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Topic: Endangered Species Act

Overview April 24, 2014

Endangered Species Act

The California Legislature was the first in the country to protect rare plants and animals through passage of the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) in 1970, Congress followed suit in 1973 by passing the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The federal ESA aims to, “protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.”

The state ESA states that, “all native species of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, invertebrates, and plants, and their habitats, threatened with extinction and those experiencing a significant decline which, if not halted, would lead to a threatened or endangered designation, will be protected or preserved.”

Imperiled species are defined as follows: “Endangered” if it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range and “threatened” if it is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future.”

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Aquafornia news May 7, 2025 CalMatters

California wine country traffic jam fuels fight over endangered mice, marsh birds

… Assembly Bill 697 by Lori Wilson, a Democrat from the Fairfield area, would allow state highway officials to potentially harm three protected bird species and endangered mice as workers add new lanes to a stretch of Highway 37 to wine country. … The 21-mile highway connects Interstate 80 in Vallejo in Solano County to Highway 101 in Novato in Marin County along the north San Pablo Bay. It cuts though some of the state’s last remaining salt marshes, which are threatened by sea level rise. … Wilson’s measure would, during construction, waive certain protections under the California Endangered Species Act for the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse, as well as for three protected birds: the California clapper rail, the California black rail and the white-tailed kite. 

Other endangered species news:

  • E&E News by Politico: Trump’s plan to merge ESA offices could be a hard sell​
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 5, 2025 The Sacramento Bee

State wildlife officials to shut Northern California fish hatchery, citing costs

California wildlife officials will shut down a state-run fish hatchery in Humboldt County, ending more than 50 years of operations due to rising costs, aging infrastructure and federal limits on steelhead production. The Mad River Fish Hatchery, which raises a modest number of steelhead and rainbow trout and serves as an access point to the picturesque Mad River for recreation and fishing, will close in June after decades of financial challenges. … Because the Northern California steelhead found in the Mad River are federally protected as a threatened species, the hatchery is limited to raising only 150,000 fry per year under regulations meant to preserve the wild DNA of fish that breed naturally in the waterway, the agency said. 

Other trout news:

  • Lost Coast Outpost (Humboldt, Calif.): CDFW to close Mad River Fish Hatchery next month, citing budgetary woes and aging infrastructure​
  • California Department of Fish and Wildlife: News release: CDFW to end hatchery operations at Mad River Fish Hatchery in Humboldt County
  • LAist: Rescued SoCal steelhead spawn new life after Palisades Fire. Here’s how to visit them
  • FOX Weather: Video: Baby trout signal endangered species’ recovery after California Palisades Fire burns habitat
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news May 2, 2025 Los Angeles Times

Friday Top of the Scroll: U.S. House votes to take California fish off endangered species list

House Republicans passed a measure Thursday that would repeal the government’s decision to place California’s longfin smelt, a finger-sized fish, on the endangered species list. House members passed the resolution, introduced by California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), in a 216-195 vote that followed party lines. The resolution now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate. “We want to block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s misguided decision to list the San Francisco Bay Delta population of the longfin smelt as being endangered,” LaMalfa, who represents a rice-growing region in Northern California, said before the vote. He said the agency’s decision last year to declare the fish species endangered was “unscientific” and said it’s making it harder to deliver water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farmers.

Other ESA news:

  • The San Joaquin Valley Sun: House OKs repealing endangered listing for longfin Delta smelt
  • Congressman David Valadao: News release: Congressman Valadao applauds passage of resolution to repeal longfin smelt ESA listing
  • Best Best & Krieger: Blog: Federal wildlife agencies propose rescinding definition of “harm” under Endangered Species Act
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news May 1, 2025 San Francisco Chronicle

House Republicans want to remove endangered species protection for a tiny fish in San Francisco Bay

Congress is expected to vote Thursday on a Republican resolution to reverse endangered species protection for a tiny inhabitant of San Francisco Bay that opponents say could set a dangerous precedent. The resolution aims to remove the endangered species status of longfin smelt in the San Francisco Bay. The fish received that designation in July under the Biden administration. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican from Butte County, introduced the resolution in March under the Congressional Review Act, saying it was necessary to protect the state’s water supply. Opponents say the time period for such a resolution already expired and that the Republican effort is part of an unprecedented attack on endangered species protections.

