Greenwood Beach Restoration Project

Situated along the northern shoreline of Richardson Bay, Greenwood Beach is facing habitat loss due to wind-wave shoreline erosion and the degradation of an emergent marsh.  Audubon California, in partnership with the Town of Tiburon, the County of Marin, Gillenwater Consulting, as well as other restoration experts, is working to restore this ecosystem- enhancing habitat for shorebirds and other wildlife while ensuring long-term resilience using nature based solutions.

This project aims to demonstrate how the effectiveness of gravel and sand beaches as an living shoreline based alternative to  rip-rap shorelines in order to inhibit wind-wave shoreline erosion.

Project Overview

The Greenwood Beach Restoration Project (the project) is a nature-based beach restoration and shoreline erosion protection project proposed on approximately 1.4 acres of the Richardson Bay shoreline at Blackie’s Pasture Park in Tiburon, California. This project employs a “living shorelines” approach to address ongoing shoreline erosion and habitat degradation at the site, meaning that it addresses these issues utilizing techniques and materials that take advantage of natural processes and provide nature-based shore structure and for natural habitat-forming processes, while maintaining and enhancing existing public uses of the shoreline. The specific project design objectives include:

1. Restore and expand the mixed sand-gravel beaches and salt marsh along the shoreline with enhanced resilience to erosion and shoreline retreat.
2. Use locally sourced sediments and/or beneficially reuse off-site “waste” sediments for beach restoration and enhancement to the extent feasible.
3. Restore native backshore and salt marsh vegetation and habitats that can migrate sustainably landward with retreating shorelines as sea level rises.
4. Pre-empt the need for typical “emergency” shoreline erosion response of rip-rap placement, which would make beach loss more permanent and degrade the scenic, recreational, and habitat values of the shoreline.
5. Demonstrate the applicability of restoring bay beaches as a feasible alternative to traditional rip-rap shoreline stabilization to inhibit shoreline erosion while providing habitat and public access values.

The beach restoration approach combines beach nourishment with related wetland and terrestrial elements, including regraded shoreline scarps stabilized with native sand-trapping beach vegetation, large woody debris, and low-relief “drift-sills” (perpendicular to the shore) composed of cobble salt marsh. A rendering of the design elements and proposed site conditions approximately 3 years after construction is provided below. Project implementation is funded by a grant from the State Coastal Conservancy and construction is scheduled to begin in Fall 2026.

Upcoming Project Activities

The Town of Tiburon has constructing an element of the Greenwood Beach Restoration Project (the sediment retention “drift sill”) in March 2026.  Park users are asked to refrain from removing rocks and cobbles from the drift sill. Additionally, please refrain from walking on the drift sill so small plants installed on the structure will not be trampled.  Please contact the Parks Maintenance Division (415-435-7354) with any questions about this work. Construction of the remainder of the restoration project is planned for fall 2026.