Request for Partnership Proposals/Letters of Interest for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program FY 2025

NOTE:

This is a call-for preproposals for projects who would like to partner with the California State Coastal Conservancy to apply for US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant (NCWCG) Program funding. This is NOT the official NCWCG call for applications. Projects hoping to receive NCWCG funding are NOT required to apply through the Coastal Conservancy. As stated below, there are six other state agencies who are also designated to apply for these funds for the projects in California. However, should you wish to work with the Coastal Conservancy to manage and administer a potential future grant, please read the following announcement.

 

If you feel your project fits the NCWCG criteria, please submit a brief (~2-4 page) letter of interest via email to bryce.keyes@scc.ca.gov by 11:59 PM on Monday, April 15th, 2024.

 

The California State Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy) seeks partners for joint applications to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 round of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant (NCWCG) Program for coastal wetlands acquisition and/or restoration projects on the California coast or along the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

Grant Award Amount: The NCWCG program provides grants of up to $1,000,000 for the protection and/or restoration of coastal wetlands. Grants are for project implementation, although it is permissible to request up to 30% of the grant, combined, for biological surveys, monitoring, planning, and permitting if those activities are closely tied to implementation.

Eligible Project Activities:

  1. Acquisition of a real property interest (e.g., conservation easement or fee title) in coastal lands or waters (coastal wetlands ecosystems) from willing sellers or partners for long-term conservation
  2. Restoration, enhancement, or management of coastal wetlands ecosystems
  3. A combination of acquisition, restoration, and management

Ineligible Project Activities:

  1. Projects that primarily benefit navigation, irrigation, flood control, or mariculture
  2. Acquisition, restoration, enhancement or management of lands required as the result of a regulatory or decision-making process to mitigate habitat losses
  3. Creation of wetlands where wetlands did not previously exist
  4. Enforcement of fish and wildlife laws and regulations, except when necessary for the accomplishment of approved project purposes
  5. Research
  6. Planning as a primary project focus
  7. Operations and maintenance, including long-term invasive species management
  8. Acquisition and/or restoration of upper portions of watersheds where benefits to the coastal wetlands ecosystem are not significant and direct
  9. Projects providing less than 20 years of conservation benefits

Important Dates: Projects should be ready for implementation in Summer 2025 or 2026. Project timeline can span as much as 5 years. Grant funding for approved awards will generally be available by Spring 2025.

Match: The NCWCG program requires a non-federal match of at least 25% of the total project cost, consisting of either cash or in-kind contributions, and additional points are awarded for match of up to 33% of the total project cost. The Conservancy may be able to provide some or all of the required match, but project partners providing their own match will increase the Conservancy’s capacity to carry out additional projects. The NCWCG program also prioritizes projects that involve multiple partners providing a cash or in-kind contribution. Some pre-award costs may be considered as match.

Eligibility: Only seven designated state agencies, including the Conservancy, are eligible to apply for NCWCG in California. However, the Conservancy can work in partnership with state and local agencies, tribes, and certain non-profits to develop and submit NCWCG proposals. The Conservancy can pass through NCWCG funds to its partners, as subrecipients, to implement projects. Partners for NCWCG must be non-federal public agencies, tribes, and certain nonprofit organizations. To be eligible, a nonprofit organization must qualify under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. While federal agencies can’t receive NCWCG funds, NCWCG-funded projects can be implemented on federal lands by a subrecipient.

Project Selection Process: If your project is selected by the Conservancy during this initial proposal phase, the Conservancy will work with you to prepare a NCWCG proposal, which may or may not be awarded funding by the USFWS. The USFWS selects proposals for award through a merit-based, national competitive review and ranking process. The deadline for the Conservancy to submit NCWCG proposals to the USFWS for FY 2025 will be June 21, 2024. Selected projects are generally awarded 6-8 months after the application is submitted. If projects are awarded a NCWCG, funding should be available in late Spring of 2025. USFWS will need to review and meet all project-related environmental compliance requirements before making funding available.

