Suisun Marsh is the largest contiguous brackish water marsh remaining on the west coast of North America. It serves as the resting and feeding ground for thousands of waterfowl migrating on the Pacific Flyway and provides essential habitat for more than 221 bird species, 45 mammal species, 16 different reptilian and amphibian species, and more than 40 fish species. The Marsh supports sensitive plant species such as the Suisun thistle, which is a Marsh endemic and found nowhere else in the world.
In recent decades, the diversity of wetland management objectives and demands in Suisun Marsh has expanded dramatically and the regulatory environment affecting Suisun has continually evolved. Local land use management efforts to maintain the wetlands and to address degradation have generated conflicts with endangered species programs. The Suisun Marsh Charter was formed to develop a regional plan that balances the goals of the multiple and often conflicting management and restoration programs such as the CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program and endangered species recovery efforts within Suisun Marsh in a manner responsive to the concerns of stakeholders and based upon voluntary participation by private land-owners. It is critical that the best available interdisciplinary science, reflective of the complexity and depth of the wetland ecosystem itself, be integrated into this regional plan.
This atlas provides information we believe will be helpful in addressing the complex issues in the Suisun Marsh.
- Focus Area Map JPG | PDF
- Suisun Marsh Topographic Overview JPG | PDF
The topographic map provides a general overview of the Suisun Marsh using a thirty meter digital elevation model.
- Suisun Marsh Ownership JPG | PDF
The ownership map depicts private versus publicly owned lands in Suisun Marsh.
- Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse Conservation Areas JPG | PDF
The conservation area map shows the locations of saltmarsh harvest mouse conservation areas.
- Suisun Marsh Facilities JPG | PDF
The facilities map shows major water facilities in the Suisun Marsh as well as compliance and monitoring stations.
- Water Control Structures JPG | PDF
The water control structures layer includes drains, diversions, and gates.
- Areas Flooded by Screened Diversions JPG | PDF
This map depicts the lands in Suisun Marsh flooded using screened diversions.
- Tidal, Managed, and Muted Tidal Wetlands of Suisun JPG | PDF
- Suisun Marsh Vegetation JPG | PDF
Detailed vegetation map of the Suisun Marsh.
- Suisun Marsh Soils JPG | PDF
Detailed soils map of the Suisun Marsh
- Suisun Marsh Habitats circa 1770-1820 JPG | PDF
- Suisun Marsh Habitats circa 1997 JPG | PDF
Maps taken directly from the San Francisco Estuary Institute's EcoAtlas version 1.50b4.
See map notes for data sources details.