RICHARDSON BAY REGIONAL AGENCY ACCEPTS $250,000 GRANT FROM MARIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR EELGRASS MONITORING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
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RICHARDSON BAY REGIONAL AGENCY ACCEPTS $250,000 GRANT FROM MARIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR EELGRASS MONITORING
Grant will help support efforts to map out Richardson Bay through autonomous underwater vehicles
Sausalito, CA— The Richardson Bay Regional Agency recently accepted a $250,000 grant award from the Marin Community Foundation to help support eelgrass monitoring on the Bay floor. The grant will fund efforts to map out the Richardson Bay seabed through the use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).
“This is an exciting new chapter in our ongoing journey to protect, restore and support our eelgrass ecosystem here in Richardson Bay,” said RBRA Board Chair Jack Ryan. “By employing innovative technology to map out and detail the eelgrass beds underwater, we can make informed and strategic decisions on our planting and restoration efforts. We will have new insight into how we can protect our eelgrass now, and in the future.”
The RBRA Board accepted the $250,000 grant at its last meeting on July 9. The AUVs supported by the grant will conduct surveys to map existing eelgrass coverage on the seabed, while evaluating restoration outcomes from active and forthcoming efforts. The AUVs will also help identify priority sites for future eelgrass expansion within Richardson Bay's 75 acres of identified restoration targets.
Richardson Bay’s estuary in southern Marin is among the region's most flood-prone coastal areas. Its shoreline borders Sausalito, Marin City, the Galilee Harbor low-income, live-aboard community, Highway 101, the Sausalito-San Francisco ferry terminal, wastewater systems, and the Mill Valley-Sausalito Pathway. All are directly exposed to tidal and storm-driven inundation.
To protect community members, property, and habitat along Richardson Bay, Marin Community Foundation provides grants for eelgrass restoration as one of its priorities through its Building Resilient Communities Initiative. The Richardson Bay Regional Agency project is part of a small grants pilot program the Foundation launched in 2026 to advance sea level rise adaptation projects in Marin County.
“The Richardson Bay Regional Agency has done a remarkable job restoring eelgrass beds that used to flourish in this region, and this grant will help chart their future efforts. We need our coastal habitats to be healthy so neighborhoods can adapt to rising sea levels,” said Patti Juachon, Senior Program Director at MCF.
The RBRA applied for the grant alongside its environmental consultant partner, Coastal Policy Solutions. The AUVs will be provided by Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering, a local company that specializes in manufacturing autonomous underwater drones.
“Everyone who is familiar with Richardson Bay understands how fundamental eelgrass is to a healthy local environment,” said RBRA Executive Director Brad Gross. “By relocating illegally anchored vessels off the anchorage and planting new eelgrass, we have created the conditions for this critical habitat to flourish. And through this new grant partnership with the Marin Community Foundation, we can ensure that those efforts are supported and enhanced well into the future.”
The effort to map out Richardson Bay through AUVs is just the latest RBRA initiative to protect and support the local eelgrass habitat. In May, the RBRA and its partners planted two acres of new eelgrass beds, resulting in the agency eclipsing its 15-acre goal—one full year ahead of schedule. A total of 16.5 acres have now been planted over the past three years. The planting was funded in part by a $2.8 million grant provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2023.
The EPA grant was aimed at restoring at least 15 acres of eelgrass over four years through an innovative public-private partnership, but that goal was met a year ahead of its 2027 target date. Despite the 15-acre goal being reached already, the RBRA and its partners will continue, as funds allow, to engage in eelgrass planting sessions for the next year.
The eelgrass planting is a key part of the RBRA’s 10-year Restoration and Adaptive Management Plan. That plan includes the establishment of an Eelgrass Protection Zone (EPZ), an area of the water off-limits to anchoring that will help restore and protect a critical ecological component of the Bay. The EPZ was officially established in October 2024.
In 2022, there were more than 100 vessels in the area that is now the EPZ. Through various efforts, there are no longer any vessels in the EPZ. Just two boats remain in the RBRA’s total anchorage area, with both vessels set to be relocated off the anchorage soon.
“We have made such great progress protecting and restoring our eelgrass in the past several years—this new investment is about keeping that momentum going,” said Coastal Policy Solutions Director of Programs Jess Bode. “The Bay Area has such a deep history of innovation, so it only makes sense that we harness cutting-edge technology to help us solve the environmental challenges we are facing.”
Richardson Bay remains a valuable recreational asset to the boaters of California, and anchoring is encouraged. Mariners may anchor for up to 72 hours without a permit.
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The Richardson Bay Regional Agency (RBRA) is a local government agency serving Belvedere, Mill Valley, Tiburon, and unincorporated Southern Marin County. RBRA is dedicated to maintaining and improving the navigational waterways, open waters, and shoreline of Richardson Bay.