 

Letter of Interest: To indicate your interest in partnering with the Conservancy on a NCWCG proposal, please submit a brief (~2-4 page) letter of interest via email to Mrs. Bryce Keyes at Bryce.Keyes@scc.ca.gov. Letters of Interest must be received by 11:59 PM on Monday, April 15th, 2024.

A full description of the NCWCG program can be found on Grants.gov, linked here, or you can search the funding opportunity number on Grants.gov (F25AS00004). If you are interested in submitting a letter of interest to the Conservancy, it is recommended that you review the Criteria in NCWCG’s Full Announcement to ensure that your project is a good fit.

The letter should include the following information:

  1. 1-2 sentence summary of proposed project
  2. Location of the project and its relevance to NCWCG’s goal to restore, enhance, or manage coastal wetlands ecosystems
  3. Description of the need for the project
  4. Description of the proposed project activities and how it addresses the need
  5. Estimated project cost and description of potential match
  6. Approximate timeline for project implementation (include information of the status of project design and environmental review for restoration projects)
  7. Indicate whether you have a willing seller for acquisition projects
  8. List of potential project partners and their roles in the project
  9. List the approximate acreage of the project area and the acreage of coastal wetlands within the project area
  10. Attach a map showing the project area

Questions? Questions about potential projects and the application process may be directed to Bryce Keyes, External Grants Manager: bryce.keyes@scc.ca.gov.

Coastal Stories 2024 RFP now open!

The Coastal Stories 2024 grant program is now open!

This grant program aims to support inclusivity of outdoor spaces for all Californians.

The primary goal of the Coastal Stories Grant Program is to promote the representation of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), individuals with disabilities, immigrant communities, low-income communities, and other historically excluded groups through storytelling.

Stories must be publicly accessible in outdoor spaces within the Conservancy’s jurisdiction, which includes the Coastal draining watersheds, 9 Bay Area counties, and the Santa Ana River. The program seeks to support projects that develop and implement storytelling installations or materials, such as murals, signage, monuments, or guides, that authentically convey historically excluded communities’ perspectives and relationships to the outdoors. Emphasis is placed on encouraging proposals for community-led initiatives demonstrating robust partnerships between communities and landowners, utilizing innovative approaches to historical, ecological, and cultural storytelling.

 The Conservancy held an informational webinar on February 22.  to walk through the Coastal Stories Grant Program and address common questions regarding the application. A recording of the webinar can be found here.

If you would like a 30-minute consultation with a staff member, please email coastalstories [AT] scc.ca.gov with your project idea and location(s).

Pre-applications are due March 31st, 2024. Applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal or asked to provide further information within two months.

 

*please save a copy of the Google Doc file, fill it out, re-save it as a Word Doc or PDF and email it back to us.

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

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

 

  • 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

###

Grant Funding Webinar, September 28, 2023

The State of California has made an unprecedented investment in the resilience and accessibility of the coast. As a result, the Coastal Conservancy has significant funding available to non-profit organizations, public agencies, and federally-recognized tribes for projects that benefit public access, natural resources, working lands, and climate resiliency at the coast, coastal watersheds, and the San Francisco Bay. 

We will host a webinar on September 28 at 3:00 on Conservancy funding and how to apply for our grants. 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

When: Sep 28, 2023 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Topic: SCC Funding Webinar 2023

Register in advance for this webinar here

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

A recording of the webinar will be available on our website.

We anticipate that the majority of our funding will be allocated through our ongoing pre-proposal solicitation. To learn more about this process, please visit the Grants page of our website.

The Conservancy also holds periodic grant rounds related to specific programs or fund sources. Information on those grant rounds and their deadlines are posted on the Grants page of our website when they are open. You can also sign up to be notified of scheduled grant rounds by registering for our mailing list at this link.

The Conservancy will fund most stages of a project including pre-project feasibility studies, property acquisition, project planning including community involvement, design, environmental review, permitting, construction, and project-related monitoring. We do not fund operation and maintenance activities.

