Officials mark completion of $20 million salt pond restoration in Mountain View

Conservationists and environmental groups on Friday marked the completion of a $20 million restoration project in Mountain View that transformed a 435-acre former salt pond, along with an adjacent closed landfill, into wildlife habitat and public open space.

Views of Stanford University’s Hoover Tower and Google’s campus to the north framed the event, where residents, environmental groups and local leaders gathered to celebrate the restoration of Pond A2W.

Though this three-year restoration project covers only a small fraction of the total area, it marks a significant step in the 50-year plan to revive 15,100 acres of former salt ponds across the South Bay, East Bay and Peninsula into vital tidal marshes.

To reshape the Mountain View pond and reinforce levees against sea-level rise and storm surges, crews imported 180,000 cubic yards of fill dirt from local construction sites. Restoration work included the construction of five habitat islands, creating horizontal levees or “habitat transition zones” and extending public trails by 1.2 miles.

Located within the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the site has seen a return of a variety of wildlife — including diving ducks, mallards, northern shovelers, egrets and herons — visitors can observe from the project’s newly extended trails.

While restoration work of the salt pond is complete, an important component, the planting of natural levees for shoreline protection, is expected to begin this fall led by Bay Area shoreline restoration group Save the Bay.

Paul Souza, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, described the project as one of the “crown jewels” of the national refuge system, noting that the restoration reflects a broader effort to protect natural resources while reconnecting communities to the shoreline.

“We are in every corner of this country, and it’s an honor to help protect these beautiful resources that are so important to the very culture and fabric of our country,” Souza said.

Mountain View Councilmember Pat Showalter, a civil engineer, highlighted the city’s role in coordinating the partners involved.

“That was a lot of trucks,” Showalter said, referring to the period when thousands of tons of dirt had to be hauled in. “One of the main accomplishments was figuring out that truck route and making sure it worked safely and efficiently.”

The site has a long history.

For nearly a century, it functioned as a salt pond, partitioned off from the bay to evaporate water for salt production. The former operator sold much of its South Bay land in 2003 but still runs a plant in Newark, and the pond’s colorful mosaic remains visible from the air. It also functioned as a landfill from the 1960s to the mid-1980s.

Restoration partners include the city of Mountain View, Save the Bay, the State Coastal Conservancy, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited and other local agencies.

Project leaders said its benefits extend beyond wildlife.

“There are a number of different advantages for the public — access to new trails, connections to city parks and the Bay Trail,” said Dave Halsing, executive project manager. “There’s something for everyone, and these projects are multi-benefit, designed to meet a wide range of goals.”

The restoration also comes as recent storms have highlighted flood risks across the Bay Area, and rising seas increasingly threaten low-lying shoreline communities. Regional agencies are advancing wetland restoration as a natural defense that absorbs wave energy and helps reduce inland flooding.

Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, called the project the “epitome of cross-jurisdictional collaboration,” linking climate resilience to the region’s housing development efforts.

“This creates stronger protection against sea level rise, which is a concern on both sides of my district,” Berman said. “It means better flood protection for Shoreline Park, nearby offices and future neighborhoods.”

Similar projects are underway elsewhere in the Bay Area, including Palo Alto’s $7 million living levee and other horizontal levee efforts in Hayward and North Richmond.

In addition to supporting migratory birds, Chris Barr, complex manager for the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, said the restored wetlands provide vital nursery habitat for fish such as salmon and sturgeon. The area is also home to the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse.

“Just being able to restore it back to nature provides better connections for the surrounding community to enjoy,” Barr said. “We’ve seen that fish — their strength and young ability to survive to adulthood — increases with these wetlands.”

Even as work on Pond A2W wraps up, Halsing said the work is far from finished.

“It’s a rolling effort,” he said. “We’re already planning and working on the next pond.”