Delta landowners won a potentially significant legal victory last week.  A San Joaquin County judge tentatively denied a request by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) that would have allowed DWR to enter many Delta properties to conduct invasive “Geological Activities,” including drilling. DWR insisted that the Geological Activities are necessary to gather data for...Read More

The Department of Fish and Game has agreed to a settlement with the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta regarding striped bass fishing regulations.  Although the record did not support the Coalition’s claim that striped bass predation reduced populations of salmon and smelt, DFG capitulated, apparently because of escalating legal costs. However, under the settlement, DFG...Read More

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the constitutional authority of rules protecting the Delta smelt.   The Pacific Legal Foundation, representing San Joaquin Valley farmers, had argued that the federal protections for smelt had to be tied to regulation of interstate commerce. Sounds far-fetched to us.  The Court thought...Read More

Congressman Jim Costa has introduced legislation that would modify rules laid out in the biological opinions in order to increase the amount of water that could be pumped from the Delta.  Costa says it would send an additional 200,000 acre feet of water to the southern Central Valley.  But it would also increase the level...Read More

From hours of tedious briefings from the California Water Commission (CWC), it is always possible to extract a few interesting tidbits.  That is the case with the March 16 meeting. Let’s recall that the reason why the CWC was awakened from its 10-year slumber was to spend $3 billion in continuous appropriations from the Water...Read More

It’s asparagus season!  Whether it’s roasted, grilled, deep fried, or steamed, blanched for an Easter salad with lemon vinaigrette, transformed into a frittata, or found floating in a creamed soup, Delta asparagus, like Chinook salmon, is part of California’s food heritage.  Remember to support Delta farmers by looking for Delta asparagus at your farmer’s market...Read More