We look forward to working with many partner organizations to make a difference for the health and accessibility of the coast.

Request for Partnership Proposals/Letters of Interest for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program FY 2024

NOTE:

This is a call-for preproposals for projects who would like to partner with the California State Coastal Conservancy to apply for US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant (NCWCG) Program funding.

  1. a) This is NOT the official NCWC call for applications.
  2. b) Projects hoping to receive NCWCG funding are NOT required to apply through the Coastal Conservancy. As stated below, there are six other state agencies who are also designated to apply for these funds for the projects in California. However, should a project wish to work with the Coastal Conservancy to manage and administer a potential future grant, please read the following announcement, and if you feel your project fits the NCWCG criteria, please submit a brief (~2-4 page) letter of interest via email to gerwein@scc.ca.gov by 5 PM PST on Friday, April 14th, 2023 (see further details below).

 

The California State Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy) seeks partners for joint applications to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 round of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant (NCWCG) Program for coastal wetlands acquisition and/or restoration projects on the California coast or along the San Francisco Bay shoreline. Only seven designated state agencies, including the Conservancy, are eligible to apply for NCWC grants in California. However, the Conservancy can work in partnership with state and local agencies, tribes, and certain non-profits to develop and submit NCWC proposals.  The Conservancy can pass through NCWCG funds to its partners, as subrecipients, to implement projects.  While federal agencies can’t receive NCWCG funds, NCWCG-funded projects can be implemented on federal lands by a subrecipient. A full description of the NCWCG program can be found here:  https://www.fws.gov/coastal/CoastalGrants/.

NCWC provides grants of up to $1,000,000 for the protection and/or restoration of coastal wetlands.  Grants are for project implementation, although it is permissible to utilize no more than 30%, combined, for biological surveys or monitoring, planning, and permitting if those activities are closely tied to implementation. Projects should be ready for implementation in Summer 2024 or 2025.  Projects will be more competitive if the project area is primarily made up of jurisdictional wetlands. The NCWC grant program requires a non-federal match of at least 25% of the total project cost, consisting of either cash or in-kind contributions, and additional points are awarded for match of up to 33% of the total project cost.  The Conservancy may be able to provide some or all the required match, but project partners providing their own match will increase the Conservancy’s capacity to carry out additional projects.  The NCWCG program also prioritizes projects that involve multiple partners providing a cash or in-kind contribution. All projects must ensure long-term (at least 20 years) conservation of coastal resources.

Eligible Activities include:

  1. Acquisition of a real property interest (e.g., conservation easement or fee title) in coastal lands or waters (coastal wetlands ecosystems) from willing sellers or partners for long-term conservation;
  2. Restoration, enhancement, or management of coastal wetlands ecosystems; or
  3. A combination of acquisition, restoration, and management.

Ineligible Activities include, but are not limited to:

  1. Projects that primarily benefit navigation, irrigation, flood control, or mariculture;
  2. Acquisition, restoration, enhancement or management of lands required as the result of a regulatory or decision-making process to mitigate habitat losses;
  3. Creation of wetlands where wetlands did not previously exist;
  4. Enforcement of fish and wildlife laws and regulations, except when necessary for the accomplishment of approved project purposes;
  5. Research;
  6. Planning as a primary project focus;
  7. Operations and maintenance, including long-term invasive species management;
  8. Acquisition and/or restoration of upper portions of watersheds where benefits to the coastal wetlands ecosystem are not significant and direct; and
  9. Projects providing less than 20 years of conservation benefits.

 

This year’s FY 2024 Notice of Funding Announcement (NOAO), is available here as reference:  https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html, funding opportunity Number: F24AS00005.

