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Delta Derelicts

The Delta channel islands - California's "most ignored piece of real estate" by one biologist's estimation - were the subject of a one-day workshop this February in Stockton. The workshop, organized by the S.F. Estuary Project through its Delta CCMP subcommittee, brought together Delta stakeholders to discuss the present state of this waterbound real estate and the prospects for restoration.

The channel islands number about 800, according to the Army Corps. Also known as derelict islands, they were amputated from larger Delta islands during dredging for agricultural levees and deepwater shipping channels. But the channel islands, unlike their parent islands, have never been farmed or inhabited by humans. According to Sonoma State's Chris Kjeldsen, they are all that remains of a vast biological heritage, a "library of information that is in danger of being lost."

The main danger to the islands is erosion. Workshop presenters theorize that upstream dams have eliminated the Delta's sediment input which would otherwise counter this natural geomorphic process. Erosion is exacerbated by recreational boat wake, wind fetch, and other causes, they say.

At the conference, Cal Fish & Game's Frank Gray reported on a restoration team's attempt to lay down rip rap and dredge spoil along the shoreline of three islands in 1994. Gray says problems plagued their efforts, ranging from permitting hassles to engineering difficulties. The foremost permitting obstacles centered around impacts to endangered Mason's lilaeopsis and delta mudwort. These plants can be destroyed when island banks are reinforced. Though advocates of restoration concede that such problems must be resolved before justifying additional projects, they suggest that anything may be better than allowing the islands to simply wash away.

Conference facilitator Paul Schwarz acknowledges the importance of these ecological debates, but wants to see more focus on the politics of island restoration. "Folks who use the Delta will ultimately be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of these projects," he says. "Involving them in developing solutions is key to our success or failure."

Contact: Ron Sokolov (510)286-0924

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