You may have seen golden mussels mentioned on your local news or on the website of a state agency. Wherever you heard of them first, you are now aware that California is at the beginning of a long fight. The objective is to protect waterways and water infrastructure from a takeover by golden mussels. The…
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Marin Water’s Atmospheric River Capture (ARC) Project Unlikely to Live up to its Name
The Marin Municipal Water District (Marin Water) is a public utility that provides water to 190,000 residents in central and south Marin County. Marin Water is proposing what it terms an “Atmospheric River Capture (ARC) Project” to divert rainwater from atmospheric river events (rainstorms) during the North Bay’s rainy season. The publicity for the Project…
Siskiyou County Rescinds Approval of Two Shasta Valley Production Wells
Co-written with Amber Jamieson, Water Advocacy Director of the Environmental Protection Information Center Siskiyou County has rescinded approvals for two proposed irrigation wells in the Shasta Valley. It has also withdrawn the associated Public Trust findings, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption, and determinations of no significant impact. The County made these decisions after a coalition…
Flow Saga in the Klamath Basin – June 2026
As the irrigation season proceeds, eyes are on the Klamath Basin. Removal of four dams recently opened over 400 miles of habitat for salmon and steelhead. Annual snowpack was so dismal that it has already disappeared from the upper basin. State agencies are currently advancing long-term policies to limit river dewatering in key Klamath tributaries.…
San Joaquin County Water Right Application for Groundwater Recharge: Threat or Opportunity?
On May 18, 2026, San Joaquin County issued a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) to support water right application 29835. The application seeks to divert up to 158,000 acre-feet of water per year from the Mokelumne River. The stated purpose of the project is conjunctive use. Conjunctive use refers to coordinated management of surface water…
A Water Renaissance Plan for California, from the Bay-Delta Flow Coalition
The Water Renaissance Plan (the Plan), published May 2026, is a new 27-page proposal for a sustainable water future for California. It was developed by a coalition of entities that include California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the River, Golden State Salmon Association, LA Waterkeeper, Resource Renewal Institute, Restore the Delta, San…
CSPA calls for reversal on the Kern River case, to ensure water for fish
On May 4, 2026, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance joined with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association, and North Coast Rivers Alliance to file an amicus brief in an appeal of the Kern River case Bring Back the Kern v. City of Bakersfield, 2025. Attorney Stephan Volker filed the amicus brief in…
California’s Heritage and Wild Trout Program: A Tale of Partnership Among Government, Nonprofits, and the Public
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW’s) Heritage and Wild Trout Program (the Program) manages designated waters for wild trout species. The term “wild trout” means a fish born and reared in a specific location without human intervention. The term “heritage trout” refers to trout that have lived in a specific location since prehistoric…
Use of Remote Site Incubators in the Russian River Watershed
In the context of fisheries management, a Remote Site Incubator (RSI) is a device that incubates salmonid eggs in a streamside setting before releasing the incubated fry into nearby habitat. The Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program in California is one program that uses RSIs. This program involves spawning adult broodstock at Warm Springs…
Help CSPA stop the pollution of San Pablo Bay
If you live, work, or engage in recreation in Richmond, you’ve probably gotten close to the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill in north Richmond. The Parr Boulevard-based garbage dump opened in 1953. The dump is now closed, but it remains a problem. For close to two decades, the facility owned by a subsidiary of Phoenix-based…
CSPA Presents at Salmonid Restoration Federation Conference
I sometimes tell fishing clubs when I talk to them that CSPA works in long and difficult regulatory processes so the clubs don’t have to. There is so much regulatory and legal work to do to save and restore California’s fish and the communities that depend on them. On many levels, the effort in California’s…
Governor Newsom Ends 2021 Drought Emergency after CSPA, AquAlliance Sue
On March 24, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a proclamation to end the 2021 Drought Emergency. Gov. Newsom’s action came approximately two weeks after nonprofits CSPA and AquAlliance filed a lawsuit regarding the matter on March 10, 2026 in Alameda County Superior Court. The proclamation can be found in a list of terminations of states of emergency. The end to the drought emergency is welcome because the emergency had weakened environmental…
Minimum Baseflows – Survival or Recovery: Which Levels will the Water Board Choose?
The California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) is advancing a process to establish permanent streamflow requirements for the Shasta and Scott rivers. The Water Board’s current work will narrow the range of flows and focus deeper investigations in a forthcoming scientific basis report and economic analysis. This report will inform the Water Board’s selection of permanent minimum baseflows. Interim…
The Spring-Run Chinook Salmon of Deer and Mill Creeks
It’s the time of year when I start to think about spring-run Chinook salmon. As the warm temperatures of spring begin to melt the snowpack, cold and clear water flows from the southern Cascades and Lassen foothills. This seasonal change initiates the return of adult Central Valley spring-run Chinook to hold and then spawn in their natal streams. Located in Tehama County, California, Deer and Mill Creeks are significant tributaries…
Bad News for All: AHO’s Draft Water Rights Decision for Proposed Sites Reservoir
On March 20, 2026, the Administrative Hearings Office (AHO) for the State Water Resources Control Board (Board) issued a Draft Decision regarding water rights for the proposed Sites Reservoir. The Draft Decision followed over a year of evidentiary hearings that ended with reply briefs in June 2025. The Draft Decision is accompanied by a Draft Water Rights Permit. The Draft Decision proposes granting the…