In an insightful Sacramento Bee opinion piece, Vance Staplin, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association, and Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, urge the State Water Resources Control Board to reject weak voluntary agreements, update the Bay-Delta plan, and adopt meaningful, science-based flow standards to restore salmon runs and protect communities.
Vance and Barbara warn that California’s largest salmon run has collapsed by 95% over the past two decades, decimating a $1.4 billion industry that supports 23,000 jobs. They identify water mismanagement during recent drought years, namely warm releases from Shasta Dam and excessive summer diversions, as the primary cause — leaving salmon without sufficient cold flows they need to survive. These low flows have also fueled toxic algae blooms in the Delta and harmed Tribal cultural practices tied to subsistence fishing.
Meanwhile, water diverters are pushing “voluntary agreements” that offer tiny increases in flows while enabling even greater future diversions. Vance and Barbara call on the board to reject this inadequate approach and instead protect fishing families, Delta communities, and salmon runs by adopting an updated Bay-Delta Plan that substantially increases flows.
Read more from Vance and Barbara here.