 

If your project is selected by the Conservancy during this initial proposal phase, the Conservancy will work with you to prepare a NCWCG proposal, which may or may not be awarded funding by the USFWS. The Conservancy will not award state funding grants directly through this solicitation.  The USFWS selects proposals for award through a merit-based, national competitive review and ranking process. The deadline to submit NCWC proposals to the USFWS for FY 2024 will be June 23, 2023.  Selected projects are generally awarded 6-8 months after the application is submitted. If projects are awarded a NCWCG, funding should be available for implementation in late Spring of 2024. 

 

USFWS will need to review and meet all project-related environmental compliance requirements before making funding available. A full description of the NCWCG program can be found here:  https://www.fws.gov/coastal/CoastalGrants/.

 

Letter of Interest Submittal:

To indicate your interest in partnering with the Conservancy on a NCWC proposal, please submit a brief (~2-4 page) letter of interest via email to joel.gerwein@scc.ca.gov. The letter should include the following information:

1) 1-2 sentence summary of proposed project,

2) location of the project and its relevance to NCWCG’s coastal wetland restoration goals,

3) description of the need for the project,

4) description of the proposed project and how it addresses the need,

5) estimated project cost and description of potential match,

6) approximate timeline for project implementation (include information of the status of project design and environmental review for restoration projects),

7) indicate whether you have a willing seller for acquisition projects, and

8) list of potential project partners and their roles in the project.  Include a map showing the project area and providing the approximate acreage of the project area and acreage of coastal wetlands within the project area.

Letters of Interest must be received by 5 PM PST on Friday, April 14th 2023.

 

Eligible Applicants: Non-federal public agencies, tribes, and certain nonprofit organizations are eligible for funding. To be eligible, a nonprofit organization must qualify under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

Questions? Questions about the application process and potential projects may be directed to Joel Gerwein, External Grants Manager, 510-286-4170, joel.gerwein@scc.ca.gov

SCC Grant Availability Webinar Nov 9

The State of California has made an unprecedented investment in the resilience and accessibility of the coast.  As a result, the Coastal Conservancy has significant funding available to non-profit organizations, public agencies, and federally-recognized tribes for projects that benefit public access, natural resources, working lands, and climate resiliency at the coast, coastal watersheds, and the San Francisco Bay. 

 

A webinar was held on November 9 on Conservancy funding and how to apply for our grants. A recording of the webinar can be found on our Grants page here. 

 

We anticipate that the majority of our funding will be allocated through our ongoing pre-proposal solicitation.  To learn more about this process, please visit the Grants page of our website

 

The Conservancy also holds periodic grant rounds related to specific programs or fund sources.  Information on those grant rounds and their deadlines are posted on this page when they are open.  You can also sign up to be notified of scheduled grant rounds by registering for our mailing list at this link.

 

The Conservancy will fund most stages of a project including pre-project feasibility studies, property acquisition, project planning including community involvement, design, environmental review, permitting, construction, and project-related monitoring. We do not fund operation and maintenance activities.

 

We look forward to working with many partner organizations to make a difference for the health and accessibility of the coast.

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.

Press Release: State Coastal Conservancy Awards $10.8 Million for Wildfire Resilience in this Fire Season

(Oakland, CA) – Today, the Board of the State Coastal Conservancy authorized funding totaling over $10.8 for 33 projects throughout the coast of California to increase the resilience of coastal forests and open space to wildfires.

“These projects will help prepare coastal habitats for catastrophic wildfires by creating fire breaks, clearing debris, removing hazardous trees along fire roads, and other measures intended to slow the spread of wildfire, protect communities, and help forests recover from fire more quickly.” Said Sam Schuchat, Executive Officer of the State Coastal Conservancy. “California has suffered a string of devastating fire seasons; we are one of many state and local agencies working to help us better anticipate, mitigate, and recover from wildfire in the future. Thanks to early action funding appropriated by the Legislature and Governor in April, we’re going to get these projects underway before the worst of this year’s fire season.”

Today’s grants are part of the Conservancy’s Wildfire Resilience Program, which supports local partners to develop and implement projects that improve forest health and reduce the risk of catastrophic fire in areas where people are living near wildlands. The Wildfire Resilience Program also aims to build organizational capacity at the local and regional level to implement forest health and fire risk reduction projects that help prevent isolated fires from becoming wildfires.

