Rep. Calvert Announces $9 Million Grant Award for Western Riverside County Habitat Conservation

Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41) announced that the Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (RCA) was selected to receive a $8,971,625 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to acquire habitat land in support of the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). The grant was awarded from the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund which is authorized by Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act and partly funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

“The funding heading to Riverside County will help meet the federal commitment to conservation under the terms of the MSHCP and advances our shared goals of balancing development with preserving open spaces and recreation,” said Rep. Calvert. “This significant investment in land conservation will help create protected habitat areas while building the infrastructure necessary to support population growth in line with the Endangered Species Act.”

RCA oversees the implementation of the MSHCP, which went into effect in 2004. The MSHCP is a 500,000-acre wildlife preserve that provides habitat for 146 species of plants and animals. In total, 500,000 acres are required for the wildlife preserve under the MSHCP terms. 350,000 of those acres are existing National Forest system land from Cleveland and San Bernardino National Forests and other state and federal land which has reserve value. The remaining 150,000 acres are to be acquired, one-third, by the state and federal governments, and two-thirds from private landowners through the CRCA. The federal government and the state are required to acquire one-third of the necessary habitat land, but the federal stakeholders have not yet met their goal.

###