Moss Landing Wildlife Area is a

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

State wildlife preserve on the shore of

Elkhorn Slough Elkhorn Slough is a tidal slough and estuary on Monterey Bay in Monterey County, California. It is California's second largest estuary and the United States' first estuarine sanctuary. The community of Moss Landing and the Moss Landing Power Pl ...

Description

The Moss Landing Wildlife Area protects of

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county (United States), county located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The count ...

, just north of the town of

Moss Landing, California Moss Landing, formerly Moss, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of . It is on the shore of Monterey Bay, at ...

. It includes part of the largest unaltered

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, 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. I ...

on the California coast. Access is allowed only by foot on trails, and all plants and animals are protected. It is a popular spot for

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

and viewing

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

s. Some limited hunting is allowed during certain limited seasons, but rifles or pistols are not allowed. It is administered through the

California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages ...

. A small strip of the reserve (the easiest to access) lies just east of Highway 1 (called the Cabrillo Highway) at opposite the Moss Landing Yacht Harbor. Other sections lie north of

, and west of the slough after it turns to the north, at . To access the north shore section, a trailhead is off Highway 1 between the two intersections of Struve Road, at . A level Marsh Trail runs from this area to a small picnic area, and then the main channel of Elkhorn Slough. The eastern shore of Elkhorn Slough is protected as part of the

Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve is a nature reserve that is located at 1700 Elkhorn Road in Watsonville, California, Watsonville, California. The reserve encompasses the central shore of Monterey Bay and is approximately ...

. Moss Landing State Beach and Zmudowski State Beach provide access to the

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via California S ...

directly west of the wildlife area.

History

In the late 1800s about 200 acres of what is now the wildlife area were

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed thr ...

s used to commercially produce

sea salt Sea salt is salt that is produced by the evaporation of seawater. It is used as a seasoning in foods, cooking, cosmetics and for preserving food. It is also called bay salt, solar salt, or simply salt. Like mined rock salt, production of sea sal ...

for use in local fish canneries. Owned by the Moss Landing Salt Works, the ponds were abandoned in 1974. The wildlife area was established by the state of California in 1984, and was managed in cooperation with the

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast in the United States. It is one of the largest US national marine sanctuaries and has a shoreline length ...

when it was established in 1992. The former salt ponds provide habitat for several shorebird species. The number of

western snowy plover The western snowy plover (''Anarhynchus nivosus nivosus'') is a small wader in the plover bird family. They are currently federally listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as Threatened. Human activity, habitat loss and predation are the bigg ...

s (''Charadrius nivosus'') nesting in the ponds in spring improved after active management began in 1995 by the Point Reyes Bird Observatory Conservation Science group. In 1999 the ponds were identified as the most critical breeding habitat in the Monterey Bay region for the plovers. In 2006 a managed tidal flow was improved, funded by

Ducks Unlimited Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. History and profile In 1927, an offshoot of the Boone and ...

, the California Wildlife Conservation Board and the

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is an American foundation that was chartered by the United States Congress in 1984 to increase the resources available for the conservation of the nation's fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats. A ...

. In late fall water levels are raised to encourage roosting

brown pelican The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth ...

s. In early spring (March or April) the ponds are drained and before the mud dries, volunteers are organized into a "mudstomp" to create shallow impressions as nesting sites.

Binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

, telescopes, or cameras with telephoto lenses are best used for viewing since observers are restricted from getting too close.

Heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

sandpiper Scolopacidae is a large family of shorebirds, or waders, which mainly includes many species known as sandpipers, but also others such as woodcocks, curlews and snipes. Most of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or so ...

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

s and other

waterbird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

s also are seen in season. The northern entrance and trails can often be closed to public access.

References

External links

* * {{Protected Areas of California, SWA Nature reserves in California California Department of Fish and Wildlife areas Monterey Bay Protected areas of Monterey County, California Marshes of the United States