Press Release: Coastal Conservancy Awards $15.9 Million for Coastal Restoration, Protection, Public Access, and Climate Resilience

2/2/2023 – Today, the Board of the State Coastal Conservancy approved 12 grants totaling over $15.9 million for restoration, protection, public access, and climate resilience along the California coast and San Francisco Bay.  Among the projects was a grant of up to $7,000,000 to East Bay Regional Park District to acquire the 768-acre Finley Road Ranch Property in Contra Costa County and a grant of $5,400,000 to the California Invasive Plant Council for the San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project.  The Board also approved $525,000 to the City of Santa Barbara to reduce wildland vegetation fuels on approximately 283 acres in up to seven high fire hazard areas in Santa Barbara and $685,546 to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to develop a Tribal Access and Engagement Plan and update environmental assessments for the Frank and Joan Randall Preserve/Genga (formerly known as Banning Ranch).

The full list of projects can be found below:

NORTH COAST

1. A grant of up to $33,300 to Jug Handle Creek Farm and Nature Center (JCFNC) to remove a minimum of 95 high-fire-risk invasive Monterey Pine trees, plant 30 Redwood trees and shrubs, and install interpretative signage on the JCFNC property located in the community of Caspar, Mendocino County.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

2. A grant of up to $7,000,000 to East Bay Regional Park District to acquire the 768-acre Finley Road Ranch Property in Contra Costa County for purposes of protecting, restoring, and enhancing natural and scenic resources, including wildlife corridors and habitat; improving landscape resilience related to climate change; preserving open space; providing public access and recreational use compatible with the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural and scenic resources; and providing a public entry staging area for parks on the southern side of Mount Diablo.
3. A grant of up to $5,400,000, including a $400,000 grant from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, to the California Invasive Plant Council for the planning, management, treatment, monitoring, and restoration activities of the San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project from 2023-2024.

CENTRAL COAST

4. A grant of up to $525,000 to the City of Santa Barbara to reduce wildland vegetation fuels on approximately 283 acres in up to seven high fire hazard areas in Santa Barbara, purchase equipment needed for the project, prepare planning and biological resource documents, conduct community outreach and education activities, and build capacity to implement their Community Wildfire Protection Plan through hiring additional staff; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
5. A grant of up to $752,510 to the Santa Lucia Conservancy to develop and implement a wildfire mitigation training program that will train a wildfire workforce and reduce fuels on 675 acres of coastal habitat and to plan four prescribed burn projects, on the Santa Lucia Preserve in Monterey County.
6. A grant of up to $50,000 to the Morro Coast Audubon Society to restore coastal dune habitat in its Sweet Springs Nature Preserve property on the south Morro Bay shoreline, San Luis Obispo County.

SOUTH COAST

7. A grant of up to $275,000 to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy for fire fuel reduction and habitat restoration consisting of enhancement of 46.8 acres of habitat through removal of invasive plants and planting of native plants to increase wildfire resilience and benefit federally protected butterflies and other native species within the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
8. A grant of up to $358,000 to the County of Ventura to conduct pre-construction activities associated with the Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project, including hydraulic and sediment modeling, environmental compliance and design planning in Ventura County.
9. A grant of up to $400,000 to the City of Santa Ana to prepare designs and perform initial environmental review for restoration of 4.28 acres of pedestrian hiking trail and riparian habitat in Santiago Park within the City of Santa Ana, Orange County.
10. A grant of up to $308,700 to the Discovery Cube of Orange County to produce a conceptual design and feasibility study for an outdoor science park along Santiago Creek in the City of Santa Ana in Orange County.
11. A grant of up to $685,546 to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority to develop a Tribal Access and Engagement Plan and update environmental assessments for the Frank and Joan Randall Preserve/Genga (formerly known as Banning Ranch) property in Newport Beach and unincorporated Orange County.
12. A grant of up to $143,120 to Orange County Coastkeeper to augment a previously authorized Conservancy grant of $35,780 to conduct monitoring and outreach to protect endangered bird species and associated habitat located near the Santa Ana River Mouth in Orange County.