Under Proposition 84, Chapter 6 (d)(4), the Wildlife Conservation Board received $5,000,000.00 in bond funds to “Assist Farmers in Integrating Agricultural Activities with Ecosystem Restoration and Wildlife Protection”. This funding source provides WCB with the opportunity to work directly with farmers and other agricultural landowners to enhance habitat consistent with agricultural operations. The WCB seeks to collaborate with the agricultural community in identifying and implementing projects that provide long-term habitat benefits for wildlife, consistent with landowner objectives, including economic sustainability, and have the potential for replication on a statewide basis.

In California a large number of wildlife species are dependent on privately owned agricultural lands for habitat. Agricultural lands provide significant habitat and connectivity with protected wildlife areas, but the extent to which these lands benefit wildlife depends to a large degree on the landowner stewardship practices. In many cases agricultural landowners are willing to integrate wildlife habitat benefits into the management and operations of their properties, but lack the capital, revenue incentives and/or expertise to implement these practices.  The intent of the WCB’s funding is to assist landowners in developing wildlife friendly practices on their properties, that can be sustained and co-exist with agricultural operations.  This funding may provide a valuable complement to federal funds that will be devoted to wildlife habitat on private lands through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation programs such as EQIP and WHIP in 2007-2008.


In the early 2000s under the CALFED Bay—Delta Program’s Ecosystem Restoration Program, a grant program was developed, pursuant to dedicated funds in Proposition 50 for “Integrating Agricultural Activities with Ecosystem Restoration”. The CALFED program focused on the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Bay-Delta Regions and the wildlife species that CALFED had a responsibility for benefiting in this area. Stakeholder input was derived through the Bay Delta Public Advisory Committee’s Working Landscapes Subcommittee, which provided extensive input and feedback to develop the program and to determine what types of restoration projects should be evaluated and considered for funding.

To develop the WCB’s funding under Proposition 84, the WCB worked with a number of the staff and stakeholders with intimate knowledge of the development of the CALFED program. The goal was to expand on the ideas, concepts and approaches developed under CALFED into a statewide funding strategy for the WCB “Ecosystem Restoration on Agricultural Lands” (ERAL) funds. WCB also sought the input of other agricultural groups and organizations involved in the research and development of multi-benefit land use practices that sustain both biodiversity and farming operations.


Eligible applicants include nonprofit conservation and agricultural organizations, and federal, state or local governmental agencies, including eligible resource conservation districts, agricultural land trusts and farm bureaus.


All funding will be made available to project proponents (applicants) through grants from the WCB. The funds will be administered under the WCB’s Habitat Enhancement and Restoration Program. The application form provided under this program can be used to apply for ERAL funding. There are some additional questions in the application specific to ERAL-funded projects that need to be completed.

• All projects must located be on privately owned, agricultural land where agriculture is a major land-use activity, and have a willing property owner.
• All projects must provide on-site habitat benefits for animal, birds, plants or other forms of wildlife.
• All projects must be durable and include a long-term management plan and agreement that ensures that habitat features will remain on the landscape for a time period commensurate with wildlife population needs.

• The project provides on-site habitat benefits to State or Federal listed species and/or species of special concern or species in decline.
• The project provides enhancement of, connection to, or expansion of wildlife habitat corridors, landscapes or other protected areas.
• The project includes a long-term monitoring plan to measure wildlife benefits.
• The project includes an analysis of potential any resulting economic benefits or impacts.
• The project operates in an adaptive management framework where data collection helps guides future management actions.
• The project is located on land already protected or that will be protected with a long-term contract or easement (agriculture or conservation).
• The project complements other conservation programs, plans or strategies in the area, including, but not limited to HCPs or NCCPs, in the area.
• The project works with multiple landowners in the same area to provide wildlife habitat benefits on a landscape scale.
• The project provides watershed benefits.
• The project employs methodologies or approaches that can be replicated, expanded and applied in multiple agricultural areas of the state, or other programs run by other federal or state entities. This includes innovative approaches or methods that can help streamline processes, such as regulatory or permit processes, and facilitate the implementation of other similar projects.
• The project is compatible with other sustainable conservation measures that help improve the environment.
• The project includes other funding partners in the development or implementation of the project.
• Although there is no set “cap” on the amount of funding that can be requested through the application process, the WCB reserves the right to prefer smaller grant funding requests over grant larger funding requests to achieve a greater number of projects.
• The project demonstrates collaboration with other wildlife and agricultural interest groups, agencies or programs operating in the region and, if appropriate, at the statewide level.