Last week, two scientists writing for the U.S. Geological Survey published a paper that adds to the growing body of scientific concern about the effects of exports on the Bay-Delta Estuary. The paper, by James E. Cloern and Alan D. Jassby, is Drivers of Change in Estuarine-Coastal Ecosystems: Discoveries from Four Decades of Study in...Read More

Here is the latest on landowners’ opposition to DWR’s motions for pre-judgment possession of the affected properties in DWR’s pending eminent domain actions. Recall that the Superior Courts of Sacramento, San Joaquin and Contra Costa Counties have all ruled against DWR and in the landowners’ favor. Now attorney Tom Keeling reports that, as he had...Read More

On October 19, DWR began sending new appraisal notification letters to Delta landowners.  These letters inform landowners that DWR “will soon be completing an appraisal” of each listed property and that the appraisals are being completed “in conjunction with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.”  Each letter requests the landowner’s permission for DWR appraisers to “inspect”...Read More

Nancy Vogel, communications director at the Department of Water Resources (DWR), blogged last week that “Building fat Delta levees does not create a healthier Delta ecosystem or help the state cope with drought.” Restore the Delta agrees that improved levees are not the only answer to habitat and water supply challenges.  But we don’t agree...Read More