Vice President Harris announced that the Department of Commerce has recommended $60.3 million for projects across northern California to make communities and the economy resilient to climate change, as part of the Investing in America agenda. Across northern California, 13 projects will create jobs and boost economic and environmental outcomes for coastal communities. The awards are made under the Biden Administration's Climate-Ready Coasts initiative funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) with additional funds leveraged from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Administered by the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Climate-Ready Coasts initiative is focused on investing in high-impact projects that create climate solutions by storing carbon; build resilience to coastal hazards such as extreme weather events, pollution and marine debris; restore coastal habitats that help wildlife and humans thrive; build the capacity of underserved communities and support community-driven restoration; and provide employment opportunities.
"These projects will not only advance floodplain and wetland habitat restoration and protection efforts across northern California, but also greatly strengthen our climate resilience throughout local communities, benefitting the wider ecosystem as a whole," said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. "NOAA is proud to recommend these projects to help coastal communities invest in their future and build resilience to the impacts of climate change."
These projects are part of NOAA's nearly $6 billion total investment under BIL and IRA. Recommended projects and funding amounts in northern California include:
High-Impact, Large Marine Debris Removal National Marine Sanctuary Foundation: $14.9 Million
This project will remove large marine debris from five national marine sanctuaries and two Tribal ancestral waters located off the coast of California, including Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, in partnership with California State Parks.
Lower Russian Watershed Coho Habitat Restoration Project; Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District: $8.4 Million
This investment will enhance stream connectivity, improve wetlands and remove stream barriers to fish, which will help reduce flooding in surrounding communities, which have become more frequently inundated as the region's precipitation comes in larger, less predictable storm events. The wetland and floodplain restoration will take place at seven sites in two high-priority tributaries in the lower Russian River watershed.
Mendocino Coast Transformational Habitat Restoration; The Nature Conservancy: $8.3 Million
This investment will restore high-priority habitat on three rivers in coastal Mendocino County. These landscape-scale actions will benefit listed salmon through the restoration of floodplain habitat and function by increasing instream complexity across several sites. Improved floodplain water storage capacity will help buffer downstream communities from the impacts of climate change and extreme weather. Employment opportunities for local underserved communities and engagement with local tribes are also a focus for the project.
Prairie Creek Floodplain Restoration Project Phase 4; California State Coastal Conservancy: $7 Million
The investment will support recovery of key salmon species and will provide an opportunity for the Yurok Tribe to implement restoration efforts on their ancestral lands in Humboldt County. Restoration will strengthen the resilience of both salmon and local communities to climate change by helping maintain cool stream temperatures in a warming climate and reducing flooding. This project builds on several years of continuous effort and magnifies the total project impact by restoring and enhancing streams, wetlands and other habitat and connecting to a new channel constructed during a previous phase. This project also will identify future floodplain reconnection opportunities and develop conceptual designs for the top three.
Restoring Rearing Habitat for Juvenile Coho Salmon, Smith River; Smith River Alliance: $5.4 Million
This investment will restore habitat in the Smith River watershed to support one of the largest runs of salmon and steelhead in California. This work will also help improve the climate resilience of local communities. As part of the project, an existing bridge will be relocated and replaced with a new structure that will withstand stronger storms, which will help improve the resilience of Del Norte County against future flood and wildfire risk that may become more extreme in a changing climate.
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