Sacramento: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe today announced over $20 million will be provided to 28 projects in 12 coastal states to protect, restore or enhance more than 10,000 acres of coastal wetlands and adjacent upland habitats under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. Nine projects located in California will be awarded just under $5 million of this grant funding.
State and local governments, private landowners, conservation groups and other partners will contribute over $20 million in additional funds to these projects, which acquire, restore or enhance coastal wetlands and adjacent uplands to provide long-term conservation benefits to fish and wildlife and their habitats.
“The Fish and Wildlife Service’s Coastal Wetlands Grants provide critical funding in the effort to protect some of our most fragile and at-risk wildlife habitats, said Service Director Dan Ashe. “With rising ocean levels eating away at coastal wetlands from one side and development claiming more and more acres on the other, our coastal wetlands are being squeezed into an ever thinner sliver of land. Never before has it been so important to protect these places.”
The program, funded in part through taxes paid on equipment and fuel purchases by recreational anglers and boaters, creates significant benefits for other recreationists and the American public. The billions of dollars generated through recreational angling, boating, waterfowl hunting and bird watching benefit communities in the vicinity of wetlands restoration projects.
States and territories receiving funds are California, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington. Click here for the complete list of projects funded by the 2016 grant program.
Wetlands in coastal watersheds in the United States are experiencing a net annual loss of more than 80,000 acres according to a 2013 report by the Service, highlighting the importance of coastal wetland conservation. Conservation of these habitats will not only benefit coastal wetland-dependent wildlife, but will also enhance flood protection and water quality, and provide economic and recreational benefits to anglers, boaters, hunters and wildlife watchers.
“These grants will help coastal communities create on-the-ground projects to make them more resilient and ensure the preservation of our wildlife heritage for future generations,” added Ashe.
The Service awards grants of up to $1 million to states based on a national competition, which enables states to determine and address their highest conservation priorities in coastal areas. Since 1992, the Service has awarded over $377 million in grants under the program.
Examples of the projects receiving grants today are:
UCSB Campus Open Space Vernal Pool Complex
The California Coastal Conservancy will restore 12 acres of rare wetland and upland habitat on the University of California, Santa Barbara's (UCSB’s) South Parcel, including a six-acre vernal pool complex, back dune swale, vernal marsh and salt marsh salt marsh
Salt marshes are found in tidal areas near the coast, where freshwater mixes with saltwater.
Learn more about salt marsh wetland habitats. Located within the 652-acre Ellwood Devereux coastal open space area, this project is a component of a larger effort to restore nearly 50 acres of estuarine and palustrine wetlands and 50 acres of transitional and upland habitats on adjacent lands. Vernal pools are declining nationally and recognized locally for their rarity and the unique suite of plants, invertebrates and wildlife that are adapted to them. The project implements important recovery actions for five federally listed species: the endangered tidewater goby, California least tern and Ventura marsh milkvetch; and the threatened western snowy plover and California red-legged frog.
Eel River Estuary Preserve Enhancement Project
The California State Coastal Conservancy will restore historical hydrological linkage, estuarine function and aquatic and terrestrial habitat conditions to 227.3 acres of wetlands and associated uplands in the Eel River Estuary at the Eel River Estuary Preserve. Only a fraction of the original Eel River Estuary complex is currently subject to tidal influence, and most of that lies within the Riverside Ranch, across the Salt River from the preserve. The loss of aquatic habitat within the Eel River Estuary has contributed to the decline of salmon and steelhead, tidewater goby, coastal cutthroat trout, longfin smelt and green sturgeon. The estuary is critical habitat for juvenile salmonid species. Restoration of the tidal prism and marsh will restore critical fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage and nursery habitat.
Integrated Restoration in San Francisco Bay
The California State Coastal Conservancy is awarded $500,000 to enhance 100 acres of native habitat as part of a sustainable estuarine system that restores ecological function and is resilient to the effects of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change . The project will protect the shoreline, minimize erosion and maintain coastal processes while protecting and enhancing habitat for fish, birds and other estuarine species, including the federally endangered California Ridgway’s rail, California least tern and Pacific herring, as well as eight additional special status species, three additional fish species and nine additional coastal-dependent migratory bird species.
The National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program is administered by the Service and funded under provisions of the 1990 Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act. Funding is provided by Sport Fish Restoration Act revenue – money generated from an excise tax on fishing equipment, motorboat and small engine fuels.
More information is available at: http://www.fws.gov/coastal/CoastalGrants/index.html.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit http://www.fws.gov/cno. Connect with our Facebook page, follow our tweets, watch our YouTube Channel, and download photos from our Flickr page.
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