Rush Ranch - Lower Spring Branch Creek Suisun Hill Hollow

The project's purpose was to connect the watershed of Lower Spring Branch Creek with tidal First Mallard Slough. The restoration facilitates habitat development for a wide range of listed and unique status plants and wildlife species, provides climate change mitigation and adaptation, and improves the public access experience.

The project specifically aimed to provide tidal marsh and ecotone habitat for animals like the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse, Suisun shrew, and the California black rail and plants such as soft bird's beak. In addition to this, it aimed to provide carbon sequestration and sea level rise resilience while accommodating cattle movement and public access.

The first step in construction was grading existing berms and excavating the marsh plain and tidal channel. Grading created an additional marsh and 1,200 feet of channel to facilitate water and organism movement. Then, Raito came in and removed the existing narrow culverts. The surrounding area could be stabilized with a soil and cement mixture, which provided a stable foundation for the new culvert.