SAN JOSE— On Tuesday, the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors approved more than $1 million in grants to 11 agencies to move forward on planning, design and construction of wildlife habitat restoration. The money is included in the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program, a 15-year parcel tax approved by voters in November 2012.
“We are excited to provide the necessary funding to advance these projects,” said Board Chair Barbara Keegan. “Working closely with our partners in the community helps us leverage the public’s money to get even broader protections for our local waterways.”
The 11 projects, totaling up to $1,095,004 in grants and partnerships, are in addition to four others, valued at $893,680, that the Board awarded in December 2015. With funding left in the project budget, the Board directed staff to extend the application time period and to broaden the types of eligible projects to include planning and feasibility studies. These 11 projects are a result of that action.
The projects are listed below:
• Loma Prieta Resource Conservation District, $79,953, for Sycamore Alluvial Woodland Restoration Phase II
• Friends of the Stevens Creek Trail, $52,162, for Stevens Creek Steelhead Passage Improvement Project
• Working Partnership, $24,750, for Planning Coyote Creek Invasive Plant Removal and Revegetation
• City of Mountain View, $43,920, for Permanente Creek Watershed Enhancement Project
• Save the Bay, $95,868, for Palo Alto Baylands Tidal Lagoon Transition Zone Habitat Restoration Project
• City of Santa Clara, $165,249, for Ulistac Restoration 2016 Project
• San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, $217,032, for Establishing Forster’s Tern Nesting Colonies for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project Using Innovative Technologies project
• City of San Jose, $191,041, for Evergreen Creek Corridor Restoration project
• Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, $142,771, for Bill’s Backyard: Bridge to Nature project
• Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, $50,574 for Plant Pathogen Training and Education at CNPS Nursery.
• Campus Community Association, $31,684 for Metcalf Ponds Parkway Lakes Steelhead Habitat and Passage Improvement Project.
The projects were reviewed by a panel that included a nonprofit organization leader, water district and Gilroy city staff with experience in habitat restoration projects.
The water district will work with these entities to develop grants and partnership agreements for execution immediately. Projects awarded grants and partnerships under this funding cycle are targeted for completion by December 31, 2019.
Each year, one or more grant programs will have a new funding cycle in the Safe, Clean Water program. This cycle will fund grants and partnerships for wildlife habitat restoration projects.
During the life of the Safe, Clean Water Program, the water district expects to distribute nearly $35 million in grants, partnerships and rebate programs to support the water district’s mission to provide Silicon Valley safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment and economy.