At its Aug. 28 quarterly meeting, the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) approved approximately $30 million in grants to help restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat throughout California. Some of the 29 funded projects will provide benefits to fish and wildlife – including some endangered species – while others will provide the public with access to important natural resources. Several projects will also demonstrate the importance of protecting working landscapes that integrate economic, social and environmental stewardship practices beneficial to the environment, land owners and the local community. The funds for all these projects come from bond initiatives approved by voters to help preserve and protect California’s natural resources. Some of the funded projects include:
< Riparian habitat on the
Cosumnes River in El Dorado County. American River
Conservancy photo
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A $970,000 grant to the City of Red Bluff for a cooperative project with the Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways, to construct a boat launch facility compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act that includes a 2-lane boat ramp, improved parking, a new restroom, picnic areas and pedestrian paths.
- An $805,000 grant to the California Waterfowl Association to acquire a conservation easement over approximately 226 acres of land for the protection of giant garter snake, Swainson’s hawk, black rails and wetlands near Marysville in Yuba County.
- A $4.8 million grant to the American River Conservancy to acquire in fee approximately 1,080 acres of land for the protection and preservation of riparian and woodland habitat that includes native fisheries and oak woodlands, and to provide for potential future wildlife-oriented public use opportunities on land fronting the Cosumnes River in El Dorado County.
- A $10 million grant to Save the Redwoods League for a cooperative project with the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Sempervirens Fund and the State Coastal Conservancy to acquire a forest conservation easement over approximately 8,532 acres of working forest lands, forest reserve areas and habitat linkages near the town of Davenport in Santa Cruz County.
- A $750,000 grant to the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County for a cooperative project with the State Coastal Conservancy and others to acquire in fee approximately 879 acres of land to protect native grasslands, oak woodlands, coastal scrub and wildlife corridors, and to provide the potential for future wildlife-oriented public use opportunities near Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County.
- A $1.6 million grant to the Trust for Public Land for a cooperative project with the City of Santa Clarita to acquire approximately 302 acres of land to provide recovery benefits for federally threatened and endangered species and to provide corridors linking separate habitat areas to prevent habitat fragmentation, protect significant natural landscapes and ecosystems and provide the potential for future wildlife-oriented public use opportunities.
For more information about the WCB please visit www.wcb.ca.gov.
Media Contacts:
John Donnelly, WCB Executive Director, (916) 445-0137
Dana Michaels, CDFW Communications, (916) 322-2420