In addition, LB City Hall obtained $50,000 for technical assistance from the So. Cal. Ass'n of Governments to create a Habitat Creation Plan that will support the Willow Springs Wetland Project. $15,000 more will come from the Long beach Navy Memorial Heritage Ass'n for a signage program to interpret the history of Willow Springs Park.

In a June 11 release, City Hall announced it's been awarded $924,000 sum under Proposition 84 (a statewide voter approved measure) that the City says will be used to [release text] "improve wetlands and increase accessibility at Willow Springs Park by building trails, planting trees and re-establishing native vegetation." Voters statewide approved Prop 84 (the "Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006") which authorized $5.388 billion in general obligation debt bonds to fund safe drinking water, water quality and supply, flood control, waterway and natural resource protection, water pollution and contamination control, state and local park improvements, public access to natural resources, and water conservation efforts.

The "Urban Greening for Sustainable Communities Program Grant" was distributed under Prop 84 by the Strategic Growth Council, an entity comprised of Secretaries from the CA State Transportation Agency, CA Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, CA Health and Human Services Agency, CA Environmental Protection Agency, CA Natural Resources Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture; the director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research; and one public member appointed by the Governor, currently filled by Robert Fisher.

"When complete, this park will be the largest parkspace developed in Long Beach since El Dorado Park opened in 1952, as well as the largest park ever for the western half of our city," said Councilman Johnson in the relase. "With this grant, along with the recent acquisition of the historic train terminal to be used as a visitor's center, we've taken major strides towards the implementation of the Master Plan for this great public space."

[City of LB release text] The Willow Springs Wetland Project comprises 12 acres and will improve accessibility from both the east and west sides of the park. Willow Springs Park is located between California and Orange Streets just north of Willow Street, and encompasses 47 acres. Longview Point, a feature of the Willow Springs Park and the highest accessible peak in the city, opened to the public in November 2013...

The Willow Springs Wetland Project will also feature an outdoor classroom site, and will create a system of bioswales and ponding areas (seasonal wetlands) that will function to divert stormwater and dry weather flows. These strategies increase water quality by keeping the water onsite, recharging the groundwater through infiltration and protecting the Los Angeles River and the Pacific Ocean from large volumes of polluted runoff.