Request For Services: Tribal Connection to Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project

The State Coastal Conservancy requests the services of an expert in community engagement with tribal governments, tribal groups, and tribal community members in Southern California. The Contractor will develop and implement participation from tribal communities regarding the Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project. The Conservancy and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (the landowner and project lead) aim to understand the concerns, experience, and priorities of the tribes to implement the Ballona Wetland Restoration Project in a way that is respectful of and beneficial to local tribes that have occupied the project area from time immemorial.

Potential Contractors should have significant, established experience in tribal engagement in Southern California. Please see the complete request for services for the proposed scope of services.

To apply, you will need to include qualifications, project approach, project team, resume, examples of relevant projects, and three references. More information on how to apply is available in the Request for Services.

Request for Services (PDF)

Request for Services (Word Doc Download)

The Conservancy will attempt to negotiate a contract with the highest-ranked Contractor at compensation that the Conservancy determines is fair and reasonable to California.

Submittals must be received by 12:00 pm on February 25, 2022.

An electronic copy (in PDF format; less than 20 Mb in size) of the submittal should be emailed to Megan Cooper, South Coast Regional Manager, State Coastal Conservancy, Megan.cooper@ scc.ca.gov

An acknowledgment that the Conservancy has received the submittal will be sent by email by 5:00 pm on the same day. If your submittal is not acknowledged by then, please call Megan Cooper at 510-286-4162.

RFP for 2022 Explore the Coast Grant Renewal

The Explore the Coast grant program seeks to provide enjoyable coastal experiences for people and communities who face challenges or barriers to accessing or enjoying the coast.

Current Explore the Coast grantees are invited to apply to renew their grants. 

This year, approximately $9 million is available for this grant round.  Applicants may request a grant amount up to $100,000 for each year that their grant will be extended. Please contact your SCC project manager for more information.

Webinar

A webinar will be held on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, 11:00am-12:00pm to walk through the Explore the Coast Grant Renewal Application. The registration link for the webinar is here. 

Technical Assistance- Office Hours

The Conservancy will offer one-hour Technical Assistance “Office Hour” sessions where SCC staff will answer more specific grant questions and provide guidance with application preparation to potential applicants via zoom meeting. Break-out rooms will be an option for one-on-one assistance.

• Friday, February 4^th, 2022, 3:00pm – 4pm Technical Assistance Office Hour for renewal applications link is here.

RFP and Application Documents

The Explore the Coast grant renewal application can found below:

• Explore the Coast 2022 Renewal RFP and Application (WORD DOC DOWNLOAD)

Submit completed application as a Word document to grants@scc.ca.gov by Friday, March 11, 2022, by 5 pm.

Click here to learn more about the Explore the Coast Grant Program. 

Information on the general 2022 Explore the Coast RFP (non-renewal grants) can be found here.

2022 Explore the Coast Grants Application Period Now Open

Photo: Ocean Discovery Institute

The California State Coastal Conservancy announces the availability of grants to public agencies, federally-recognized tribes and indigenous communities, and nonprofit organizations for programs that facilitate and enhance the public’s opportunities to explore California’s spectacular coast and San Francisco Bay shoreline.

The ocean, coast, and beaches have long been recognized and used as spaces of joy, relaxation, and healing for many Californians. The ability to experience the coast without fear of physical barriers, feelings of not belonging, or financial challenge is crucial to how individuals cultivate their lifelong connections with the coast. The Explore the Coast grant program seeks to provide enjoyable coastal experiences for people and communities who face challenges or barriers to accessing or enjoying the coast (“ETC Priority Communities”).

ETC Priority Communities may include but are not limited to lower-income individuals and households, people with disabilities, people of color, indigenous communities, immigrant communities, foster youth, and other historically excluded communities who face societal challenges or barriers to accessing or enjoying the coast.

Projects should also meet one or more of the following priorities:

• Provide an enjoyable experience at the coast.
• Reduce economic, physical, operational, or societal barriers to accessing or enjoying the coast.
• Inspires ongoing coastal resource stewardship ethic through active learning and interactive activities.

Approximately $9 million is available for this grant round.  Applicants may request a grant amount of up to $200,000 for a 2-year project or $100,000 for a 1-year project. 

Webinar

The Conservancy will hold a webinar on January 21, 2022, 2 pm – 3 pm to walk through the Explore the Coast Grant Program and address questions regarding the application. Potential project applicants are encouraged to attend. The registration link for the webinar is here. The recorded webinar will be posted on scc.ca.gov afterward.

