Press Release: State Coastal Conservancy Announces Awards for Coastal Resilience, Public Access, Restoration, and Storytelling

San Luis Obispo – This week, the California State Coastal Conservancy announced more than $39 million in funding for projects to improve public access, climate resilience, habitat values, and inclusion at the coast.

“The Coastal Conservancy’s vision is of a beautiful, restored, and accessible coast for current and future Californians. To achieve this, we fund projects that support the coast’s natural resources, projects that prepare the coast for the challenges of a changing climate, and projects that help more people enjoy the coast.” said Amy Hutzel, Executive Officer of the Coastal Conservancy.

Among the awards were several projects that will expand the Californians’ ability to access and enjoy the coast:

• $1,104,736 was awarded to eight non-profit organizations for Coastal Stories projectsthat will create storytelling installations, murals, or interpretive materials that represent diverse communities’ perspectives that historically have been excluded from narratives of California’s coast and publicly accessible lands. This is the second round of funding through the Conservancy’s Coastal Stories grant program.

• The Big Sur Land Trust was awarded $2,750,000 to acquire the 84-acre Hiss Parcelin the City of Monterey for natural resource conservation, California Native American tribal cultural resource conservation, habitat connectivity, California Native American tribal access, and public access.

• Orange County Coastkeeper was awarded $250,000 for the Beach and Coast Accessibility Program to provide grants to nonprofits, public entities, and tribes for beach wheelchairs and other equipment to increase accessibility to California’s beaches and coast in coastal counties statewide.

The awarded projects are as follows:

Del Norte County

• The Family Resource Center of the Redwoods was awarded $260,100 to construct a direct-to-consumer fish processing and sales facility, consisting of a filet station, restroom, and storefront, at the Crescent City Harborin Del Norte County.
• The Elk Valley Rancheria was awarded $725,000 to for the acquisition of the 9.19-acre Bush parcel on Crescent Beach, south of Crescent City, in Del Norte County, for preparation of a plan for that property for wildlife habitat enhancement and public access, and for removal of invasive species on the property.  The property will be acquired for protecting open space, protecting public and tribal access, protecting and enhancing wildlife habitat, and sea level rise adaptation measures, including measures to protect nearby roads and highways, consistent with open space and habitat protection.

Humboldt County

• The County of Humboldt was awarded $693,700 to develop a coastal resilience planning framework, conduct community and tribal engagement, complete a sea level rise and flood vulnerability assessment and an adaptation feasibility analysis, and prepare conceptual designs and preliminary engineering plans for sea level rise adaptation projects for the communities of King Salmon and Fields Landing.
• The Mattole Salmon Group was awarded $2,250,000 to reconnect Lower Bear Creek to the middle slough of the Mattole River Estuary, in part by elevating road infrastructure, to address critical habitat needs for endangered salmonids and improve resilience to climate change and sea level rise in Humboldt County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Mendocino County

• The City of Willits was awarded $3,813,000 to implement the Willits Rail with Trail Project, consisting of construction of a 1.6-mile trail between East Hill Road and East Commercial Street in the City of Willits, Mendocino County that will eventually become part of the Great Redwood Trail, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
• CalWild was awarded $250,000 for preparation of a community plan and conceptual project designs to ameliorate changes resulting from the potential decommissioning and removal of the Potter Valley Projecthydroelectric facility.
• The City of Point Arena was awarded $485,000 to prepare the Arena Cove Harbor Access and Resilience Plan, which will include plans, designs, and environmental review for a variety of improvements to protect and enhance existing and future use of the Point Arena Pier, Harbor, and Cove for commercial and recreational purposes.

Marin County

• The Marin County Open Space District was awarded $1,504,990 of Coastal Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife Service funds to implement the Bolinas Lagoon Wye Resiliency Project, which will reduce localized flooding and increase resilience to sea level rise and which consists of restoring 20 acres of tidal and riparian wetlands and returning Lewis Gulch Creek to its historic floodplain by, in part, removing and elevating roads at the northern end of Bolinas Lagoon in Marin County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Napa County

• The Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District was awarded $2,512,500 to acquire approximately 57 acres of historic tidal marshland within the lower tidal reach of the Napa Riverin Napa County for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural and scenic resources, including wetlands and open space; and, to the extent compatible with the aforementioned purposes: public access, passive recreation, and California Native American tribal cultural uses.

