Skaggs Island Naval Communication Station

San Pablo Bay and the Carquinez Strait

Skaggs Island was once a thriving tidal marsh next to San Pablo Bay. It is part of the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds and was used extensively by Native Americans until the 1800s, when federal legislation allowed the State of California to fill in wetlands. Senator John P. Jones, of Nevada, purchased 10,000 acres (40 km²) for development by his brother. Chinese laborers, freed from railroad building work,[1] were employed to construct levees to control flooding by Sonoma Creek.[2] The area became a diked wetland area, converted to hay farms and salt ponds, before becoming a United States Navy electronic communications station between 1942 and 1993. The VORTAC radio navigation beacon (Identifier: SGD. Frequency: 112.10 MHz) remains operational. It is a medium-power facility, used by aircraft for low-level enroute navigation.[3]

On March 31, 2011, Skaggs Island became part of the 13,000-acre (53 km²) San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, created in 1974 to protect migratory birds, wetland habitat and endangered species.[4]

Skaggs Island was named for Marion Barton Skaggs, who financially helped the struggling Sonoma Land Company during the depression of the 1930s.[2]

• Two Rock
• AN/FRD-10, a High-frequency direction finding system at NSGA Skaggs Island during the cold war.