News Release

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, July 30, 2019

California State Parks Announces $4.1M for Local Park Projects

Grants

Contact: Jorge Moreno I Information Officer I (916) 653-1986

California State Parks today announced the selection of 26 local park projects that will receive grants totaling $4.1 million from the California Habitat Conservation Fund (HCF) Grant Program. This competitive program, funded by the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 (Proposition 117), provides assistance to local agencies for the protection, restoration and enhancement of wildlife habitat to maintain California’s quality of life.

Grant awardees by county are:

Alameda County

  • City of Oakland - Welcome to Wildlife at Peralta Hacienda:$160,000 to provide a series of 280 free activities over four years for youth ages 5-21 involving wildlife study and habitat restoration.

Contra Costa County

  • East Bay Regional Park District - McCosker Public Access: $200,000 to construct new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant nature trails, including a creek crossing in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve.

Humboldt County

           City of Eureka

  • Camp Cooper Environmental Education & Adventure: $91,717 to provide over a four-year period an eight-week outdoor environmental summer camp for youth.
  • Classroom in the Canopy:$50,000 to provide an educational program and guided interpretive tours for K-12 students at the Sequoia Park Zoo.
  • Old Growth New Adventures:$267,000 to construct a 1,600-foot trail, relocate zoo boundaries and install interpretive signage at Sequoia Park.

Los Angeles County

  • Los Angeles County - Peck Road Park Wildlife Area Activities:$61,905to provide 18 educational events over the course of three years for all community members at Peck Road Park Wildlife Area.
  • City of Lancaster - Prime Desert Woodland Preserve Trail Expansion:$199,410 to construct approximately 4,500 linear feet of new pedestrian recreational trail.
  • City of San Fernando - San Fernando Family Hike and Wildlife/Environment:$26,486 to provide eight educational workshops, five day-hikes and three overnight camping trips to children, teens, families and seniors.

OrangeCounty

  • Craig Regional Park Lake Restoration:$194,160 to restore approximately three acres of wetlands to include sod and riparian plantings, installing fish habitats, interpretive signage and benches.
  • Inside the Outdoors - Youth Wilderness Leadership:$166,516 to provide wildlife interpretive field trips and on-campus traveling scientist programs for K-12 students and teachers, plus campus-wide activities at Carbon Canyon Regional Park and Saddleback Gateway/Irvine Ranch Open Space.

Riverside County

          Desert Recreation District

  • Recreation Outdoor Camp:$90,000 to provide an outdoor environmental adventure and recreation camp program for disadvantaged youth in the Coachella Valley.
  • Trips for Kids:$90,000 to provide outdoor mountain biking camps for youth ages 10-17 in the Coachella Valley.

San Diego County

  • Nature Explorers Program:$160,000 to provide environmental education experiences and leadership skills to youth ages 5-17 through numerous outdoor activities and community service projects.
  • Sierra Verde Expansion Acquisition:$225,000 to acquire approximately 76 acres of open space southeast of Hellhole Canyon Open Space Preserve.

San Francisco County

  • McLaren Park Visitacion Avenue Corridor Trail:$207,000 to construct approximately 1,400 feet of multiuse trail with 7,000 square feet of trail surfacing.
  • Sharp Park Garter Snake Habitat Restoration:$200,500 to restore one acre of habitat with invasive plant removal and native plantings.

San Mateo County

           Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District

  • Acquisition of Johnston Ranch Uplands:$200,000 to acquire approximately 650 acres of Johnston Ranch Uplands as an addition to Miramontes Ridge Open Space Preserve near Half Moon Bay.
  • Mindego Ranch Ponds Restoration:$200,000 to enhance approximately 1.09 acres of wetland, including excavation, revegetation and erosion-control measures at Kneudler Lake and Upper Springs in Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.

Santa Barbara County

  • City of Santa Maria - Ranch to River Outdoor Nature Experience Program: $39,250 to provide field trips for third, fourth and fifth graders at Los Flores Ranch Park and docent-led nature walks for children and families at Santa Maria River Trail and Los Flores Ranch Park.

 Santa Cruz County

  • City of Santa Cruz - Neary Lagoon Wildlife Refuge Interpretive Trail:$200,000 to replace approximately 480 feet of boardwalk trail and interpretive signage.
  • Santa Cruz County - Riparian Restoration at Soquel Creek:$205,750 to restore approximately 40,287 square feet of riparian habitat, including removal and replacement of non-native plants with native plants, fencing and interpretive signage.
  • City of Watsonville - Upper Struve Slough Habitat Restoration:$52,600 to restore and enhance approximately one acre of wetlands.

Sonoma County

  • Cooper Creek Addition:$220,000to acquire 54 acres, including approximately a half-mile of Cooper Creek as an addition to Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve.

Ventura County

  • Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District - Get Wild: Nurture Your Nature with Pleasant Valley:$105,250 to provide experiential nature-based programs for community members and students (via school field trips), including staff-led nature hikes, classes, activities and special events at Camarillo Grove Park.

Yolo County

  • Yolo County - Grasslands Regional Park Vernal Pool Habitat:$65,200 to develop and provide an outdoor education program.
  • West Sacramento - Southport Levee Trailhead:$460,500 to construct a trailhead and ADA-accessible ramp to an existing levee trail.

California State Parks’ Office of Grants and Local Services (OGALS) develops grant programs to provide funding statewide for local, state and nonprofit organization projects. Since 1964, more than 7,400 local parks throughout California have been created or improved through OGALS' grant funding. Since 2000, OGALS has administered approximately $3 billion in grant funding throughout California.

For more information about the Habitat Conservation Fund Program and other grant programs administered by the Office of Grants and Local Services, please visit www.parks.ca.gov/grants. Follow us on Facebook.

Subscribe to California State Parks News via e-mail at NewsRoom@parks.ca.gov

California State Parks provides for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high quality outdoor recreation.