Press Release: Coastal Conservancy Awards over $28m in Grants

This week, the Board of the California State Coastal Conservancy awarded over $28.3 million in grants for coastal access, protect, restoration and climate resilience.  Included in the authorizations were $11.5 million for the acquisition of 384 acres at the Banning Ranch property in the Newport Beach. The acquisition of Banning Ranch is an extremely rare opportunity to enhance coastal resources damaged by decades of oil production and create new multi-benefit public parkland within this highly developed coastal region. Public ownership of Banning Ranch will enable the restoration of ecological resources and the protection of cultural resources, and will provide public access opportunities such as trails and potentially low-impact overnight accommodations. This property is the largest remaining private coastal parcel between Ventura County and the US/Mexico border.

The Board also authorized the Conservancy to enter into a Joint Powers Agreement with the Great Redwood Trail Authority for the purposes of developing the Great Redwood Trail Master Plan; and to spend up to $3,500,000 for the advancement of the trail in Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt Counties.

The full list of projects can be found on the Meeting page here.