The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has selected 12 projects to be funded through the CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program (ERP). The 12 selected projects will receive immediate funding, while three additional projects have been designated as reconsider if revised, which allows the applicants to make revisions and resubmit the proposal. Together, the 15 projects total just over $18 million. A list of the projects and further details can be found at www.dfg.ca.gov/ERP/grants_2010_grants_psp.asp .

The ERP is a multi-agency effort aimed at improving and increasing aquatic and terrestrial habitats and ecological function in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and its tributaries.

Priority was given to projects that support the ERP Conservation Strategy and work to restore or enhance habitat in the Delta and Suisun Marsh and Bay, research projects that will test hypotheses related to conservation measures in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, and construction projects that will improve water quality in the Delta. The projects will be funded from multiple bond sources including Propositions 13, 84 and 204.

"I am particularly pleased with the diversity in the types of projects approved for this funding cycle," said DFG Director Charlton Bonham. "They range from hands-on restoration projects that will restore critical Delta habitat, to management tools for exploring the impacts of our resource management decisions so that we can understand the potential effects of our decisions before actually implementing them."

The timing of the grant cycle is particularly fortuitous, as DFG will be able to partner on several of the projects and leverage the limited grants funding to stretch every dollar.