Partner Spotlight: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has been a long-time partner of Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) through collaboration and thanks to numerous grant programs that the Department oversees. Their mission is “to manage California’s diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public,” which closely aligns with one of RCDs’ goals to protect their communities’ natural resources. They are part of the California Natural Resources Agency and are responsible for regulating fishing and hunting as well as promoting the conservation of non-game wildlife.
CDFW provides critical funding opportunities that enable RCDs to implement on-the-ground ecosystem restoration projects locally. In a recent funding cycle through CDFW’s Fisheries Restoration Grant Program, four RCDs were awarded funds towards the restoration, enhancement, and protection of anadromous salmonid habitat in California watersheds, as well as forest legacy restoration. RCD awardees included Humboldt County RCD, Gold Ridge RCD, and Shasta Valley RCD. Humboldt RCD was again awarded a grant through CDFW’s multi-benefit ecosystem restoration and protection projects under its Proposition 1 and Proposition 68 grant programs. These are just a small sample of the many RCDs with programs that have directly benefited from CDFW’s grant programs.
CARCD covered two RCD efforts which were funded by CDFW in August’s e-newsletter. Click here to read about Inland Empire RCD’s Trout in the Classroom program and Cachuma RCD’s Carpinteria Watershed Plan. You can also visit the RCD Project Tracker to see some examples of projects where CDFW was a funder or collaborator.