California

Alpine Watershed Group
Monitoring Impacts of Tamarack Fire for Meadow Recovery in the Upper Carson River Watershed (CA)
Employ water quality, vegetation, bird, and photo monitoring to assess impacts to meadows in the Upper Carson River watershed in Alpine County, California from the 2021 Tamarack Fire. Project will assess and identify invasive species removal, erosion and sediment control, and revegetation projects in the affected area and apply traditional ecological knowledge for meadows to help the local ecosystem and provide downstream benefits.
$80,545

American Rivers
Improving Transportation Infrastructure for Meadow and Watershed Restoration (CA)
Improve transportation infrastructure for aquatic and wet meadow ecosystem restoration and watershed improvement in the South Fork American watershed of Eldorado National Forest in California. Project will replace one road crossing, improve 0.24 miles of road, and restore 18 acres of wet meadow at Wilson Ranch meadow to enhance the ecological function and resilience of South Fork American watershed.
$449,059

American Rivers
Large-Scale Restoration Planning for Pickel Meadow on West Walker River (CA)
Complete restoration planning for 450 acres at Pickel Meadow on the West Walker River in California to advance meadow restoration in the Desert Terminal Lakes region. Project will develop large-scale meadow restoration plan ready for implementation to increase groundwater storage and attenuated flood flows, reduce downstream sedimentation, increase resilience, and improve habitat for meadow dependent species such as the willow flycatcher and yellow warbler.
$332,119

Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
Increasing Connectivity through Post-Fire Restoration (CA)
Restore the Hallelujah Junction Wildlife Area, a prioritized winter range habitat for mule deer that was burned and degraded by recent wildfires, through invasive species removal and monitoring with subsequent native plant restoration to incorporate bitterbrush, forbs and native grasses beneficial to big game species. Project will restore 180 acres with post-fire rehabilitation practices.
$165,027

California Trout
Fluvial Mainstem Site Assessment and Conceptual Design for the Elk River (CA)
Conduct a site assessment of the Elk River, consult with landowners and regulatory partners to cooperatively develop the project elements, and prepare conceptual designs in collaboration with landowners and agency scientists. Project will create engineering designs that would rehabilitate 6.1 miles of mainstem salmonid habitat and tens of acres of riparian habitat, as well as protect 15 homes and four bridges from flooding.
$573,103

California Trout
Fuels Reduction in Inyo National Forest (CA)
Remove cut biomass resulting from fuels reduction actions targeting pine beetle-killed lodgepole and whitebark pine on June Mountain in Inyo National Forest. Project will develop a plan to assess fuels reduction benefits to Clark’s nutcracker and white pine populations, implement restoration monitoring protocols, and estimate greenhouse gas benefits.
$285,485

California Trout
South Fork Floodplain Connectivity Phase IV (CA)
Enhance instream habitat in the South Fork of the Scott River through the installation of large wood structures, side channel excavation, and riparian planting. Project will restore floodplain function and connectivity, improve habitat cover and complexity, and enhance cold water rearing habitat for a core population of Southern Oregon/Northern California Coho Salmon in the Klamath Basin.
$264,465

Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute
Marine Mammals Restoration – Increasing Capability in Santa Barbara and Ventura (CA)
Increase Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute’s capability to recover and rehabilitate marine mammals in distress in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Project will enhance animal handling capabilities, expand veterinary medical resources, ensure a long-term water supply, increase the electrical infrastructure and provide critical staff to deliver and manage this increased capability.
$846,984

City of Imperial Beach
Creating a Community Resilience Plan (CA)
Design a community resilience plan for Imperial Beach to address flooding in vulnerable populations that experience impacts related to coastal hazards. Project will create an adaptation management and monitoring plan that encourages nature-based solutions.
$250,000

City of San Diego
Creating a Coastal Resilience Master Plan (CA)
Develop a Coastal Resilience Master Plan to identify specific resilience and conservation needs along the San Diego coastline and develop a portfolio of nature-based solutions. Project will engage the public, analyze 10 sites based on risk and benefits, develop nature-based solutions for five of the most feasible locations, select a pilot project, and analyze the effects of nature-based solutions along the coast.
$250,000

