San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge is an urban refuge located on
San Diego Bay in
San Diego County, California. It is part of the
San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It was dedicated in June 1999.
The refuge, comprising of
salt marsh
A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...
and coastal
uplands surrounded by urban development, is a critically important area for wildlife because over 90 percent of the historic
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
s of San Diego Bay have been filled in, drained, or diked.
Sweetwater Marsh provides habitat for four
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
or
threatened species
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depen ...
, including
light-footed rail. It is also the only place in the United States where
yerba reuma
''Frankenia palmeri'' is a species of flowering plant in the frankenia family, Frankeniaceae, known by the common name Palmer's seaheath, Palmer's frankenia, or yerba reuma. It is native to the coastline of northwestern Mexico, as well as San Di ...
, a member of the heath family, grows naturally. More than 200 species of birds have been recorded on the refuge.
With 90 to 100% of submerged lands, intertidal
mudflats, and salt marshes eliminated in the north and central Bay, the South Bay unit of the refuge will preserve and restore the remaining wetlands, mudflats and
eelgrass Eelgrass is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
* ''Zostera'', marine eelgrass
* ''Vallisneria'', freshwater eelgrass
{{Short pages monitor