Marin County Parks

EXPLORE YOUR PARKS Your Guide to Marin County Parks & Programs SPRING 2017 DAWN FALLS TRAIL BALTIMORE CANYON T his winter has fi nally brought some rain to our region and with it, the chance to watch water transform our watersheds. It's magical to sit on a creek bank with my son watching the water rushing down a channel that was bare and dry just a few months earlier. Our parks and preserves are special places spanning diverse watersheds, providing important habitat as well as drinking water. We are ensuring that the creeks, marshes, lakes, lagoons, and vernal pools within our care are protected for generations to come. Protecting watersheds is a central goal of our road and trail management work, with a particular focus on minimizing erosion to protect endangered coho salmon. Recent trail projects in Gary Giacomini, Loma Alta, and Roy's Redwoods preserves all provide a better visitor experience, increased safety, and reduced sedimentation in creeks. This year, we plan to implement a project in Cascade Canyon that would include the construction of two multiuse bridges to provide a safer trail experience while reducing trail erosion into Corte Madera Creek, an important spawning habitat for steelhead. Fish aren't the only aquatic species being protected. We are also creating a breeding pond for federally threatened California red-legged frogs at Mt. Burdell and installing basking logs for Western pond turtles, a California Species of Special Concern, at Indian Valley. Wetlands and marshes are also benefi ting, with restoration projects at Creekside Marsh adjacent to Hal Brown Park, McInnis Marsh, Bothin Marsh, Aramburu Island, and Bolinas Lagoon. Projects like these represent cutting edge approaches to ensure our critical habitats are resilient to sea level rise. Want to do your part to protect the watershed? Join us on Earth Day, April 22, to clean and restore Bothin Marsh in Mill Valley, Corte Madera Creek in Kentfi eld, and Kent Island in Bolinas Lagoon. Max Korten, Director & General Manager Marin County Parks PHOTO © ALISON POLLACK, INSTAGRAM: @DETAILSINNATURE

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