Politics & Government

Grant Will Help Preserve Crucial Fish Habitat in Gilroy

The threatened fish depends on freshwater streams like Little Arthur Creek.

The threatened South Central Coast Steelhead will soon be able to swim a little easier after the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) awarded a $220,500 grant to help preserve a stream crucial for the species in Gilroy.

The grant was part of $3.4 million that the SCVWD awarded to local organizations for projects related to water quality. 

The stream, Little Arthur Creek, runs southeast from Mt. Madonna before joining Uvas Creek near Chitactac-Adams County Park. The applicants for the grant, Berkeley-Based Trout Unlimited, called it one of the “core streams in California’s Central Coast for steelhead recovery.”

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The money will help the agency develop alternate plans for landowners, including already-completed work at the Vanumanutagi Ranch winery off of Redwood Retreat, who divert water from the stream. By helping to create ponds and water tanks, the applicant said it could “shift the timing of water diversions away from critically dry periods and toward the rainy season when rain is more plentiful.”

Another $22,500 grant to the Palo Alto-based Committee for Green Foothills will help to develop an interactive map of the South Valley’s watersheds.

Find out what's happening in Gilroywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The money was awarded for 26 projects across the county, some multiple grants for large, multifacted water-related programs involving the Stevens Creek corridor or Vasona Creek.

In all, 21 organizations and municipalities—some not traditional environmental organizations—were chosen to undertake projects that enhance the environment, protect and restore watersheds, and develop new trails. The program is a small part of the monies from the Measure B parcel tax, passed by voters in 2000.

The SCVWD board authorized the grant awards at its June 28 board meeting, following an extensive screening.

Proposals for all three programs were scored and ranked by review teams consisting of internal and external reviewers. Based on the rankings, district staff presented funding recommendations to the board of directors.

The district’s Environmental Advisory Committee, consisting of 15 volunteers, reviewed the panel’s recommendations and made its own recommendations to the board of directors.

Some, like , which has projects at San Francisquito Creek and Redwood Grove or , which has projects in north and south county, are recognized in the conservation community. But others, such as Vision New America, an organization to promote civic participation among minorities, and Heart of the Valley, that helps seniors live independently, are new to the water district.

"We're pretty pleased with the results of the outreach," Grimes said.

Vision New America, with a grant of $49,963, proposes making a pollution prevention video, involving ethnic youth leaders, and will hold an educational event for a dozen schools throughout Santa Clara Valley. Heart of the Valley also received a $25,000 grant for educational work, in preventing pollution through medications.

The program was promoted through mail, e-mail, web postings, printed flyers, and presentations at advisory committees and workshops. SCVWD reached out directly to 140 potential grantees, plus an additional 387 schools within Santa Clara County.

The grant program is a small part of the 2000 Measure B voter-approved bond, known as Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Plan.

Below is a full list of the grant awards, made in different categories:

Trail and Open Space Grants

City of Cupertino

Stevens Creek Corridor Park & Restoration Project, Phase 2

$       285,000 

Environmental Volunteers

Completion of the Bay Trail 

 $         58,681 

City of Milpitas

Alviso Adobe Renovation 

$          70,000

City of San Jose 

Three Creeks Trail, Trestle and Interim Improvements

 $       450,000 

City of Saratoga 

Village Creek Trail, Phase 1 

 $         27,000 

Town of Los Gatos 

Creekside Sports Park Pedestrian Bridge

$        300,000 

 

Trails and Open Space Total 

$    1,190,681  

Environmental Enhancement Implementation Grants

City of Cupertino 

Stevens Creek Corridor Park & Restoration Project, Phase 2 

 $       565,000

West Valley College 

Vasona Creek Native Vegetation Enhancement Project 

 $       180,000

Acterra 

Adobe Creek Restoration, Redwood Grove to Shoup Park

 $         46,365 

West Valley College 

Tennis Court Wetland Enhancement Project 

 $       109,000 

City of Santa Clara 

Ulistac Natural Area Environmental Enhancement 

 $       106,976

Santa Clara Valley Water District 

Invasive Spartina Monitoring & Control in South Bay Marshes and Creeks 

 $         75,000

San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory

Vegetation Management in South Bay Salt Pond’s Alviso Unit

 $       259,787 

Trout Unlimited 

Little Arthur Creek Streamflow Stewardship Implementation Project 

 $       220,500 

West Valley College

Vasona Creek Enhancement Project, Bridge #3 Replacement and Channel Stabilization 

 $       200,000

 

Environmental Enhancements Total

$       1,762,630 

 Watershed Stewardship Grants

Stevens & Permanente Creeks Watershed Council 

Volunteer Monitoring and Outreach Program 

  $         49,833 

Acterra 

San Francisquito Watershed Project 

 $          50,000 

Coastal Habitat Educational and Environmental Restoration (CHEER) 

Native Plant and Tree Education and Restoration 

 $          40,800 

Save the Bay 

Save the Bay Tidal Marsh Ecotone Stewardship Project 

 $          25,000 

Vision New America, Inc. 

Water Pollution Prevention Education for Ethnic Minority Youth and Communities

 $          49,963 

Committee for Green Foothills 

MAPS for Clean Safe Creeks, Making Maps Available for Stream Stewardship and Pollution Prevention in the Northern Santa Clara County 

 $          40,000 

West Valley College 

Vasona Creek in West Valley College Stormwater Pollution Reduction Plan 

 $          43,000 

Heart of the Valley, Services for Seniors, Inc. 

Pharma/HHW Countywide Pollution Prevention Manual

$          25,000 

Friends of Los Alamitos Watershed (FOLAW) 

Los Alamitos Stewardship Grant 

$         20,699 

Committee for Green Foothills 

MAPS for Clean Safe Creeks, Making Maps Available for Stream Stewardship and Pollution Prevention in the Southern Santa Clara County 

 $          22,500 

City of Saratoga 

Village Creek Trail Planning 

$          39,000 

VIVA (Valley Initiative for Values in Urban Agriculture and Horticulture Foundation) 

Saratoga Creek Trail on SCVWD Walnut Avenue Land 

 $          40,000 

West Valley College 

Vasona Creek in West Valley College, Vasona Creek Trail Plan 

 $          37,000 

 

Watershed Stewardship Grants Total 

$ 482,796 

Total: $    3,436,107


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