The California Marine Sanctuary Foundation is putting a $71 million grant into action.

During a trip to Palo Alto in June 2023, President Joe Biden announced the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge aimed at projects that improve coastal resilience against sea level rise, drought, wildfire and other climate change impacts, as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Of the hundreds of applications that NOAA received for the funding, only 19 projects were selected, with Monterey and Santa Cruz being the only counties in California to receive a grant. (Over $3 billion was requested across all applications, 28 times more than the $575 million available for this first-of-its-kind initiative.)

The California Marine Sanctuary Foundation received $71.1 million, starting on Oct. 1.

“We’re relying on all of you and what we do best here,” U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta said to project partners on Oct. 11 in Moss Landing. “We’re relying on our numerous research institutions along the crescent of Monterey Bay to collaborate on reducing the risk of floods of fires.”

Grant funds will support five fire risk reduction projects across over 7,000 acres. Ten projects will receive funds to improve the condition of coastal habitats, focused on mitigating the impacts of flooding in low-lying areas.

The Foundation has also created a revolving fund that offers a flexible way to finance climate adaptation projects as well as rapid response to urgent needs, without being restricted to fiscal year limitations.

“The demand signaled that communities recognize what is needed and are organizing around it,” says Rebecca Smyth of NOAA. “And that is an encouraging message: that we as a nation are really trying to think ahead about these disasters, rather than be victims of it.”