The environmental renaissance of San Francisco Bay

Cargill’s land value donations of US $150 million have enabled public wildlife agencies to acquire more than 40,000 acres of San Francisco Bay salt pond properties and launch the largest wetland restoration project on the West Coast.

• Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. A century of sustainable land use led to creation of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge on 12,000 acres of operating salt ponds in 1979. This private-public partnership has expanded over the years and continues to protect wildlife habitat for four endangered species and more than one million shorebirds and waterfowl.
• Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area. In 1994, Cargill’s donation and sale of 10,000 acres of salt ponds in Napa created the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area, operated by the California Department of Fish and Game. In 2003, 1,400 acres were added to this state wildlife preserve, and opened to tidal action in 2010.
• South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project. In 2003, state and federal wildlife agencies acquired 16,500 acres of salt pond properties, aided by donations from four private foundations and Cargill’s donation of $100 million in land value. This acquisition launched the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, the largest wetland restoration project on the West Coast.
  A video documenting this historic acquisition is available for order here.
• Cargill land grants and sales to local governments and non-profit organizations total nearly 3,000 acres, improving  open space, recreation, and environmental education throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
  Land Transfer Map | Land Transfer List