Fort Bragg”s Otis Johnson Park and Big River State Park were among the 20 winners in a competitive grant process for Proposition 50 funding.
Fort Bragg, rejected in last year”s cycle, impressed the traveling team sent by the state and won its full request of $178,238, plus a $17,389 match provided by City labor, for a project total of $195,627.
The funds will allow the City to repair and replace aging stairs, a washed out bridge and deteriorated retaining wall, and generally improve the quality of the trails, said Fort Bragg Community Development Director Marie Jones.
“The funds will also be used to remove invasive non-native plants such as ivy and Himalayan blackberry from the park and replace them with native locally-grown plants, as well as eliminate some of the more dangerous and erosive trails,” Jones said.
“The project will also include the addition of a number of amenities to the site, including interpretive signage, two picnic tables, a couple of resting benches, bins for trash and recyclables, a dog waste bag dispenser and signage at the entrances.”
The work will likely begin this fall after the end of the fire season.
Big River grant
Just south of Mendocino, the Mendocino Land Trust was granted $275,343 for the Big River Haul Road. The grant will be used to fix serious erosion issues along 7,000 feet of the main haul road.
The main haul road is the central artery for 84 miles of legacy logging roads that access the 7,334 acres comprising the Big River Unit of Mendocino District State Parks. Many of the roads are still used by logging trucks.
Fixing the road will reduce the sediment loading from approximately 7,000 feet of the main haul road and help to ensure access for other restoration opportunities within the property.
Eight signs will be installed along the first two miles of the road. They will tell the stories of birds of the estuary, life cycle of the river otter, and native plant ecosystems. Interpretive panel development is to begin this fall, with road construction to follow next spring/summer.
A dozen finalists
The two projects beat out at least a dozen other finalists that were not funded, the City learned. The process was actually much more competitive than last year, when 35 projects were funded for a total of $32.5 million.
This was the third and final round of river and park funding from Proposition 50, passed by voters in 2002.
The grant program was developed with the assistance of a technical review committee comprised of experts in biology, geomorphology, ecology, hydrology and flood control, recreation, and park management, a state press release said.
The committee reviewed proposed project applications between January and March 2008 and conducted site visits in April and May, resulting in recommendations to California Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman for these grant awards, the California Resources Agency press release said.
Proposition 50 funding was administered in three rounds, the first of which was awarded in June 2006 totaling $38.5 million and benefiting 37 projects. The grant money is awarded gradually, with state officials monitoring to make sure it is spent as promised.
“The goal of the park-restoration project is to make [ Otis R. Johnson Wilderness Park] more accessible to a variety of users while improving the park”s habitat value for plants and animals,” said Jones.
