Winter Island (California)

Winter Island
An aerial photo of two islands.
An aerial photo of Winter Island (on the right). Browns Island is on the left of the image, and Antioch is on the bottom.
Winter Island is located in Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Winter Island
Winter Island
Winter Island is located in San Francisco Bay Area
Winter Island
Winter Island
Winter Island is located in California
Winter Island
Winter Island
Winter Island is located in the United States
Winter Island
Winter Island
Geography
LocationSuisun Bay
Coordinates38°02′35″N 121°50′56″W / 38.043°N 121.849°W / 38.043; -121.849
Area453 acres (183 ha)
Highest elevation0 m (0 ft)
Administration
United States
U.S. stateCalifornia
CountyContra Costa County

Winter Island (also known as Ruckels Island)[1] is a 453-acre (183 ha) island in Suisun Bay, in the western Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.[2][3] It is north of Pittsburg,[2][3] separated from Browns Island to the west by a slough. It was private property,[3] and contained one house.[2] It is used as a duck hunting area, a wetland, and a dredging disposal area.[3] In 2016 Winter Island was purchased by the California Department of Water Resources in order to restore the island as a tidal marsh.[4] Winter Island is part of Contra Costa County, and managed by Reclamation District 2122.[5] It is shown, labeled "Ruckels Island", on an 1850 survey map of the San Francisco Bay area made by Cadwalader Ringgold[6] and an 1854 map of the area by Henry Lange.[7]

In 2009, Brusco Tug and Barge, a tugboat company, pled guilty to illegal dredge dumping near the island between 2003 and 2007.[3] In 2014, a large wildfire broke out on the island.[2]

  1. ^ "Winter Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ a b c d "Crews responding to brush fire on Winter Island in delta". KGO-TV. 2014-01-22. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  3. ^ a b c d e Costa, Hilary (2009-09-11). "Tug company settles Delta pollution charges". East Bay Times. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  4. ^ Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Fish Restoration Program (FRP) acquired approximately 589 acres on Winter Island in 2016 for tidal wetland restoration
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ContraCostaLAFCO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference survey1850 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference map1854 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).