Other federal environmental law news:

  • E&E News by Politico: Senate panel OKs weather modeling, fisheries bills 
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 22, 2025 University of California

Blog: 4 California critters making a comeback with help from UC researchers

The mountain yellow-legged frogs of Yosemite National Park are in an epic fight for survival. Theirs is a tale of devastation and redemption, luck and suspense, and amphibians in helicopters. And in an era of grim headlines about the state of nature, a recent UC study about them offers a rare glimmer of hope: These frogs, which were plagued nearly to extinction by a deadly fungus just a few years ago, are now poised for a comeback. This Earth Day, we’re celebrating stories from the past year of UC research that illustrate the resilience of life on our planet and demonstrate the power of humans to help solve problems of our own making.

  • Read more
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Aquafornia news April 18, 2025 Western Water

Friday Top of the Scroll: Changes loom for innovative lower Colorado River endangered species program amid drought, new river rules

… Today, more than 27 million people in the three states rely on water from the Colorado River—roughly two-thirds of the total population that the river serves. Yet even as that dependence on the river grew, a collision between human and environmental needs was brewing. … For municipal and agricultural water managers who depended on the Colorado, the growing list of endangered species was a wakeup call. It spurred a decade-long effort to craft a multi-party agreement that allowed water agencies to continue delivering water to their users while staying ahead of the mounting endangered species issues. That effort has largely proven successful, but as the program now crosses the 20-year mark, new questions are arising about how to keep it strong for the next three decades in the face of grinding drought, contentious negotiations over the river’s future, and new uncertainties about the federal government’s role in its continued implementation.

Other endangered species news:

  • Inside Climate News: How the Trump administration’s interpretation of one word—‘harm’—could gut habitat protections for endangered species
  • The New York Times: Trump administration aims to redefine ‘harm’ for endangered species
  • The Guardian: Trump administration moves to narrow protections for endangered species
  • Colorado Public Radio: Destroying endangered species’ habitat wouldn’t count as ‘harm’ under proposed Trump rule
  • Bay Nature: Blog: This Trump change could ‘eviscerate’ the U.S. Endangered Species Act
  • Phys.org: Blog: How did environmentalism become a partisan issue?
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Western Water April 17, 2025 Matt Jenkins WESTERN WATER-Changes Loom for Innovative Lower Colorado River Endangered Species Program Amid Drought, New River Rules Colorado River Basin Map Matt Jenkins

Changes Loom for Innovative Lower Colorado River Endangered Species Program Amid Drought, New River Rules
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: As the 50-year Multi-Species Conservation Program hits the 20-year mark this month, new questions about how to keep it strong hang over its future

Image shows Endangered bonytail chub were released into a Colorado River lagoon near Laughlin, Nev., in spring of 2024 as part of the MSCP. Before the construction of Hoover Dam on the lower Colorado River, as well as a slew of smaller sisters downstream, the stretch downriver served as a biological oasis in the middle of the unrelenting Mojave and Sonoran deserts. The marshes and backwaters along the river’s edge provided sheltered areas for fish to spawn and rear their young, and mesquite and cottonwood-willow forests provided important habitat for numerous species of birds and other animals.

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Aquafornia news April 17, 2025 Los Angeles Times

Thursday Top of the Scroll: Trump administration seeks to narrow Endangered Species Act by redefining ‘harm’

The proposal advanced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service would limit the meaning to taking direct action to kill or injure endangered or threatened wildlife — removing the prohibition against habitat destruction that leads to those ends. It fits with White House officials’ intent to spur economic growth by slashing regulations. If adopted, the change could significantly curtail the reach of the Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973 under former President Nixon. It would also flout a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the definition of harm to encompass “significant habitat modification or degradation.” … (T)he previous definition prevented acts like cutting down swaths of old-growth forests in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest where federally threatened northern spotted owls nest and roost. Or filling in a wetland inhabited by red-legged frogs, California’s state amphibian also listed as federally threatened.

