Wildlife Conservation Board Grants

Wildlife Conservation Board

The acquisition, restoration, enhancement, and maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural resources, including resources impacted by wildfire, within and adjacent to the American River Parkway. The improvement and expansion of public access, recreational areas, and recreational facilities, including trails. The enhancement of interpretive and educational facilities related to the American River Parkway and its natural, cultural, and historic resources. The control and removal of invasive species and the propagation of native species. Improve and enhance lands within and adjacent to the American River Parkway. Projects funded on adjacent lands shall contribute to the advancement of American River Parkway values. Design, implement, and provide grants for stormwater capture and treatment projects to improve the quality of water that flows within and into the American River Parkway and to increase habitat for fish and wildlife. Stormwater projects may include lands within and adjacent to the American River Parkway and its tributaries downstream of the Nimbus Dam and within Sacramento County. All projects must be recommended by the Lower American River Conservancy Program Advisory Committee before proceeding to the Wildlife Conservation Board meeting for approval. 

Wildlife Conservation Board

Activities eligible for the Program include: Property acquisition for resources conservation and public access Implementation of habitat enhancement and restoration of public or private lands  All projects must be approved by both the San Joaquin River Conservancy Board and the Wildlife Conservation Board to receive a grant award.

Wildlife Conservation Board

Access to nature is critical to human health and wellbeing, yet outdoor access and its many benefits are not equitably distributed or equally welcoming to all communities. WCB supports California’s Outdoors for All Initiative by funding Planning and Construction projects that support wildlife-oriented recreation and nature-focused education throughout the state.   Planning grants are intended to support the development of projects that are likely to qualify for future implementation funding under this program. Implementation grants are intended for construction or enhancement of public access facilities. WCB is committed to providing support for the full range of outdoor activities that are compatible with our habitat protection mandate: Hunting and fishing Non-consumptive recreation including but not limited to birdwatching, hiking, cycling, and environmental education

Wildlife Conservation Board

The Desert Conservation Program includes the following actions: Protect, preserve, and restore the natural, cultural, and physical resources of the portions of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts region in California through the acquisition, restoration, and management of lands.Promote the protection and restoration of the biological diversity of the region. Provide for resilience in the region to climate change.Protect and improve air quality and water resources within the region.Undertake efforts to enhance public use and enjoyment of lands owned by the public. The Wildlife Conservation Board accepts pre-applications for acquisition, restoration, and management projects on a continuous basis. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to: Acquisition of land, especially parcels that are part of a wildlife movement corridor, contain water sources, have sacred or culturally significant tribal sites, protect listed species, or provide public accessRestoration of riparian and upland vegetationInvasive plant removal and control.Seed collection, processing, and propagationScientific studies, especially those that help aid in the recovery of listed species.

Wildlife Conservation Board

Eligible activities under this program include: Provide grants for the restoration or enhancement of California prairie and other appropriate breeding habitat for monarch butterflies and pollinators on private and public lands. Provide grants for the restoration or enhancement of overwintering monarch butterfly habitat on private and public lands. Provide technical assistance to grant recipients, including farmers and ranchers, regarding restoration and enhancement of breeding, overwintering, and other appropriate monarch butterfly habitat.

Wildlife Conservation Board

These projects must be consistent with the State’s climate adaptation strategy (Safeguarding California Plan), contribute to the carbon sequestration goals of AB 32, and support WCB’s Strategic Plan. In addition, projects will be consistent with other statewide plans and priorities, including the California Water Action Plan and California State Wildlife Action Plan 2015 Update. Program funding is directed toward projects that: Protect and restore ecosystems on natural and working lands to provide climate change adaptation and resilience for wildlife.Assist natural and working lands managers in implementing practices that provide climate adaptation and resilience.Increase carbon sequestration in natural and working lands, and provide additional social, economic, and environmental benefits, or "co-benefits".

