Coastal Conservancy Awards $4 million for Coastal Access, Restoration, and Climate Resilience

4/24/2026, SEAL BEACH – Yesterday, the Board of the State Coastal Conservancy awarded over $44 million in grant funding to a total of 23 projects that will help protect, restore, and improve public access to the coast. The projects funded were:

NORTH COAST

  1. A grant of up to $6,000,000 to the Great Redwood Trail Agencyfor: (1) Great Redwood Trail Agency operations; and (2) trail and restoration planning, design, construction, and implementation in the counties of Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt.
  2. A grant of up to $1,000,000 to Save the Redwoods League to undertake a portion of the third phase of the Redwoods Rising Projectconsisting of thinning 100-150 acres of forest to improve forest health and fish and wildlife habitat in Del Norte County.
  3. A grant of up to $997,900 to the Mid Klamath Watershed Council to undertake the Red Cap Creek Floodplain Restoration Project, consisting of construction of off-channel ponds, reconnection of historic floodplain channels, addition of large wood structures, and restoration of riparian floodplain forest to a 1.5 mile segment of Red Cap Creek, in Humboldt County.
  4. A grant of up to $2,457,427 of funds from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to Northcoast Regional Land Trust to undertake the Wood Creek Restoration Phase III: Felt Ranch Habitat Restoration Implementation project,consisting of restoring tidal and habitat connectivity of Wood Creek, creating anadromous salmonid habitat, restoring wetlands, and conducting monitoring on Felt Ranch and the Freshwater Farms Preserve in Humboldt County.
  5. A grant of up to $1,500,000 to Trust for Public Land to undertake theShaahnaa’ Lhook’ Acquisition, consisting of acquiring the 672-acre Shaahnaa’ Lhook’ property for the preservation of open space; protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural resources and habitat for fish and wildlife; protection of cultural resources; and California Native American tribal access consistent with such purposes; and to develop a management plan, in Branscomb, Mendocino County.
  6. A grant of up to $1,447,100 to The Nature Conservancy for the Navarro River-Flume Gulch Confluence Restoration Project, consisting of enhancements to restore overwintering and spring out-migration habitat for juvenile coho salmon within the mainstem Navarro River and Flume Gulch, including installation of five engineered log structures and floodplain alcoves, excavation of floodplain alcoves and banks, and placement of large wood in the Navarro River watershed, in Mendocino County.
  7. A grant of up to $459,500 to Russian Riverkeeper to augment the Conservancy grant authorized on June 1, 2023, to implement the Healdsburg Arundo Removal Project, which consists of removing invasive Arundo donax along 5 miles of the Russian River to reduce fire risk to Fitch Mountain and Healdsburg in Sonoma County.

 

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

  1. A grant of up to $312,200 to Grassroots Ecology to undertake the Restoring the Shoreline for People and Wildlife Project, consisting of community engagement, workforce development training, a vegetation survey and ecological report, and restoration and maintenance of 2 acres of upland transition zone habitat and 5.3 acres of grassland habitat at Shoreline Regional Park in Santa Clara County.
  2. A grant of up to $1,200,000 to the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council to conduct planning necessary to facilitate opening 30 miles of Bay Area Ridge Trail,including preparing studies, designs and environmental review documents; and to conduct public engagement with underrepresented communities.
  3. A grant of up to $2,000,000 to the Petaluma River Park Foundation to augment Conservancy grants totaling $3,050,200 to expand the scope of the Petaluma River Park Advanced Planning Project(formerly the Petaluma River Park Planning Project), consisting of advanced park planning and designs, environmental review, permit applications, and Coastal Stories interpretive material designs associated with development of Petaluma River Park in Petaluma, Sonoma County.

 

CENTRAL COAST

  1. A grant of up to $1,000,000 to theHomeless Garden Project to undertake the Natural Bridges Farm Acquisition, consisting of the acquisition of approximately 4 acres of working agricultural land to be permanently dedicated to public benefit purposes, including the protection of working agricultural land and open space, in Santa Cruz County.
  2. A grant of up to $4,000,000 to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County to construct the Community Harvest at Watsonville Slough Farm Project Phase 1, which will establish a trailhead, approximately 5 miles of trails, U-pick gardens, and a variety of public access amenities at Watsonville Slough Farm in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County.
  3. Consideration and possible adoption of 2026 Rulemaking Calendar for Pedro Point Headlandsin San Mateo County.
  4. A grant of up to $500,000 to the San Mateo Resource Conservation District to augment the previously authorized Pedro Point Headlands Wildfire Resilience Program to expand: 1) the project scope to include implementation of additional wildfire fuels reduction activities, and 2) the project area to include the adjacent Highway 1 evacuation corridor in Pacifica, San Mateo County.
  5. A grant of up to $350,000 to the County of Santa Cruz to undertake the Shark Fin Cove Coastal Access Planning Project, consisting of technical studies, preliminary design, and environmental review for a paved coastal access parking lot with accessible pedestrian pathways at Shark Fin Cove in Santa Cruz County

 

SOUTH COAST

  1. A grant of up to $2,925,000 to the City of Santa Ana to implement the Santiago Park Trail and Habitat Improvements Project. This project will consist of constructing site improvements in a 5-acre area on the eastern end of Santiago Park, including an accessible pedestrian walkway, native landscaping, lighting and a pedestrian bridge across Santiago Creek in Orange County.
  2. A grant of up to $2,000,000 to the City of San Clemente for the San Clemente North Beach Sand Retention Planning Project,consisting of preparing technical studies, an alternatives analysis, and preliminary designs, and conducting community engagement for a sand retention project to address coastal erosion along the San Clemente shoreline, in Orange County.
  3. A grant of up to $6,000,000 to the City of Riverside to implement improvements at Martha McLean Anza Narrows Parkin Riverside County and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  4. A grant of up to $1,472,000 to the City of Orange to undertake theOC River Walk – Upland Habitat Restoration Design Project, consisting of preparing design documents for a 7.3-acre habitat restoration and riverbank improvements project on the eastern bank of the Santa Ana River in Orange County.
  5. A grant of up to $5,000,000 to Coastal Quest to undertake the Coastal Resilience Solutions for San Diego State Parks project, consisting of conducting community engagement, preparing feasibility studies and design documents, and obtaining permits for protecting and increasing resilience of public access improvements at San Elijo State Beach and Cardiff State Beach in San Diego County.
  6. A grant of up to $1,600,000 to the Watershed Conservation Authority for the West Coyote Hills Acquisition, which consists of acquiring approximately 483 acres of West Coyote Hills for protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural and cultural resources and public access compatible with those purposes in Orange County, and to conduct tribal outreach regarding the acquisition.
  7. A grant of up to $20,000 to Orange County Coastkeeper to manage the Conservancy’s public access easement at Portofino Covein Huntington Harbor in the City of Huntington Beach, Orange County.
  8. A grant of up to $1,543,000 to the Maritime Museum Association of San Diego to augment an existing Conservancy grant to prepare design and engineering, environmental compliance documents, and permit applications for the Maritime Museum of San Diego entry buildingin San Diego County.

STATEWIDE

  1. A grant of up to $400,000 to augment the Conservancy’s previously authorized contract for technical assistance with the environmental documentation, permit applications, and project planning to support wildfire resilience project development across the Conservancy’s Jurisdiction.