Technical Assistance- Office Hours

The Conservancy will offer two one-hour Technical Assistance “Office Hour” sessions where SCC staff will answer more specific grant questions and provide guidance with application preparation to potential applicants via zoom meeting. Break-out rooms will be an option for one-on-one assistance.

• February 3, 2022, 4 pm – 5 pm Technical Assistance Office Hour link can be found here.
• February 24, 2022, 11 am – 12 pm Technical Assistance Office Hour link can be found here.

RFP and Application Documents

The Explore the Coast grant application can found below:

• Explore the Coast 2022 RFP and Application (WORD DOC DOWNLOAD)

Submit completed application as a Word document to grants@scc.ca.gov by Friday, March 11, 2022, by 5 pm.

Click here to learn more about the Explore the Coast Grant Program. 

Job Posting: Senior Staff Counsel

The position is located in Oakland, CA.

**Once a significant candidate pool is received, an internal cutoff period will be established and interviews will be scheduled, and only the most qualified candidates will be invited to the interview**

Applications received without ALL the required items, will NOT receive further consideration for this position. (Cover letter, state application, resume and a writing sample you have authored)

Please read the “How to Apply” section on each item required when replying to this job posting, if interested.

Conservancy attorneys assist with acquiring conservation lands, constructing large scale wetland restoration projects, providing underserved communities with access to the coast, and implementing urban greening, carbon farming, and many other climate adaptation projects, just to name a few examples. Conservancy attorneys handle a wide variety of legal issues, although mostly in the areas of contracts, real property, land use and environmental permitting, and operation of state and local government. The Conservancy’s legal team is small and coordinated; attorneys manage their own projects and consult with other attorneys as needed. The Attorney III will work under the direction of the General Counsel and in coordination with four other Conservancy attorneys. The Attorney III will provide oral and written legal advice to Conservancy staff; conduct research; identify legal strategies; negotiate and draft contracts, escrow instructions, and other documents; review and edit staff recommendations for consistency with Division 21 of the Public Resources Code, funding sources and CEQA; assess property acquisition documents, including title reports, environmental assessments, and purchase agreements; review CEQA documents; and track new legislation and case law.

The State Coastal Conservancy values diversity at all levels of the organization and is committed to fostering an environment in which employees from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and personal experiences are welcomed and can thrive. We believe the diversity of our employees and their unique ideas inspire innovative solutions to further our mission of protecting and enhancing California’s coast and ocean for present and future generations.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

To learn more and apply, please visit the CalCareers Page.

Job Posting: Staff Counsel

**Once a significant candidate pool is received, an internal cutoff period will be established and interviews will be scheduled, and only the most qualified candidates will be invited to the interview**

Applications received without ALL the required items, will NOT receive further consideration for this position. (Cover letter, state application, resume and a writing sample you have authored)

Please read the “How to Apply” section on each item required when replying to this job posting, if interested.

Conservancy attorneys assist with acquiring conservation lands, constructing large scale wetland restoration projects, providing underserved communities with access to the coast, and implementing urban greening, carbon farming, and many other climate adaptation projects, just to name a few examples. Conservancy attorneys handle a wide variety of legal issues, mostly in the areas of contracts, real property, land use and environmental permitting, and operation of state and local government.  The Conservancy’s legal team is small and coordinated; attorneys manage their own projects and consult with other attorneys as needed. The Attorney will work under the direction of the General Counsel and in coordination with four other Conservancy attorneys. The Attorney will provide oral and written legal advice to Conservancy staff; conduct research; identify legal strategies; negotiate and draft contracts, escrow instructions, and other documents; review and edit staff recommendations for consistency with Division 21 of the Public Resources Code, funding sources and CEQA; assess property acquisition documents, including title reports, environmental assessments, and purchase agreements; review CEQA documents; and track new legislation and case law.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

To learn more and apply, please visit the CalCareers Page

RFP for Wildfire Resilience Projects Announced

The Coastal Conservancy is pleased to announce its Wildfire Resilience Program Request for Proposals.  The Wildfire Resilience Program supports local partners to develop and implement projects that improve ecological health of natural lands and reduce the risk of catastrophic fire.

The program will fund grants for:

• on-the-ground activities to restore the health and increase resilience of California forests, grasslands, and natural lands to wildfire; and
• planning and capacity building to increase wildfire resilience in California for projects from Marin County south to Ventura County.

