Washington, D.C. – The Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee voted last week to pass the Fiscal Year 2011 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act. The legislation includes $3.4 million in grants which Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) requested for her Congressional District.

“This bill will rehabilitate some of the 14th Congressional District’s most historic sites,” Rep. Eshoo said. “Pigeon Point Lighthouse has been a landmark of the Coastside since it first began aiding seafarers in 1872. It is still one of the tallest lighthouses in the country and is one of only five lighthouses to appear in the National Register of Historic Places. The funding I requested and which was approved by the Subcommittee will help the Park Service repair Pigeon Point Lighthouse so visitors can once again access this remarkable structure.”

“The bill will also provide further funding for the South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project, the second largest wetlands restoration project in the United States,” Rep. Eshoo said. “The funding will allow the transformation of thousands of acres of salt ponds to the beautiful, delicate tidal marshes of the South Bay.”

Rep. Eshoo released the following details about the projects and funding:

• $250,000 for the Campaign to Light the Future (Restoration of Pigeon Point Light House)
  Funds would be used to restore the upper section of the lighthouse, which is closed due to structural damage.
• $2,150,000 for the South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration (FWS)
  Funding would be utilized to further the South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration Project. Funds will be used to manage the lands, including the installation and management of water control structures, levee maintenance, and the monitoring of salt ponds.
• $1,000,000 for the South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration (USGS)
  Funds would be used by the United States Geological Survey to conduct interdisciplinary monitoring (biological, hydrological, and water quality studies) of salt ponds in San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay.

Having passed the Subcommittee, the Fiscal Year 2011 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act will now be considered by the full Appropriations Committee.

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