Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Act Compensatory Mitigation Policy

Federal Register | December 27th, 2016

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), announce the final Endangered Species Act (ESA) Compensatory Mitigation Policy. The new policy steps d

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service or USFWS), announce the final Endangered Species Act (ESA) Compensatory Mitigation Policy. The new policy steps down and implements recent Executive Office, Department of the Interior, and Service mitigation policies that reflect a shift from project-by-project to landscape-scale approaches to planning and implementing compensatory mitigation. The new policy is established to improve consistency and effectiveness in the use of compensatory mitigation as recommended or required under the ESA. The ESA Compensatory Mitigation Policy covers permittee-responsible mitigation, conservation banking, in-lieu fee programs, and other third-party mitigation mechanisms, and stresses the need to hold all compensatory mitigation mechanisms to equivalent and effective standards. DATES: This policy is effective on December 27, 2016.

Endangered Species Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of the Longfin Smelt

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) | July 30th, 2024

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered species status under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for the San Francisco Ba

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine endangered species status under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), for the San Francisco Bay-Delta distinct population segment (DPS) of longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), a fish species of the Pacific Coast. This rule extends the protections of the Act to this DPS and adds it to the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.... This final rule is available on the internet at https://www.regulations.gov. Comments and materials we received on the proposed rule are available for public inspection at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0082. Availability of supporting materials: Supporting materials we used in preparing this rule, such as the species status assessment report, are available at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0082.

Enhancements to EcoAtlas’ CRAM analysis tools: Habitat Development Curves and Ecoregional Cumulative Distribution Function plots (CDFs)

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | April 5th, 2016

Enhancing the Vision for Managing California’s Environmental Information

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | July 1st, 2015

The Environmental Data Summit, convened under the auspices of the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Science Program in June 2014, witnessed remarkable participation fro

The Environmental Data Summit, convened under the auspices of the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Science Program in June 2014, witnessed remarkable participation from experts across California, the nation, and even the world. Summit attendees from the public, private, federal, and non-profit sectors shared their views regarding the urgent needs and proposed solutions for California’s data-sharing and data-integration challenges, especially pertaining to the subject of environmental resource management in the era of “big data.” After all, this is a time when our data sources are growing in number, size, and complexity. Yet our ability to manage and analyze such data in service of effective decision-making lags far behind our demonstrated needs. In its review of the sustainability of water and environmental management in the California Bay-Delta, the National Research Council (NRC) found that “only a synthetic, integrated, analytical approach to understanding the effects of suites of environmental factors (stressors) on the ecosystem and its components is likely to provide important insights that can lead to enhancement of the Delta and its species” (National Research Council 2012). The present “silos of data” have resulted in separate and compartmentalized science, impeding our ability to make informed decisions. While resolving data integration challenges will not, by itself, produce better science or better natural resource outcomes, progress in this area will provide a strong foundation for decision-making. Various mandates ranging from the California Water Action Plan to the President’s executive order demanding federal open data policies demonstrate the consensus on the merits of modern data sharing at the scale and function needed to meet today’s challenges. This white paper emerges from the Summit as an instrument to help identify such opportunities to enhance California’s cross-jurisdictional data management. As a resource to policymakers, agency leadership, data managers, and others, this paper articulates some key challenges as well as proven solutions that, with careful and thoughtful coordination, can be implemented to overcome those obstacles. Primarily featured are tools that complement the State’s current investments in technology, recognizing that success depends upon broad and motivated participation from all levels of the public agency domain. This document describes examples, practices, and recommendations that focus on California’s Delta as an opportune example likely to yield meaningful initial results in the face of pressing challenges.  Once proven in the Delta, however, this paper’s recommended innovations would conceivably be applied statewide in subsequent phases.

Enhancing Water Supply through Invasive Plant Removal: A Literature Review of Evapotranspiration Studies on Arundo Donax

Nature Conservancy | February 11th, 2019

Removal of the invasive, non-native plant Arundo donax (Arundo, giant reed) along riparian corridors is being considered by groundwater sustainability agencies

Removal of the invasive, non-native plant Arundo donax (Arundo, giant reed) along riparian corridors is being considered by groundwater sustainability agencies as a potential water savings strategy that could provide co-benefits for groundwater sustainability as well as native ecosystem restoration. Arundo is a fast growing, densely vegetated reed that has purportedly high-water consumption (i.e., transpiration). This paper is intended to help agencies develop estimates of the water supply benefits that could be realized from Arundo removal.

Ensuring the Public Trust

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | July 1st, 2012

The California Supreme Court's recognition of the public trust doctrine as an integral part of California's water rights system was one of the momentous events in the h

The California Supreme Court's recognition of the public trust doctrine as an integral part of California's water rights system was one of the momentous events in the history of California (if not United States) environmental policy.' The court looked back to the foundational purposes of the public trust to hold that there are limits to the sovereign power to privatize the rights to use the waters of the state, and it looked forward to conclude that prudent development and sustainable use of California's water resources require the state to retain authority to protect the public trust for the benefit of all Californians. The court also defined the public trust as an environmental baseline that both protects the traditional interests of navigation, commerce, and fisheries and embodies the contemporary scientific and popular understanding that there are ecological limits to the diversion and use of water for consumptive purposes. The lessons of National Audubon Society v. Superior Court2 are now a commonplace of water rights law, appearing not just in administrative orders and judicial opinions, but also in standard water rights terms, policy studies, and legislation.