San Francisco County

• The San Francisco Estuary Institute was awarded $446,400 to for the Mapping Yelamu’s Historical Landscape project, consisting of conducting an ecological and ethnographic study of San Francisco in partnership with the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone and development of cultural and ecological landscape maps that can be used for interpretive programs and capital project planning.

• The Port of San Francisco was awarded $7,800,000 to for the Southern Embarcadero Resilience and Enhancement Project, consisting of developing plans and engineering designs to adapt shoreline infrastructure to sea level rise, improve public access amenities, and include green-gray infrastructure opportunities, for a 0.6-mile stretch of the southern Embarcadero waterfront in San Francisco.

San Mateo County

• The San Mateo Resource Conservation District was awarded $813,500 to conduct community outreach and prepare technical studies, preliminary design plans, and environmental review and permit documents for the relocation of public sewer infrastructure away from an eroding coastal bluff in the Montara community.

Monterey County

• The Big Sur Land Trust was awarded $2,750,000 to acquire the 84-acre Hiss Parcelin the City of Monterey for natural resource conservation, California Native American tribal cultural resource conservation, habitat connectivity, California Native American tribal access, and public access.

San Luis Obispo County

• The Cayucos Land Conservancy was awarded $1,500,000 to acquire and transfer to San Luis Obispo County 748 acres of land for addition to Toro Creek County Parklocated between Morro Bay and Cayucos.

Los Angeles County

• The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy was awarded $5,000,000 to for habitat restoration and conservationconsisting of restoration of 342 acres through the removal of 325 acres of invasive plant species and planting of 17 acres of native butterfly habitat, creation of a native seed bank, and reconstruction of a butterfly rearing facility, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Riverside County

• The Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District was awarded $1,300,000 to augment the Conservancy’s existing grant of $2,300,000 for preparation of design, engineering, and other documentation needed for environmental review for a 1.5-mile Santa Ana River Trailsegment that is adjacent to the Green River Golf Course and connects to the Orange County line in the County of Riverside.

Orange County

• The Newport Bay Conservancy was awarded $1,575,409, including $969,818 awarded to the Conservancy by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through its National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, to restore 14.3 acres of coastal wetlands and associated uplands in Upper Newport Bay within the 60-acre Big Canyon Nature Park in the City of Newport Beach, Orange County.

• Orange County Coastkeeper was awarded $250,000 for the Beach and Coast Accessibility Program to provide grants to nonprofits, public entities, and tribes for beach wheelchairs and other equipment to increase accessibility to California’s beaches and coast in coastal counties statewide.

San Diego County

• The City of Encinitas was awarded $300,000 for the Connected Coastlines Encinitas project, consisting of installing a 4G private mesh network to increase communications capabilities for fire and marine safety personnel across 3.5 miles of Encinitas coastline.
• The City of San Diego was awarded $325,000 to conduct a feasibility study for the repair of the beach access stairway and potential improvements to the scenic overlook and parking area located adjacent to 5990 West Camino De La Costain the La Jolla neighborhood in the City of San Diego.
• The City of San Diego was awarded $1,072,000 to conduct community and tribal engagement and prepare engineering and design plans for nature-based solutions to sea level rise at three locations in the city of San Diego, in connection with preparing the City’s Coastal Resilience Master Plan.
• The Los Peñasquitos Lagoon Foundation was awarded $2,268,100 to conduct outreach and prepare engineering designs and permit applications to relocate parking facilities to preserve public access to North Torrey Pines State Beachin San Diego County.

Statewide

• Sustainable Conservation was awarded $270,300 to augment the Conservancy’s existing grant of $620,000 to advance adoption of, and conduct outreach to facilitate the use of, programmatic permits for aquatic habitat restoration and water quality improvement projects.
• Defenders of Wildlife and Sea Otter Savvy were awarded $174,400 to implement two separate projects to aid in the recovery of the southern sea otter.
• $1,104,736 was awarded to eight non-profit organizations for Coastal Stories projectsthat will create storytelling installations, murals, or interpretive materials that represent diverse communities’ perspectives that historically have been excluded from narratives of California’s coast and publicly accessible lands.

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