Las Flores Creek Stream Restoration

The WCB approved a $600,000 grant to the City of Malibu to restore a functioning stream channel and fish and wildlife habitat along 2,400 feet of Las Flores Creek, upstream of the Pacific Coast Highway. It is on private and public land within the City of Malibu. The Department of Water Resources and the Resources Agency are partners in this project. It will widen the channel of the creek, stabilize and restore banks and riparian habitat along the southern portion of the creek by re-grading the slopes and replacing exotic plants with native plant species. The project will also improve the water flow conveyance and capacity of the creek and enhance habitat for steelhead trout and other aquatic species.

Solstice Creek Steelhead Barrier Removal

The WCB approved a $200,000 grant to the National Park Service, in cooperation with the State Coastal Conservancy, to remove barriers to steelhead migration on Solstice Creek in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Solstice Creek is known to have historically supported steelhead trout, and the National Marine Fisheries Service has determined there are approximately 1.8 miles of suitable habitat for steelhead between the ocean mouth and a natural waterfall barrier upstream. This project will remove the four man-made barriers that exist between the mouth and the waterfall, dispose of the demolished material, and restore and re-grade the impacted areas.

Arroyo Burro Estuary and Mesa Creek Restoration

The WCB approved a $390,000 grant to the City of Santa Barbara for a project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, State Coastal Conservancy, Department of Parks and Recreation and Santa Barbara County. The endeavor will expand and restore portions of the Arroyo Burro Estuary, restore portions of Mesa Creek and modify a steelhead fish barrier along Arroyo Burro Creek. Encroaching development has severely degraded the Arroyo Burro Estuary and filled 75 percent of the original estuary. Aspects of the project include expanding a reduced coastal wetland estuary area, and restoring and uncovering, or "daylighting," an enclosed stream. The effort will also provide valuable habitat for birds and other wildlife including the federally endangered tidewater goby and rare wetland plant species.

Llano Seco Rancho Conservation Area

The WCB approved a $2 million grant to the Northern California Regional Land Trust for a conservation easement of more than 4,200 acres in the historic Llano Seco Rancho Conservation Area near Durham in Butte County. Other project partners include the California Oak Foundation, the Department of Conservation and DFG. The easement will guard rangeland, grasslands, grazing land and critical agricultural operations. It will also provide an opportunity to conserve the largest remaining stands of valley oak woodlands and unleveled grain fields on the Sacramento River floodplain. Nearly 11,000 of Llano Seco Rancho's 18,400 acres are already protected as refuges or wildlife sanctuaries by DFG and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Lake Earl Wildlife Area, Pacific Shores Unit, Phase II

The WCB approved a $2 million grant for the acquisition of 250 acres of privately owned land to preserve wildlife habitat as part of DFG's Lake Earl Wildlife Area. The land is located in the Pacific Shores Subdivision on the north shore of Lake Earl, approximately seven miles north of Crescent City in Del Norte County. The WCB worked with the Smith River Alliance during the past two years to acquire approximately 527 lots in the Pacific Shores Subdivision. Acquisition of the land will allow for further preservation of Lake Earl and its associated habitats, continued development of the wildlife area, and the protection and enhancement of threatened and endangered species.

La Posta, DOD, Dept of the Navy, San Diego County

In a cooperative project with The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Defense, WCB allocated funds for the acquisition of approximately 370 acres.  The acquisition will protect lands that would enhance wildlife connectivity between the Cleveland National Forest to the north and protected public lands to the south.  The subject properties are located around the La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility near Campo, California. Additional information can be found on the Resources Agency Website
(www.resources.ca.gov).

WHR, San Pablo Bay, Phase II, Marin, Napa and Sonoma Counties

In a cooperative project with The North American Wetland Conservation Council, the Marin Audubon Society, the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation Agency and the Department of Fish and Game, WCB approved the allocation of funds to Ducks Unlimited to restore wetlands around San Pablo Bay. The project includes 6 separate restorations located in Marin, Napa and Sonoma Counties.
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