Related articles:

  • Courthouse News Service: Interior department proposal could end habitat protections for endangered species
  • The Independent: Trump administration is working to end habitat protections for endangered animals, environmental groups say 
  • E&E News by Politico: Trump admin seeks to curtail reach of ESA protections
  • The Washington Post: Trump officials say destroying endangered species’ habitats isn’t ‘harm’
  • Associated Press: Proposed rule change on endangered species triggers alarm for environmentalists
  • USA Today: US proposes looser interpretation of law that protects threatened species
  • The Hill: Researchers point finger at politics for thwarting endangered species protections process
  • The Colorado Sun (Denver): Trump move to redefine “harm” in Endangered Species Act may pose ecological risks for Colorado
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 17, 2025 SFGate

Only 38 of this critically endangered species remain in Death Valley

One of the rarest species on Earth, the Devils Hole pupfish, came close to extinction in recent months, thanks to an earthquake 500 miles from their deep desert cave. Now, worried scientists and divers are taking unprecedented steps to save the 38 remaining fish. … A few years ago, a mat was laid on the rock shelf of Devil’s Hole to collect pupfish eggs. Those eggs were then transferred to a replica of the cave built in nearby Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility. The fake Devil’s Hole contained the same 92-degree water and spawning shelf. There, in captivity, a backup colony of pupfish was bred. Nineteen of those captive fish were carefully brought into the cave in recent weeks.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news April 15, 2025 KVPR (Fresno, Calif.)

Merced’s own super bloom is here. How this grassland reserve protects endangered species

Locals call the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve “UC Merced’s backyard,” and it’s a backyard unlike any other. Picture a 6,500-acre stretch of land that has thousands of vernal pools in the winter, blankets of vibrant flowers in the spring, the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the distance, and countless animals to watch, including the famously-elusive “fairy shrimp.” Established in 2001 and located just north of Merced, the reserve protects the sensitive vernal pool habitats and grasslands. … Vernal pools are small pond-like dips in the ground that fill up during the rainy season. … Jasmine Salazar, a graduate student assistant and tour guide for the reserve, told community members on the recent tour that vernal pools are very rare to California now, but they’ve been around for centuries. “In the Central Valley, we used to have a ton of vernal pools. But because of infrastructure and urbanization, we’ve lost 99% of them,” Salazar, 20, said.

  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Publication March 4, 2024 Colorado River Basin Map

Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River Basin
Updated 2024

Cover of Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Basin

Learn the history and challenges facing the West’s most dramatic and developed river. 

The Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River Basin introduces the 1,450-mile river that sustains 40 million people and millions of acres of farmland spanning seven states and parts of northern Mexico.

The 28-page primer explains how the river’s water is shared and managed as the Southwest transitions to a hotter and drier climate.

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Western Water August 3, 2023 Layperson's Guide to the Klamath River Basin Klamath River Watershed Map WESTERN WATER: Solar-Paneled Canopies over Canals Catching on in Southwest By Nick Cahill

‘If You Unbuild It, They Will Come’
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Scientists Chart Transformation of Klamath River and Its Salmon Amid Nation’s Largest Dam Removal Project

The Copco No. 1 dam on the Klamath RiverThe Klamath River Basin was once one of the world’s most ecologically magnificent regions, a watershed teeming with salmon, migratory birds and wildlife that thrived alongside Native American communities. The river flowed rapidly from its headwaters in southern Oregon’s high deserts into Upper Klamath Lake, collected snowmelt along a narrow gorge through the Cascades, then raced downhill to the California coast in a misty, redwood-lined finish.

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Western Water February 25, 2022 Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map Layperson's Guide to the Delta WESTERN WATER-With Delta Smelt Virtually Gone in the Wild, A "Hatch-and-Release" Program Aims to Save Them From Extinction By Alastair Bland

With Delta Smelt All But Gone in the Wild, A First-Ever “Hatch-and-Release” Effort Aims to Save Them From Extinction
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Experimental releases of finger-size fish into Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta inspires hope, but also skepticism, about the smelt's future

Crew releases hatchery-raised Delta smelt into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In the vast labyrinth of the West Coast’s largest freshwater tidal estuary, one native fish species has never been so rare. Once uncountably numerous, the Delta smelt was placed on state and federal endangered species lists in 1993, stopped appearing in most annual sampling surveys in 2016, and is now, for all practical purposes, extinct in the wild. At least, it was.

