Press Release: Coastal Conservancy Awards over $40 million for coastal access, restoration, and climate resilience

Oakland, CA (4/18/2024) – Today, the Board of the State Coastal Conservancy approved grants totaling over $40 million for coastal access, restoration, and climate resilience.

Among the grants awarded today are:

• A grant of up to $6,000,000 to Humboldt County Resource Conservation District to undertake the North Coast Wildfire Resilience Planning and Implementation Grant Program, which will provide grants to public entities and nonprofit organizations for planning, community outreach, environmental review, permitting, and implementation of projects that will increase wildfire resilience
• A grant of up to $3,000,000 to the East Bay Regional Park District to undertake the Tidewater Day Use Area Expansion Project to expand the Tidewater Day Use Area of Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland, Alameda County.
• A grant of up to $6,000,000 to the Big Sur Land Trust to undertake the Carr Lake Restoration and Park Construction Project Phase 2, which will restore 66 acres of wetland and upland habitat and construction of public access improvements at Carr Lake in Salinas, Monterey County.

The full list of grants can be found below.

Humboldt County

1. A grant of up to $24,000 to augment an existing grant to Friends of the Dunesto continue interim management of the 356-acre Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Complex on the North Spit of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County.
2. A grant of up to $6,000,000 to Humboldt County Resource Conservation District to undertake the North Coast Wildfire Resilience Planning and Implementation Grant Program, which will provide grants to public entities and nonprofit organizations for planning, community outreach, environmental review, permitting, and implementation of projects that will increase wildfire resilience through improved management of natural lands and open space, increased collaboration among land managers, and capacity building in northern California’s coastal and coastal watershed counties.

Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Humboldt, Trinity, Mendocino, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, San Benito, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Counties

3. A grant of up to $1,089,749 to the County of Humboldt and the Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation Districtfor two mapping projects that will develop critical data layers for north and central coast wildfire resilience planning.

Mendocino County

4. A grant of up to $1,811,600 to The Nature Conservancy to undertake the South Fork Ten Mile River Habitat Enhancement Project, consisting of restoration and enhancement of instream and floodplain salmonid habitat at four sites totaling four acres along the South Fork Ten Mile River in Mendocino County.

Marin County

5. A grant of up to $2,500,000 to Point Reyes Bird Observatory to augment the Conservancy grant of $2,150,000 to provide an additional two years of stewarding approximately 177 acres of restored wetlands through engaging the local community to maintain and enhance the wetlands and implementing minor property improvements by repairing and maintaining public access amenities in the Novato Baylandsin Marin County.

Sonoma County

6. A grant of up to $435,000 to the Friends of the Petaluma River to conduct preliminary planning, including community engagement, baseline assessments and feasibility studies, and draft conceptual design for a segment of the proposed urban greenway known as the Petaluma River Greenwayin the City of Petaluma, Sonoma County.

San Francisco Bay Area

7. A grant of up to $311,900 to Point Reyes Bird Observatory to undertake the San Francisco Bay State of theBirds Dynamic Report Project, which consists of developing a website that provides updated analyses of bird species populations that serve as indicators of San Francisco Bay habitat quality.

Alameda County

8. A grant of up to $3,000,000 to the East Bay Regional Park District to undertake the Tidewater Day Use Area Expansion Project, consisting of constructing public access amenities and park features on eight acres of former industrial land to expand the Tidewater Day Use Area of Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline in Oakland, Alameda County.

Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties

9. A grant of 1) up to $2,200,000 to Ducks Unlimited to restore tidal marsh and enhance managed ponds; 2) up to $410,000 to the California Wildlife Foundation to implement monitoring and project outreach; 3) up to $150,000 to the Aquatic Science Center to manage the lead scientist and website; and 4) up to $240,000 for executive project management as part of Phase 2 of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Projectin Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties.

Santa Clara County

10. A grant of up to $1,683,000 to the California Rangeland Trust to acquire a conservation easement over approximately 1,402-acres of Stonier Ranchfor the protection of open space, wildlife corridors, viewsheds, natural resources, and grazing lands, in Santa Clara County.
11. Funding to support implementation of the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Projectin the community of Alviso, City of San José, Santa Clara County by: 1) disbursing up to $2,571,700 to San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory for revegetation and three years of maintenance on 17 acres of the Reaches 1-3 levee; and 2) disbursing up to $7,428,300 to Santa Clara Valley Water District for Reaches 4-5 levee construction.

Santa Cruz County

12. A grant of up to $650,000 to the County of Santa Cruz to undertake the Santa Cruz Coastal Lagoons & East Cliff Drive Resiliency Studyconsisting of a technical feasibility study of nature-based adaptation strategies to increase resilience to sea level rise for the three coastal lagoons (Schwan Lagoon, Corcoran Lagoon, and Moran Lagoon) along East Cliff Drive in central Santa Cruz County.

Monterey County

13. A grant of up to $6,000,000 to the Big Sur Land Trust to undertake the Carr Lake Restoration and Park Construction Project Phase 2, consisting of restoration of 66 acres of wetland and upland habitat and construction of public access improvements at Carr Lake in Monterey County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Santa Barbara County

14. A grant of up to $425,000 to augment the Conservancy funding previously authorized on May 5, 2022 and September 14, 2023, for the purpose of contracting for services to prepare environmental review documents, a cultural and tribal resource survey, and a property appraisal for the Hollister Ranch Coastal Access Program, in Santa Barbara County.
15. A grant of up to $1,620,000 to the City of Carpinteria to undertake the Carpinteria Living Shoreline Planning project, consisting of community engagement and preparation of plans, designs, technical analyses, and environmental review documents for a living shoreline solution along Carpinteria City Beach to mitigate the impacts of sea level rise and climate change-driven coastal hazards in Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County.
16. A grant of up to $1,200,000 to the County of Santa Barbara Flood Control District to develop the Santa Barbara County Sediment Management Program for southern Santa Barbara County, which consists of a program for redirecting ongoing sediment management to support beach-enhancement, living shoreline, and other sea level rise adaptation projects; including conducting community and tribal engagement and technical and feasibility studies to inform the Program; and preparing environmental review documents and permit applications for the Program, in southern Santa Barbara County.
17. A grant of up to $950,000 to Resilient Cities Catalyst to prepare the Goleta Slough Area Coastal Resilience Adaptation Plan, consisting of a plan for priority nature-based sea level rise adaptation projects for the Goleta Slough area to enhance ecological and community coastal resilience in Santa Barbara County, including conducting community engagement, capacity building, and technical studies to inform the Plan.

Santa Ana County

18. A grant of up to $150,000 to TreePeople and the Inland Empire Waterkeeper for each of their Explore the River 2024 projectsthat facilitate and enhance the public’s opportunities to explore the Santa Ana River.