Nestled southwest of Fremont, Calif., the city of Newark can only be described as a familiar beauty. Home to miles and miles of some of the last remaining salt marshes in San Francisco, these coastal wetlands are vital to preserving Bay Area ecosystems and protecting them from climate change. And now, developers plan to fill them with over 1 million cubic yards of landfill and cement. The Bay Area once consisted of over 190,000 acres of wetlands but has since lost over 90% of them to human development and impacts, according to a Baylands Ecosystem report. The few wetlands that remain are home to species such as the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and the Ridgway’s rail.