2 Sonoma County Parks Awarded State Grant Funding

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- Two parks in the Sonoma County area were among 19 selected statewide to receive a share of nearly $2.6 million in Habitat Conservation Fund Program grants meant to protect plants and animals, acquire and develop nature trails and bring nature to urban residents, California state parks officials announced last week.

In Sonoma County, $250,000 will be used to acquire 46.82 acres of the McCormick Ranch near Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. Also, Phase 1 of the Sonoma Overlook Trail project will receive $55,113 to re-route and restore approximately 795 linear feet of trail and rehabilitate approximately 3,155 linear feet of trail.

Elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, the East Bay Regional Park District will receive $200,000 to improve the Harrier Trail and enhance opportunities to interpret wildlife near Bay Point in Contra Costa County.

The Greater Vallejo Recreation District got a boost of $159,655 to provide field trips for third-grade students at six separate sites in Solano County.

The city of Davis was awarded $229,175 for public accessibility projects at South Fork Preserve, including: the construction of approximately 2,500 linear feet of new trail; improvements to approximately 650 linear feet of existing trail; construction of a new boardwalk and observation deck; and the addition of interpretive signage.

Yolo County was awarded $107,083 for Grasslands Regional Park improvements to include: construction of approximately 6,605 linear feet of standard trail and 1,122 linear feet of ADA-accessible trail; and additions of an interpretive kiosk and signage, a park-entry sign, shade structures and minor amenities.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation-administered Habitat Conservation Fund is defined under the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 and will continue annually through June 2020. Application workshops were provided to interested entities to learn about the state-funded program, application requirements and tips for preparing application criteria responses. The competitive applications were evaluated by the department based on eligibility and the project proposal criteria, according to a news release.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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