Between August and October, the Coastal Conservancy approved more than 50 projects, along with more than $48.6 million in funding, enabling local governments and nonprofit organizations to protect and improve coastal wildlife habitats and farmland, expand and improve public access to beaches and shorelines, and revitalize the economies of coastal and San Francisco Bay counties. Almost all the funding comes from parks and resources bond acts passed by voters in 2000 and 2002.

Major South Coast projects include approval of the disbursement of $10 million to the Wildlife Conservation Board to acquire 193 acres of the historic Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles County; and $10 million to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for acquisition of the 2,900-acre Ahmanson Ranch in the Malibu Creek Watershed, Ventura County.

Two North Coast projects aim to help cities hard-hit by the contraction of the timber industry to undertake essential economic conversions. Fort Bragg will develop a community plan for reuse of the former Georgia-Pacific mill site; Crescent City will plan for revitalization of its harbor.

Typically, Conservancy projects serve more than one purpose, and many serve several. In Contra Costa County, for instance, the acquisition of Dutra Ranch by the Muir Heritage Land Trust, in Martinez, will not only prevent habitat fragmentation and protect scenic open space in an area undergoing rapid urban sprawl, it will also expand public access, add another segment to the Bay Area Ridge Trail, and open opportunities for environmental education to secure future stewardship of California’s natural wealth.

The 158-acre Dutra Ranch lies on Franklin Ridge, west of Martinez, between two properties the land trust already owns, and is near Briones Regional Park and large landholdings of the East Bay Municipal Utilities District. The $790,000 purchase is being funded with $500,000 from the Conservancy, $190,000 from the Wildlife Conservation Board, and $100,000 from the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council from funds the Conservancy allocated for the Trail last year. The land trust is in the process of raising $125,000 for stewardship.

Other projects include:

SOUTH COAST
South Coast Counties:

To develop the Coast Alive! education program for San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles Counties, $250,000 to the California State Parks Foundation

San Diego County:

To improve wildlife habitat and public access in the Tijuana River Valley, along Rose Creek in the City of San Diego, and at San Elijo Lagoon, a total of $447,000 to the International Community Foundation, San Diego EarthWorks, and the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy

To acquire properties within the San Diego River and Otay River watersheds, a total of $14.62 million as part of the State’s Natural Communities Conservation Planning Program, with $7.2 million going to the San Diego River Park–Lakeside Conservancy and $7.42 million to the Department of Fish and Game

Orange County:

To improve facilities at Aliso Beach, $160,000 to Orange County

Los Angeles County:

To design the reconstruction of the Strand walkway, $150,000 to the City of Manhattan Beach

To remove invasive plants in lower Topanga Canyon, $180,000 to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority

Ventura County:

To improve wetlands at Ormond Beach, $600,000, plus reservation of $23 million to acquire properties for restoration of wetlands and related habitat

Santa Barbara County:

To prepare engineering designs, environmental documentation, and permit applications for fish passage improvement projects in coastal streams on the county’s south coast, $453,000

For environmental restoration at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh and the University of California, Santa Barbara, Campus Lagoon Natural Area, $1.65 million, with $1.55 million going to the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, and $100,000 to the University

CENTRAL COAST
San Luis Obispo County:

To acquire a conservation easement on the 1,860-acre John Maino Ranch, $1.5 million to the Morro Bay Foundation

Toward acquisition of a 42-acre property for addition to Montaña de Oro State Park, up to $1.25 million to California State Parks

To acquire a 1.6-acre parcel for addition to East-West Ranch in the community of Cambria, $200,000 to the Cambria Community Services District

Monterey County:

To acquire 183 acres near Moro Cojo Slough for protection of habitat and water quality, $273,000 to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation

Santa Cruz County:

To reconstruct the 26th Avenue beach stairway, to improve disability access, and for related costs, $250,000 to the nonprofit O’Neill Sea Odyssey and $300,000 to Santa Cruz County

To develop Phase 2 of the Permit Coordination Program for Santa Cruz County, $106,000 to the Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District

San Mateo County:

To acquire the Driscoll and Bolsa Point ranches, restore the environment of San Pedro Creek, and assist farmers with construction of irrigation ponds, over $12 million to Peninsula Open Space Trust, Sustainable Conservation, and the City of Pacifica

To carry out habitat restoration on Año Nuevo Island, $88,000 to the nonprofit Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, working with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory

San Francisco County:

For improvements to the south windmill in Golden Gate Park, $750,000 to Friends of Recreation and Parks

To complete Phase 2 of the design for the Yosemite Canal Wetland Restoration and Public Access Project at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, $650,000 to the California State Parks Foundation

Marin County:

To acquire a conservation easement on the 870-acre Grossi Ranch, $585,000 to the Marin Agricultural Land Trust

Sonoma County:

To improve salmon and steelhead habitat and fish passage at the Mumford Dam on the Russian River, and to prepare a grazing management plan for coastal grasslands, a total of $210,000 to the Sonoma County Water Agency and the Sotoyome Resource Conservation District

Toward the expansion of “green” programs at Salmon Creek School, $300,000 to the Harmony Union School District of Occidental

San Francisco Bay Area:

For restoration projects as part of environmental education programs for grades K–12 in eight Bay Area counties, a total of $665,000 to 14 nonprofit organizations

NORTH COAST
North Coast Counties:

To remove barriers to salmon and steelhead trout passage in Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties, $400,000 to Trinity County

Mendocino County:

To plan for the reuse of the former Georgia-Pacific mill site in Fort Bragg, develop the Gualala Blufftop Trail, and prepare a management plan for new California State Parks property along Big River, a total of $240,000 to the City of Fort Bragg, the Mendocino Land Trust, and the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy

To plan, design, and implement projects pursuant to the Navarro River Restoration Plan, $713,000 to the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District

Humboldt County:

For environmental restoration of Salt River, $215,000 to the Hum-boldt County Resource Conservation District

To implement salmonid habitat improvement projects in the estuary and artificial rearing facilities of the Mattole River, $70,000 to the Mattole Restoration Council

For engineering feasibility studies, environmental documentation, and permit applications for the rehabilitation of the Shelter Cove breakwater facility, $100,000 to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District

Del Norte County:

A $218,000 grant to the Crescent City Harbor District toward revitalization of the harbor

STATEWIDE:

For design of a program to monitor coastal ocean currents, $275,000 to the nonprofit Commonweal.