A Different Wetlands
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009Like Baylands Park, Elkhorn Slough is a restored wetlands area. The 105 acres of wetlands adjoining Baylands Park are a largely dry marsh. Elkhorn Slough is much bigger and wetter: at 1,400 acres, it’s the largest tract of tidal salt marsh in California outside of San Francisco Bay.
Mammals we’re most likely to see at Baylands are ground squirrels, rabbits and gophers. In Elkhorn Slough, it’s sea otters, sea lions and bay seals. I’m sure there are many small mammals along the shore, but they’re hard to spot from a boat.
After buying tickets from the captain of the Elkhorn Slough Safari, we boarded a 27-foot pontoon boat — a box riding on a pair of floats — along with about 25 other sightseers. Our guide and captain was Yohn Gideon, a local naturalist and birder.






