Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve

The Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve protects a valuable remnant of coastal salt marsh habitats once common throughout Southern California estuaries. Despite major alterations to the surrounding land and water, this small, heart-shaped wetland at the northern edge of Mission Bay remains remarkably productive, providing rich intertidal habitats. Topography ranges from high marsh to submerged shoreline, creating a classic vertical zonation of habitats, each with its own spectrum of vegetation and invertebrates.

Habitats within the site include coastal salt marsh, tidal channels, and salt flats; the adjacent Northern Wildlife Preserve contains mudflats, a sand spit, eelgrass beds, and the open waters of Mission Bay. Thousands of shorebirds visit the marsh and mudflats during annual migrations; at least two endangered bird species, Ridgway’s rail and Belding’s savannah sparrow, rely entirely on the marsh.

Native American Heritage

The marsh is near the site of a Kumeyaay village and its rich resources were used by Native people.  Activities to reconnect Kumeyaay to the Mission Bay coastline are ongoing and include student internships to research the ecological history of the area as well as traditional Hai Kawai boat building and repair.

Habitat Restoration

Over 300 acres (120 ha) of land adjacent to the marsh, managed by the city of San Diego, is in the midst of a planning process that will include some amount of wetland restoration in the future. Research on the economic value of the ecosystem services of the current and potential marsh is helping to inform this planning process. Prior restoration activities have included re-grading landfill sites, eradicating invasive mangroves, and transplanting marsh and transition zone vegetation. 

Student Volunteer Program

Students from nearby Mission Bay High School participate in research, help with marsh restoration, develop public outreach materials, and take a leadership role in outreach events.  Younger students plant native plants in the restoration areas and create artwork for outreach materials.

Public outreach

Members of the community have the opportunity to visit the marsh through the Wander the Wetlands program or monthly work parties. Love Your Wetlands Day, the first Saturday of February, attracts hundreds of visitors seeking to learn about wetlands or to help care for the marsh by collecting trash, planting native plants, refurbishing rail nesting platforms, and more.

Selected Research

• Early stages of sea-level rise lead to decreased salt marsh plant diversity through stronger competition in Mediterranean-climate marshes
• The leptostraca* of coastal California: A survey based on morphological and molecular evidence. [*a marine order of the class mMlacostraca, which is a subclass of the subphyllum crustacea]
• The effect of different reproductive strategies on the genetic variation of eastern Pacific eelgrass taxa.
• Final hosts (birds and mammals) as determinants of community structure of castrating trematodes in California horn snails.
• Abiotic factors control invasion by ants at the community scale.
• The effect of removing numerically dominant, non-native honey bees on seed set of a native plant.
• Ant-plant interactions: Impacts of humans on terrestrial ecosystems.
• Variation in nest relocation of harvester ants is affected by population density and food abundance.
• Faunal responses to fire in chaparral and sage scrub in California.