Advancing Visionary Science
The San Francisco Estuary Institute's mission is to deliver visionary science that empowers people to revitalize nature in our communities. Our focus is on advancing science that supports rebuilding and sustaining the chemical, physical, and biological health and the resiliency of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary and beyond. We are an environmental research institute and a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
We partner with communities, Tribal nations, non-profits, the private sector, academics, and government agencies at all scales to create cost-effective solutions that achieve clean water and resilient ecosystems. Our true impact is our partners using the best-available science to realize their visions for a healthier future.
Our more than 80 interdisciplinary staff represent numerous scientific and technological fields, including environmental chemistry, fluvial and estuarine modeling, ecology, wildlife biology, landscape planning, historical ecology, geomorphology, geospatial analysis, web development, and science communications. Our operations and IT staff are the backbone of our organization, providing support where needed and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
SFEI is recognized nationally for our ability to build consensus among disparate points of view. Our independent, objective science informs far-reaching state and federal policies and helps prioritize billion-dollar infrastructure and nature-based investments.
Our History
The Foundation
The precursor to SFEI, known as the Aquatic Habitat Institute (AHI), was formed in 1986, born out of local agencies’ need for sound, objective scientific information about pollutants and their effects in the Estuary. AHI was entrusted with understanding how the Bay functions as a system to guide the agencies’ management decisions for meeting water quality objectives.
AHI was transformed into SFEI in 1993 when the San Francisco Estuary Partnership’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) called for a coordinated regional monitoring and research strategy to assess the chemical, physical, and biological health of the Estuary.
SFEI Today
Since the early 1990s SFEI has developed programs and focus areas that represent a holistic approach to advancing the health of the Estuary. Building upon our original scope of studying water quality pollutants in the Bay, we have expanded our reach to study the watersheds and landscapes in which the Estuary is embedded, the deep water channels and subtidal habitats created as rivers and creeks enter the Bay, as well as habitats and water bodies across the State and beyond.
In pursuit of our vision, we seek cohesive, integrated solutions that consider the Estuary as one interconnected system. In order to realize this vision, we establish interdisciplinary, landscape-scale, and cross-sector solutions and partnerships that enable the region to work together to achieve healthy, green, equitable, and connected communities and landscapes.
Impact Highlights
Recent examples of our impact:
- Providing decision-makers with science-based tools like the Adaptation Atlas and EcoAtlas to combat rising seas and flooding.
- Leading collaborative efforts to restore wetlands and secure $500 million for Bay shoreline projects.
- Research that resulted in California regulating toxic chemicals from tires harmful to salmon.
- Partnering with communities to support fish contamination monitoring in underserved areas.
- Convening leaders to address the $110 billion funding gap for large-scale climate adaptation.
Aquatic Science Center
SFEI administers the Aquatic Science Center (ASC), a Joint Powers Authority created by the State Water Resources Control Board and the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies. ASC's purpose is to provide scientific support to agencies and organizations working on water quality protection, policy development, and assessment. It is staffed entirely by SFEI employees.