Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Virtually all of the estuary's historic tributaries have been modified,
some almost beyond recognition. In Berkeley, at least two waterways—
Derby and Potter—have disappeared entirely. No visible surface traces
remain of these “ghost” creeks. “All of their topography was bulldozed
flat,” according to aquatic biologist Christopher Richard of the Oakland
Museum of California. What little remains of Derby Creek today is a
short reach on UC Berkeley's Clark Kerr Campus, and intermittent seeps
and springs.
Residents once cared deeply about the health of their local creeks be-
cause they were essential for human survival. Creeks supplied all of the
water needed for drinking, washing, livestock, or industry. As Bay Area
populations swelled, cities and counties secured faraway sources of water
to slake their thirst. Access to these distant water supplies nearly severed
the age-old connection between creeks and communities.
In recent decades, people have begun to rediscover the value of their
local creeks to humans, wildlife, and the health of the bay. Starting in the
early 1980s with the “daylighting” of culverted Strawberry Creek in Berke-
ley, an increasing number of ordinary people have become activists on
behalf of their creek and its watershed. Today, nearly every creek has a
nonprofit friends group that defends creek interests. These organizations
conduct regular trash cleanups, replace invasive exotic plants with native
species, and help return neglected waterways to central importance in
their neighborhoods. Friends of creeks groups also agitate to daylight bur-
ied streams and remove dams that stymie Steelhead runs, as well as nego-
tiate for more ecology-friendly flood control or erosion projects.
Within the next two decades, scientists say, the historic links between
the bay and its creeks will become increasingly important. As sea level
rises with global climate change, storm surges and overflows in the bay
will find their historic inlets, inundating creek mouths, shoreline culverts,
and sewer outfalls in the process. Restoring the absorbent qualities of nat-
ural creek mouths, alluvial fans, and wetlands may play a pivotal role in
the Bay Area's ability to adapt to sea level rise, and underscores the need to
reconsider urban creeks as a part of the larger watershed (see p. 225, “Re-
viving Bay Creeks”).
The language of biological invasions mimics that of primetime police dra-
mas. Rapid response teams armed with bioweapons scramble to tackle
alien species. Such scenarios are an unfortunate reality in the bay. Foreign
species of every aquatic kind—from Chinese Clams and Japanese Snails to
