Fisheries research, monitoring, and conservation
The Modesto Bee
By Matt Weiser
August 14, 2012
California agencies will receive $11 million in federal grants to acquire habitat and plan additional protections for wildlife.
The grants were announced Tuesday morning by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from funds held by the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, one of the functions of the federal Endangered Species Act.
The money coming to California represents fully one-third of a total of $33 million awarded to 21 states.
The only project in the Sacramento area to receive funding is the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Led by the California Natural Resources Agency, the plan aims to restore wildlife habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while also improving the reliability of water supplies diverted from the estuary. The plan includes a controversial new diversion tunnel system on the Sacramento River.
The Bay Delta Conservation Plan will receive $640,575 from the federal grant program to help fund completion of a habitat conservation plan.
Other grants in the region include $1 million to purchase wildlife habitat in East Contra Costa County; and $750,000 to purchase a conservation easement on the Kelsey Ranch in Merced County.
For more information and a complete list of the grants, visit: http://www.fws.gov/endangered/grants/index.html.
