The national oceanic and atmospheric administration is providing $3,848,921 in federal funding to the california state coastal conservancy through the FY2024 and FY2025 national estuarine research…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management (CFDA 11.473) awarded $3.85 million to the California State Coastal Conservancy on October 1, 2025, for estuarine habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects through the FY2024 and FY2025 National Estuarine Research Reserve Habitat Protection and Restoration Grant Competition. The award will fund habitat restoration planning, engineering, design, and implementation projects, along with land conservation activities. Key deliverables include the restoration of 50 acres of tidal wetland habitat, an increase in estuary tidal prism of 1 million cubic feet, and enhancement of a 1.5-kilometer stretch of coastal dunes through passive dune-building measures. The project also encompasses removal and relocation of watershed-derived sediment from wetlands to beaches and conversion of degraded upland areas back to intertidal salt marsh. The award period extends through September 30, 2029.

These projects are designed to improve ecosystem function and community resilience by addressing transboundary sediment impacts from the Tijuana urbanized area that have diminished wetland habitats and natural tidal dynamics. The Conservancy is leveraging this federal funding with substantial state and partner contributions, including $3.19 million for final design and permitting through the Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association and $30 million for project implementation. The initiative will reduce flooding and water quality hazards for adjacent coastal communities while restoring critical estuarine ecosystems.

The national oceanic and atmospheric administration is providing $3,848,921 in federal funding to the california state coastal conservancy through the FY2024 and FY2025 national estuarine research reserve habitat protection and restoration grant competition. This funding will increase the safety and productivity of coastal communities within coastal counties through habitat restoration planning, engineering and design projects, habitat restoration implementation projects, and land conservation projects. Specifically, the california state coastal conservancy will use these funds to restore 50 acres of tidal wetland habitat and increase the tidal prism of the estuary by 1 million cubic feet. Moreover the overarching goal of improving habitat quality and ecosystem function includes enhancing a 1.5-KM stretch of coastal dunes through installation of passive dune-building measures. The proposed project entails removal of watershed-derived sediment from the wetland and transporting IT to the beach, as well as adding a dune restoration component by facilitating natural dune-building processes. The overarching aim of this work is to improve ecosystems and reduce hazards to adjacent communities, including those associated with water quality and flooding impacts. This request is being leveraged with substantial funding from the CA state coastal conservancy (SCC), including a current contract to the southwest wetlands interpretive association (SWIA) for $3,192,500 for final design and permitting and an additional $30 million for the implementation of a project designed to convert degraded upland back to intertidal salt marsh. Currently the transboundary sediment from tijuana's urbanized hillsides has severely impacted the estuary, reducing tidal action, increasing the risk of inlet closures, and diminishing natural sediment export to the nearshore. This has led to the loss of wetland habitats and much of the estuarys tidal prism (the volume of water exchanged with the tides). This proposed project substantially leverages past efforts and committed funding to further restore the dune / wetland complex at trnerr. When completed, this will help reverse degradation, preserve resources, and help protect ecosystems and infrastructure. IT will also provide support for a variety of fish and wildlife in coastal marsh and dune habitats, including federally-listed ridgways rails (rallus obsoletus levipes) and california least terns (sterna antillarum browni), as well as beldings savannah sparrows (passerculus sandwichensis beldingi), western snowy plovers (charadrius nivosus nivosus), leopard sharks (triakis semifasciata), and red sand verbena (abronia maritima).