SECTIONS 5096.347 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 5096.347

5096.347. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain Region constitutes a unique and
important environmental, anthropological, cultural, scientific,
educational, recreational, scenic, water, watershed, and wildlife
resource that should be held in trust for the enjoyment of, and
appreciated by, present and future generations.
(b) The secretary shall administer grants to the Sierra
Nevada-Cascade Program to assist local governments, agencies,
districts, and nonprofit organizations working in collaboration with
those local governments, agencies, and districts to plan, create, and
conserve the Sierra-Cascade natural ecosystem. The secretary shall
make funds available on a competitive basis for all of the following
activities:
(1) The acquisition and restoration of riparian habitat in
accordance with Sections 7048 and 78682.2 of the Water Code to
improve water quality, and to protect, restore, or rehabilitate
watersheds, streams wetlands, or other aquatic habitat.
(2) Capital improvement projects that provide park and
recreational opportunities.
(3) Access to trails and public lands, in accordance with Article
6 (commencing with Section 5070) of Chapter 1 of Division 5.
(4) Acquisition of park lands or recreational facilities.
(c) The secretary shall give priority to fund up to two million
dollars ($2,000,000) for Commons Beach improvements on properties
owned or administered by local agencies in the Lake Tahoe area, that
will provide improved lake access, bicycle and pedestrian trail
linkages, and interpretative facilities.
(d) The secretary may provide the following capital outlay grants:
(1) Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for capital outlay to
an incorporated city all or part of the territory of which is
located within five miles of the boundary line between San Joaquin
County and Sacramento County.
(2) Two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) to the
department for the renovation of a state historical point of interest
near the intersection of Jack Tone Road and State Highway 88.
(e) For the purposes of this article, the Sierra Nevada-Cascade
Mountain Region includes those portions of Fresno County, Kern
County, Stanislaus County, and Tulare County, and counties with
populations of less than 250,000 as of the 1990 United States Census,
that are located in the mountains, the foothills, and the area
adjacent to the geologic formations of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade
mountain ranges.