Press Release: Coastal Conservancy Awards over $13 million in Grants for Coastal Access, Restoration, and Resilience

Coastal Conservancy Awards over $13 million in Grants for Coastal Access, Restoration, and Resilience

12/1/2022, Pacific Grove, CA – Today, the Board of the State Coastal Conservancy approved grants for 17 projects, totaling over $13 million, for coastal access, restoration, and climate resilience.  Included in the grants approved today were $3.5 million for the Regionally Advancing Living Shorelines in San Francisco Bay Project, $1 million to improve public access at Garrapata State Park in Big Sur, and over a quarter million dollars of voluntary income tax check-off funding for three separate projects to aid in recovery of the southern sea otter.

The Board also approved the Conservancy’s Strategic Plan for 2023-2027.  The plan provides an overall vision for our agency and quantified objectives to measure the effectiveness of our work.

Each year, the Coastal Conservancy issues millions of dollars in grants for projects that restore and protect the California coast, expand public access to it, and enhance its resilience to climate change.  Grant applications are accepted on a rolling basis.  More information on our grants and how to apply can be found on the Grants page of our website (scc.ca.gov/grants).

 

NORTH COAST

  1. A grant of up to $226,300 of Coastal Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife Service National Coastal Wetland Conservation grant funds to the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District to prepare designs, environmental analyses, and permit applications for the restoration of tidal wetlands in Wadulh Lagoon on the Mad River Slough on Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County.
  2. A grant of up to $350,000 to Friends of the Dunes to restore 80 acres of dune habitat to increase sea-level rise resiliency on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wadulh Unit on the north spit of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

  1. A grant of up to $482,423 of San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority funding to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board to augment the Conservancy’s previously authorized grant for operation of the Bay Restoration Regulatory Integration Team to enable operation through September 2024.
  2. A grant of up to $3,500,000 to the San Francisco Estuary Institute, Marin and Golden Gate Audubon Societies, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, San Francisco State University, and additional contractors and grantees for monitoring of existing living shoreline projects, development of regional design and constructability guidance, preparation of permit applications, and preparation of preliminary site designs as part of the Regionally Advancing Living Shorelines in San Francisco Bay Project at ten locations in the Central Bay in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties.
  3. Authorization to disburse up to $500,000 to the City of Oakland to conduct technical feasibility studies and prepare designs for nature-based shoreline enhancement and resilience features to be incorporated into the plans for the Oakland Estuary Park Renovation Project on the Oakland Estuary in the City of Oakland, Alameda County.
  4. A grant of up to $2,150,000 to Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Inc. to steward approximately 177 acres of restored wetlands through engaging the local community to maintain and enhance the wetlands and to implement minor property improvements by repairing and maintaining public access amenities in the Novato Baylands in Marin County.
  5. A grant of up to $787,500 to Sonoma Land Trust to acquire the 174-acre Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools Property in Sonoma County for habitat preservation; biodiversity protection; climate resilience; improving wildlife corridors; and public access and tribal cultural uses compatible with natural resource protection.
  6. A grant of up to $1,395,800 to the Petaluma River Park Foundation for community engagement, park plan development, specific project designs, and environmental review associated with development of Petaluma River Parkin Petaluma, Sonoma County.

CENTRAL COAST

  1. A grant of up to $272,540 to Defenders of Wildlife, Sea Otter Savvy, and University of California at Santa Cruz to implement three separate projects toaid in recovery of the southern sea otter.
  2. A grant of up to $300,000 to the Ventana Wildlife Society to prepare plans, environmental review documents, and permit applications for a group campground and support facilities for outdoor programming within Andrew Molera State Parkin Monterey County.
  3. A grant of up to $1,000,000 to the California Department of Parks and Recreation to improve the California Coastal Trail by renovating several trailheads and trails, installing new signage and drainage/erosion protection improvements, and removing informal trails, in Garrapata State Park in Big Sur, Monterey County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  4. A grant of up to $824,900 to the Cachuma Resource Conservation District and to the Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council for two additional wildfire resilience projects under the Conservancy’s Wildfire Resilience Program – 2022-2023, in Santa Barbara County.
  5. A grant of up to $483,600 to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation to use a mobile kiln to sequester carbon by converting non-native invasive tree logs to charcoalat Elkhorn Slough in Monterey County.

SOUTH COAST

  1. A grant of up to $250,000 to nonprofit organizations for three community-based restoration projects in coastal wetlands and along coastal stream corridors in the Southern California region, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  2. A grant of up to $530,000 to California Trout Inc. to implement the Santa Margarita River Bridge Replacement and Fish Passage Barrier Removal Project, consisting of removing a box culvert river crossing and replacing it with a bridge that allows fish passage at Sandia Creek Drive in San Diego County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

STATEWIDE

  1. A grant of up to $22,000 received from the California Department of Water Resources to augment the Conservancy’s previously authorized grant of $598,000 to Sustainable Conservation for advancing the adoption of programmatic permits to expand the project to include increased outreach to facilitate the use of recently adopted programmatic permits for aquatic habitat restoration and water quality improvement projects throughout California.
  2. A grant of up to $50,000 to the Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment to prepare a study of governance and financing options for integrating regional sediment management into sea level rise adaptation planning in California.

 

 

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