Habitat Protection and Restoration Strategy
The Habitat Protection and Restoration Strategy provides a comprehensive, watershed-wide management approach to the health and climate resilience of habitats and communities of the Morro Bay watershed that will inform future planning and project efforts. The Estuary Program will leverage program base funding from the USEPA through the Clean Water Action Section 320 and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to accelerate efforts highlighted within this strategy and strengthen partnerships that are critical to long-term efforts. The Estuary Program and its partners aim to improve climate resiliency for the Morro Bay watershed habitats and interconnected coastal communities through the implementation of this strategy.
The Morro Bay Estuary
Morro Bay has long been recognized as one the most environmentally significant estuaries in California with its coastal dunes and wetlands relatively intact and a watershed that has remained largely undeveloped. Preservation of these natural areas was a prime impetus for efforts to safeguard Morro Bay and for its recognition as both a State and National Estuary.
The Estuary Program works to protect and restore the Morro Bay estuary and watershed for people and wildlife. The Estuary Program is a collaborative, non-regulatory, nonprofit organization that brings community members, local governments, nonprofit organizations, state and federal agencies, and landowners together to support a healthy environment and vibrant local communities.
Habitats of Morro Bay
Morro Bay is composed of five unique principal habitat types: estuarine, freshwater, sandy shores, upland, and urban + agricultural. To read more about each individual habitat type, click on the boxes on the right:
Estuarine communities occur where the ocean mixes with fresh water from the streams within a partially enclosed bay. Estuaries are characterized as having brackish waters with varying degrees of salinity, protection from ocean wave action and winds, and bay bottom sediments that often form thick mud. The Morro Bay estuary is a classic example as it is heavily influenced by stream inputs and tides.
Freshwater habitats, including riparian, in-stream, and freshwater wetlands, play a vital role in watershed health and function. They are also home to several special status species, including the California red-legged frog and South-Central California Coast steelhead trout.
Morro Bay is formed by a four-mile long sandspit that extends from Shark Inlet in Montana de Oro State Park to the mouth of the harbor to the North. The ocean side of the spit is a sandy beach that does not directly connect with the estuary except near the harbor entrance between the south jetty and a rock groin. On the estuary side of the sandspit, a few sandy beaches are found South of Morro Rock behind the main harbor jetty at Coleman Beach, around the north end of the sandspit, and at a few locations where dune blow outs have reached the bay shore. In some places the active dunes are quite large and tower over the bay to an average maximum elevation of 59 feet. The remainder of the sandspit is vegetated with a dunes scrub complex.
The upland watershed that drains into the Morro Bay estuary includes ecologically-significant habitats as well and areas largely modified by grazing, agriculture, development, and other human activities. In these latter cases habitat values have been compromised to different degrees.
Towns and agriculture are important elements of the Morro Bay estuary and watershed. The Morro Bay watershed is home to over 26,000 residents and is a significant contributor to San Luis Obispo County crop yields. From a natural habitat protection perspective, these landscapes may have some limited value for some native species. More importantly from a perspective of habitat protection and restoration, activities in urban and irrigated agriculture should be conducted in ways that minimize adverse impacts on nearby natural systems.
The Habitat Protection Restoration Strategy (HPRS)
Purpose of the HPRS:
This Habitat Protection and Restoration Strategy was developed to guide protection, restoration, research, monitoring, educational, and resiliency efforts in the face of climate change throughout the Morro Bay estuary and watershed. It is intended to provide measurable objectives and targets to inform future management planning and projects within the Morro Bay watershed, including the Estuary Program’s next Comprehensive Conservation & Management Plan (CCMP) update.
Example of HPRS Content:
To understand the organization of the report, below is a simplified version of one section of the report on estuarine habitats. This is meant to explain the type of material included. For more in-depth information on each habitat type, please refer to the full report below.
Habitat Type: Estuarine
During high tides, Morro Bay receives large volumes of ocean water, inundating much of the estuary. As tides recede, the bay bottom is exposed in many areas as intertidal mudflats. Relatively deep channels are naturally created by stream inflow, tidal action, and regular dredging for navigability. These provide an underwater habitat that is subject to both changing salinity and strong tidal flows.
Coastal salt marshes occur throughout the fringes of the Morro Bay estuary such as the shore of the sandspit and Sweet Springs Nature Preserve. Plant diversity within coastal salt marsh tends to be lower than other communities because few species can tolerate the high amounts and fluctuations of salinity.
Action Plans:
The CCMP Action Plans guide the Estuary Program’s future restoration actions in each habitat type. The Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration (ECR) Action Plan is vital to estuarine habitats. One of its sections (ECR-8) focuses on restoring eelgrass in the bay.
Endangered Species:
The habitats of Morro Bay host many endangered and threatened species listed under the Endangered Species Act. Among them are the federally threatened Southern Sea Otter and federally endangered tidewater goby, both of which inhabit the estuary’s main channel.
Stressors:
Human activities, particularly those contributing to climate change, are putting additional stress on the ecosystems of Morro Bay. Ocean acidification caused by increased atmospheric carbon dioxide poses a serious threat to estuarine environments. Species that are sensitive to pH changes, such as shellfish, are particularly at risk as the calcium carbonate they rely on for shell growth is less available in acidic waters.
Targets and Objectives:
The Estuary Program is committed to preserving and enhancing the habitat quality of Morro Bay. To achieve this, it has set clear goals, including maintaining 400 acres of salt marsh and preserving a tidal prism volume of 4,200 acre-feet.
Projects:
To meet these targets and objectives, the Estuary Program leads and supports a variety of conservation projects. Their efforts focus on two primary areas: habitat monitoring and restoration. A major project involved a five-year study of eelgrass coverage, which included transplanting more than 15,000 eelgrass plants to help restore this vital ecosystem.
FAQ's: Frequently Asked Questions
The Habitat Protection and Restoration Strategy Document describes the health, extent, and key species within the Morro Bay watershed’s habitats and connects the habitats to the following: CCMP Action Plans, stressors, future targets, climate resiliency, and ongoing, past and future projects.
The Habitat Protection and Restoration Strategy Document is meant to provide quantitative targets to inform the management of projects within the Morro Bay Estuary and surrounding watershed. It is also meant to assist in the next update of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.
General questions about the Habitat Protection and Restoration Strategy can be directed to info@mbnep.org.