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 […]
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 […]
Yesterday, Save California Salmon, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), and 12 California environmental organizations joined Klamath River Tribes in asking the California State Water Resources Control Board to establish permanent instream flow requirements for the Scott and Shasta Rivers, two of the Klamath River’s largest tributaries, according to a press release from […]
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 many years, federal, state and corporate proponents of building more dams in California have touted cold water river releases provided by increased water storage behind dams as a key tool in “saving” struggling salmon and steelhead populations. Yet a just published study by the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, Dams Ineffective for Cold-Water Conservation – 8/25/21, has found […]
The below Delta Conveyance Update by Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta (RTD), “with the help of friends,” indicates that “the operations conditions for water quality under the proposed are getting worse” under the proposed changes by DWR under the single tunnel than under the twin tunnels — and “the suggested operations are worse for salmon” than under the California […]
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 […]
A new plan called the Water Year 2021 Whiskeytown Lake Drought Action could take an additional 36,000 acre feet of water out of the Klamath River at time when most of the juvenile salmon have died and the adult salmon are getting ready to come up the Klamath River, according to Save California Salmon. By […]
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 […]
A drumbeat of climate-fueled heatwaves, compounded by water management practices, will likely kill nearly all juvenile chinook salmon in the Sacramento River, California wildlife officials warn. “It’s an extreme set of cascading climate events pushing us into this crisis situation,” California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Jordan Traverso told reporters. Salmon need river water […]
On July 6, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife published an update on the status of federally and state protected winter-run Chinook salmon that warns “it is possible that nearly all in-river juveniles will not survive this season” as the cold water pool in Lake Shasta is depleted earlier than modeled because of increased downstream water deliveries during the hot […]
On July 1, the Karuk Tribe filed a formal petition with the California State Water Resources Control Board demanding that it use its emergency powers to curtail water use in the Scott River to prevent the extinction of the Southern Oregon – Northern California Coho Salmon (Coho). By Dan Bacher “The worst water conditions in history led […]
A coalition of Delta-based groups has sent a formal Petition for Reconsideration to the State Water Board opposing the Board’s June 1 order to relax water quality standards for Delta operations of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project. The Temporary Urgency Change Order (TUCO) was issued by the Water Board on June 1, […]