The Conservancy’s Wildfire Resilience Program will host a webinar at 1 pm on December 16, 2021 to provide an overview of this funding proposal and answer questions. The registration link for the webinar is here. The recorded webinar will be posted on the Wildfire Resilience Program page afterwards.

We also encourage prospective applicants to request a pre-application consultation with Conservancy staff. Requests for pre-application consultations and other application questions can be directed to wildfire.resilience@scc.ca.gov.

Pre-proposals can be submitted via email to wildfire.resilience@scc.ca.gov. Pre-proposals are due by 5pm on January 14, 2022 for project approved by May 2022. Pre-proposals submitted after this date will continue to be considered on a rolling basis after the first batch of submissions is reviewed. Based on this review, applicants may be invited to submit a full proposal or asked to provide further information on their project.

There are no maximum or minimum grant amounts for this funding. Conservancy funding from this program comes from three separate sources with different priorities and geographies. The Conservancy has a total of $10 million for wildfire resilience implementation projects, $5 million of which is for the nine-county SF Bay Area.  In addition, the Conservancy has about $7 million from the Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program (RFFCP) to support capacity building projects from Marin County south to Ventura County, including the East Bay and Salinas Valley.

The full RFP is here

The Pre-Application can be downloaded here

FAQs can be found here

Press Release: Coastal Conservancy Board Approves $12.6 million for Coastal Restoration, Protection and Public Access 

12/2/2021 – Today, the Board of the State Coastal Conservancy approved over $12.6 million in grants for coastal restoration, protection and public access.

Included in the approvals were over $10 million to the City of Fullerton to acquire a 13.7-acre property in the West Coyote Hills area of north Orange County for open space, habitat protection, watershed management, and public access, $120,000 to Mycelium Youth Network for up to four priority climate adaptation projects to be implemented at Metwest High School in Oakland, and $52,000 of voluntary tax check-off funding to Sea Otter Savvy to implement a project to aid in recovery of the southern sea otter.

The full list of project approved can be found below:

NORTH COAST

1. A grant of up to $242,000 to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy to complete the final phase of the Hawk Hill Access Improvements Project within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Hawk Hill, Marin County.
2. A grant of up to $1,000,000 to the Marin Resource Conservation District to plan and implement carbon farming projects that improve soil productivity, water sustainability and greenhouse gas sequestration for agriculture and watershed resiliency on ranches in western Marin County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
3. A grant of up to $300,000 to the Yurok Tribe to enhance salmonid habitat in Hunter and McGarvey Creeks, tributaries to the lower Klamath River in Del Norte County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

SF BAY

4. A grant of up to $120,000 to Mycelium Youth Network to identify and plan up to four priority climate adaptation projects to be implemented at Metwest High School.

CENTRAL COAST

5. A grant of up to $52,000 to Sea Otter Savvy to implement a project to aid in recovery of the southern sea otter, consisting of conducting an educational outreach and community engagement program on responsible viewing of wild sea otters to reduce sea otter disturbance in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo counties.
6. A grant of up to $60,000 to augment an existing Conservancy authorization of $400,230 for consultant services to facilitate development of a contemporary Hollister Ranch Coastal Access Program, in Santa Barbara County.
7. A grant of up to $300,000 to the County of San Luis Obispo to renovate the Veteran’s Hall and construct adjacent access facilities in the town of Cayucos.

 SOUTH COAST

8. A grant of up to $66,000 to Nature Collective to remove invasive plant species on 14.5 acres of coastal wetlands at the Batiquitos Lagoon Ecological Reserve in San Diego County.
9. A grant of up to $379,350 to the County of Ventura to conduct planning and to develop design criteria, preliminary design plans and alternatives refinement for improvements to the Robles Diversion and Fish Passage Facility in unincorporated Ventura County.
10. A grant of up to $10,134,450 to the City of Fullerton to acquire a 13.7-acre property in the West Coyote Hills area of north Orange County for open space, habitat protection, watershed management, and public access.

Amy Hutzel Appointed New Executive Officer of the State Coastal Conservancy

The State Coastal Conservancy is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Executive Officer, Amy Hutzel.

Amy Hutzel

Ms. Hutzel previously served as the Conservancy’s Deputy Executive Officer and has been with the agency for over twenty years, during which she has been instrumental in many key projects including the restoration of thousands of acres of former salt ponds in the San Francisco Bay, the creation of the Conservancy’s flagship Explore the Coast and Explore the Coast Overnight grant programs to expand coastal access, and establishing the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority. She also led the development and implementation of many of the Conservancy’s equity-focused initiatives: Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Guidelines, the ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan, the Beach Wheelchair Grant Program, and the updated Coastal Access Project Standards.

