Update: On October 1, 2023: California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) 6PPD regulations became effective, making it the first government in the world to regulate the chemical content of vehicle tires to protect salmon. DTSC is requiring tire manufacturers to identify alternatives to the tire preservative that is the source of the chemical toxic to coho salmon.

The Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program or WRMP is a broad, multi-organizational effort designed to produce coordinated and rigorous science about the baylands in the San Francisco Bay area. Through the power of diverse partnerships, a broad network of stakeholders are working rapidly to protect and restore wetlands that can provide flood protection, tribal, community and recreational benefits, water quality improvement, wildlife habitat, and other benefits for surrounding communities. To meet a regional target of 100,000 acres restored by 2030, close coordination is needed between managers, scientists, community groups, tribal partners, and regulators. However, this project-by-project approach to restoration monitoring has left our state, regional, and local decision makers effectively insensitive to the overall regional conditions that might bear direct influence over restoration success and failure. As the effects of climate change and sea level rise generate their own set of challenges, the WRMP will improve the success of wetland restoration projects by putting in place regionally coordinated monitoring that will increase the impact, utility and application of monitoring to inform adaptive management. 

SFEI is proud to share that in recent years, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) has risen to be among SFEI’s highest priorities. DEIJ experts provided training to all staff in 2021, and thanks to a gift from an anonymous donor, we can translate that knowledge into real change. This initiative is led by our new Equity and Inclusion Manager, Stephanie Panlasigui, who is working closely with our DEIJ Committee and senior staff. Our first actions were to craft DEIJ mission and vision statements and create an action plan (in progress), which will enable us to better integrate DEIJ principles into our internal operations, partnerships, and projects. We look forward to providing more updates along our journey.

18 months of innovative data visualization to inform local, regional, and state public health departments.

SFEI’s Software Engineering Manager Gemma Shusterman led the development of a new data dashboard, designed to track the spread of COVID-19 in our region. With funding from the Catena Foundation, SFEI’s Environmental Informatics program supported the groundbreaking scientific genetic sequencing data produced by our close partner, the University of California’s Berkeley Water Center. Together, SFEI and the Berkeley Water Center matched science with technology to produce actionable, timely information in support of smart public health decisions.

The Delta Aquatic Resource Inventory (DARI) is a map of surface waters, wetlands and other aquatic resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. A similar mapping approach used to create the Bay Area Aquatic Resource Inventory (BAARI) was applied to complete a consistent map across the larger San Francisco Estuary. Both DARI and BAARI are integrated into the California Aquatic Resource Inventory (CARI), which serves as the basemap in EcoAtlas.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) and bisphenols are two classes of mobile, endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are ubiquitously detected in environmental matrices due to high global production and use, particularly as plastic and polymer additives. SFEI scientists, led by Ila Shimabuku, and collaborators recently published a journal article describing a 2017 San Francisco Bay-wide Regional Monitoring Program study of 22 organophosphate esters and 16 bisphenols in open-Bay water samples. Concentrations were quantified and compared to protective ecotoxicity thresholds, where available, to assess potential risks to wildlife.