Two Sonoma Valley projects will benefit from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants to restore river habitat and improve water quality in Sonoma and Napa counties.
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) announced more than $4.3 million in grants that are part of the $8.7 million in federal funds awarded to local and state organizations for projects to restore tidal marshes, river habitat, and improve water quality in and around San Francisco Bay.
The two Sonoma County projects are the Sears Point Tidal Marsh Restoration and Clean Streams in Southern Sonoma County.
The tidal marsh restoration project will receive $1.5 million. The Sonoma Land Trust with partners U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited and the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture will restore 960 acres of tidal wetlands by breaching a levee to connect tidal marsh habitat from the Sonoma Baylands to San Pablo Bay, providing habitat for protected species and creating levee slopes designed to ensure marsh habitat growth as sea level rises.
The clean streams program will receive $991,156. Sonoma County partnering with the City of Sonoma, the Sonoma Ecology Center, Sonoma County Parks, Sonoma County Water Agency and private landowners will reduce sediment and pathogen pollution in Sonoma Creek and Petaluma River watersheds and track project progress on improving water quality in Sonoma Creek.
“These grants will benefit our communities, wildlife and the long-term health of the greater San Francisco Bay estuary,” said Thompson. “By improving water quality and restoring habitat, we can help make sure these important natural resources, and the jobs and businesses that depend on them, are protected and kept strong.”
Napa County projects include $894,324 for the Napa River restoration project and $987,876 for the Upper York Creek Dam removal and restoration project.
Since 2008, EPA’s San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund has provided more than $40 million in competitive grants for nearly 60 projects that are restoring water quality and wetlands, reducing polluted runoff, and greening development in San Francisco Bay and its watershed.
These grantees and their partners represent a network of over 70 government agencies, resource conservation districts, land trusts, watershed groups, and nonprofit organizations across the Bay Area’s nine counties.
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