The Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) conducts Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs) on small and large pollution events. Restoration projects are funded with pollution case settlement monies. For large spill settlements, Trustee Councils are formed to select restoration projects. For small spills, potential restoration projects are identified by soliciting concepts from regional California Department of Fish and Game (CDFW) staff, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public. Databases of active restoration projects can be useful in finding projects for consideration.
In identifying potential restoration projects, it is important to note that NRDA settlements cannot be used to fund mitigation projects required by regulatory agencies. NRDA funding can be used to expand a restoration project above and beyond what is required for mitigation purposes.
The National Joint Ventures are resources for identifying potential restoration projects. Links to the Joint Ventures with responsibility in California are provided below.
San Francisco Bay Region
The San Francisco Bay Joint Venture (SFBJV) maintains a project tracking system that stores detailed information on restoration, enhancement and acquisition projects, primarily of wetland and riparian habitats. One of the goals of this database is to assist active projects by facilitating funding and other resources. The SFBJV database is updated by partner organizations that enter restoration project information. For the most up-to-date information on any given project, it is best to contact the project proponent directly.
Please contact Sandra Scoggin of the SFBJV at 415-699-3586 (cell) or email her at sscoggin@sfbayjv.org to obtain user login access and a help document for using the database.
Central Valley
The Central Valley Joint Venture (CVJV) maintains a database similar to the SFBJV but stores information on completed projects, not active projects. To be activated for the CVJV tracking system, contact Ruth Ostroff at Ruth_Ostroff@fws.gov
At this time, other Joint Ventures in California provide limited or no searchable databases. Contacting staff directly may result in some potential project leads.
Northeastern California
Intermountain West Joint Venture
Southern California
Sonoran Joint Venture (SJV)
Other Resources
Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project (SCWRP)
While not a Joint Venture, the SCWRP program could be a potential source of restoration project information. The Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project is a broad-based partnership, chaired by the Resources Agency and supported by the State Coastal Conservancy, that has public agencies, non-profits, scientists, and local communities working cooperatively to acquire and restore rivers, streams, and wetlands in coastal southern California. The SCWRP’s geographic scope is from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the international border with Mexico.
The Conservation Registry
The Conservation Registry is an online, centralized database that records, tracks and maps on-the-ground conservation projects. The purpose of the Registry is to help users understand the context, distribution, and effectiveness of the nation’s collective efforts to protect and restore ecosystems. It is a synthesis tool that gathers project information from multiple sources. The initial Registry launch took place in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho in 2008. Since then, the Registry accepts users and projects across the US, with several state-based and organizational portals with map overlays and other data specific to those interests and locations.
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy
This conservancy is working on a GIS database of current and planned restoration projects to assist in the efficient use of resources to facilitate and optimize restoration of natural communities and ecological processes in the Delta. When complete, the database will be available online. The contact for the Habitat Project Database is Kristal Davis Fadtke, tel. 916-375-4994, email Kristal.Davis-Fadtke@Deltaconservancy.ca.gov
San Francisco Estuary Institute
SFEI developed the California EcoAtlas, which provides access to wetland restoration activity. The current status and other information of submitted wetland projects is provided. Project information is available for the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Coast, and the South Coast.