Coastal Conservancy Awarded $1.1 Million for Enhancement of Humboldt Bay’s Martin Slough from California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Further $17.7 Million awarded to Conservancy partners for coastal ecosystem and watershed restoration and protection projects

Martin Slough

Oakland, CA – Today, the California State Coastal Conservancy was awarded a grant of $1.1 million from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for the enhancement of Martin Slough in Humboldt Bay.  A further $17.7 million was granted to projects supported by the Conservancy for ecosystem restoration and protection in California’s coastal watersheds.  The funding comes from CDFW’s Proposition 1 and Proposition 68 grant programs.

CDFW allocated the funding following competitive grant rounds for multi-benefit ecosystem restoration and protection projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and watersheds statewide.

“These projects are urgent and they are important.” said Mary Small, Deputy Executive Officer of the Coastal Conservancy. “CDFW has selected projects throughout the state that will have a tremendous impact on the health of our watershed ecosystems. The voters of California passed Prop 68 less than a year ago and that money is being put to good work today.”

The Coastal Conservancy’s grant of $1,106,982 will be used for the enhancement of Martin Slough in Humboldt Bay.  The project will restore wetlands, enhance water quality, and improve fish and wildlife habitat in and adjacent to Martin Slough, while reducing flooding of the adjacent agricultural and recreational lands.

Martin Slough was historically an important tributary to the Elk River, which drains to Humboldt Bay, and provided substantial anadromous fish habitat and other aquatic and riparian values.  The Martin Slough watershed covers approximately 5.4 square miles, with a natural channel length of over 10 miles and approximately 7.5 miles of potential salmonid fish habitat supporting coho salmon and cutthroat trout.

An additional $17.7 million in CDFW grants will go to 8 projects lead by Conservancy partners:

• Santa Ana Bridge Replacement – a Component of the Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project ($13,426,938 to Ventura County Watershed Protection District)
• Big Canyon Habitat Restoration and Adaptation Project, Phase II ($1,196,444 to Newport Bay Conservancy)
• Lagunitas Creek Floodplain Restoration for Coho Recovery, Phase II ($593,040 to Salmon Protection and Watershed Network)
• Harvey Diversion Fish Passage Restoration 100% Designs ($1,019,271 to California Trout)
• Wildlife Corridor at Liberty Canyon ($400,000 to National Wildlife Federation)
• Elk Creek Restoration Feasibility Study ($347,204 to Smith River Alliance)
• Scott Creek Lagoon and Marsh Restoration ($237,690 to Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)
• Restoration planning at the Sespe Cienega in Fillmore ($237,570 to Santa Clara River Conservancy)
• Advancing Restoration Strategies for Hydrologic Connectivity in Williams Creek ($268,862 to Humboldt County Resource Conservation District)

“These grant awards put significant new financial resources behind some of the most critical coastal wetland restoration projects in the state,” Small continued, “We are working against the clock to complete projects in the face of rising seas and a changing climate; CDFW funding will allow our project partners to move forward quickly with planning and implementation work.”

“This year represents new opportunities for important projects getting off the ground, including long-planned efforts to support recovery of critical species and respond to new ecological challenges,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “We look forward to continuing statewide restoration and protection efforts of our state’s watersheds.”

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Notes to Editors:

• A total of $48.5 million was awarded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for 38 for multi-benefit ecosystem restoration and protection projects under its Proposition 1 and Proposition 68 grant programs.
• CDFW participated in a joint solicitation in 2018 with the Delta Science Program and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for scientific studies projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Through this effort, CDFW awarded 11 projects a total of $7.3 million through its Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Proposition 1 Delta Water Quality and Ecosystem Restoration Grant Program.
• CDFW conducted a second solicitation in 2018 with funding available from both Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Proposition 1 and Fiscal Year 2018-2019 Proposition 68 funding, resulting in the award of $41.2 million to 27 projects statewide, outside of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Of the $41.2 million, approximately $23.9 million was awarded through the Proposition 1 Watershed Restoration Grant Program. Approximately $17.3 million was awarded through the Proposition 68 grant program which includes three separate focuses: Rivers and Streams, Southern California Steelhead and Habitat Improvement Projects.
• The awarded projects represent priorities outlined in the two solicitations, as well as the California Water Action Plan, State Wildlife Action Plan, Sacramento Valley Salmon Resiliency Strategy, Delta Plan, California EcoRestore, Safeguarding California Plan, the California Biodiversity Initiative and the fulfillment of CDFW’s mission. This year marks CDFW’s first allocation of Proposition 68 funding and the fifth of 10 planned annual allocations of Proposition 1 funding.

