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EL NIÑO

Tiburon will clear Railroad Marsh ahead of strong El Niño

Tiburon will strip about 1,800 tons of cattail, invasive plants and sediment from Railroad Marsh this fall to restore the basin's capacity to hold storm runoff.

Cattail and other vegetation crowd the water’s edge on Sept. 24, 2025, at Railroad Marsh in Tiburon, with the Point Tiburon Marsh condominiums in the background. The Town Council on Aug. 19 authorized a contract to strip about 1,800 tons of cattail, invasive plants and sediment from the basin this fall, restoring its capacity to hold storm runoff ahead of a winter forecasters expect to bring a strong El Niño (Kevin Hessel archive / The Ark 2025).
Francisco Martinez
By FRANCISCO MARTINEZ · 1 min read

Crews will strip about 1,800 tons of cattail, invasive plants and sediment from Railroad Marsh this fall, restoring the basin’s capacity to hold storm runoff ahead of a winter federal forecasters put at better than a 90% chance of a very strong El Niño.

The Tiburon Town Council voted 4-0 Aug. 19 to hire Lafayette-based McNabb Construction Inc. for the work at a cost not to exceed $274,743 and to let the town manager approve change orders of up to 10%, bringing the ceiling to $302,217. Vice Mayor Isaac Nikfar was absent.

The contract sends the firm back to the marsh, where it did the town’s maintenance work last fall. McNabb was not the low bidder. Petaluma-based Land Revision bid $264,600, about $10,000 less, and Dixon Marine Services bid $386,237.

Public Works Engineering Manager David Eshoo told the council that staff will try to negotiate McNabb down to Land Revision’s price and that he does not expect to spend the contingency.

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A version of this story appeared in the Aug. 26, 2026, print edition of The Ark. See something wrong? Request a correction.
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