The official start of the WRMP in 2016 is built on a foundation created by many current and former champions of the Program over the last several decades: 

• • 1993: SFEI began implementing the Bay Regional Monitoring Program focused on Bay water quality. Since that era in the early 1990s, there was a recognition that the Estuary’s tidal wetlands also needed to be studied to provide critical information for decision-making about effective wetland restoration and management.
  • 1999: The “Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals” set tidal marsh acreage targets for the Bay and the 2015 follow-up report added key information about sediment supply needs for the Bay. These two regional goal setting documents galvanized support for the Program and helped spur the creation of the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority.
  • 2016: The WRMP was established and program planning was initiated.
  • 2022: The WRMP officially started implementation as a co-administered program led by SFEI and the San Francisco Estuary Partnership. This work initially focused on developing the monitoring priorities and methods needed to start data collection.
  • 2024: Data collection was initiated!