Congressional Democrats from California are pushing back against a Trump administration planto pump more water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, warning it could decimatealready struggling fish populations and disrupt water supplies for millions of residents. As The Los Angeles Times reports, seven lawmakers led by Rep. John Garamendi said theplan prioritizes politics over science...Read More

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...Read More

An AP News article details the Trump administration’s newly announced plan to divert more water to California’s Central Valley, following through on an earlier executive order aimed at increasing agricultural water deliveries. The Bureau of Reclamation says the updated operations plan for the massive Central Valley project will take effect Friday.  California officials and environmental...Read More

ICYMI, California is stepping up to defend its environment, its communities, and its long-termwater security. New letters obtained by the Los Angeles Times reveal that the Trumpadministration is pushing a plan to weaken longstanding Delta environmental protections inorder to send more water to California farmland, rolling back safeguards that protect strugglingnative fish species and help...Read More

On November 20, 2025, Restore the Delta submitted comments to the Attorney General’s Office highlighting our deep concerns with the proposed October 2025 Ballot Initiative, titled “Building an Affordable California.” The October 2025 proposed Ballot Initiative seeks to undermine California’s foundational environmental law, the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). At a time when our environment is under attack at the...Read More

A broad coalition of Tribes, environmental justice organizations, fishing groups, conservation advocates, and Delta communities successfully halted Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal that sought to bypass critical legal, environmental, and public participation processes in order to fast-track the controversial Delta Tunnel project.  The proposal faced immediate and unified opposition from Tribes, Delta organizations, and local communities, who...Read More

In a powerful commentary published by Maven’s Notebook, Tom Zuckerman, a Delta farmer located in Stockton, and Gary Bobker, Program Director at Friends of the River, sound the alarm about Governor Newsom’s approach to California’s water policy. The authors sharply criticize the Governor’s push to waive key environmental protections through budget trailer bills, which they...Read More

Dear Friends, Right now, Governor Newsom is making power plays to undermine democracy within California’s water management. He is using the full force of his office to push a CEQA trailer bill that would silence public participation in the Bay-Delta Plan. Despite claims from State Water Board attorneys that the Bay-Delta Plan has nothing to...Read More

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...Read More

In a recent Maven’s Notebook commentary, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla (Executive Director, Restore the Delta) and Ashley Overhouse (Water Policy Advisor, Defenders of Wildlife) criticize Governor Newsom’s administration for advancing Delta Tunnel trailer bills that undermine California’s water rights, environmental protections, and public due process. These bills aim to fast-track the $100 billion Delta Tunnel project while...Read More