NEWMAN — As construction progresses on the long-awaited replacement of the Hills Ferry Road Bridge, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors has approved additional funding to support federally mandated habitat maintenance tied to the project.
At its July 1 meeting, the board authorized a $32,012 amendment with River Partners, a nonprofit environmental group, bringing the total contract to $220,281. The added funds will allow River Partners to maintain and monitor four transplanted elderberry shrubs, which serve as critical habitat for the federally protected Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle.
The elderberry plants were discovered during site clearing and were not part of the original environmental mitigation plan. They were moved to River Partners’ nearby restoration site at Crows Landing River Ranch and require ongoing care, documentation, and annual status updates under permit conditions set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service…