More on the Conservancy’s Wildfire Resilience Program can be found here: https://scc.ca.gov/wildfire-resilience-program/

The projects approved at today’s meeting were:

  1. A grant of $7,650 to the National Audubon Society to create and maintain defensible space around buildings within Audubon Starr Ranch Sanctuary, located in unincorporated Orange County.

 

  1. A grant of $23,588 to the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County to implement prescribed herbivory to reduce fuel loads and create a buffer to prevent wildfire spread in the southern portion of Arroyo Hondo Preservein Santa Barbara County.
  2. A grant of $35,000 to the Hoopa Valley Tribe to implement shaded fuel brakes or defensible space projects to protect the homes of approximately 75 vulnerable residents on the Hoopa Valley Tribal Reservation, Humboldt County.
  3. A grant of $45,000 to the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea to remove hazardous fire fuels in City’s Mission Trail Nature Preserve, Monterey County.
  4. A grant of $47,721 to the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency for eucalyptus removal and weed abatement in a high fire hazard severity zone at Davidson Ranch Reserve, in Santa Clara County.
  5. A grant of $75,000 to the Trinity County Resource Conservation District to implement fuel reduction projects on Bureau of Land Management property in the community of Lewiston, Trinity County.
  6. A grant of $100,000 to the City of Santa Cruz to undertake vegetation management to reduce fire risk at two open space areas at Arroyo Seco Canyon and DeLaveaga Park.
  7. A grant of $115,000 to the Cazadero Community Services District to acquire a Brush Chipper, skid steer bucket loader and supplies for use in vegetation management activities, and to undertake such activities, to decrease the risk of wildfire in the vicinity of Cazadero, Sonoma County.
  8. A grant of $120,000 to the Carpinteria-SummerlandFire Protection District for a multi-pronged wildfire hazard fuels reduction project in the Carpinteria-Summerland area of Santa Barbara County.
  9. A grant of $130,000 to the City of Pacifica and $67,500 to the City of Brisbane for the North County Fire Authority to implement two wildfire fuel reduction projects in the wildland urban interface in northern San Mateo County, including vegetation management along public roadways in City of Brisbane and a community chipper program in the City of Pacifica.
  10. A grant of $144,000 to the City of Mill Valley to reduce fuels build up, create defensible space along the Blithedale Ridge Fire Road and perform fire-related public outreach in the vicinity of the Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve,Mill Valley, Marin County.
  11. A grant of $150,000 to Sonoma Land Trust to conduct wildfire risk reduction activities on the Little Black Mountain Preserve, Laufenberg Ranch, Pole Mountain Preserve, and Live Oaks Ranchproperties in Sonoma County.
  12. A grant of $150,000 to LandPaths to conduct approximately 60 acres of fuels reduction and burn area restoration on the Bohemia Ecological Preserve, Riddell Preserve, Rancho Mark West Preserve, and Ocean Song Preserve properties in Sonoma County.
  13. A grant of $194,400 to Woodside Fire Protection Districtfor fuel reduction management practices and invasive plant removal in San Mateo County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  14. A grant of $197,621 to Mendocino County to implement the Mendocino County Fuels Reduction Capacity Building Projectin Mendocino County.
  15. A grant of $200,000 to San Lorenzo Valley Water Districtfor vegetation management to reduce fire risk to critical infrastructure on land owned and operated by the District in Santa Cruz County.
  16. A grant of $209,800 to The Wildlands Conservancy to undertake fuels reduction and vegetation management on the Jenner Headlands Preserve, Sonoma County.
  17. A grant of $250,000 to the Pala Band of Mission Indians to implement a hazardous fuels reduction project within a wildland urban interface on the Pala Band of Mission Indians’ Reservationin San Diego County.
  18. A grant of $290,600 to the East Bay Regional Park District to expand on-going fuel treatments and fuel breaks and conduct biological surveys on East Bay Regional Park lands, specifically in two recommended treatment areas: Tilden Regional Park – TI002a and Wildcat Canyon Regional Park – WC005.

