Planting Towards Franks Tract Future

Peat soils source. Row crop vegetable farm. Inundated. Bombed. Abandoned. Restored wildlife habitat?

Franks Tract State Recreation Area and the Little Franks Tract have a unique history in the Delta, first as the second largest source of peat soils outside of the Florida Everglades, then as a row crop vegetable farm until it flooded in 1938, followed by a bomb testing site for the US Military from the 40s into the 50s, before finally turning into a State Recreation Area in 1959. Since then, the site has been mostly abandoned outside of hunting blinds.

But could it be more?

We think so, and together with California State Parks and the Delta Conservancy, we’re going to figure out how.

As with similar restoration efforts, we start with controlling invasive weeds while promoting native shrubs and trees. This work is already hard enough on land but our site is only accessible via boat with most to all of the work being done from floating platforms.

Still, it’s worth it in my eyes as we seek to enhance habitat for birds and other wildlife. My vision is to look across this site in the future and not see the teeming mass of invasive weeds with little to no wildlife but instead see a diversity of native trees and shrubs filled with an array of creatures.

The vision continues with birds, such as an Osprey or a Kingfisher, perched on top of a willow as it snacks on a fish it just caught. Nearby, songbirds like the Red-Winged Blackbird flitter in and out of the Tules and California Rose, feasting on insects as they fly over the water’s surface. At the edge of the levee, Buffleheads, Coots, and Goldeneyes bob around before diving beneath the water’s surface for a meal. The road to get there will be long, and challenging, but we are up to the task. As Robert Swan the explorer puts it, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”