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Whiteside Marsh is a coastal estuary marsh and wetlands located on the northwestern shore of San Pablo Bay, in southeastern Marin County, California. It is in and adjacent to the city of Novato and the Bel Marin Keys community, in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Restoration
The marsh is the site of the Hamilton / Bel Marin Keys Wetlands Restoration Project, a federal and state wetlands habitat restoration project on the closed Hamilton Air Force Base—Hamilton Army Airfield (1930−1988).
It is a habitat of the endangered Red-Legged Frog (Rana draytonii), identifiable as the name implies by distinctive red markings on the legs. It is also nesting habitat for the endangered California Least Tern.
History
Around the turn on the 19th century, marshes at the site were diked, dried out, and farmed. It was the homestead of Peter Whiteside.
Hamilton Air Force Base was built on the site in 1930. It and the subsequent Hamilton Army Airfield occupied the area until the base was closed in 1988.