San Luis Obispo County has received a grant of $610,000 to improve coastal habitats in Los Osos, Pismo Beach and the Guadalupe Dunes.
The largest chunk — $300,000 — goes to the county to prepare state and federal environmental impact reports for the Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan. It will protect endangered species in Los Osos from new development.
Preparing the plan is required by the state Coastal Commission as part of its approval of the Los Osos sewer system. The plan should speed up the time it takes to get a building permit in Los Osos, said county Supervisor Bruce Gibson.
Central Coast Salmon Enhancement will receive $118,000 to prepare a habitat restoration plan for the Pismo Creek estuary in Pismo Beach. The plan lays out how fish and wildlife habitat in the creek will be preserved.
The county will also spend $25,000 to restore the Elfin Forest in Los Osos. The work, which is being done in conjunction with the Small Wilderness Area Preservation group, will include removal of invasive species, the planting of native species, the repair of a boardwalk and erosion control.
Similarly, the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County will receive $20,000 to remove invasive species and restore coastal habitat in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes. The rest of the money will be spent to defray administrative costs, said Suzan Ehdaie, county planner.
San Luis Obispo County was the only county in the state to get funds in this round of grants, which are awarded every four years. All of the projects the county proposed for funding were approved, Ehdaie said.
The money, from the federal Department of Interior, comes from fees collected from offshore oil and gas development.
Reach Tribune staff writer David Sneed at 781-7930.
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