Suisun Landscapes

The largest brackish marsh on the West Coast, Suisun Marsh is a unique transitional landscape between San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Marsh supports high ecological diversity and has long been managed for recreational hunting and native species support, yet it is threatened by an uncertain future under climate change. Effective adaptation in Suisun will require coordinated, science-based planning by agencies and private landowners. To support management decisions, the Suisun Landscapes project is developing a body of science and planning tools to understand past, present, and potential future changes to the Marsh’s ecological patterns, processes, and functions. The project builds on SFEI’s prior work in the Delta including foundational historical ecology and landscape change studies and the Landscape Scenario Planning Tool. To support adaptation planning, Suisun Landscapes will develop spatially explicit representations of the historical function and condition of the marsh,  evaluate changes over time in ecosystem functions and services, and understand and incorporate diverse priorities and interests into planning resources. This will include the incorporation of key community perspectives through engagement with local tribes and community members. Findings will be shared through workshops and presentations and a forthcoming Suisun Landscapes report, and spatial analyses and data layers will be made available through the Landscape Scenario Planning Tool.