History of Lake Merritt's Wildlife Sanctuary |
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Lake Merritt was originally a wide, tidal estuary or salt marsh known as Laguna Peralta. Its tidal nature meant that at low tide it turned into a mud flat. It lies on the Pacific flyway so has always been a stopping place for thousands of migratory birds. Because of this it was also a favorite destination for duck hunters. As the north shore of the lake became settled in the late 1800's residents were in danger of stopping stray bullets from the duck hunters on the south shore of the Lake. Thanks to the intervention of Dr. Merritt, then mayor of Oakland, the area was declared a National wildlife refuge in 1869, the first in North America. Furthermore, the state penal code was invoked to prevent hunters endangering the public. Not satisfied with this coup, Dr. Merritt had a vision of the estuary as a regular level lake. He therefore proposed a dam where 12th St. now runs to reduce the tidal flow. He was not able to stir public interest in his plan so ended up paying for most of the construction himself. The lake was later deepened by dredging, sections were filled in and finally a retaining wall was built around the 3.18 mile perimeter. For the Birds. Perhaps the biggest gains for the wildlife population were the organized feeding of the ducks which began in 1915 and the creation of the "bird islands". The first island was constructed in 1925 and four more added in 1956. [The photo shows the largest of the artificial islands with roosting egrets.] The islands all have fresh water ponds in the middle and now provide nesting and roosting sites for hundreds of herons, egrets, canada geese and others. The Rotary Natural Science Center was constructed in 1953 and carries on with the feeding program providing fish for the herons and grain for the ducks. Boats are kept out of the area by a boom that cordons off this section of the lake.
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