Wildlife Conservation Board

The acquisition, restoration, enhancement, and maintenance of fish and wildlife habitat and other natural resources, including resources impacted by wildfire, within and adjacent to the American River Parkway. The improvement and expansion of public access, recreational areas, and recreational facilities, including trails. The enhancement of interpretive and educational facilities related to the American River Parkway and its natural, cultural, and historic resources. The control and removal of invasive species and the propagation of native species. Improve and enhance lands within and adjacent to the American River Parkway. Projects funded on adjacent lands shall contribute to the advancement of American River Parkway values. Design, implement, and provide grants for stormwater capture and treatment projects to improve the quality of water that flows within and into the American River Parkway and to increase habitat for fish and wildlife. Stormwater projects may include lands within and adjacent to the American River Parkway and its tributaries downstream of the Nimbus Dam and within Sacramento County. All projects must be recommended by the Lower American River Conservancy Program Advisory Committee before proceeding to the Wildlife Conservation Board meeting for approval. 

Wildlife Conservation Board

Activities eligible for the Program include: Property acquisition for resources conservation and public access Implementation of habitat enhancement and restoration of public or private lands  All projects must be approved by both the San Joaquin River Conservancy Board and the Wildlife Conservation Board to receive a grant award.

Wildlife Conservation Board

Access to nature is critical to human health and wellbeing, yet outdoor access and its many benefits are not equitably distributed or equally welcoming to all communities. WCB supports California’s Outdoors for All Initiative by funding Planning and Construction projects that support wildlife-oriented recreation and nature-focused education throughout the state.   Planning grants are intended to support the development of projects that are likely to qualify for future implementation funding under this program. Implementation grants are intended for construction or enhancement of public access facilities. WCB is committed to providing support for the full range of outdoor activities that are compatible with our habitat protection mandate: Hunting and fishing Non-consumptive recreation including but not limited to birdwatching, hiking, cycling, and environmental education

Wildlife Conservation Board

The Desert Conservation Program includes the following actions: Protect, preserve, and restore the natural, cultural, and physical resources of the portions of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts region in California through the acquisition, restoration, and management of lands.Promote the protection and restoration of the biological diversity of the region. Provide for resilience in the region to climate change.Protect and improve air quality and water resources within the region.Undertake efforts to enhance public use and enjoyment of lands owned by the public. The Wildlife Conservation Board accepts pre-applications for acquisition, restoration, and management projects on a continuous basis. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to: Acquisition of land, especially parcels that are part of a wildlife movement corridor, contain water sources, have sacred or culturally significant tribal sites, protect listed species, or provide public accessRestoration of riparian and upland vegetationInvasive plant removal and control.Seed collection, processing, and propagationScientific studies, especially those that help aid in the recovery of listed species.

Wildlife Conservation Board

Eligible activities under this program include: Provide grants for the restoration or enhancement of California prairie and other appropriate breeding habitat for monarch butterflies and pollinators on private and public lands. Provide grants for the restoration or enhancement of overwintering monarch butterfly habitat on private and public lands. Provide technical assistance to grant recipients, including farmers and ranchers, regarding restoration and enhancement of breeding, overwintering, and other appropriate monarch butterfly habitat.

Wildlife Conservation Board

All acquisitions are made on a "willing seller" basis pursuant to a fair market value appraisal as approved by the Department of General Services (DGS). The acquisition activities are carried out in conjunction with the CDFW, which generally entails CDFW evaluating the biological values of property through development of a Full WCB Real Property Acquisition Application. Once these evaluations are completed, they are submitted to CDFW’s Director for review and approval and then sent to the WCB with a recommendation to fund. Typically this process can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months. Concurrent to this the WCB regularly meets with CDFW to help evaluate and set acquisition priorities as new opportunities present themselves.

Wildlife Conservation Board

The goal of the CRHCP is to protect, preserve, and restore riparian habitats throughout California. Typical riparian projects include, but are not limited to: Restoration of riparian vegetation and re-establishing floodplain connectivity. Active or passive restoration that may include an element of invasive plant removal and control. Installation of fencing along the riparian corridor to manage livestock or wildlife and reduce impacts to streams or riparian vegetation. Reconfigure degraded, incised, or undefined streams to restore natural hydrology and encourage reestablishment of native riparian habitat.