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Western Water November 19, 2021 By Alastair Bland

SIDEBAR: Creating A Floodplain Buffet for Salmon Smolts

Biologists have designed a variety of unique experiments in the past decade to demonstrate the benefits that floodplains provide for small fish. Tracking studies have used acoustic tags to show that chinook salmon smolts with access to inundated fields are more likely than their river-bound cohorts to reach the Pacific Ocean. This is because the richness of floodplains offers a vital buffet of nourishment on which young salmon can capitalize, supercharging their growth and leading to bigger, stronger smolts.

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Tour September 9, 2021 - 2:30pm - 5:30pm Nick Gray Jenn Bowles Layperson's Guide to the Delta

Bay-Delta Tour 2021
A Virtual Journey - September 9

This tour guided participants on a virtual journey deep into California’s most crucial water and ecological resource – the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The 720,000-acre network of islands and canals support the state’s two major water systems – the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. The Delta and the connecting San Francisco Bay form the largest freshwater tidal estuary of its kind on the West coast.

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Western Water April 17, 2020 Gary Pitzer

Framework for Agreements to Aid Health of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a Starting Point With An Uncertain End
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Voluntary agreement discussions continue despite court fights, state-federal conflicts and skepticism among some water users and environmental groups

Aerial image of the Sacramento-San Joaquin DeltaVoluntary agreements in California have been touted as an innovative and flexible way to improve environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the rivers that feed it. The goal is to provide river flows and habitat for fish while still allowing enough water to be diverted for farms and cities in a way that satisfies state regulators.

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Western Water April 25, 2019 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

California’s New Natural Resources Secretary Takes on Challenge of Implementing Gov. Newsom’s Ambitious Water Agenda
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Wade Crowfoot addresses Delta tunnel shift, Salton Sea plan and managing water amid a legacy of conflict

Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Secretary.One of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first actions after taking office was to appoint Wade Crowfoot as Natural Resources Agency secretary. Then, within weeks, the governor laid out an ambitious water agenda that Crowfoot, 45, is now charged with executing.

That agenda includes the governor’s desire for a “fresh approach” on water, scaling back the conveyance plan in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and calling for more water recycling, expanded floodplains in the Central Valley and more groundwater recharge.

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Western Water April 11, 2019 Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map Gary Pitzer

Bruce Babbitt Urges Creation of Bay-Delta Compact as Way to End ‘Culture of Conflict’ in California’s Key Water Hub
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Former Interior secretary says Colorado River Compact is a model for achieving peace and addressing environmental and water needs in the Delta

Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt gives the Anne J. Schneider Lecture April 3 at Sacramento's Crocker Art Museum.  Bruce Babbitt, the former Arizona governor and secretary of the Interior, has been a thoughtful, provocative and sometimes forceful voice in some of the most high-profile water conflicts over the last 40 years, including groundwater management in Arizona and the reduction of California’s take of the Colorado River. In 2016, former California Gov. Jerry Brown named Babbitt as a special adviser to work on matters relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Delta tunnels plan.

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Western Water January 4, 2019 Douglas E. Beeman

Women Leading in Water, Colorado River Drought and Promising Solutions — Western Water Year in Review

Dear Western Water readers:

Women named in the last year to water leadership roles (clockwise, from top left): Karla Nemeth, director, California Department of Water Resources; Gloria Gray,  chair, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Brenda Burman, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner; Jayne Harkins,  commissioner, International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. and Mexico; Amy Haas, executive director, Upper Colorado River Commission.The growing leadership of women in water. The Colorado River’s persistent drought and efforts to sign off on a plan to avert worse shortfalls of water from the river. And in California’s Central Valley, promising solutions to vexing water resource challenges.

These were among the topics that Western Water news explored in 2018.

