Projects and Research

South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project

Valley Water, the State Coastal Conservancy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have begun Phase 1 construction of the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project between the Alviso Slough/Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek. Once completed, the project will protect north San José, including the community of Alviso and the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility, from a 100-year coastal storm and rising seas.

The project will provide coastal flood protection from a rising sea level, and will restore and enhance tidal marsh by using a combination of flood protection levees, wetlands and transitional zone habitats also known as ecotones. Ecotones will provide an additional protective buffer for the levee and allow marsh habitat to migrate upslope as the sea level rises. This approach of using natural infrastructure will help develop a resilient and adaptable flood protection system that can evolve in the future. For more information see the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Project Fact Sheet 

Permits 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits under various wildlife law and treaties at a number of offices throughout the country. Permits enable the public to engage in legitimate wildlife-related activities that would otherwise be prohibited by law. Service permit programs ensure that such activities are carried out in a manner that safeguards wildlife. Additionally, some permits promote conservation efforts by authorizing scientific research, generating data, or allowing wildlife management and rehabilitation activates to go forward. 

Apply for a Special Use Permit

The National Wildlife Refuge System has four Special Use Permit (SUP) Applications to enable the public to engage in permitted activities on a  national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.

Learn more about national wildlife refuge  . These forms are available here in a fillable format.

Prospective permit holders may fill out the corresponding application, print it, sign it, and return it to the refuge for processing. The permit is not valid until approved and signed by a refuge official. 

The activities listed below are not necessarily conducted on every refuge. Contact the refuge manager to ask if a proposed use is appropriate or compatible at a particular refuge.

Commercial Activities Special Use Permit Application (FWS Form 3-1383-C) for
  • Commercial activities such as guiding hunters, anglers or other outdoor users
  • Commercial filming (audio, video, and photographic products of a monetary value)
  • Agriculture (haying, grazing, crop planting, logging, and other agricultural products)
  • Cabins (see also the General Special Use Application and Permit described below)
    For recreational cabin and camping reservations and permits, please visit Recreation.gov.
  • Trapping

COMMERCIAL SPECIAL USE APPLICATION 

Research and Monitoring Special Use Permit Application (FWS Form 3-1383-R) for 
  • Research and monitoring activities by students, universities, or other non-FWS organizations

RESEARCH AND MONITORING SPECIAL USE APPLICATION

General Activity Special Use Permit Application  (FWS Form 3-1383-G)
  • Woodcutting
  • Miscellaneous events (fishing tournaments, one-time events, other special events)
  • Cabins/subsistence cabins (depending on the information use requirement, you may need the commercial form)
  • Education activity
  • Other (any activity not mentioned above)

GENERAL ACTIVITIES SPECIAL USE APPLICATION

Oil and Gas Operations Special Use Permit Application (FWS Form 3-2469) for
  • Operations associated with non-federal oil and gas rights and may only be conducted by operators who have demonstrated a bona fide property right to conduct the following types of activities:
     
  • Temporary activities such as reconnaissance surveys
  • Geophysical Exploration
  • Drilling (e.g., accessing site, mobilizing equipment, building roads or grading wellpad)
  • Production (e.g., operation of oil and gas well or compressor station, transportation of product off refuge)
  • Plugging and abandoning well and site reclamation

OIL AND GAS SPECIAL USE APPLICATION

For more detailed information or to apply for a permit, go to The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website. You may also contact the refuge manager directly: sfbaynwrc@fws.gov