Just before the California Department of Fish and Wildlife released a New Year’s Eve letter revealing that 2.6 percent of juvenile Chinook salmon had perished in lethally warm water conditions on the Sacramento River, a petition sponsored by Save California Salmon in opposition to the Sites Reservoir reached 50,000 signatures. By Dan Bacher This milestone also came […]
2021 was a very bad year for Delta smelt and other declining fish populations on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. For the fourth year in a row, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has caught zero Delta smelt in its Fall Midwater Trawl (FMWT) survey on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. By Dan Bacher The […]
On summer evenings in the 1980s, the residents of a houseboat community in Sausalito, California would often have trouble sleeping. A bizarre and persistent humming noise would keep them awake, and although they investigated, neither the residents nor the local authorities could pinpoint the problem. They ruled out noise from generators, and even considered the possibility […]
RedGREENandBlue’s top 10 stories of 2021: Steven Donziger beat Chevron in court, so they crucified him. He just won his appeal Michael Mann on “Don’t Look Up”: DO see this film! Earth’s magnetic field broke down 42,000 years ago and caused massive sudden climate change Sharkfest: 10 solutions to overfishing that could save our oceans […]
As the three latest fish surveys on the Delta reveal that the Delta smelt is virtually extinct in the wild, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today announced an initial State Water Project (SWP) allocation of 0 percent for state water contractors in 2022, with the exception of certain health and safety needs. By Dan Bacher DWR also announced several […]
If all goes as planned, the removal of four PacifiCorp Dams on the Klamath River that have blocked salmon and steelhead migration for over 100 years will begin in early 2023, according to Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) Executive Director Mark Bransom. By Dan Bacher Branson spoke at a press briefing on Friday that also […]
I have reported every year for over a decade on the results of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fall Midwater Trawl Survey. For the past three years, no Delta smelt, once the most abundant fish in the entire Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, have been found in this survey. None have been found in the […]
Time is running out for the Delta smelt, once the most abundant fish in the entire Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. For the fourth October in a row, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has caught zero Delta smelt in its Fall Midwater Trawl Survey of the Delta. By Dan Bacher The smelt is now near […]
If built, the Newsom Administration’s Delta Tunnel (Delta Conveyance) would be potentially the most environmentally destructive public works project in California history. The multi-billion dollar project would hasten the extinction of endangered Delta and longfin smelt, Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento winter run and spring run Chinook salmon, green sturgeon and other fish species, as well as imperil salmon […]
In a recent website post entitled “The Myths and Facts — Sacramento Valley Salmon,” (norcalwater.org/…) the Northern California Water Association (NCWA) attempts to minimize the impact of a big fish kill this summer on Butte Creek. By Dan Bacher The same assertions are found here on a later post. NCWA states: “The return of spring-run Chinook to the holding […]
On October 27, Fresno Superior Court Judge D. Tyler Tharpe tossed out the Westlands Water District’s proposed permanent federal water contract from the Central Valley Project (CVP) that would have allocated roughly double the amount of water that Los Angeles residents use in a year. By Dan Bacher Tharpe found Westlands, the largest federal irrigation district in the […]
For the fifth September in a row, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has caught zero Delta smelt in its Fall Midwater Trawl Survey (FMWT) throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Once the most abundant fish on the entire estuary, the fish is now near extinction in the wild, although UC Davis continues to […]
Yesterday, California DWR State Water Project operations managers took the Hyatt Powerplant at Lake Oroville offline as the lake dropped to its lowest-ever recorded water level. By Dan Bacher The current water level is only 641.39 feet above sea level, approximately 259.61 feet from maximum pool. The lake is holding 860,338 acre-feet of water, 24 percent of […]
River flows are increasing on the Trinity and Lower Klamath Rivers to help spring-run Chinook salmon survive during this year’s unprecedented drought, according to a Yurok Tribe press release. By Dan Bacher “Originating from Lewiston Dam, the 3-day pulse flow is intended to reduce river temperatures in the Lower Trinity River where adult spring-run Chinook salmon […]
In a record drought year where nearly all juvenile Sacramento River winter run Chinook salmon are expected to die before spawning below Shasta Dam due to water mismanagement by the state and federal governments, the return of a record run of adult spring run Chinook salmon on Butte Creek this year was welcome news. By […]