Category Archives: Fisheries

Flows for a Healthy Delta: We need them now and we need them for the long haul

By | Bio | Published: March 25, 2010

Senior Water Resource Analyst

Given that the State Water Resources Control Board’s flow proceeding finished yesterday, it is worth highlighting yet another reason why this work is so necessary and timely. As a reminder, the SWRCB is charged with determining the volume and timing of flows in the Bay-Delta necessary to support a healthy ecosystem, including protecting imperiled fisheries. This is no easy task, but a necessary one if we are going to develop a long-term sustainable solution for the Delta.

Indeed, the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) process, has struggled with this question since it started back in 2006. Read More »

Also posted in Bay Delta, Legal Issues, Legislation | 1 Response

Water for the Delta: Has This Failed To Work? Or Have We Failed to Try?

By | Bio | Published: March 22, 2010

Senior Attorney and California Water Legislative Director for EDF

The State Water Resources Control Board begins a public hearing today to determine how much water the Bay-Delta Estuary needs. The hearing has generated a great deal of testimony and exhibits. In particular, the State and Federal Water Contractors' – including, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, State Water Contractors, Westlands Water District, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Kern County Water Agency & Metropolitan Water District of Southern California  (“Contractors”) – submission makes a number of interesting points. In particular, the Contractors make the surprising assertion that: “The flow-centric approaches of the past have failed and will, if continued, fail in the future.” While increasing freshwater flows for ecological purposes has been discussed and debated for many years, as the data demonstrates — it is not a strategy that has been implemented, at least not with a great deal of regularity.

Indeed to the contrary, since salmon were listed almost twenty years ago, combined federal and state diversions out of the Delta steadily increased. Read More »

Also posted in Bay Delta, Legislation | 1 Response

Tomorrow: National Academy of Sciences Releases Report on the Delta Fisheries Protection

By | Bio | Published: March 18, 2010

Research and Outreach Associate

Tomorrow morning,March 19th, we expect to start our day with the release the National Academy of Science report on Delta Fisheries Protection. As we've blogged before  the nation's highly reputable scientific panel will analyze the science behind plans (otherwise known as the Biological Opinions) that outline among other actions, the timing and volume of water that can safely be pumped out of the Delta for cities and farms while preventing the extinction of endangered species, such as salmon.

We continue to be cautiously optimistic that science will win out over the politics in the Delta. The results of this report will be critical to our work on the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan which is using the Biological Opinions as a foundation of protections to build off of for the long-term protection of species.

As this report is reviewed and analyzed by stakeholders and policymakers, it will be critical that the science is interpreted and communicated appropriately. For an important look into the role of communicating science and its role in policymaking in the context of this study, read a blog post by our resident expert Rod Fujita.

We'll keep you posted on tomorrow's report release.

Also posted in Bay Delta, Legal Issues, Water Supply | 2 Responses

Science and Policymaking: Spin on science can lead to mischief and extinction

By | Bio | Published: March 8, 2010

Rod FujitaRod Fujita is Senior Scientist and Director, Ocean Innovations, for EDF.

The National Research Council Reviews Biological Opinions Designed to Protect Endangered Fish Species
On March 15th, the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences will issue an important report. It will detail the NRC’s evaluation of the science that has been used to determine how much water can safely be pumped out of the Delta for cities and farms while preventing the extinction of endangered salmon and other fish.

This science forms the basis of the Biological Opinions at the heart of a very contentious debate over the role of science in policymaking. If science is to serve policy well here, expectations need to be realistic and the results of the NRC review must be accurately communicated. Otherwise, we may see political mischief – the science may be misinterpreted in ways that justify old ways of doing business in the Delta and serve special interests at the expense of salmon, the fishing community, the natural ecosystem, and the public trust.

Politics spurred a review of the science
The science underlying the Biological Opinions has already been subject to rigorous scientific peer-review, the gold standard of scientific credibility. The science-and common sense-supports the notion that salmon (and other important fisheries) require more protective flows to recover. The tricky part is to figure out how much flow will be needed. At this point, it is impossible to tell whether the recommended flows will prevent extinction of endangered fish species; we are only into the second year of implementation, so they haven’t yet had a chance to work. Hence, it seems clear that this new scientific review by the NRC was not triggered by performance issues. Instead, it is being undertaken at the request of Senator Diane Feinstein following appeals from agricultural interests squeezed by a 3 year drought.

The credibility of the National Academy of Sciences and its National Research Council is on the line. Read More »

Also posted in Bay Delta, Legal Issues | Leave a comment

National Academy of Sciences Delves into the Delta: So Far So Good

By | Bio | Published: January 28, 2010

Ashley RoodAshley Rood is a Research & Outreach Associate with EDF.