We’re already planning a full slate of stories for 2019. You can sign up here to be alerted when new stories are published. In the meantime, take a look at what we dove into in 2018:

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Western Water September 7, 2018 Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

Can Steadier Releases from Glen Canyon Dam Make Colorado River ‘Buggy’ Enough for Fish and Wildlife?
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Ted Kennedy, U.S. Geological Survey aquatic scientist

U.S. Geological Survey research ecologist Ted Kennedy collects aquatic invertebrates in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam.Water means life for all the Grand Canyon’s inhabitants, including the many varieties of insects that are a foundation of the ecosystem’s food web. But hydropower operations upstream on the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam, in Northern Arizona near the Utah border, disrupt the natural pace of insect reproduction as the river rises and falls, sometimes dramatically. Eggs deposited at the river’s edge are often left high and dry and their loss directly affects available food for endangered fish such as the humpback chub.

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Western Water September 7, 2018 Enhancing California’s Water Supply: The Drive for New Storage Is California's Water Supply Resilient and Sustainable? Water Education Foundation

ON THE ROAD: Picturesque Northern California Valley Could Become the State’s Next Major Reservoir
Sites Reservoir site is a stop on our Northern California Tour Oct. 10-12

The proposed Sites Reservoir is in a rural cattle-grazing area west of the Sacramento Valley town of Maxwell. An hour’s drive north of Sacramento sits a picture-perfect valley hugging the eastern foothills of Northern California’s Coast Range, with golden hills framing grasslands mostly used for cattle grazing.

Back in the late 1800s, pioneer John Sites built his ranch there and a small township, now gone, bore his name. Today, the community of a handful of families and ranchers still maintains a proud heritage.

  • Read more
Western Water August 24, 2018 California Water Map Gary Pitzer

When Water Worries Often Pit Farms vs. Fish, a Sacramento Valley Farm Is Trying To Address The Needs Of Both
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: River Garden Farms is piloting projects that could add habitat and food to aid Sacramento River salmon

Roger Cornwell, general manager of River Garden Farms, with an example of a refuge like the ones that were lowered into the Sacramento River at Redding to shelter juvenile salmon.  Farmers in the Central Valley are broiling about California’s plan to increase flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems to help struggling salmon runs avoid extinction. But in one corner of the fertile breadbasket, River Garden Farms is taking part in some extraordinary efforts to provide the embattled fish with refuge from predators and enough food to eat.

And while there is no direct benefit to one farm’s voluntary actions, the belief is what’s good for the fish is good for the farmers.

  • Read More
Western Water February 23, 2018 Layperson's Guide to Water Rights Law Gary Pitzer

Does California’s Environment Deserve its Own Water Right?
IN-DEPTH: Fisheries and wildlife face growing challenges, but so do water systems competing for limited supply. Is there room for an environmental water right?

Sunset in Sacramento-San Joaquin DeltaDoes California need to revamp the way in which water is dedicated to the environment to better protect fish and the ecosystem at large? In the hypersensitive world of California water, where differences over who gets what can result in epic legislative and legal battles, the idea sparks a combination of fear, uncertainty and promise.

Saying that the way California manages water for the environment “isn’t working for anyone,” the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shook things up late last year by proposing a redesigned regulatory system featuring what they described as water ecosystem plans and water budgets with allocations set aside for the environment.

  • Read more
Western Water Excerpt November 10, 2016 Jenn Bowles

Two Countries, One River: Crafting a New Agreement
Fall 2016

As vital as the Colorado River is to the United States and Mexico, so is the ongoing process by which the two countries develop unique agreements to better manage the river and balance future competing needs.

The prospect is challenging. The river is over allocated as urban areas and farmers seek to stretch every drop of their respective supplies. Since a historic treaty between the two countries was signed in 1944, the United States and Mexico have periodically added a series of arrangements to the treaty called minutes that aim to strengthen the binational ties while addressing important water supply, water quality and environmental concerns.

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Aquapedia background September 1, 2016 California Water Map

Butte Creek

Butte Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River, begins less than 50 miles northeast of Chico, California and is named after nearby volcanic plateaus or “buttes.” The cold, clear waters of the 93-mile creek sustain the largest naturally spawning wild population of spring-run chinook salmon in the Central Valley. Several other native fish species are found in Butte Creek, including Pacific lamprey and Sacramento pikeminnow.

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Tour October 9, 2014 Images from the Russian River tour

Russian River Tour 2014
Field Trip (past)

The 2014 tour took place October 9-10.

This 2-day, 1-night tour travels the Russian River watershed, a microcosm of water management issues in the West.

