$2.1 million awarded by U.S. EPA for California’s wetlands and streams

More than $2.1 million in grants has been awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help protect and restore wetlands and streams throughout California. In announcing the funds EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said, “Healthy wetlands and streams are key to the vitality of California communities and its economy. These projects help to better understand and protect these important resources.

Of the $2.1 million total, $822,000 has been awarded to Napa County for restoration work along the Napa River. Some 91,000 native plants will be used to revegetate and enhance 11 acres of riparian forest and 5 acres of freshwater wetlands. An additional 36 acres of riparian forest, eight acres of freshwater wetlands and 6,800 linear feet of streambank will be assisted by the development of restoration designs. The project is part of Napa County’s broader effort to restore 14 miles of the Napa River and improve flood protection and steelhead trout habitat and is funded through the EPA’s San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund.

Two Southern California Coastal Water Research Projects will now receive a combined $670,403. The first project will develop, refine and validate tools to better assess rain-dependent (also known as ephemeral) stream conditions in California and Arizona. A method for quickly assessing biologic community composition and conditions in streams and wetlands using genetic information in water samples in order to improve the ability to measure restoration success across aquatic habitats will comprise the second project.

Three northern California wetlands projects will share more than $666,000 of the EPA’s recent grant to California.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy will use $300,000 to evaluate the wetlands in the Delta and Suisun Marsh including the establishment of a standard regional wetland classification for the Delta Aquatic Resource Inventory and the completion of mapping of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This will allow for regional and statewide assessments in changes regarding the abundance, diversity and condition of wetlands due to land use.

Assessing salt marsh vulnerability to sea-level rise and the impacts of marsh retreat on carbon sequestration (long-term storage) in Humboldt Bay will also benefit from the EPA’s recent grants. The $275,000 the California State Coastal Conservancy will be receiving will allow the information to be used in managing water quality and wetlands in the estuary, and to support development of a long-term program for the beneficial reuse of dredging sediments.

Lastly, Sonoma County will receive $91,601 to develop mapping methods to more accurately identify the location of streams and adjacent conservation areas in order to refine zoning maps used in regulations protecting riparian corridors.