North Lahontan

Making Conservation a California Way of Life - Revised

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | March 12th, 2024

Making Nature's City: A science-based framework for building urban biodiversity

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 1st, 2019

Cities will face many challenges over the coming decades, from adapting to a changing climate to accommodating rapid population growth. A related suite of challenges th

Cities will face many challenges over the coming decades, from adapting to a changing climate to accommodating rapid population growth. A related suite of challenges threatens global biodiversity, and many species face potential extinction. While urban planners and conservationists have long treated these issues as distinct, there is growing evidence that cities not only harbor a significant fraction of the world’s biodiversity, but that they can also be made more livable and resilient for people, plants, and animals through nature-friendly urban design. Urban ecological science can provide a powerful tool to guide cities towards more biodiversity-friendly design. However, current research remains scattered across thousands of journal articles and largely inaccessible to practitioners. Making Nature’s City fills this gap, synthesizing global research to develop a science-based approach for supporting nature in cities. We identify seven key elements of urban form and function that work together to maximize biodiversity, and we illustrate these elements through a case study in California’s Silicon Valley. Using the framework developed in this report, urban designers and local residents can work together to link local parks, greenways, green roofs, street trees, stormwater basins, commercial landscaping, and backyards to support biodiversity while making cities better places to live. As we envision the healthier, and more resilient cities, Making Nature’s City provides practical guidance for the many actors who together will shape the nature of cities.

Making the Most of Water for the Environment: A Functional Flows Approach for California’s Rivers

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | August 25th, 2020

In California, water and land management activities have substantially altered river flows and degraded river channels and their floodplains. The result has been a precip

In California, water and land management activities have substantially altered river flows and degraded river channels and their floodplains. The result has been a precipitous decline in native fish populations, including the collapse of valued salmon fisheries, and widespread imperilment of freshwater biodiversity. Environmental flows—flows in rivers and streams necessary to sustain ecosystem health—are essential to reversing these trends. Yet many rivers in California lack environmental flows. And for those rivers with such protections, environmental flows are typically established at static minimum levels, which fail to preserve the natural seasonal and interannual variability of flow that sustains healthy ecosystems. A new approach to managing environmental water is needed. 

Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life: Primer of 2018 Legislation on Water Conservation and Drought Planning Senate Bill 606 (Hertzberg) and Assembly Bill 1668 (Friedman)

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | November 30th, 2018

In 2018, the California State Legislature (Legislature) enacted two policy bills, (Senate Bill (SB) 606 (Hertzberg) and Assembly Bill (AB) 1668 (Friedman)), to establish

In 2018, the California State Legislature (Legislature) enacted two policy bills, (Senate Bill (SB) 606 (Hertzberg) and Assembly Bill (AB) 1668 (Friedman)), to establish a new foundation for long-term improvements in water conservation and drought planning to adapt to climate change and the resulting longer and more intense droughts in California. These two bills amend existing law to provide expanded and new authorities and requirements to enable permanent changes and actions for those purposes, improving the state's water future for generations to come.

Managing Water Scarcity: A Framework For Fair And Effective Water Right Curtailment In California

Berkeley Law Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment | April 15th, 2023

The report describes the legal context for water right curtailments in California, summarizes the history of curtailment practices in the state, and recommends actions Ca

The report describes the legal context for water right curtailments in California, summarizes the history of curtailment practices in the state, and recommends actions California can take to build an effective framework for curtailment.

Martis Valley Groundwater Basin Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Alternative Submittal

Truckee Donner Public Utility District (TDPUD) | December 22nd, 2016

Maximizing ENSO as a source of western US hydroclimate predictability

Climate Dynamics (Springer) | October 16th, 2019

Until recently, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was considered a reliable source of winter precipitation predictability in the western US, with a historically

Until recently, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was considered a reliable source of winter precipitation predictability in the western US, with a historically strong link between extreme El Niño events and extremely wet seasons. However, the 2015–2016 El Niño challenged our understanding of the ENSO-precipitation relationship. California precipitation was near-average during the 2015–2016 El Niño, which was characterized by warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies of similar magnitude compared to the extreme 1997–1998 and 1982–1983 El Niño events. We demonstrate that this precipitation response can be explained by El Niño’s spatial pattern, rather than internal atmospheric variability. In addition, observations and large-ensembles of regional and global climate model simulations indicate that extremes in seasonal and daily precipitation during strong El Niño events are better explained using the ENSO Longitude Index (ELI), which captures the diversity of ENSO’s spatial patterns in a single metric, compared to the traditional Niño3.4 index, which measures SST anomalies in a fixed region and therefore fails to capture ENSO diversity. The physically-based ELI better explains western US precipitation variability because it tracks the zonal shifts in tropical Pacific deep convection that drive teleconnections through the response in the extratropical wave-train, integrated vapor transport, and atmospheric rivers. This research provides evidence that ELI improves the value of ENSO as a predictor of California’s seasonal hydroclimate extremes compared to traditional ENSO indices, especially during strong El Niño events.

Measuring Progress Toward Universal Access to Water and Sanitation in California: Defining Goals, Indicators, and Performance Measures

Pacific Institute | September 15th, 2018

In January 2018, over half a million Californians were served by water utilities that were out of compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The worst outbreak o

In January 2018, over half a million Californians were served by water utilities that were out of compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The worst outbreak of Hepatitis A in recent memory occurred in 2016-2018 due to open defecation and lack of handwashing facilities for persons experiencing homelessness. California’s tribes continue to face problems of poor housing and water and sanitation service, with two-thirds of tribal communities reporting inadequate home plumbing in 2015.1 And the cost of water has increased for many, particularly among small and medium size systems, with 39 community water systems in the state charging more than $100 a month for 12 CCF of water. In response to the problem, California enacted the Human Right to Water in 2012, declaring that “Every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.”

Meteorological and geographical factors associated with dry lightning in central and northern California

Environmental Research: Climate (IOP) | August 8th, 2022

Lightning occurring with less than 2.5 mm of rainfall—typically referred to as ‘dry lightning’—is a major source of wildfire ignition in central and northern Cali

Lightning occurring with less than 2.5 mm of rainfall—typically referred to as ‘dry lightning’—is a major source of wildfire ignition in central and northern California. Despite being rare, dry lightning outbreaks have resulted in destructive fires in this region due to the intersection of dense, dry vegetation and a large population living adjacent to fire-prone lands. Since thunderstorms are much less common in this region relative to the interior West, the climatology and drivers of dry lightning have not been widely investigated in central and northern California. Using daily gridded lightning and precipitation observations (1987–2020) in combination with atmospheric reanalyses, we characterize the climatology of dry lightning and the associated meteorological conditions during the warm season (May–October) when wildfire risk is highest. Across the domain, nearly half (∼46%) of all cloud-to-ground lightning flashes occurred as dry lightning during the study period. We find that higher elevations (>2000 m) receive more dry lightning compared to lower elevations (

Minerals of California Bulletin No. 113

State of California | February 15th, 1938