Environmental Baseline Biological Resources - Fauna, Total Water Management Study for the Central Valley, California

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | January 1st, 1975

Environmental Characteristics of Select Managed Ponds in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta: Implications for Native Fish Conservation and Research

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 23rd, 2025

The use of wetlands to support native fish research and conservation efforts in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) of California is a growing priority. The purpos

The use of wetlands to support native fish research and conservation efforts in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) of California is a growing priority. The purpose of our study was to examine the physiochemical and biological characteristics of select managed ponds in the Delta to determine if they would be suitable habitats for research involving the conservation of delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). We studied 10 managed ponds distributed across the central part of the Delta situated on Bacon Island and Bouldin Island in San Joaquin County, and Holland Tract and Webb Tract islands in Contra Costa County. The managed ponds had a diversity of physical habitat configurations and were not directly connected to waterways surrounding the islands and, therefore, not affected by tides. We studied the managed ponds from approximately November 2021 to December 2023 to assess water quality, zooplankton, fish, and pesticide metrics. Water levels in the managed ponds were managed to varying degrees and were mostly independent of climate-driven wet-dry seasonality. Water quality conditions varied among ponds and were independent of geographic location. Overall, mean monthly chlorophyll a concentration ranged from 15 to 57 (mean=30) micrograms per liter (μg/L), dissolved oxygen concentration ranged from 4 to 9 (mean=7) milligrams per liter (mg/L), pH was 8, salinity was 1 practical salinity units (PSU), specific conductance ranged from 1,202 to 1,839 (mean=1,471) microsiemens per centimeter (μS/cm), and turbidity ranged from 13 to 24 (mean=19) Formazin Nephelometric Units (FNU). Water temperature thresholds that contribute to stress (21 degrees Celsius [°C]) and mortality (28 °C) of delta smelt were often exceeded during summer and fall, though vertical stratification contributed to lower bottom temperatures in the deepest managed ponds, which could potentially provide thermal refugia for delta smelt so long as dissolved oxygen concentrations are suitable. Zooplankton populations were broadly similar among managed ponds and included calanoid and cyclopoid copepods that would be suitable prey for delta smelt. Overall average total zooplankton biomass, as measured with a Schindler-Patalas trap, was 0.6 μg/L (min=0, max=63.6) and peaked during spring at more than 4 μg/L. Fish populations highly varied among the managed ponds with potential predators of delta smelt such as largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) present in several of the managed ponds; predator distribution among ponds seemed to have been driven primarily by deliberate stocking to facilitate local fisheries. Measured pesticide concentrations were below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Aquatic Life Benchmarks except for exceedances of three compounds (diuron [herbicide], clothianidin [insecticide], and deltamethrin [pyrethroid insecticide]) in samples collected from ponds on Bouldin Island and Webb Tract. Overall, most managed ponds seemed suitable to support delta smelt, though physical control of potential predators and summer temperature might be needed. The results provide guidance on how to engineer and manage new managed ponds to support research and conservation efforts for delta smelt and other native fishes.

Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) for the Cadiz Groundwater Storage Dry-Year Supply Program

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) | September 13th, 2001

In February 1999, Metropolitan issued a Notice of Preparation of an EIR for the Cadiz Project which would be constructed and operated by Metropolitan in the Cadiz and Fe

In February 1999, Metropolitan issued a Notice of Preparation of an EIR for the Cadiz Project which would be constructed and operated by Metropolitan in the Cadiz and Fenner Valleys of the eastern Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, California. The BLM determined that an EIS would be required as the proposed action includes an amendment of the CDCA Plan for an exception to the utility corridor requirements and grant(s) of right-of-way across federal lands. The BLM issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the proposed action in March 1999. In May 1999, the BLM issued a Notice of Public Meeting and extension of the scoping comment period. The Draft EIR/EIS was published in November 1999 with a 104-day public review period that ended in March 2000. Because numerous comments raised questions regarding groundwater management issues, a Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS was prepared to provide additional information and to present the Groundwater Monitoring and Management Plan (Management Plan) that has been incorporated into the proposed project. The Management Plan will govern the water storage and extraction operations in the affected groundwater basins to ensure that project operations will not result in any unacceptable adverse impacts to groundwater resources or air quality. The Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS was circulated for an 80-day public review period that ended in January 2001. The Cadiz Project is proposed by Metropolitan who is acting in partnership with the private company Cadiz Inc. The project will involve construction and operation of a 35-mile pipeline for conveying water between the Iron Mountain Pumping Plant on the Colorado River Aqueduct and the Cadiz/Fenner area, a Cadiz Pumping Plant at Metropolitan.s existing Iron Mountain Pumping Plant facility, 390 acres of spreading basins for percolation of Colorado River water into the groundwater basin in the Cadiz/Fenner area, a wellfield for extracting stored Colorado River water and indigenous groundwater, and associated power poles and line along the conveyance pipeline and in the wellfield. This Final EIR/EIS contains comments received on the Draft EIR/EIS and the Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS, detailed responses to those comments, and integrates the information contained in the Draft EIR/EIS and Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS with revisions as appropriate in response to comments.

Environmental Law Foundation, et al. Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. State Water Resources Control Board, et al. Defendant, Cross-defendant and Respondent; County of Siskiyou, Defendant, Cross-complainant and Appellant

State of California | August 29th, 2018

Click here to read Brian Gray, Senior Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center and a Professor Emeritus at UC Hastings, on this ruling

Click here to read Brian Gray, Senior Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center and a Professor Emeritus at UC Hastings, on this ruling and the potential ramifications under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.