Conservation Corps of Long Beach
Invasive Vegetation and Off-Highway Vehicle Barriers in the Angeles National Forest (CA) - II
Remove invasive vegetation and install off-highway vehicle barriers along 4 miles of road to restore native chaparral in the Copper Fire burn scar in the Angeles National Forest. Project will engage young adults from urban communities as environmental stewards to protect restoration areas from disturbance in the fire-damaged Angeles National Forest.
$552,155

Eastern Sierra Council of Governments
Infrastructure and Recreation Planning in the Buttermilk Region of Inyo National Forest (CA)
Improve infrastructure in the Buttermilk Bouldering Area and develop long-term recreation planning in the in the Buttermilk subregion of the Inyo National Forest. Project will address immediate infrastructure needs by replacing and/or installing toilets and enhance the resilience of the Owens watershed to the effects of human activity by organizing a collaborative planning effort with partners to implement sustainable outdoor recreation programs and infrastructure.
$247,300

Fall River Resource Conservation District
Restoring Logan Springs Meadow in Lassen National Forest (CA)
Restore and enhance hydrologic function of Logan Springs meadow in Lassen National Forest to improve habitat conditions, channel stability, and vegetation support near a larger forest health project aiming to reduce the incidence of high intensity wildfire. Project will fill degraded channels, remove railroad grades and berms, construct design features to capture sediment and minimize erosion, and develop a grade control structure to dissipate energy into the meadow.
$155,688

Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
North Bay Habitat Restoration for Monarchs and Other Pollinators (CA)
Collect milkweed seed, propagate milkweed seedlings, and restore and improve habitat for the monarch butterfly, Myrtle’s silverspot butterfly and other pollinators in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Project will improve 6,000 acres, restore 150 acres, collect 1 pound of milkweed seed, propagate 8,000 milkweed seedlings, host 11 workshops, and engage 300 people.
$175,000

Grassland Water District
Monarch-Friendly Canals: Enhancing Pollinator Habitat Along Managed Wetlands (CA)
Restore and enhance pollinator habitat along 7 miles of canals in protected wetlands in California. Project will restore 216 acres, propagate 6,000 milkweed seedings, and engage members of the public.
$173,040

Klamath Water Users Association
Lower Klamath/Lost River Stewardship Planning Process (CA, OR)
Develop the Lower Klamath/Lost River Stewardship Agreement to address the regulatory goals and objectives outlined in California’s and Oregon’s respective total maximum daily loads. Project will support development of solutions for ongoing water issues to help conserve and ensure allocations of water to fish and wildlife as well as affected irrigation districts. The intended outcome will be improved water quality and a maximized coverage area for all beneficial uses.
$80,865

Mid Klamath Watershed Council
Fuels Management and Wildfire Resilience in Six Rivers and Klamath National Forests (CA)
Create strategic fuel breaks and develop defensible space around communities and neighborhoods to address high priority community protection needs against wildfires in the Western Klamath Restoration Partnership area. Project will conduct manual fuels reduction, construct fire lines, and engage community members with fire suppression and management training in Siskiyou, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties.
$120,000

Mid Klamath Watershed Council
Klamath River Creek Mouth Enhancement (CA)
Remove or modify fish passage barriers at the creek mouths of the Middle Klamath, Salmon and Scott Rivers. Project will improve access for juvenile and adult salmonids to cold water tributaries of the Middle Klamath, Salmon, and Lower Scott Rivers that can become blocked during periods of low stream flow.
$89,273

Mid Klamath Watershed Council
Lower Beaver Creek Aquatic Habitat Restoration Project (CA)
Add 13 wood structures to Beaver Creek to improve spawning and rearing habitat for Southern Oregon/Northern California Coho Salmon and other critical anadromous fish species. Project will increase the number of returning adult Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon, and Pacific Lamprey.
$391,219

Mojave Desert Land Trust
Mojave Desert Tortoise Habitat Restoration (CA)
Conduct a restoration project focused on habitat improvement for Mojave desert tortoise in Western Mojave Recovery Unit focal areas identified by the Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP), to include ground assessment, customized restoration plans, closure of unauthorized routes, and habitat restoration. Grantee will in crease capacity for a dedicated Coordinator to be co-located in the Bureau of Land Management’s Barstow Field Office to coordinate RASP project implementation.
$1,100,000

