The Novato Creek baylands represent one of the largest remaining tidal wetland restoration opportunities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, over 4,000 acres of undeveloped, diked baylands along Novato Creek are disconnected from San Pablo Bay. Rising sea levels and increasingly intense storms threaten the aging flood protection system here, causing repeated flooding of State Route 37 (SR 37).  The Novato Creek Baylands Strategy (Strategy) provides a roadmap to reconnect these lands to the tides, reducing upstream flood risk while restoring natural habitat.  

The Strategy was shaped by an iterative process involving focused meetings with over a dozen regional partners, infrastructure operators, and landowners to ensure proposed restorations align with current management and future goals. This engagement process identified multiple opportunities for "win-win" solutions that can reduce flood risk and infrastructure maintenance costs while expanding baylands habitats and increasing resilience to sea level rise.

The future Novato Creek baylands are envisioned as an expansive, connected ecosystem where mudflats and marshes transition gradually into protected uplands. The Strategy is guided by three primary goals:

• Restore tidal ecosystems to the maximum extent possible, including subtidal habitats, mudflats, marshes, and adjacent upland transition zones. 
• Increase the resilience of the Novato Creek baylands and upstream areas to flooding under current and future climate conditions to benefit people and wildlife. 
• Build community and Tribal needs and priorities into the Strategy and its restoration options.