“The State Coastal Conservancy has had a remarkable impact on the California coast in the last 4 decades.” said Ms. Hutzel, “I am honored to take on this role at a time when our work is so essential. Together with the incredible Conservancy staff, I will work to accelerate projects that work with nature to adapt to climate change impacts and increase equitable access to the coast for all Californians.”

“The Coastal Conservancy plays a vital role in achieving the State’s goals for biodiversity, climate resilience, and equitable access to California’s natural wonders. Amy has proven herself as an exceptional leader at the Coastal Conservancy already and I could not be more excited for her to take the reins at this key agency.” said California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot

Each year, the State Coastal Conservancy issues tens of millions of dollars in grants to non-profit organizations, public agencies, and tribes for projects that restore and protect the California coast, increase public access to it, and increase communities’ resilience to climate change. In addition to its annual appropriations from Natural Resource Bonds, on September 23, 2021, Governor Newsom signed a budget bill that includes a total of $500 million for coastal resilience to be appropriated to the Conservancy in Fiscal Years 2022-23 and 2023-24. The Executive Officer and staff of the Conservancy also manage the work of the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, which allocates approximately $25 million each year for restoration projects on the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

“We’re thrilled for Amy to serve as the Executive Officer at the Conservancy,” said Doug Bosco, Chair of the State Coastal Conservancy’s Board, “The Board and I know Amy as a dedicated and collaborative leader with an exceptional track record of delivering complex projects. She will bring her energy and enthusiasm to this role, and a clear vision for what this agency can achieve.”

Ms. Hutzel has been with the State Coastal Conservancy for over 20 years, serving as Deputy Executive Officer, Bay Area Program Manager, and Project Manager. Prior to joining the Conservancy, she worked at Save The Bay and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

As Executive Officer, she will work closely with the Boards of the Conservancy and the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, lead the Conservancy’s 70 members of staff, and support hundreds of climate adaptation, public access, and habitat protection and restoration projects throughout the California coast, in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in coastal watersheds. Amy lives with her husband and two children in San Francisco.

Coastal Stories Grant Program Launched to Support Inclusive Storytelling about the California Coast

The Coastal Conservancy has launched a new grant program that intends to make the outdoors more inclusive and welcoming for all Californians by fostering representation of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and other historically excluded groups in outdoor spaces – through storytelling.

Our Coastal Stories Grant Program seeks to fund projects that plan, develop, and implement storytelling installations or materials (such as murals, signage, monuments, or guides) that represent communities and voices that have been historically excluded in the storytelling of California’s coast and publicly accessible lands. These communities may include but are not limited to BIPOC people, people with disabilities, immigrant communities, low-income communities, and other historically excluded communities.

All projects must present a story connected to publicly-accessible outdoors spaces within our jurisdiction,  in a way that will reach the public. We encourage proposals for projects that are community-led, that show strong community and landowner partnerships, and that use creative forms of historical, ecological, and cultural storytelling.

Learn more here.

$500 million to be Appropriated to Coastal Conservancy for Coastal Resilience over two years

On September 23, 2021, Governor Newsom signed a budget bill that includes a total of $500 million for coastal resilience to be appropriated to the State Coastal Conservancy in Fiscal Years 2022-23 and 2023-24. This coastal resilience funding is part of the larger climate resilience budget package that demonstrates the State of California’s commitment to preparing for climate change impacts, including wildfire, extreme heat, drought, and sea level rise.

The State Coastal Conservancy will undertake a strategic planning process starting in late 2021 to identify priority projects and programs, desired measurable outcomes, and the process we will use for soliciting, evaluating, and recommending projects to the Conservancy Board for funding. This strategic planning process will include multiple meetings with public agencies, tribes, nonprofits, community groups, and the public to seek ideas, input, and feedback. If you want to stay informed of opportunities to weigh in, please sign up for our email list by clicking here.

This funding provides an unprecedented opportunity to move the needle on coastal resilience. The State Coastal Conservancy recognizes the urgency and importance of preparing the coast, and the people and wildlife that depend on the coast, for sea level rise and other climate change impacts. We look forward to working with many partner organizations to make a difference for the health of the coast.