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The first day of summer in Lake Tahoe began under blue skies,
but the sunny Saturday suddenly turned dark when a thunderstorm
whipped up strong winds and waves of 6 to 8 feet high. At least
six people died when a boat capsized near D.L. Bliss State Park
around 3 p.m. … Gusts up to 45 mph were measured by a
NASA-maintained buoy in the middle of the lake when the cold
front hit. It’s likely that stronger winds materialized over a
smaller portion of the lake in a phenomenon known as a
downburst. Downbursts are caused by rain-cooled air that
falls out of a cloud into a drier environment below, often
accelerating as it reaches the ground. Once the downdraft
reaches the ground, winds spread out in all directions, like
water out of a faucet hitting a sink. Weather models estimated
favorable conditions for downburst winds over Lake Tahoe on
Saturday afternoon, with a mix of dry and moist air amid an
unstable atmosphere.
… We are the Round Valley Indian Tribes. In the early
20th century, without our consent, the Potter Valley Project
dammed our river and started diverting significant portions to
generate electricity, after which the water was made available,
at no cost, to users in the Russian River watershed. All the
while, our community endured the loss of a critical part of our
economy and culture: the decimated Eel River salmon fishery.
… We also understand, however, that we are part of the larger
region, and our members live, work and study in the surrounding
communities, which support our tribal economy. These
communities, in turn, depend on the river. Thus, while removal
of the project facilities and the return of a healthy river is
our goal, we must achieve this goal mindful of how this may
affect others. The Round Valley Indian Tribes support the
Two-Basin Solution, which shares this limited resource between
both basins by pairing fishery restoration with continued
diversions that do not harm the fishery. –Written by Joe Parker, president of the Round Valley
Indian Tribes.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said his vote approving potential wind
development on state land in Niobrara and Converse counties
isn’t a slight to the state’s other industries, but a nod to
private property rights and economic development. The wind
projects garnering headlines and causing tension among
neighbors will produce energy to convert to clean
hydrogen. … The larger issue for many
is water, Gordon said. “What I’ve hear
more from Niobrara County folks is that our water is really
precious, and if we’re going to be turning it into hydrogen,
it’s going to be one more use and it’s going to take water away
from us and we already don’t have enough water,” he said. “I
understand that issue as well. People are forgetting that
water rights are sacred in Wyoming, and you
can’t just show up and build something and expect to get the
water.” That portion of the project, he said, is still in
development and wasn’t within the scope of what the state land
board voted upon.
Nature-based solutions that include conservation are an
increasingly important arena for advancing climate action.
Conservation planning decisions can depend on what kinds of
tradeoffs are made and which benefits need to be prioritized.
What then does local implementation look like when governance
of land use planning tradeoffs is confronted by potentially
competing priorities in climate, nature, and development? In
this paper, we analyze institutional instruments – namely,
local and state plans from across California – to better
understand how nature-based solutions include conservation
strategies to deliver co-benefits. … Our analysis of
local planning documents shows that subnational governments,
such as California, are experimenting with different governance
arrangements to decipher co-benefits and to manage trade-offs.
Specifically, we find the presence of supportive citizen
coalitions, funding and financing, and regional collaborations
as notable enablers of nature-based solutions in California.
Julian Fulton followed his curiosity about water to
California’s rivers and oceans, eventually flowing to
Sacramento State. In the decade since he began teaching
Environmental Studies at the riverside campus, Fulton has
integrated science and technology with broader questions of
sustainability and how humans can coexist with nature. … His
research looks at how to protect California waterways, and he
often collaborates with faculty from other departments. He also
engages students in his work, including on grant-funded
projects like cleaning up San Francisco Bay or studying green
stormwater systems designed to filter toxins out of water
flowing from campus into the American River. “We’re using it as
a learning lab,” he said. “It helps students to understand all
these different environmental challenges we have, and to notice
sustainability features in the landscape and how they fit into
their daily lives.”
Olivenhain Municipal Water District has completed construction
of several recycled water pipelines in Carlsbad and Encinitas.
The installation of over 5,600 feet of new pipelines will allow
several HOA communities in the project area to convert their
irrigation systems to recycled water, resulting in more than
12.5 million gallons of drinking water saved every year,
according to a news release. … OMWD secured more than
$900,000 in grant funding to make the project cost-effective
for ratepayers. Specifically, both the US Bureau of
Reclamation’s Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program,
and the California Department of Water Resources’ Integrated
Regional Water Management Program contributed grant funds
to offset project costs, the news release stated. … The
project was completed on time and with no interruptions to
customers’ water supplies.
In an interview with Nick Papagni, “The Ag Meter”, on AgNet
West, Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau,
provided critical insight into California’s persistent water
challenges—and a glimmer of hope for the future. When asked
whether California’s water issues can ever be resolved,
Jacobsen called it a “loaded question,” acknowledging the
mounting difficulties while still seeing opportunity ahead. “It
just keeps getting tougher and tougher as far as a reliable
water supply,” he said, referencing the impact of the
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and federal
reductions. … “Whatever happens during this administration
can be undone by the next,” he warned. “That’s why Congress
must act to create long-term solutions—particularly in the
Delta.”
