On May 23, 2019, California‘s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Board approved seven environmentally restorative grants, totaling $11 million, as part of the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1) Grant Program.
Combined, these seven projects involve 51 entities partnering together to improve the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The $11 million awarded in this cycle will fund the following projects:
- Blacklock Restoration: Phragmites Control Project ($387,440), Department of Water Resources – Test methods for controlling invasive species for future restoration at the Blacklock restoration site;
- Delta Working Waterways Habitat Restoration Planning ($347,481), Solano Resource Conservation District – Plan for restoration and enhancement of waterways and edge habitats on working lands in Solano County;
- Paradise Cut Conservation and Flood Management Project, Phase 2 ($265,254), San Joaquin County Resource Conservation District – Outreach and planning to advance the Paradise Cut Flood Bypass in San Joaquin County;
- Lower San Joaquin Riparian Corridor ($522,027), American Rivers – Plan for restoration of floodplain and riparian habitat along the lower San Joaquin River;
- Marsh Creek Channel Restoration ($519,493), American Rivers – Plan for restoration of floodplain and riparian habitat along Marsh Creek;
- Nutria Eradication Project, Phase 2 ($8,483,080), California Department of Fish and Wildlife – To prevent detrimental impacts to habitat and water quality by eradicating nutria, a destructive invasive species; and
- Oakley Creekside Park ($436,465), City of Oakley – Plan for restoration of floodplain and riparian habitat along Marsh Creek.
These projects are part of the fourth cycle of Proposition 1 grants awarded by the Delta Conservancy. To date the program has funded $35.3 million for 26 grants, benefiting more than 8,065 acres of habitat in the Delta.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy is a primary state agency in the implementation of ecosystem restoration in the Delta and supports efforts that advance environmental protection and the economic well-being of Delta residents. The Conservancy collaborates and cooperates with local communities and others parties to preserve, protect, and restore the natural resources, economy, and agriculture of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh.
Photo courtesy of the Elkhorn Slough Foundation.