In a powerful op-ed in Maven’s Notebook, Regina Cuellar – Chairwoman of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians – calls out California’s failure to recognize tribal beneficial water uses like fishing, plant gathering, and ceremonial practices. Chairwoman Cuellar strongly opposes the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) and the so-called “Voluntary Agreements”, arguing that they threaten the freshwater flows essential to these cultural traditions. She urges support for AB 362, which would finally enshrine these cultural uses in state law.
However, now the Tribe is raising alarm bells after learning that DCP proponents are trying to co-opt AB 362 language into trailer bills aimed at fast-tracking the DCP and Voluntary Agreements, a move condemned as a cynical attempt to erase tribal intent. Chairwoman Cuellar urges lawmakers to reject these bills and resist trading genuine tribal protections for weakened environmental oversight.
Read the full opinion piece here.
Meanwhile, a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed sheds light on who really controls California’s farmland, and by extension, who’s shaping water policy. Corporate agribusiness, real estate firms, insurance giants, and even Chevron now rank among the state’s largest landowners.
This isn’t just about land; it’s about who’s driving decisions on California water and delta planning. With Wall Street investors focused solely on profit, corporate land consolidation drives unsustainable practices like monocropping and overpumping groundwater. The piece calls for bold reforms that would ensure land and water remain in the hands of local communities: transparency in land ownership, progressive property taxes, and limits on corporate control.
Read the full commentary here.