 Background
The Suisun
Marsh is the largest contiguous brackish water wetland in the western United States. It is an important wetland on the
Pacific Flyway, providing food and habitat for migratory birds. The lands and waters of this unique ecosystem
also are home to a wide variety of plants, fish and wildlife that depend upon a careful balancing of fresh and
saline waters for their survival. The Suisun Marsh is located within the Bay-Delta estuary which also means that
its water quality affects, and is affected by, California's two largest water supply systems, the Federal Central
Valley Project, and the State Water Project, and other upstream diversions.
These factors have made the Suisun Marsh one of the most highly regulated wildlife habitat areas in California,
and have given it a prominent place in the California Bay-Delta Program, a joint state-federal planning group formed
to develop and implement a long-term comprehensive plan that will restore ecological health and improve water
management for beneficial uses of the Bay-Delta.
Charter
Agency managers with primary responsibility for actions in Suisun Marsh formed a Charter Group to
develop an implementation plan for Suisun Marsh that would protect and enhance Pacific Flyway and existing wildlife
values, endangered species, and water-project supply quality. Because the Marsh includes private lands, the Suisun
Resource Conservation District (SRCD) also serves on the Charter Group to represent the interests of private
landowners. Members are U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries),
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), California Department of
Water Resources (DWR), and California Bay-Delta Authority (CBDA). The Charter Group has also consulted other
participating agencies, including the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) and
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), in developing this Plan.
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