Eighty years ago, in the heart of rural Shasta County,
thousands of workers came together to build something
extraordinary—Shasta Dam. Born out of the Great Depression,
this engineering marvel not only brought much-needed jobs to
the region but transformed the area’s future forever.
Construction on Shasta Dam began in 1937 and continued through
World War II, officially wrapping up in 1944—an impressive 26
months ahead of schedule. … Standing 602 feet tall,
Shasta Dam is the ninth tallest dam in the country and holds
back the largest reservoir in California. Today, it’s not just
a piece of history—it’s a beloved local destination offering
stunning views of Mt. Shasta, fishing spots, scenic walks, and
peaceful picnic areas. … So here’s to 80 years of Shasta
Dam—a symbol of strength, resilience, and NorCal pride.
… What could have been more California than dipping my paddle
into the waters being fought over by multiple states,
Indigenous tribes, farmers, ranchers, conservation groups, and
so on? We are, after all, on the verge of yet another new
chapter flowing out of the Colorado River, whose silty waves,
east beyond Death Valley, undulate California’s southeast
border and which, in the fullness of thirst, became L.A.’s main
water source. Parsing those waters has been bogged down for
years, seemingly because California has been hogging more than
its realistic share—even the mighty Colorado has shrunk, first
from an overly optimistic estimation of its volume and now from
drought. Welcome to the New West. T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”
springs to mind:
Here is no water but only rock
Rock and no water and the sandy road
New information is emerging about what’s being negotiated
between the seven states who rely on the Colorado River: an
“amicable divorce” between the Upper and Lower Basins. At a
meeting of a council made up of farmers, ranchers and other
Colorado River water users here, the head of the Colorado River
Authority of Utah disclosed some of what was being negotiated.
… It’s basically a separation between the Upper
Basin states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico and the
Lower Basin states of Arizona, Nevada and California.
… Lake Powell would basically be maintained at a certain
level to keep both basins happy, (Colorado River Authority of
Utah Executive Director Amy) Haas clarified to FOX 13 News. She
would not disclose specific percentages as each side and the
federal government is doing their own modeling. The Lower Basin
states also have pledged to reduce their share by 1.5 million
acre feet, she said.
Two Central Valley Democrats are pitching a new water bill
designed to protect water access for the region’s
farmers. Rep. Adam Gray (D–Merced) introduced the Valley
Water Protection Act last week and was joined by Rep. Jim Costa
(D–Fresno). The Valley Water Protection Act would amend
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to protect
farmers from enforcement actions that could pose national
security threats or regional economic harm. … The bill
has widespread support from water users across the Central
Valley, including the Turlock Irrigation District, the Merced
Irrigation District, the Modesto Irrigation District, the San
Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority and the Friant Water
Authority. … Along with Gray’s bill, Westerman
introduced the Endangered Species Act Amendments Act of 2025,
which would streamline the ESA permitting process and establish
clear definitions within the act.
In recent years, scientists and water managers have started
using the term “snow drought” to describe meager snowpacks in
the American West. … Because a lack of snow has
such profound implications for the West’s water supply,
wildfire risk, recreational activities and ecosystem health,
the federal government now regularly tracks the severity of
snow drought across the region. The reports rely on data from
hundreds of SNOTEL stations—a network of automated sensors that
use “snow pillows” to weigh the snowpack and calculate its
water content—but federal budget cuts may hamper that system
going forward. To learn more about snow droughts, I
recently spoke with one of the authors of those reports: Dan
McEvoy, regional climatologist at the Western Regional Climate
Center and the Desert Research Institute.
Housing developers left stranded and stalled by a lack of an
assured water supply are getting a lifeline under a deal cut
between Republicans and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. The
proposal, known as “Ag-to-Urban,” allows homebuilders
to buy water rights from farmers who retire their agricultural
land if they promise to use only a certain percentage of the
water to supply new developments. … The deal
immediately affects only Maricopa and Pinal counties, but the
Pima County Active Management Area may also fall under its
guidance if a moratorium on new water certificates is put in
place by state water regulators, (Sen. T.J.) Shope said. If all
three areas were included, more than 400,000 acres of farmland
could be eligible for conversion. … While big developers
are celebrating a win, elected officials in rural Arizona are
criticizing Hobbs for backing the proposal without tying it to
new protections for groundwater in their areas.
Five years ago, Plains Miwok cultural practitioner Don Hankins
got a surprising invitation from Russ Ryan, a project manager
at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The
agency owns four islands in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta, including one called Webb Tract, and Ryan asked Hankins
for help stewarding them from an Indigenous perspective.
Hankins was skeptical at first. … But Hankins feels a
deep-rooted responsibility toward the Delta. He was also moved
when Ryan visited him at California State University Chico,
where he’s a professor of geography and planning. On a walk in
Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, the pair forged a
partnership that included bringing tribes into planning a new
wetland on Webb Tract from the very beginning. “It’s a game
changer,” says Hankins, noting that this is the first time
tribes have been integral to a restoration project in the
Delta.