Monarch Joint Venture
Technical Assistance to Private Landowners Improving Pollinator Habitat (CA)
Provide technical assistance for private landowners in California’s Central Valley by hiring a Habitat Coordinator to accelerate adoption of pollinator conservation practices and monarch monitoring efforts. Project will improve 1,000 acres, restore 200 acres, develop 50 conservation plans, host 30 workshops, and engage 550 people.
$200,712

Montague Water Conservation District
Shasta River Coho Salmon Habitat Enhancement through Design and Assessment
Complete design and permitting of the Hole in the Ground Diversion Combine Project on the Shasta River. Future implementation of this project will allow efficiencies for instream benefit while also isolating a significant cold-water spring to protect over-summering habitat and providing flexible diversion management to maximize instream benefit.
$122,586

Monterey County Water Resources Agency
Salinas River Lagoon Community Engagement and Planning Project (CA)
Develop a portfolio of nature-based methods to reduce flood risk and improve resiliency in the Salinas River Lagoon. Project will evaluate existing conditions in the Lagoon with respect to flood control structures, land use, bathymetry, sensitive habitats and species, wave dynamics, and/or sediment transport; and prioritize nature-based or hybrid strategies and projects to support flood prevention and resilience.
$100,000

National Audubon Society
Native Plants for the LA River (CA)
Install 1,000 native plants, including 200 native trees, with 25 youth leaders and 150 community members at Rio de Los Angeles State Park. Project will restore urban wetlands and provide sustainable habitat for the federally endangered least bell’s vireo.
$50,000

Nature Nexus Institute
Ballona Creek Watershed Community Stewardship (CA)
Engage 2,400 youth and hundreds of community volunteers in educational and habitat restoration activities throughout the Ballona Creek watershed. Project will address watershed restoration through field trips, hands-on habitat restoration activities, an after-school environmental leadership program, and a culminating youth summit, directly involving participants in restoring 2 acres of coastal sage scrub and 7.7 acres of beach habitat, benefiting wildlife and improving watershed health.
$49,980

NOAA Fisheries
Non-invasive Diet Characterization of Southern Resident Killer Whales (WA)
Test the use of stable isotopes to analyze dietary composition for Southern Resident killer whales in the Salish Sea using naturally occurring chemical tracers. Project will measure how stable isotopes in fecal matter and breath samples reflect diets from a feeding study on captive killer whales and compare to archived collected samples from Southern Resident killer whales.
$148,760

Northwest California Resource Conservation and Development Council
East Branch East Weaver Creek Migration Barrier Removal (CA)
Replace a road crossing with an arch culvert at a U.S. Forest Service campground and community trail system in order to open a migration pathway for anadromous fish. Project will restore access to 1.2 miles of quality habitat to salmonid species.
$265,582

Orange County Coastkeeper/Waterkeeper
Upper Newport Bay Living Shorelines (CA)
Increase shoreline resiliency through restoration of a segment of the Upper Newport Bay through improved adaptive management and monitoring techniques, and engaging community in hands-on restoration work. Project will incorporate in-class lessons and field trips to the Upper Newport Bay restoration site, demonstrating the importance of wetland habitats for climate resiliency, water quality and native oysters through a comprehensive curriculum.
$49,722

Outdoor Outreach
Youth Environmental Stewardship (CA)
Cultivate environmental stewardship and increase community engagement through outdoor conservation programs in and around the San Diego Bay and Tijuana River watersheds. Project will restore 120 acres of wetland and coastal habitat, engage 140 individuals in environmental stewardship and education programs, and support 16 paid positions in outdoor education.
$40,317

Pepperdine University
Invasive Crayfish Removal on Endangered Species in San Francisquito Creek (CA)
Improve aquatic habitat by trapping and removing crayfish to benefit the threatened unarmored threespine stickleback and endangered red-legged frog populations in the Angeles National Forest. Project will conduct trapping, biodiversity monitoring, behavioral experiments, and mathematical modeling to measure the positive impact from crayfish removal.
$151,089