Projects approved for funding through the Proposition 1 Watershed Restoration Grant Program and Proposition 68 grant programs include:

Acquisition Projects:

• Van Arken Community Forest Project ($1,861,312 to Sanctuary Forest)
• Scott Ranch Acquisition, Napa County ($1,000,000 to Land Trust of Napa County)
• Acquisition and Monitoring Program for Critical Fish and Wildlife Habitat in and Around the Angelo Coast Range Reserve, Upper South Fork Eel River ($806,022 to Angelo Coast Range Reserve, University of California, Berkeley)
• Arcata Community Forest (Jacoby Creek Tract) Expansion – Swaner 114 acres ($760,300 to City of Arcata)
• Sierra Valley Mountain Meadow Conservation Project ($648,077 to Feather River Land Trust)
• Mendocino Pygmy Forest Protection Project ($347,843 to Mendocino Land Trust)

Implementation Projects:

• Santa Ana Bridge Replacement – a Component of the Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project ($13,426,938 to Ventura County Watershed Protection District)
• Rim Fire Watershed Health Improvement Project ($3,641,211 to Tuolumne River Trust)
• Oroville Wildlife Area Flood Stage Reduction and Restoration Project ($3,139,136 to Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency)
• Hotelling Gulch Aquatic Restoration ($2,038,942 to Salmon River Restoration Council)
• Oroville Wildlife Area Flood Stage Reduction and Restoration Project – New Vegetation Plantings ($1,716,847 to Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency)
• Jameson Creek Fish Passage Improvement and Restoration Project ($1,704,990 to City of Fortuna)
• Big Canyon Habitat Restoration and Adaptation Project, Phase II ($1,196,444 to Newport Bay Conservancy)
• Martin Slough Enhancement ($1,106,982 to California State Coastal Conservancy)
• Post-Fire Restoration of Coast Range Headwaters for Multiple Benefits at Pepperwood Preserve ($838,135 to Pepperwood Foundation)
• Lagunitas Creek Floodplain Restoration for Coho Recovery, Phase II ($593,040 to Salmon Protection and Watershed Network)

Planning Projects:

• Bellota Fish Screen and Passage Improvement Project ($1,952,559 to Stockton East Water District)
• Harvey Diversion Fish Passage Restoration 100% Designs ($1,019,271 to California Trout)
• Cannibal Island Restoration Intermediate Designs ($802,886 to California Trout)
  Lower San Luis Obispo Creek Fish Passage Design and Habitat Improvement Project ($459,798 to Central Coast Salmon Enhancement)
• Wildlife Corridor at Liberty Canyon ($400,000 to National Wildlife Federation)
• Restoring the Deer Creek Headwaters at Childs Meadow ($374,588 to Point Blue Conservation Science)
• Elk Creek Restoration Feasibility Study ($347,204 to Smith River Alliance)
  Rowdy Creek and Dominie Creek Fish Passage Improvement Planning Project ($273,146 to Tolowa Dee-ni Nation)
• Advancing Restoration Strategies for Hydrologic Connectivity in Williams Creek ($268,862 to Humboldt County Resource Conservation District)
• Scott Creek Lagoon and Marsh Restoration ($237,690 to Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)
• Restoration planning at the Sespe Cienega in Fillmore ($237,570 to Santa Clara River Conservancy)

Projects approved for funding through the Delta Water Quality and Ecosystem Restoration Grant Program include:
Scientific Studies:

• Reconnecting Delta food webs: evaluating the influence of tidal marsh restoration on energy flow and prey availability for native fishes ($1,107,041 to State Water Contractors)
• Quantifying genetic and epigenetic variation in Delta smelt that may enable adaptation to future environments ($934,616 to University of California, Davis)
• Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Ecological Performance of Early Life Stage Sturgeon ($957,427 to University of California, Davis)
• Monitoring and Modeling Pathogen Exposure in Salmon Migrating to the Delta ($847,041 to University of California, Santa Cruz)
• Delta Wetlands and Resilience: blue carbon and marsh accretion ($819,998 to San Francisco Estuary Institute)
• Enhancing predictive capability for phytoplankton response to natural and operational induced variability of phytoplankton blooming in the Delta. ($784,970 to San Francisco State University)
• Quantifying Biogeochemical Processes through Transport Modeling: Pilot Application in the Cache Slough Complex ($570,602 to University of California, Davis)
• Developing an eDNA metabarcoding protocol to improve fish and mussel monitoring in the San Francisco Estuary ($419,742 to University of California, Davis)
• The role of wetlands in pelagic food webs: metagenomics reveals how wetland plant detritus may promote zooplankton growth and survival ($399,171 to University of California, Davis)
• Trade-offs and Co-benefits of Landscape Change Scenarios on Human and Bird Communities in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta ($248,077 to Point Blue Conservation Science)
• Developing a new molecular isotopic tool to examine Delta food webs ($211,907 to University of California, Santa Cruz)

The Coastal Conservancy is a state agency, established in 1976, to protect and improve natural lands and waterways, to help people get to and enjoy the outdoors, and to sustain local economies along California’s coast. The Conservancy is a non-regulatory agency that supports projects to protect coastal resources and increase opportunities for the public to enjoy the coast.

Since its founding, the Conservancy has:

• Funded 2,400 projects along the California coastline and in the San Francisco Bay.
• Protected 390,000 acres of coastal lands through acquisition of fee title and conservation easements.
• Restored 33,000 acres of habitat.
• Built 200 new coastal accessway and 210 miles of new trails.
• Put $1.3 billion to work for conservation projects, and leveraged far more from federal, local government, and private sources.