More than $34 million in funding is being allocated to 33 proposed river parkway projects statewide by the state Natural Resources Agency. Of the total, nearly a third – over $10.2 million – is going to projects in the Central Valley.

The projects will create recreation opportunities for families, restore fish and wildlife habitat, provide flood management, and enhance California’s river parkways, the state says.

“Our river parkway grants help communities connect children with nature, promote public health by providing families with greater outdoor recreational opportunities, and protect the rivers that provide us with clean water,” says Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird. “The river parkways program is a great example of local agencies working together with the state to create increasingly sustainable communities in California.”

Central Valley projects getting money include:

• American River Conservancy – Cosumnes River Parkway – $1,800,000. The money will be used to buy 2,566 acres of riparian habitat and blue oak woodland to protect native fisheries and wildlife corridors adjacent to the main fork of the Cosumnes River in El Dorado County.

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