The Suisun Marsh Preservation Act and Wetlands Rules Here

A marsh large and distinctive enough to get its own state law

Suisun Marsh sits largely within Solano County, adjacent to Suisun Bay at the western edge of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and is recognized as the largest contiguous brackish water marsh remaining on the U.S. West Coast. Much of the marsh is organized into individually diked and managed wetland units, many operated historically -- and still today -- as waterfowl hunting clubs that actively manage water levels to maintain habitat for migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway.

In 1977, the California Legislature enacted the Suisun Marsh Preservation Act specifically to protect this landscape, directing the development of a Suisun Marsh Protection Plan and establishing a framework aimed at preserving the marsh's managed-wetland character against conversion to other uses. This is a genuinely distinctive legal protection -- most California wetlands are regulated only through more general state and federal wetlands frameworks (such as the Clean Water Act's Section 404 permitting or the state's own wetlands policies), without a dedicated standalone statute of this kind.

BCDC's extended jurisdiction

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the state agency created to regulate filling and development around San Francisco Bay, has its jurisdiction specifically extended to cover the Suisun Marsh as well -- reflecting the marsh's ecological connection to the Bay-Delta system even though it sits geographically outside the Bay itself. This means land-use decisions affecting the marsh can require BCDC review in addition to, not instead of, Solano County's own planning process.

What this means for a landowner or buyer near the marsh

If you're evaluating a parcel in or adjacent to Suisun Marsh -- whether an existing managed wetland/hunting club property or agricultural land nearby -- confirm its status under both the Suisun Marsh Preservation Act framework and BCDC jurisdiction directly with Solano County and BCDC before assuming standard agricultural or rural-residential development rules apply. Water-level management infrastructure (levees, water control structures, pumps) on an existing managed wetland parcel is often extensive and specialized, and worth having independently inspected as part of due diligence.

For land just outside the marsh's formal boundary but within the broader Delta or Suisun Bay area, confirm whether Delta Protection Commission review or other Delta-specific land-use policies also apply, since these overlapping jurisdictions are a genuine feature of land use in this part of the county.