Elkhorn Slough Reserve receives state funding to combat climate ... - KSBW Monterey

Elkhorn Slough Reserve receives state funding to combat climate damage

A celebration for $1 million of state funding for the Elkhorn Slough climate resiliency project was held Monday.

The grant was secured by California State Assembly Member Dawn Addis and California State Sen. John Laird, who both understand that Highway 1 will be increasingly impacted by coastal storm flooding and sea level rise.

“We know that sea level rise is going to hit it. We know that the highway is already a bottleneck,” Sen. Laird said.

“It was important for us to get this million dollars to get started on the planning and the environmental thinking that it will take to address the issues with this highway,” Assembly Member Addis said.

With all of the traffic that clogs up the eight-mile stretch of Highway 1 going through Elkhorn Slough questions are raised as to what would happen if it were to flood.

“This is going to get flooded, and what's the alternative? The alternative is to go through the G-12 quarter, which is the San Miguel Canyon, Pajaro area, and that's already heavily congested. Or else you have to go all the way around and get on the 101 somewhere,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church said.

Balancing the integrity of highway and railroad infrastructure and protecting the local wildlife, is another aspect of this project that everyone involved is keeping in mind.

“There's times where they have to stop the trains because the tracks are underwater, so it's important that we figure that out and try to keep that safe while protecting the estuary at the same time,” Dave Feliz said, from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Being proactive about climate change is the driving force for the project.

“This is something that's going to take 10 or 20 years to build, and we don't want to wait until we have a problem because then we're going to have some severe economic impact on people’s lives — this is the main thorough road between Santa Cruz and Monterey County,” Church said.

This $1 million grant will be used for the planning of what they want to choose as a solution for the project.