Data to Decisions: How to Make Science More Relevant for Management of the San Francisco Estuary

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | March 23rd, 2023

Dealing with the Delta: Envisioning Futures, Finding Solutions (Research Brief)

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | February 15th, 2007

This research brief summarizes a report by Jay Lund, Ellen Hanak, William Fleenor, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, and Peter Moyle, Envisioning Futures for the Sacramentoâ

This research brief summarizes a report by Jay Lund, Ellen Hanak, William Fleenor, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, and Peter Moyle, Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta.

Debris-Restraining Barriers of the Yuba River

Scientific American | November 19th, 1904

In the years following the discovery of gold in California, the processes of mining for this precious metal caused the removal of vast quantities of detritus from the w

In the years following the discovery of gold in California, the processes of mining for this precious metal caused the removal of vast quantities of detritus from the western slopes of the Sierra Mountains into the streams and rivers of the valleys below. Gold was found in the beginning in gravel beds, where it had probably been deposited by rivers flowing in prehistoric times. These gravel beds exist in great numbers in a comparatively small area along the western slopes of the Sierra Mountains near the headwaters of streams draining into the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. In securing gold from these mountains the sorting action of water was necessary, and in order to facilitate mining operations. ditches of great length and size were built, frequently at great expense, to carry water to the localities where gold had been discovered. Streams of water under great pressures were directed at these gravel banks through nozzles sometimes as large as nine inches in diameter, to break down the gravel banks and wash the detritus through sluice ways where the gold could be caught. Streams carry ing as much as 3,500 miner's inches were not uncommon. It is thus easily seen that such powerful agencies would rapidly wash down whole hillsides, which would naturally be carried into the canyons and small streams in the vicinity of the mines, to be washed farther and farther down stream with each succeeding rainy season. These mining operations were carried on for a number of years without interruption until the valley country below became more thickly populated, when the injuries caused to the rivers and the neighboring farm lands became important enough to cause those damaged to seek legal redress.

DEDUCE: Delta Environmental Data for the Understanding of California Estuary Factsheet

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | July 3rd, 2017

Delta Adapts: Creating a Climate Resilient Future

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | June 25th, 2021

The time to act is now. Climate change is already altering the physical environment of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh (Delta), and we will continue t

The time to act is now. Climate change is already altering the physical environment of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh (Delta), and we will continue to experience its effects through hotter temperatures, more severe wildfires, and prolonged droughts. Over the long term, climate change in the Delta is expected to harm human health and safety, disrupt the economy, diminish water supply availability and usability, shift ecosystem function, compromise sensitive habitats, and increase the challenges of providing basic services. Many of these impacts will disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. Although the exact extent and timing of these impacts is uncertain, this climate change vulnerability assessment phase of Delta Adapts will help the Delta Stewardship Council (Council) understand specific regional climate risks and vulnerabilities. Regional, collaborative adaptation strategies rooted in science are more critical than ever. The next phase of Delta Adapts, preparing an adaptation strategy, will identify ways to address the risks and vulnerabilities.

Delta Adapts: Creating a Climate Resilient Future

Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) | June 25th, 2025

The Delta Stewardship Council (Council) was established, in part, to provide sustainable management for the Delta ecosystem, and climate adaptation is a critical consider

The Delta Stewardship Council (Council) was established, in part, to provide sustainable management for the Delta ecosystem, and climate adaptation is a critical consideration to achieve that mission in future decades. To respond to the challenge of climate adaptation,the Council developed this initiative, Delta Adapts: Creating a Climate Resilient Future (Delta Adapts). Climate change must be considered to attain the state’s coequal goals, as established by the 2009 Delta Reform Act: securing a reliable water supply for California, protecting and restoring the ecosystem and wildlife it supports, and enhancing the Delta as a unique place, with its community, tribal, and agricultural heritage. The Council adopted the Delta Plan, which has regulatory policies that protect land for restoration and agriculture, help manage flood risk, and improve water supply reliability. The Delta Plan directs the Council to guide and regulate actions of the 200+ state and local agencies in the Delta to ensure they support statewide water supply reliability and Delta ecosystem restoration.