 

  1. A grant of $277,166 to the Sonoma County Water Agency to conduct wildfire resilience activities at Spring Lake Regional Park, Sonoma County.

 

  1. A grant of $345,650 to Sonoma County Regional Parks to conduct wildfire resilience activities consisting of shaded fuel breaks at Shiloh Ranch Regional Park and prescribed grazing at Taylor Mountain Regional Parkand Open Space Preserve, Sonoma County.

 

  1. A grant of $575,000 to the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to conduct wildfire resilience activities at Saddle Mountain Open Space Preserve, Sonoma County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  2. A grant of $1,078,684 to the Napa County Resource Conservation District for wildfire resilience activities at Linda Falls Preserve, Pacific Union College Demonstration and Experimental Forest, Suscol Intertribal Council’s Suskol House Land, and Moore Creek Park, Napa County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  3. A grant of $299,253 to the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indiansto reduce fire-fuels created by the 2019 Kincade Fire and restore approximately 57 acres of the Rancheria in Sonoma County, and adoption of findings pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.
  4. A grant of $414,000 to the City of Healdsburg for its Fire Department to conduct wildfire fuel management and control line treatments on three open space preserves (Healdsburg Ridge, Callahan and Fitch Mountain) adjacent to the City of Healdsburg in Sonoma County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  5. A grant of $1,000,000 to Save the Redwoods League to conduct forest restoration treatments to improve forest health and wildfire resiliency in the Greater Prairie Creek Watershed within Redwood National and State Parks, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

 

  1. A grant of $1,000,000 to the Marin Municipal Water District to implement vegetation management projects identified in the Biodiversity, Fire, and Fuels Integrated Plan (BFFIP) in the Mount Tamalpais Watershed, and to reduce ladder fuels in the Marin County Parks Blithedale Summit Preserve, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  2. A grant of $396,000 to Santa Barbara County for a community defensible space project in the San Antonio Creekarea of Santa Barbara County.
  3. A grant of $400,000 to Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to reduce wildland vegetation fuels, remove fire prone invasive species, and expand shaded fuel break areas through their Wildland Fire Resiliency Program in up to 11 preserves in San Mateo County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  4. A grant of $1,000,000 to San Mateo Resource Conservation District to establish a shaded fuel break and remove hazardous trees along fire roads within Quarry Parkin El Granada, San Mateo County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

 

  1. A grant of $317,071 to the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabelto reduce fire fuels in undeveloped woodlands and open spaces and create defensible space around buildings, water systems, and roadways on Iipay Nation trust lands.
  2. A grant of $661,367 to the Urban Corps of San Diego to conduct fuel modification for wildfire resilience in open space in the City of Chula Vista and in seven San Diego County preserves; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
  3. A grant of $581,500 to North East Trees for the Flat Top Park Fire Resilienceproject in the City of Los Angeles.

Public Input Period: Updating the Project Selection Criteria

The Coastal Conservancy is updating its project selection criteria and we are asking for public comments on the proposed new criteria. The draft proposed criteria are here.

There will be a webinar to discuss the proposed criteria on April 16 at 10:00, to register, click here.

If you would like to send in comments, you can send them by email to: JEDI@scc.ca.gov or fill-in this anonymous comment form.

Comments are due by July 1, 2021.

The Conservancy has used project selection criteria for the past twenty years to communicate priorities to potential applicants and project partners, to evaluate grant applications, and to prioritize projects for funding. The current criteria can be found here.

This updating process is in response to the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Guidelines adopted by the Conservancy Board in September of last year. The new project selection criteria will reflect the JEDI Guidelines that address funding programs, meaningful engagement and working with California’s tribes. The update is also an opportunity to align the criteria related to climate change with current state policy and guidance.

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