  • David Keller's presentation
  • Joshua Fuller's presentation
  • Matt Brennan's presentation
  • Read more
Publication August 18, 2014

Looking to the Source: Watersheds of the Sierra Nevada
Published 2011

This 28-page report describes the watersheds of the Sierra Nevada region and details their importance to California’s overall water picture. It describes the region’s issues and challenges, including healthy forests, catastrophic fire, recreational impacts, climate change, development and land use.

The report also discusses the importance of protecting and restoring watersheds in order to retain water quality and enhance quantity. Examples and case studies are included.

  • Read more
Publication August 18, 2014

Water & the Shaping of California
Published 2000 - Paperback

The story of water is the story of California. And no book tells that story better than Water & the Shaping of California.

  • Read more
Publication August 18, 2014

Water & the Shaping of California
Published 2000 - hardbound

The story of California is the story of water. And no book tells that story better than Water & the Shaping of California.

  • Read more
Video May 27, 2014

The Klamath Basin: A Restoration for the Ages (20 min. DVD)

20-minute version of the 2012 documentary The Klamath Basin: A Restoration for the Ages. This DVD is ideal for showing at community forums and speaking engagements to help the public understand the complex issues related to complex water management disputes in the Klamath River Basin. Narrated by actress Frances Fisher.

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Video May 27, 2014

The Klamath Basin: A Restoration for the Ages (60 min. DVD)

For over a century, the Klamath River Basin along the Oregon and California border has faced complex water management disputes. As relayed in this 2012, 60-minute public television documentary narrated by actress Frances Fisher, the water interests range from the Tribes near the river, to energy producer PacifiCorp, farmers, municipalities, commercial fishermen, environmentalists – all bearing legitimate arguments for how to manage the water. After years of fighting, a groundbreaking compromise may soon settle the battles with two epic agreements that hold the promise of peace and fish for the watershed. View an excerpt from the documentary here.

  • Read more
Video May 27, 2014

A Climate of Change: Water Adaptation Strategies

This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an excellent overview of climate change and how it is already affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are underway to plan and adapt to climate.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

San Joaquin River Restoration Map
Published 2012

This beautiful 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, features a map of the San Joaquin River. The map text focuses on the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, which aims to restore flows and populations of Chinook salmon to the river below Friant Dam to its confluence with the Merced River. The text discusses the history of the program, its goals and ongoing challenges with implementation. 

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Klamath River Watershed Map
Published 2011

This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas and Indian reservations within the Klamath River Watershed. The map text explains the many issues facing this vast, 15,000-square-mile watershed, including fish restoration; agricultural water use; and wetlands. Also included are descriptions of the separate, but linked, Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Agreement, and the next steps associated with those agreements. Development of the map was funded by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Truckee River Basin Map
Published 2005

This beautiful 24×36-inch poster, suitable for framing, displays the rivers, lakes and reservoirs, irrigated farmland, urban areas and Indian reservations within the Truckee River Basin, including the Newlands Project, Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe. Map text explains the issues surrounding the use of the Truckee-Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe water quality improvement efforts, fishery restoration and the effort to reach compromise solutions to many of these issues. 

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Invasive Species Poster Set

One copy of the Space Invaders and one copy of the Unwelcome Visitors poster for a special price.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Unwelcome Visitors

This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, explains how non-native invasive animals can alter the natural ecosystem, leading to the demise of native animals. “Unwelcome Visitors” features photos and information on four such species – including the zerbra mussel – and explains the environmental and economic threats posed by these species.

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law
Updated 2020

The 28-page Layperson’s Guide to Water Rights Law, recognized as the most thorough explanation of California water rights law available to non-lawyers, traces the authority for water flowing in a stream or reservoir, from a faucet or into an irrigation ditch through the complex web of California water rights.

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project
Updated 2013

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the State Water Project provides an overview of the California-funded and constructed State Water Project.

The State Water Project is best known for the 444-mile-long aqueduct that provides water from the Delta to San Joaquin Valley agriculture and southern California cities. The guide contains information about the project’s history and facilities.

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to the Klamath River Basin
Published 2023

The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is hot off the press and available for purchase.

Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and largest reclamation projects.

