A major restoration project in the lower Eel River estuary is moving closer to construction after California Trout received a $4 million grant to advance work on the Cannibal Island Unit. The funding will support restoration of the 850-acre Cannibal Island Unit in the lower Eel River estuary, an area that once contained some of the most productive wetland habitat on California’s North Coast. The award advances the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goal of conserving 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030 to protect biodiversity and help California adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.

Other ecosystem restoration news:

• YubaNet (Nevada City, Calif.): Ecological forest thinning underway in the American River watershed