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SACRAMENTO — The Nature Conservancy will use $35 million in state grants to purchase and improve a large wildlife sanctuary in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, it was announced Tuesday. 

The Conservancy is purchasing 9,200-acre Staten Island, one of the state’s largest havens for sandhill cranes, with Cal-Fed Bay-Delta Program grants. 

The Conservancy will manage the island as a wildlife-friendly farming operation that will serve as a preserve for a variety of waterfowl, according to an announcement by Gov. Gray Davis. 

Davis said the deal will allow farming and wildlife to coexist, as well as providing flood protection. 

The grants from two state water bonds. Cal-Fed is a state-federal program to restore the Delta and improve the state’s water supply.