Wildlife Conservation Board

WCB is seeking projects that restore or enhance habitat in wildlife migration corridors or that remove impediments to fish passage. Examples of project types and their priority are identified below. All projectsmust provide for improved fish or wildlife mobility, and further the objectives of Proposition 68. The Program supports the following priorities: Priority 1: -Construction of wildlife overcrossings and undercrossings in areas where wildlife mortality due to traffic interactions imperil a sensitive species. -Restoration or enhancement of natural habitats that provide a visual screen in wildlife corridors for migrating wildlife species that are sensitive to human presence or to direct wildlife away from roadways and toward existing migration corridors. -Removal of instream impediments to fish passage such as weirs, check dams or other water supply and flood control infrastructure. -Installation of fish friendly culverts, fish ladders, bypass channels or other measures that allow migratory fish to go under, around or over passage barriers. -Planning projects that provide designs and environmental review for future restoration projects at sites that are listed on either of CDFW’s 2020 Wildlife Movement Priority Barrier List or 2019 Fish Passage Priority List. Priority 2: -Installation of fencing or other measures that will direct wildlife away from roadways and toward existing migration corridors. -Planning projects that provide designs and environmental review for future wildlife corridor and fish passage restoration projects at sites that are not listed on either of CDFW’s 2020 Wildlife Movement Priority Barrier List or 2019 Fish Passage Priority List.

Wildlife Conservation Board

The Program was created on November 7, 2006 with the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 84). That Act charged the Board to develop a grant program and “…promote the ecological integrity and economic stability of California’s diverse native forests for all their public benefits through forest conservation, preservation, and restoration of productive managed forest lands, forest reserve areas, redwood forests and other forest types, including the conservation of water resources and natural habitat for native fish and wildlife and plants found on these lands” (PRC section 75055a). Additional funding for the Forest Conservation Program was provided by the California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access For All Act of 2018 (Proposition 68) which authorized the Board to advance “…protection, restoration, and improvement of upper watershed lands in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains, including forest lands, meadows, wetlands, chaparral, and riparian habitat, in order to protect and improve water supply and water quality, improve forest health, reduce wildfire danger, mitigate the effects of wildfires on water quality and supply, increase flood protection, or to protect or restore riparian or aquatic resources” (PRC section 80132d). Project examples include, but are not limited to: • Meadow restoration • Forest thinning (hazard fuel reduction) • Post-fire restoration • Aspen stand enhancement

Wildlife Conservation Board

Consistent with Fish and Game Code section 1301, this program provides assistance for the restoration and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources. Eligible projects include: native fisheries restoration; restoration of wetlands; restoration of coastal, tidal, or fresh water habitat; other native habitat restoration projects including coastal scrub oak, grasslands, and threatened and endangered species habitats; in-stream restoration projects, including removal of fish passage barriers and other obstructions; and other projects that improve the quality of native habitat throughout the State.

Wildlife Conservation Board

The Inland Wetland Conservation Program (IWCP) jurisdiction matches that of the Central Valley Joint Venture and includes most of the watershed of the Central Valley. The Implementation Plan and the IWCP, however, continue to focus on the Central Valley floor, which extends approximately 400 miles from Red Bluff in the north to Bakersfield in the south and encompasses the following nine basins: Butte, Colusa, Sutter, Yolo, American, Suisun Marsh, Delta, San Joaquin, and Tulare. Eligible activities under this program include: Acquisition of land or water for wetlands or wildlife friendly agricultureAcquisition of conservation easementsRestoration of public or private landsEnhancement of existing degraded habitatsEligible recipients for grants under this program include: Nonprofit organizationsLocal governmental agenciesState agenciesFederal agencies

Wildlife Conservation Board

An Regional Conservation Investment Strategy (RCIS) is a voluntary, non-regulatory document that provides guidance on actions that, if implemented, would result in effective regional conservation. And public agency may propose an RCIS that is developed in consultation with local agencies that have land use authority within the RCIS area. The RCIS Grant Program (Program) supports the following priorities: • Geographic areas lacking an NCCP or regional HCP (i.e., HCP’s that focus on regional conservation with large and interconnected reserve systems) • Geographic areas with a local (non-regulatory) conservation plan or strategy approved or adopted by a public agency • Proposals with matching funds (including in-kind match) • Proposals that demonstrate readiness and qualifications

Wildlife Conservation Board

The Program is designed to help local efforts achieve oak woodland protection. More importantly, this Program provides a mechanism to bring ranchers and conservationists together in a manner that allows both to achieve that which is so valued - sustainable ranch and farming operations and healthy oak woodlands.