SFEI awarded over $7 million for Bay restoration and community partnerships

SFEI is the lead on three US Environmental Protection Agency Water Quality Improvement Fund grants totaling more than $7M. The projects will support Bayland creek health and resilience, community-driven green stormwater infrastructure planning and implementation, and development of multi-benefit San Francisco Bay water quality assessment and decision support tools. We are excited to be partnering with community and school groups in underserved areas in Richmond and Oakland to help build capacity and engagement around water quality.

Scientists Raise Concerns About Popular COVID Disinfectants

The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the unnecessary use of antimicrobial chemicals linked to health problems, ecological harm, and antimicrobial resistance, warn scientists in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Managing Open Space in Support of Net Zero

Protecting carbon stocks and increasing carbon sequestration can support climate change mitigation and maintain healthy, resilient ecosystems. To support SFPUC managers in making informed carbon management decisions, the Alameda Watershed Carbon Assessment offers scientific guidance on the watershed’s current and potential performance as a natural climate solution. This assessment was framed by two main objectives: to quantify current carbon stocks in the Alameda Watershed, and to evaluate opportunities to enhance carbon sequestration in its vegetation and soils.

California moves towards sustainable pest management, phase out of highest-risk pesticides by 2050

On January 26, the Secretaries of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) joined leaders from a diverse range of backgrounds to unveil a roadmap of ambitious goals and actions to accelerate California’s systemwide transition to sustainable pest management and eliminate prioritized high-risk pesticides by 2050.

Scientists Advise a Major Shift in Chemicals Management in the U.S. and Canada

A new approach is essential to help governments and businesses eliminate harmful chemicals from daily use and exposure, according to a paper published today in Environmental Science & Technology.

Blue Carbon Science to Support Climate Action

Working with other scientists, agency staff, and regional and state-level managers and planners, we are building alignment and capacity for blue carbon quantification through science synthesis, outreach, and mapping.

PFAS in San Francisco Bay Water

Scientists with the San Francisco Bay Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) detected PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” at parts per trillion concentrations in the waters of the Bay. A recent report finds the contaminants present in Bay water including the well-studied PFOS and PFOA, as well as their replacements.

Making Nature’s City Toolkit

In partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Urban Alliance, the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) has developed the Making Nature’s City Toolkit

Four New SFEI Board Members

The SFEI Board of Director’s has evolved and grown in recent weeks.  One member has transitioned and four new leaders have joined the Board.  Two will represent BACWA (the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies), and two will serve as “At Large” members.

The 29th RMP Annual Meeting

This 29th Annual Meeting marked the partial return to an in-person meeting after meeting virtually for the previous two years and was held on Monday October 3rd at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, CA. The theme of this year’s meeting was the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and featured perspectives on the Clean Water Act and the role of the RMP, an overview of the Water Quality Improvement Fund, and updates on the science and management of PCBs, contaminants of emerging concern (with a particular focus on PFAS), sediment, and nutrients (including the August 2022 algal bloom).

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