Thursday October 17, 2024
Imperial Valley Press —
The Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP) announced Tuesday the expansion of a restoration project at the south end of the Salton Sea that will help protect regional air quality and support wildlife.
Secretary for Natural Resources, Wade Crowfoot and Deputy Secretary Samantha Arthur alongside state and federal officials held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Species Conservation Habitat (SCH) project site.
The expansion of the SCH Project represents a multi-agency collaboration to address the ecological challenges facing the Salton Sea. The commitments made by the federal and state government, as well as from regional agencies, enabled the addition of 750 acres to the project’s footprint. This unprecedented support helps set the current project footprint at nearly 5,000 acres with the potential to expand to around 8,000 acres.
In December 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation granted the State $70 million to begin the expansion of the SCH Project through the Inflation Reduction Act. The funding is a portion of the $250 million in federal funding commitments announced in 2022.