Nevada is taking action to preserve its state animal, the
Desert Bighorn Sheep, by relocating part of a herd based in
Southern Nevada. … The reason for the relocation is a
lack of available food and water for the herd, with drought
being the common denominator. In just one year, dry conditions
have significantly worsened across Nevada. While only a small
area was abnormally dry in June 2024, now most of the state is
experiencing all four levels of drought extremes. “We had to
take action,” said Joe Bennett, a specialist with the Nevada
Department of Wildlife. According to Bennett, since December,
122,000 gallons of water have been hauled to watering holes, or
guzzlers, in Southern Nevada to support sheep hydration.
… According to the Nevada Climate Initiative, drought is
expected to increase in frequency and severity in the future
due to higher temperatures, even if precipitation remains the
same or increases slightly.
… While stakeholders wait to see how the EPA’s
announcements will develop into specific actions, one
particular area of continued uncertainty relates to PFAS in
drinking water. … Following its request to stay legal
challenges to these two Biden-era actions to allow the new EPA
leadership to review these rules, the EPA on May 14 announced
that it would maintain the current national primary drinking
water regulation for PFOA and PFOS and introduce a proposal to
extend the compliance date to 2031. At the same time, the EPA
said it would rescind regulations and reconsider regulatory
determinations for PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (commonly known as
GenX), and the hazard index mixture of these three, plus PFBS,
citing compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act as its
rationale.
Fire and water are seemingly opposing forces. But in the
context of global climate, they go together like peanut butter
and jelly. And looking at the fire and flood tally so far, 2025
has been extra. … Aridification is causing the arid west
to move eastward, encroaching on the mid longitude regions of
the U.S. and Canada. Aridity, drought and heat
combine to make ideal conditions for fire. Increased average
air temperature leads to more water in the atmosphere as water
vapor. More energy in the form of heat moves storms. The
combination of the two–more water and more energy–means more
disasters with higher consequences measured in deaths and
dollars. The end result is that communities are sandwiched
between dry and wet extremes and the economic consequences of
fire and flood disasters. The U.S. sustained 403 weather
and climate disasters from 1980–2024 where overall damages and
costs reached or exceeded $1 billion each (including the
Consumer Price Index adjustment to 2024). When you add them
together, the total cost of these 403 events exceeds $2.915
trillion.
Last August, Northwest salmon caught a break when four dams on
the Klamath River, which flows from mountain country in
southwest Oregon through northern California to the Pacific
Ocean, were demolished. But it was a limited break. The goal of
that $500 million project, possibly the largest of its kind in
American history, remains unreached, and serious effort still
is needed to fulfill it. A fully free-flowing Klamath River may
be beyond us for a while, but certain half-measures could
help. Hanging over it is the shadow of the decision this
month by the Trump administration to abandon a regional
agreement involving breach of the four lower Snake River dams
in Washington state, also partly for fish run purposes.
… Some news stories at the time proclaiming the return
of a free run of the Klamath River spoke too optimistically. In
Oregon, much of the upper river is blocked by the last two
dams, the Keno, west of Klamath Falls and near the same-named
unincorporated community, and the Link River, which impounds
and partly creates Upper Klamath Lake.
Harmful blooms of algae like the one floating near the dam on
Apache Lake are on the rise worldwide and are likely to
proliferate more in Arizona as warming temperatures create
encouraging habitats for the blue-green toxic scum. The Apache
Lake bloom, reported May 29, is the second this year in Arizona
following one spotted on Lake Havasu a month prior. About 30
harmful blooms plagued Arizona waters last year, affecting
parts of Lake Havasu, Saguaro and Canyon lakes and Tempe Town
Lake. That’s likely an undercount as the Arizona Department of
Environmental Quality voluntarily collects reports and doesn’t
have the authority to force water managers to post warnings or
test the water. … Harmful blooms also are likely to become
more common and more severe in Arizona as conditions get dryer
and hotter, said Taylor L. Weiss, with the Arizona Center for
Algae Technology and Innovation and assistant professor at
Arizona State University.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s effort to remove barriers
to energy development within the 3.6 million-acre Rock Springs
Resource Management Plan area (which replaced Green River RMP
in 2024) will include revised estimates of oil and natural gas
reserves, according to the agency. … Initial “low” estimates,
which may change dramatically based on new calculations, will
potentially be used to reduce restrictions on oil and natural
gas development imposed under “area of critical environmental
concern” designations in the Rock Springs RMP updated in
December. That plan will likely change after a review spurred
by President Donald Trump’s Unleashing American Energy
executive order, and Interior orders under his administration.
The U.S. Geological Survey — the BLM’s sister agency under the
Interior Department — released a report Wednesday revising
estimates of “undiscovered, technically recoverable” oil and
natural gas reserves underlying onshore federal lands, boasting
“significant increases.”
