California is on the cusp of adopting a sweeping plan to manage the ecologically stressed Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a move that Gov. Gavin Newsom deems “critical” to protecting state water supplies but critics are calling a major environmental setback. The state’s Bay Delta Plan, years in the making, aims to moderate the amount of water that cities and farms take out of rivers and creeks, from Fresno to the Oregon border, to ensure enough is left to flow downstream to the delta. … Last week, at three days of public hearings in Sacramento, scores of conservationists, fishermen, delta residents and Native Americans blasted the plan as doing too little to rein in water users, saying struggling fish, wildlife and water quality would not see the improvements they need. 

Other Delta news:

• The Sacramento Bee (Calif.): How to best protect the Delta? California water agencies advocate for flexibility
• Daily Kos: Blog: Tribes, fishermen and enviros slam California’s big ag-backed voluntary water agreement
• Maven’s Notebook: Blog: Boosting climate resilience in the Delta’s mountain headwaters