In March 2009, the state and federal governments and the water contractors entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on planning, preliminary design, and environmental compliance for the habitat conservation plan and conveyance program we know as the BDCP (Bay Delta Conservation Plan).  That MOU has just been amended. Highlights: They plan to have a...Read More

Last week, Dan Bacher reported that a mind-boggling 11 million fish have been “salvaged” at the export pumps since January 1.  “Salvaged” pretty much means “killed,” since the majority of many species perish during and after the salvage process, including handling and trucking operations. The losses include close to 9 million Sacramento splittail, the largest...Read More

CSPA, Friends of the River, North Coast River Alliance, Save the American River and the Winnemen Wintu Tribes have filed a lawsuit against Westlands Water District (and its two water distribution districts) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, as a Real Party in Interest, over the renewal of six interim Central Valley Project (CVP) water...Read More

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will be addressing the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on Monday, September 19 at 9 a.m.  The subject is “A Morning on the Water”: California reservoirs are at healthy levels this year but the state’s water system remains in crisis. Projected changes in the sierra snowpack and precipitation patterns...Read More

On September 6, 2006, Restore the Delta got started as an arm of the Friends of the River campaign, with Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla as Restore the Delta’s campaign director.  In November of 2010, we incorporated as a separate non-profit organization.   Restore the Delta has grown enormously, and we’ve all learned a lot in the past five...Read More

On August 25, 2011, Dino and Joan Cortopassi and Alex and Faye Spanos hosted a benefit for Restore the Delta, entertaining over 600 people and raising over $640,000 for Restore the Delta to continue its advocacy work on behalf of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fisheries and communities. The benefit was attended by perhaps one of the...Read More

On August 29, a 3-ton ground shaker shook a 6-foot high model levee in the  Delta as hard as the 1989 Loma Prieta Quake would have done, and the levee rolled and tossed but settled back into place, surviving intact.  Researchers noted that the model was dry on both sides, unlike most Delta levees, and...Read More

At its August 26th meeting, the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) looked at pending legislation, science and new studies, and a parks proposal for the Delta. (Even though Restore the Delta staff is fully cognizant of the billions of dollars spent on the Delta planning processes of the last twenty year, we are regularly re- amazed...Read More

The Council then heard from Dr. Anke Mueller-Solger , Lead Scientist for the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP – the team of State and Federal agencies and university and private scientists that monitors and does scientific research in the Delta).  Meuller-Solger announced the development of three new IEP work teams: Yolo-bypass group – focused on restoration...Read More

Dan Ray of the California Parks and Recreation Society presented the DSC with a proposal to build and advertise strategically-located hubs throughout the Delta, with information about navigation and recreation opportunities, coupled with increased signage, trails, and guides to increase visitation and recreation opportunities.  The organization noted that the Delta currently has more visitor days...Read More