30955.
(a) To the extent funds are available from bonds, special funds, or other sources, the Department of Conservation shall establish and administer the Ecosystem Resilience Program to fund watershed coordinator positions, and other necessary costs, throughout the state for the purpose of achieving all of the following goals:(1) Develop and implement watershed improvement plans, and other plans to enhance the natural functions of a watershed, aligned with multiple statewide and regional objectives across distinct bioregions.
(2) Bring diverse stakeholders, including, but not limited to, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, businesses, landowners, and individuals together to implement collaborative efforts to improve California’s watersheds.
(3) Identify and secure additional funds for watershed improvement projects, and other enhancement projects, to leverage and amplify available state funding for the watershed coordinator positions.
(4) Educate residents of the watersheds on how to best manage and care for them.
(b) The Ecosystem Resilience Program, to the extent practicable, shall address urban and rural ecosystems to improve watershed health through activities, including, but not limited to, any, or any combination of, pollution reduction, land and riparian stewardship, forest management, stormwater capture, multiobjective flood damage reduction, groundwater recharge, and fish, aquatic, avian, and other wildlife habitat recovery with an emphasis on threatened and endangered species.
(c) (1) In order to ensure accountability of work being completed through the Ecosystem Resilience Program, the Department of Conservation shall develop performance measures and accountability controls to track progress and outcomes of all watershed coordinator grants.
(2) On or before January 31, 2022, and every three years thereafter, the Department of Conservation shall report the outcomes described in paragraph (1) to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature.