by the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District in collaboration with the John Muir Land Trust, was designed by ESA, with the revegetation efforts carried out by River Partners. The initiative successfully restored 194 acres of tidal marsh, seasonal wetlands, transition zones, and upland habitats. Now, three years after the restoration, we present our observations, insights, and lessons learned from the revegetation process of this complex project.