Delta Adapts: Creating a Climate Resilient Future Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Climate Change Adaptation Plan (Draft)

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | November 1st, 2024

Initiated in 2018 by the Council, Delta Adapts began with a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) to understand how regional climate impacts will affect the Delt

Initiated in 2018 by the Council, Delta Adapts began with a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) to understand how regional climate impacts will affect the Delta’s ecosystems, water supply, infrastructure, agriculture, and communities, including socially vulnerable communities (defined in Chapter 1). Now, this Adaptation Plan builds upon the CCVA and proposes strategies to address how Delta communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems can adapt to climate change in a manner consistent with the Council’s resilience goals.

Delta Aquatic Resources Inventory Factsheet

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

 DARI is the Delta Aquatic Resources Inventory of surface waters, wetlands and other aquatic resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). The goal of the DARI

 DARI is the Delta Aquatic Resources Inventory of surface waters, wetlands and other aquatic resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). The goal of the DARI project is to develop a geospatial inventory of aquatic resources that will be used as a common base map for the Delta. A similar mapping approach used to create the California Aquatic Resource Inventory (CARI; www. sfei.org/cari) will be applied to provide a map of the aquatic resources and their associated attributes. The final map will be incorporated into CARI and made publicly available through EcoAtlas (ecoatlas.org) and similar platforms. 

Delta Conservation Adaptive Management Action Strategy

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | April 11th, 2019

Various efforts are ongoing to restore and enhance ecosystems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Yolo Bypass, and Suisun Marsh (hereafter the Delta) that require suppor

Various efforts are ongoing to restore and enhance ecosystems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Yolo Bypass, and Suisun Marsh (hereafter the Delta) that require support for adaptive management. Adaptive management is a science-based, structured approach to environmental decision making under uncertain conditions. Adaptive management emphasizes acquisition and use of new knowledge in natural resource management, leading to continuous iterative improvements in project planning, implementation, monitoring, and follow-up. Adaptive management is required for compliance with multiple regulatory processes, such as consistency with the Delta Plan and the Suisun Marsh Plan, but recent reviews have found that a full adaptive management cycle is rarely completed at either the project- or system-level in the Delta (Delta Independent Science Board 2016; Nagarkar and Raulund-Rasmussen 2016). To address this issue, the Delta Science Program initiated an effort to work with agency and stakeholder partners in the Delta to develop a comprehensive, science-based adaptive management approach to support achievement of Delta conservation goals. Conservation, as defined in the Delta Conservation Framework (Sloop et al. 2018), consists of efforts to protect, restore, and enhance ecosystems in the Delta. The Delta Conservation Adaptive Management Action Strategy is based on the Adaptive Management Framework outlined in the Delta Plan (Figure 1, Delta Stewardship Council 2013). 

Delta Conveyance Project Draft Environmental Impact Report Explained

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 27th, 2022

The Delta Conveyance Project Draft Environmental Impact Report Explained is a companion to the Delta Conveyance Project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to hel

The Delta Conveyance Project Draft Environmental Impact Report Explained is a companion to the Delta Conveyance Project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to help members of the public better understand the proposed Delta Conveyance Project and the requirements for the Department of Water Resources (DWR) in preparing an EIR under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Although not required by CEQA, this document is intended to acquaint readers with the proposed Delta Conveyance Project and alternatives analyzed in the Draft EIR and provide a short summary of impacts to key resource areas. This document is separate from and not intended to be a substitute or surrogate for the comprehensive summary of the Draft EIR that is being circulated with the Draft EIR. Readers are encouraged to review the Draft EIR Executive Summary and full Draft EIR and provide comments during the public review period.