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Publication April 17, 2014 Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Map

Layperson’s Guide to the Delta
Updated 2020

The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to the Delta explores the competing uses and demands on California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Included in the guide are sections on the history of the Delta, its role in the state’s water system, and its many complex issues with sections on water quality, levees, salinity and agricultural drainage, fish and wildlife, and water distribution.

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Aquapedia background February 3, 2014 California Water Map Layperson's Guide to California Water

Federal Endangered Species Act

The federal government passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, following earlier legislation. The first, the  Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, authorized land acquisition to conserve select species. The Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 then expanded on the 1966 act, and authorized “the compilation of a list of animals “threatened with worldwide extinction” and prohibits their importation without a permit.”

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Aquapedia background January 30, 2014

California Endangered Species Act

California was the first state in the nation to protect fish, flora and fauna with the enactment of the California Endangered Species Act in 1970. (Congress followed suit in 1973 by passing the federal Endangered Species Act. See also the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES.)

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Western Water Magazine May 1, 2013

Meeting the Co-equal Goals? The Bay Delta Conservation Plan
May/June 2013

This issue of Western Water looks at the BDCP and the Coalition to Support Delta Projects, issues that are aimed at improving the health and safety of the Delta while solidifying California’s long-term water supply reliability.

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Western Water Magazine January 1, 2013

Viewing Water with a Wide Angle Lens: A Roundtable Discussion
January/February 2013

This printed issue of Western Water features a roundtable discussion with Anthony Saracino, a water resources consultant; Martha Davis, executive manager of policy development with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency and senior policy advisor to the Delta Stewardship Council; Stuart Leavenworth, editorial page editor of The Sacramento Bee and Ellen Hanak, co-director of research and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

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Western Water Magazine July 1, 2012

How Much Water Does the Delta Need?
July/August 2012

This printed issue of Western Water examines the issues associated with the State Water Board’s proposed revision of the water quality Bay-Delta Plan, most notably the question of whether additional flows are needed for the system, and how they might be provided.

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Western Water Magazine July 1, 2011

Making the Connection: Sound Science and Good Delta Policy
July/August 2011

This printed issue of Western Water examines science – the answers it can provide to help guide management decisions in the Delta and the inherent uncertainty it holds that can make moving forward such a tenuous task.

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Western Water Magazine March 1, 2009

Delta Conveyance: The Debate Continues
March/April 2009

This printed issue of Western Water provides an overview of the idea of a dual conveyance facility, including questions surrounding its cost, operation and governance

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Western Water Magazine January 1, 2009

Making a Future for Fish: Preserving and Restoring Native Salmon and Trout
January/February 2009

This printed copy of Western Water examines the native salmon and trout dilemma – the extent of the crisis, its potential impact on water deliveries and the lengths to which combined efforts can help restore threatened and endangered species.

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Western Water Magazine March 1, 2008

Finding a Vision for the Delta
March/April 2008

This printed copy of Western Water examines the Delta through the many ongoing activities focusing on it, most notably the Delta Vision process. Many hours of testimony, research, legal proceedings, public hearings and discussion have occurred and will continue as the state seeks the ultimate solution to the problems tied to the Delta.

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Western Water Magazine July 1, 2002

Split Over Water for Endangered Species
July/August 2002

In California and the West, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a critical issue. Development and agricultural interests say the law should not be used to unjustly block new projects, while conservationists view the law as a major bulwark against the destruction of vital habitat. In the water world, municipal and agricultural interests say there is room to streamline the ESA’s application to prevent undue interruption of water delivery.

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Western Water Excerpt July 1, 2002 Gary PitzerRita Schmidt Sudman

Split Over Water for Endangered Species
Jul/Aug 2002

Two events that transformed the West, population growth and the dominance of agriculture, are inextricable parts of the battles fought over its most vital resource, water. Throughout the 19th century, as settlers sought to tame the rugged landscape, momentum built behind the notion of a comprehensive, federally financed waterworks plan that would provide the agrarian society envisioned by Thomas Jefferson. The Reclamation Act of 1902, which could arguably be described as a progression of the credo, Manifest Destiny, transformed the West into an economic powerhouse while putting an exclamation mark to the tide of American migration.

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Water Academy

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