Marin Audubon Society aims to buy Novato baylands

The Marin Audubon Society has signed an agreement to purchase two former tidal marshland properties spanning more than 300 acres in unincorporated Novato.

The group, in partnership with Marin Baylands Advocates, aims to raise $3.4 million by June to buy the land.

Securing the parcels would be the first step in a major restoration effort that would expand the Bahia wetlands to about double the size. The project would create a contiguous corridor of tidal habitat from Novato through the Petaluma Marsh along the Petaluma River.