Napa River Estuary Enhancement and Public Access Project
Napa River Wetlands, Napa County; Measure AA Region: North Bay
Planning, Permits, Design, Outreach
Safe, Clean Water and Pollution Prevention Program; Vital Fish, Bird and Wildlife Habitat Program; Integrated Flood Protection Program; Shoreline Public Access Program.
The City of Napa and the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District
This grant funds the Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to conduct outreach and prepare designs, environmental documentation, and permit applications to restore 46 acres of tidal wetlands, convert an unused barn to an interpretative center, and redevelop an existing levee to serve as a pedestrian trail in the Napa River estuary.
The project entails developing design plans and specifications, environmental review documents sufficient for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and permit applications. District staff will oversee consultants’ work to design the project, conduct biological surveys, and prepare a public outreach plan. District staff will prepare CEQA documentation and permit applications to agencies.
Throughout the planning and design process, District staff will reach out to the community for input consistent with a public outreach plan to be prepared with the project. The target audiences for the plan will include local community groups, residents, and tribes. Similar to public outreach for the District’s other projects, the public outreach plan for this project will likely entail a range of opportunities for public participation through community events (e.g., Earth Day festival), public meetings (e.g., public workshops and other public forums), and print and social media articles and messages. Some of the elements the District intends to address through public outreach include recreational features for a trail network, an interpretive center, a kayak launch, and wildlife observation and lookout points. Based on community feedback, the District will oversee the development of preliminary concept alternatives and ultimately a preferred alternative. The District is also consulting with tribes for design of the project. Specifically, two tribes that are culturally affiliated with the project area have expressed interest in consulting on the project design and implementation, particularly for the interpretive center to have themes focusing on the tribes’ cultural knowledge about the area and habitat, land acknowledgements, and historical information
Once constructed, the project area will serve as a public open space. The City and the Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District will manage and maintain the public access areas and interpretive center as free public amenities.
