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On
September 1, 1998, Bolinas Lagoon was designated "A Wetland of International
Significance" by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance,
especially as Waterfowl Habitat. The Convention was established in 1971
at a meeting in Ramsar, Iran, and is informally known as the Ramsar Convention.
Bolinas Lagoon was the 17th such site in the United States to be so named,
the third in the Western States, and the first on the Pacific Flyway.
The designation carries with it the responsibility to maintain the site
as a viable habitat for migratory waterfowl.
The importance of Bolinas Lagoon was emphasized by the California State Assembly in a resolution adopted on April 24, 1997.
In the Preliminary Analysis for their Bolinas Lagoon Study (1997) the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers said:
"The lagoon is one of Marin County's most significant natural resources. The lagoon tidelands are publicly-owned. ... Along with Drake's Estero and Tomales Bay, Bolinas Lagoon provides an important coastal environment for fish, birds and mammals that is unparalleled along the northern California coast between San Francisco and Humboldt Bays. Open water, mudflat and marsh provide productive and diverse habitats for marine fishes, waterbirds, and marine mammals. Bolinas Lagoon is part of a much larger protected natural habitat complex that is part of or adjoins the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Central California Coast Biosphere Preserve, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, and the Audubon Canyon Ranch Bird Sanctuary."
Bolinas Lagoon is also a Marin County Nature Preserve. Audubon Canyon Ranch and Point Reyes Bird Observatory make their headquarters adjacent to the Lagoon. The latter two organizations are an educational facility for school children and nesting location for herons and egrets, and an international avian research organization, respectively. The lagoon's ecological values result from its function as a breeding ground for shellfish, finfish, bottom fish, and marine organisms; as a pupping ground for harbor seals; as a nesting area for herons, egrets and other wading birds; as a stopover for thousands of migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway; as a year-round habitat for numerous endangered species; and, as a recreational resource for millions of our citizens.
The Bolinas Lagoon Management Plan prepared by Marin County (1996) lists 3 species of amphibians, 23 of birds and 3 of mammals that frequent Bolinas Lagoon and are identified as "rare, threatened or endangered." Some 245 species of birds have been identified at the Lagoon and its surrounding watershed. In addition, the open water and marsh areas provide productive and diverse habitat for marine fishes and mammals. Bolinas Lagoon occupies some 1,200 acres; the surrounding watershed, 17 square miles.