Point Reyes Bird Observatory dba Point Blue Conservation Science
Seabird Restoration on Farallon Islands (CA)
Develop and implement a communications and outreach strategy in support of the proposed restoration project to benefit ashy storm-petrels at the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge off San Francisco, California. Project will educate the public and other stakeholders about the need for the large-scale restoration project and address questions and concerns about the proposed methods.
$29,000

Pollinator Partnership
Monarch Wings Across California: Improving Pollinator Habitat for Western Monarchs (CA)
Expand the Monarch Wings Across California program by working with private landowners and agricultural producers at 10 sites in the Central Valley to improve habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Project will improve 1,000 acres, develop 10 conservation plans, harvest 800 pounds of milkweed seed, propagate 10,000 milkweed seedlings, host 10 workshops, and engage 100 people.
$174,914

Preservation Ranch
Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery and Sustainment Partnership Implementation in the Ord-Rodman Focal Area (CA)
Work with the Marines Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms (MCAGCC) to implement a demonstration project within the 298,790-acre Preservation Ranch Pilot Project Area to support the Mojave Desert Tortoise Recovery and Sustainment Partnership (RASP). Project will support habitat restoration efforts across 1,816 acres of BLM lands and 3.37 miles of unauthorized routes.
$1,200,000

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Restoring Plant Diversity in Fire-Affected Watersheds in Angeles National Forest (CA) - IV
Improve capacity for wildfire restoration in the Copper and Sayre fire scars within the Angeles National Forest. Project will collect 50 high-priority seed collections, propagate 6,000 chaparral plant species and 3,000 oaks, monitor and maintain existing restoration sites, and implement three new restoration projects for native grasses and milkweed.
$494,374

Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Big Pine Mountain Reforestation Project (CA)
Reforest 300 acres burned by the Zaca Fire on Big Pine Mountain in the Los Padres National Forest through targeted planting of 30,000 conifer seedlings. Project will also develop a reforestation plan, conduct cone collection and propagation of native conifers such as Jeffrey pines in targeted areas of Big Pine Mountain, and monitor sites to evaluate survival and inform future replanting activities.
$271,381

Scott River Water Trust
Enhance Stream Flows for Salmon in the Scott River Watershed (CA)
Develop and negotiate voluntary, permanent water dedications in the upper portion of the Scott River system. Project will conserve 2,000 acre feet of water in the highest quality salmonid spawning and rearing habitat in the Scott River basin.
$195,814

Scott River Watershed Council
French Creek Spawning and Rearing Habitat Improvement Project (CA)
Install six large wood structures instream, add spawning gravels, excavate a side channel, and remove non-native vegetation with subsequent planting of a mix of willows and cottonwoods along a 590-foot-long reach of French Creek. Project will improve degraded habitat and assist in enhancing natural populations of Southern Oregon Northern California Coast Coho Salmon by enhancing instream habitats in a cold water refugial stream.
$189,316

Scott River Watershed Council
Patterson Creek Engineered Log Jam Project (CA)
Install Engineered Log Jams on Patterson Creek, a key tributary to the Scott River, consisting of 12 single rootwad structures, three double rootwad structures and one apex jam, with associated planting of cottonwood and willow, to enhance rearing habitat for over-wintering and over-summering Southern Oregon/Northern California Coho Salmon. Project will enhance floodplain connectivity and result in improved groundwater recharge and primary food production for coho salmon.
$155,532

Scott River Watershed Council
Sugar Creek Coho Refugia Project- Phase 1 (CA)
Create high quality floodplain habitat connected to Sugar Creek, a key Southern Oregon/Northern California Coho Salmon spawning and rearing tributary to the Scott River. Project will improve habitat and increase access to cold water refugia.
$230,055

Shasta Valley Resource Conservation District
Improving Transportation Infrastructure at Elk Creek in Klamath National Forest (CA)
Complete engineering design and road work to construct rolling dips and install culverts within the Elk Creek tributary to the Klamath River in the Klamath National Forest in California. Project will reduce sediment sources to support the improvement of stream health and salmonid habitat in a high priority watershed.
$258,394

