Environmental report card has mixed grade for San Francisco Bay Estuary

"And we found that for the Bay, most of those indicators are doing okay and they're holding steady. Essentially, a tale of two ecosystems, interconnected. On the positive side, are the years of restoration work. Nearly 60,000 acres of Tidal marsh now surround the Bay shoreline, benefiting several key species of shore birds. Conditions at most Bay beaches also boasted positive water quality."

"Environmental scientist Tina Swanson, Ph.D., with the San Francisco Estuary Partnership, says freshwater flow through the Delta has been cut nearly in half. This is mainly the result of deliberate diversions for farming, drinking water and other human uses. She says it is a shortfall threatening multiple native fish species, including Chinook Salmon. "And if the conditions on the Delta are as poor as they are now, very often the survival of the fish through that part of the migration is very low,""

Health measured across 24 indicators shows most Bay indicators are holding steady while most Delta indicators are in poor condition. Tens of thousands of acres of restored tidal marsh around the Bay shoreline support thriving shorebird populations and improved beach water quality. Freshwater flow through the Delta has been cut nearly in half because of diversions for farming, drinking water and other human uses. Reduced flow creates a shortfall that threatens multiple native fish species, including Chinook Salmon, and lowers survival during migration through the Delta.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco