At its Feb. 22 quarterly meeting, the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) approved approximately $17.9 million in grants to help restore and protect fish and wildlife habitat throughout California. Some of the 15 approved projects will benefit fish and wildlife—including some endangered species—while others will provide public 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, landowners and the local community.

Funding for these projects comes from a combination of sources including the Habitat Conservation Fund and the Wildlife Restoration Fund. Bond measures approved by voters to help preserve and protect California’s natural resources.

Funded projects include:

• A $350,000 grant to the National Forest Foundation for a cooperative project with U.S. Forest Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board to thin approximately 140 acres of forest in the Tahoe National Forest, 10 miles northeast of Truckee in Nevada County.
• A $3,030,000 grant to the Northcoast Regional Land Trust to acquire a conservation easement on approximately 15,586 acres of mixed conifer working forest lands that include oak woodland habitat with multiple oak species, for conservation of the natural resources, preservation of wildlife habitat linkages and habitat areas for numerous wildlife species and to help sustain water quality. The project is located near the communities of Maple Creek and Bridgeville in Humboldt County.
• A $1,500,000 grant to the California Waterfowl Association for a cooperative project with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to develop water conveyance infrastructure and enhance wetlands on CDFW’s Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, located approximately 7.5 miles southwest of the town of Gridley in Butte County.
• A $1,270,000 grant to the Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT), the acceptance of a USFWS Land Acquisition grant, and approval to sub-grant these federal funds to the MDLT to acquire approximately 1,640 acres of land for the protection and preservation of desert riparian and desert tortoise habitats and to protect other listed or protected species that may be present. The project is located near the community of Helendale in San Bernardino County.
• $1,865,000 for the acquisition of approximately 328 acres of land by CDFW for a cooperative project with USFWS to protect open space and promote the restoration of critical habitat that supports threatened and endangered species adjacent to the Colorado River and the preservation of a wildlife linkage and corridor from the Colorado River to the Colorado Desert. The project is located north of the city of Blythe in Riverside County and will provide future wildlife-oriented public use opportunities.
• A $278,000 grant to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation, for a cooperative project with CDFW to redesign and repair the existing outdoor amphitheater at CDFW’s Elkhorn Slough Ecological Reserve, located eight miles south of the City of Watsonville in Monterey County.

For more information about the WCB please visit www.wcb.ca.gov.