Sierra Institute for Community and Environment
Restoration Planning for Nanny and Lost Creek Crossings in Lassen National Forest (CA)
Create design plans for two high priority road crossings affecting aquatic organism passage and channel function in the Battle and Deer Creek watersheds in Lassen National Forest to benefit wild salmon and steelhead populations. Project will develop plans to restore hydrologic function, improve resident fish passage, reduce road sedimentation, and create infrastructure resilience.
$146,055

Sonoma Resource Conservation District
Invasive Species Control for Wildfire Resilience in Fire-impacted lands in Sonoma County (CA)
Work collaboratively with land managers and local organizations to reduce invasive species pressure in watersheds with critical fisheries habitat that were impacted by wildfire, and educate and empower land managers to continue vegetation management by providing them with a Maintenance and Monitoring Toolkit and training via workshops. Project will reduce wildfire fuel loads and improve watershed health and resilience.
$999,997

The Bay Foundation
Santa Monica Dune Restoration (CA)
Restore 5 acres of sandy coastal habitats located on the beaches of Santa Monica, California by utilizing natural features to transform a portion of the current beach into a sustainable coastal strand and foredune habitat complex resilient to sea-level rise. Project will restore vital habitat for wildlife and native dune species, increase the resiliency of the shoreline through the restoration of sandy beach and foredune habitat, and engage the public and provide a model for the region to inform scalability.
$85,000

The Corps Network
Engaging Young People in Conservation and Natural Resource Implementation
Advance both Conservation Corps development and implementation and expansion across the Forest Service and sister land management agencies. Project will enroll a young, talented person to provide critical staff capacity will advance two essential priorities for the Service – climate and engaging diverse citizens in conservation action.
$75,100

The Nature Conservancy
Develop, Test and Deploy Machine Learning to Reduce Storage for Electronic Monitoring of Fisheries (multiple states)
Develop, widely test and deploy open source computer vision tools which identify and trim video segments to reduce archival video storage costs for fisheries electronic monitoring. Project will employ a two-step process where detection of humans is completed during video review and trimming is done only after video review is completed to reduce risk of eliminating important fishing activity and to facilitate adoption by regulators.
$144,889

The Student Conservation Association
Fuels Reduction in Bishop and Pine Creek Watersheds of Inyo National Forest (CA)
Conduct fuels management within the Bishop Creek and Pine Creek watersheds of the Inyo National Forest. Project will support a five-person crew to implement fuels reduction treatments across 250 acres to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk on forestlands and recreational areas.
$194,320

The Student Conservation Association
OHV Barrier Installation and Habitat Restoration in Angeles National Forest (CA)
Build and install 50 no-dig barriers to improve management within the Drinkwater Flat Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) area of the Angeles National Forest. Project will conduct habitat restoration through invasive species management, planting of native vegetation, and perform erosion control.
$576,784

The Student Conservation Association
Removing Invasive Vegetation on the Inyo National Forest (CA)
Conduct removal of invasive tamarisk in priority locations on the Inyo National Forest to improve water quality and quantity, in-stream habitat conditions, riparian vegetation, and overall watershed function. Project will support a four-person crew to perform invasive species management through and removal, chainsaws, and direct herbicide application.
$19,647

Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation
Chis-chu Stlh-xat-dvn Naa-yvlh-sri (Roosevelt Elk Habitat Restoration) (CA)
Increase habitat connectivity and quality for elk in Smith River, Del Norte County, California by restoring prairie and oak woodland habitat on the Nation’s Tr’ee-ghii~-li Property, continuing ongoing Tribal and Department collaborative elk monitoring efforts, and ultimately connect restored, high quality elk habitat treatments on Tribal land, private timber lands, and Federal land managed by the U.S. Forest Service land. Project will restore or improve more than 3,000 acres of habitat.
$140,509

Transition Habitat Conservancy
Assessing and Restoring Off-Highway Vehicle Impacts on Conservation Lands (CA)
Continue ongoing restoration efforts in desert tortoise critical habitat units via an established Off-Highway Vehicle program. Project will build on previous work and support more frequent monitoring visits to restoration sites as well as USGS research study to analyze the extent of soil decompaction from illegal riding off-trails.
$132,821