Beginning this past Sunday with an address by Congressman Costa, the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) started its review of water management in the Bay Delta. The nation's elite scientific panel will analyze and either support or refute the science (otherwise known as the Biological Opinions) behind how much water can be pumped out of the Delta for cities and farms while preventing the extinction of endangered species.

I was at UC Davis this week, along with my colleagues Ann Hayden and Spreck Rosekrans, to watch the public workshops unfold. Although we were  skeptical when this additional review was initially announced—we're cautiously optimistic that science will rule the day and this will rise above the sticky politics of the Bay Delta.  Below, find out more about what the NRC will deliver and what we're looking for in this review. Read More »

Also posted in Bay Delta, Legal Issues, Water Supply | 2 Responses

60 Minutes misses opportunity to identify solutions

By | Published: December 29, 2009

Spreck Rosekrans Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

CBS’ 60 Minutes began last night’s show with a piece titled “California: Running Dry”. It was perhaps too much to expect comprehensive coverage of our complex water issues within a 13 minute segment. The show began quoting the adage, sometimes ascribed to Mark Twain, that “whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting” and offered only the opportunity to spend up to $40 Billion as a way to solve our problems.

As a result, 60 Minutes missed the opportunity to tell its viewers how we can be smarter, and must be smarter, about using water in places like California if we are to support our farms, cities and fisheries in the 21st century. Read More »

Also posted in Bay Delta, Economics, Legislation, Water Supply | 4 Responses

Independent Panel Supports Fish Agency Science

By | Bio | Published: December 15, 2009

Ann HaydenAnn Hayden is a Senior Water Resource Analyst at EDF.

This recent independent review of the USFWS Biological Opinion (BO) for Delta smelt is worth a read. The study seems largely to have been released under the radar, and we only just became aware of it.

In general, the panel concluded that the science underpinning the BO is sound and credible. Read More »

Also posted in Bay Delta | 1 Response

Water policy reform package is good for California

By | Published: November 4, 2009

Laura HarnishLaura Harnish is the California Regional Director.
Spreck Rosekrans Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

Environmental Defense Fund is delighted that the package of water policy reform bills has passed both houses of California’s legislature and will be sent to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature. We believe this package provides a foundation that will guide environmental protection and sustainable water supply management for many years to come. And we expect that as a result, California’s farms and cities, as well as fisheries in the Bay Delta and Central Valley watershed, will be better off.

Most obviously the legislation establishes a framework for managing the Delta and the rivers that supply it with freshwater. It formally recognizes the importance of the Delta as an ecosystem while acknowledging its role in moving water from north to south. It empowers our Water Board to determine the inflows that are necessary to meet public trust requirements under California law. And the legislation establishes important oversight roles for both the legislature and a newly created Delta Stewardship Council to ensure that any changes to water infrastructure accommodate protection of the Delta and its fisheries.

It is important to realize that the legislation does not authorize a peripheral canal. Read More »

Also posted in Bay Delta, Conservation, Groundwater, Legislation, Rivers, Water Supply | 7 Responses

DWR puts it's support for the ESA in writing

By | Bio | Published: September 29, 2009

Ann HaydenAnn Hayden is a Senior Water Resource Analyst at EDF.

After another week of attempts  to weaken the Endangered Species Act, EDF couldn't be happier to see Lester Snow, Director of the State's Department of Water Resources, put his support of the ESA in writing. See his letter to Senator Feinstein, Secretaries Salazar and Locke  here (PDF).  We're hoping to hear the same commitment from Secretary Salazar at the public hearing tomorrow.

Also posted in Bay Delta, Legal Issues | Leave a comment

And now for the rest of the (Fox News) story

By | Published: September 18, 2009

Spreck Rosekrans Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.

The coverage of California water by Fox News Host Sean Hannity last night was disappointing. It was simplistic, one-sided, misleading and, in some cases, flat wrong. And perhaps most egregiously, the famously “small government” host delivered his message on behalf of wealthy farmers who owe their very existence to the federal handouts and are still deep in debt to United States taxpayers.

Let’s be fair. Mr. Hannity got some things right. He is correct that unemployment is particularly high in many towns in the San Joaquin Valley. The food lines and human suffering are real. In 2009, water deliveries to farming communities on the west side of the Valley have been significantly reduced. And part of that reduction is due to the Endangered Species Act protections designed to protect Delta smelt from extinction.

But Mr. Hannity does not tell the whole story. Read More »

Also posted in Bay Delta, Water Supply | 7 Responses