{"id":70864,"date":"2025-02-18T12:07:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T20:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=70864"},"modified":"2025-02-18T12:07:51","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T20:07:51","slug":"california-coastal-commission-awards-new-whale-tail-grants-amid-surge-in-popularity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=70864","title":{"rendered":"California Coastal Commission awards new Whale Tail grants amid surge in popularity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Surplus-Era Funding Highlights Growing Demand for Coastal Programs Serving Working Communities<\/strong><\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO, February 18, 2025<\/strong> \u2013 The California Coastal Commission\u2019s Whale Tail Grant program, which enhances public education and access to the state\u2019s renowned coastline, has seen an unprecedented surge in demand in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n

This February, the Coastal Commission approved 53 Whale Tail grant applications<\/strong> totaling $1.7 million<\/strong>, awarding funds to nonprofit organizations, schools, local governments, and tribal governments<\/strong> for programs focused on coastal education, conservation, and public access<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese Whale Tail grants embody California\u2019s deep-rooted love for the coast and our commitment to protecting it for future generations,\u201d said Coastal Commission Chair Justin Cummings<\/strong>. \u201cBy prioritizing inland and historically underserved communities, these grants reaffirm that the coast belongs to all of us\u2014regardless of race, zip code, age, orientation, or ability<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of annual Whale Tail grant recipients has more than tripled<\/strong> in recent years, largely due to a one-time $10 million state funding boost in 2021<\/strong>. Since then, the Coastal Commission has awarded 259 competitive grants<\/strong> totaling over $9.2 million<\/strong>\u2014a significant increase from the 87 projects totaling $1.7 million<\/strong> funded in the four years leading up to the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s funding cycle saw a record-breaking 299 applications<\/strong> requesting a total of $11.3 million<\/strong>. Many were first-time applicants<\/strong> proposing innovative programs<\/strong> to engage communities historically excluded from coastal access and environmental education. The 53 projects selected<\/strong> this year will serve every coastal county<\/strong> as well as inland communities in Glenn, Madera, Plumas, Riverside, San Benito, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Tulare counties<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese funds ensure that future generations of Californians can develop a love for the coast and become its stewards,\u201d Cummings added. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful to everyone who has purchased a Whale Tail License Plate<\/strong> and encourage California taxpayers to support the Protect Our Coast & Ocean Fund<\/strong> on their tax forms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Whale Tail Grant program<\/strong> was established in 1998<\/strong>, when the Coastal Commission launched a specialty license plate<\/strong> to fund public education initiatives. Since its inception, the program has awarded over $25 million<\/strong> through more than 1,000 grants<\/strong>, supporting experiential education, outdoor recreation, and coastal stewardship<\/strong> programs across the state.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Surplus-Era Funding Highlights Growing Demand for...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70865,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70864\/revisions\/70865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}