Bill to restore wetlands dies

A $1 billion bill to restore San Francisco Bay wetlands died in Congress last week, although a local representative vowed to try again next year.

The San Francisco Bay Improvement Act would have funded restoration of more than 23,000 acres of marshes, from San Jose to Suisun Bay that have been destroyed due to levees or salt production over the last century.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, said she'll re-introduce the bill in 2011. Sen. Dianne Feinstein had introduced a similar version in the Senate, which also died.

The restoration would have provided habitat for the California clapper rail and other endangered species. Only 1,200 or so clapper rails remain, a century after tens of thousands of the plump waterfowl filled the marshes of San Francisco Bay.