Over the past 200 years, urban development, agriculture, and salt production dramatically reduced tidal wetlands and caused significant declines in marsh-dependent wildlife. Tidal wetlands provide critically important habitat for fish, birds, and other species, while also aiding in flood control and pollution filtration. In the Bay Area, a long history of salt production ironically preserved thousands of undeveloped acres that can now be restored to tidal wetlands. This restoration requires more than breaching levees and letting Bay waters reclaim the land, because a critical balance must be maintained among recreational uses, municipal uses, and conservation efforts to keep the Bay clean and provide pristine habitat for wetland species. The work is being carried out so this valuable resource will be restored in a way that allows future generations to experience, learn about, and enjoy tidal wetland again.