KSBW, Ricardo Tovar
Oct 11, 2024
California Marine Sanctuary Foundation hosted a gathering to highlight plans to use $71 million in new federal grant money for community climate resilience.
The kickoff event was hosted in Moss Landing and further showcased the nonprofit's efforts to enhance the coastal communities in the Monterey Bay region against sea level rise, storm surges, river flooding and wildfires.
These communities include San Lorenzo, Pajaro, Salinas and Carmel rivers, as well as areas prone to wildfire in the coastal watersheds.
"As part of this grant, we're creating what we're calling the Monterey Bay Climate Action Adaptation Network. We're calling it MBCAAN, Monterey Bay, CAAN," said Robert Mazurek, executive director of California Marina Sanctuary Foundation. "And that network is not only bringing in our 21 partner organizations that are a part of this grant but bringing in all of the coastal communities and the tribes in this area to take part."
The project uses four main adaptation strategies:
1. Regional Collaboration and Capacity Building
2. Workforce Development
3. Flood Risk Reduction
4. Wildfire Risk Reduction
The $71.1 million will be used to fund the project for the next five years.