TreePeople
Forest Aid within the Copper and Powerhouse Fire Scars of the Angeles National Forest (CA)
Complete on-the-ground restoration activities in woodland, riparian, and chaparral areas of the Copper and Powerhouse fire scars in the Angeles National Forest. Project will propagate and install 7,900 seedlings, collect 20 lbs of seeds, and invasive species removal and treatment to restore habitat and establish healthy native vegetation across 206 acres.
$1,035,167

TreePeople
Los Angeles River Corridor Urban Greening Improvement (CA)
Provide critical nature-based infrastructure to high need communities surrounding the southern section of the Los Angeles River and greater watershed area. Project will implement community-driven urban greening projects, restoring green space and tree canopy in a region of the LA River corridor that is largely made up of heavy industrial development.
$49,985

Truckee River Watershed Council
Restoring Headwater Meadows for Truckee River in Hoke Valley (CA)
Restore a 25-acre degraded headwater meadow in the Truckee River system and improve overall ecological resilience in the Hoke Valley of the Tahoe National Forest in California. Project will expand on existing and planned meadow restoration activities and is designed to benefit the willow flycatcher.
$459,660

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service - Region 5
Expanding Nursery Capacity in Eldorado National Forest (CA)
Increase container capacity of the Placerville Nursery in Eldorado National Forest, California to protect existing stock and meet current and future reforestation needs within the state. Project will expand pad, shade structure, and greenhouse space for growing seedlings to increase overall nursery container capacity by 1.2 million.
$1,200,000

University of California - Davis
Monitoring Post-fire Regeneration and Restoration in Angeles National Forest (CA)
Establish a long-term monitoring plot network for the Angeles National Forest to measure the health and recovery of trees and shrubs in the Copper fire scar area. Project will survey sixty plots to examine plant health and the presence of introduced Phytophthora species and other pathogens.
$129,404

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Assessing the Diet of Barred Owls in Old-Growth Redwood Forests (CA)
Investigate range expansion of barred owls into the Pacific Northwest and California’s redwood region, which poses an existential threat to northern spotted owls. Project will conduct barred owl removals in Headwaters Forest Reserve and other BLM properties in Humboldt County and to genetically screen intestinal contents for prey they are consuming in old-growth redwood forests.
$239,993

University of Wisconsin - Madison
Monitoring Avian Bioacoustics for Enhanced Fuels Management in the Sierra Nevada (CA)
Implement a regional-scale bioacoustics monitoring program for assessing the effects of fuels treatment on Sierra Nevada wildlife in California. Project will marry fuels metrics and California spotted owl habitat metrics to enhance the design of fuel treatments by leveraging long term demographic and regional-scale GPS tagging data.
$269,113

Watershed Research and Training Center
Resiliency in the Greater Trinity River Watershed (CA)
Plan and implement four storage tank arrays and establish long-term forbearance agreements to reduce annual water withdrawals from key tributaries to the Trinity River during the summer low-flow period. Project will increase the quality and quantity of natural temporal habitats crucial to the survival of anadromous fishes and aquatic organisms in the Trinity River Watershed.
$439,542

West Bay Sanitary District
Constructing a Living Shoreline for West Bay Sanitary District (CA)
Create a living shoreline to protect the West Bay Sanitary District’s existing facilities, underserved residents, and San Francisco Bay water quality from the current 100-year floodplain and future sea-level rise, at the Menlo Park Flow Equalization Facility and Resource Recovery site. Project will construct approximately 1,200 feet of living shoreline, 3,400 feet of sheet pile walls, conserve 0.8 acre of salt marsh, and create an additional 3.5 acres of habitat along San Francisco Bay.
$4,884,112

Yurok Tribe
Oregon Gulch Culvert Replacement (CA)
Complete 100% design plans and obtain environmental approvals to replace the Oregon Gulch culvert under Sky Ranch 
Road in Junction City. Project will open over 5 miles of suitable salmonid spawning and rearing habitat.
$104,183