Droughts in California

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | April 1st, 2021

Drowned Memories: The Submerged Places of the Winnemem Wintu

Journal of the World Archaeological Congress (Springer) | July 7th, 2009

This article is a brief overview of an instance where landscape inundation has disconnected culture from place. The Winnemem Wintu, a Native American tribe in Northern Ca

This article is a brief overview of an instance where landscape inundation has disconnected culture from place. The Winnemem Wintu, a Native American tribe in Northern California, had most of their ancestral landscape along the McCloud River submerged by the construction of Shasta Dam just after World War II. The tribe’s remaining traditional cultural properties are under continual threat of loss and/or destruction, leaving the tribe’s ability to practice traditional ceremonies crippled by legal battles and fights against the continual assertion of United States hegemonic power over tribal cultural identity. As part of archaeological research on these submerged places, the tribe’s spiritual leader, Caleen Sisk-Franco, and Tribal Headman, Mark Franco, spoke with the author about these threats and how their culture must adapt to meet them.

Early California Laws and Policies Relating to California Indians

California Research Bureau (CRB) | September 1st, 2002

Did the State of California enact laws that prohibited California Indians from practicing their religion, speaking their languages or practicing traditional ceremonies an

Did the State of California enact laws that prohibited California Indians from practicing their religion, speaking their languages or practicing traditional ceremonies and customs?  Senator John L. Burton requested that the California Research Bureau research this question. The initial investigation and research contained in this report led to a focus on four examples of early State of California laws and policies that significantly impacted the California Indians’ way of life: ·  The 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians and related amendments; ·  California militia policies and “Expeditions against the Indians” during 1851 to 1859; ·  The State of California’s official response to federal treaties negotiated with California Indians during 1851 to 1852; and ·  Early and current state fish protection laws that exempt California Indians from related prohibitions. The 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians facilitated removing California Indians from their traditional lands, separating at least a generation of children and adults from their families, languages, and cultures (1850 to 1865). This California law provided for “apprenticing” or indenturing Indian children and adults to Whites, and also punished “vagrant” Indians by “hiring” them out to the highest bidder at a public auction if the Indian could not provide sufficient bond or bail. The California Legislature created the laws that controlled California Indians’ land, lives and livelihoods, while enforcement and implementation occurred at the county and local township levels. Some examples include: ·  County-level Courts of Sessions and local township Justices of the Peace determined which Indians and Indian children were “apprenticed” or  indentured pursuant to the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians. ·  Under the same act, Justices of the Peace, mayors or recorders of incorporated towns or cities, decided the status and punishment of “vagrant” Indians. ·  Under the California Constitution and state militia laws, California governors ordered local sheriffs to organize the men to conduct the “Expeditions against the Indians.” From 1851 to 1859, the California Legislature passed twenty-seven laws that the State Comptroller relied upon in determining the total expenditures related to the Expeditions against the Indians. The total amount of claims submitted to the State of California Comptroller for these Expeditions against the Indians was $1,293,179.20. The California Legislature was involved in influencing the U.S. Senate’s ratification process of the 18 treaties negotiated with California Indians during 1851 to 1852. These treaties were never ratified, and kept secret from 1852 until 1905. Prior to the President submitting the treaties to the Senate, the California Legislature conducted considerable debate, made reports, drafted and passed resolutions that mostly opposed ratification of the treaties. The California Legislature also enacted laws during the first fifteen years of statehood that accommodated Indian tribes’ traditional fishing practices. California laws exist today that continue to protect fish and exempt California Indians from related prohibitions.

Ecological implications of modeled hydrodynamic changes in the upper San Francisco Estuary

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | May 2nd, 2016

Understanding how the pre-development upper San Francisco Estuary supported native wildlife is challenging because our current understanding of local wildlife ecology is

Understanding how the pre-development upper San Francisco Estuary supported native wildlife is challenging because our current understanding of local wildlife ecology is largely based on the profoundly altered modern landscape. This difficulty is compounded by the dynamic nature of the upper estuary’s aquatic habitats, which naturally experience tremendous temporal variability, largely due to the region’s Mediterranean climate. One approach to understanding how the system historically supported native wildlife is through a lens of landscape ecology (Whipple et al. 2012; SFEI-ASC 2014). This memorandum documents the first efforts to understand the landscape ecology of the upper estuary, comprising the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and Suisun Bay, using a 3D hydrodynamic model of the pre-development system. By studying the pre-development landscape, we hope to gain insight into the deficiencies of the contemporary landscape and to help develop solutions for remedying these deficiencies. 

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 Archeological and Historical Resources, Total Water Management Study for the Central Valley Basin, California

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

Estimates of Natural and Unimpaired Flows for the Central Valley of California: Water Years 1922-2014 (draft)

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | March 1st, 2016

Estimating regional water supplies that would have occurred absent human activities is a common practice in water resources planning. In this report, such theor

Estimating regional water supplies that would have occurred absent human activities is a common practice in water resources planning. In this report, such theoretical water supply estimates are referred to as “unimpaired” flow. Since 1980, the Department of Water Resources (Department) has periodically published estimates of Central Valley unimpaired flows. In spite of the Department’s previous attempts to distinguish between natural conditions and its calcula tion of theoretical unimpaired flows, unimpaired flow estimates have frequently been used as a surrogate measure of natural conditions, presumably because natural flow estimates were unavailable. A major objective of this report is to clarify the conceptua l differences between natural and unimpaired flows. In this report, the term “unimpaired” flow is used to describe a theoretically available water supply assuming existing river channel conditions in the absence of (1) storage regulation for water supply a nd hydropower purposes and (2) stream diversions for agricultural and municipal uses. Unimpaired flow estimates are theoretical in that such conditions have not occurred historically. In pristine watersheds which have undergone little land use change, unim paired flow estimates provide a fixed frame of reference to develop relationships between precipitation, runoff, and water supply based on long - term hydrologic records. For many years these relationships were based on the assumption of stationarity, i.e. that the past is a good indicator of the future. However, global warming now requires hydrologists and water resources managers to analyze non-stationary processes, requiring more sophisticated tools and techniques to quantify future water supplies. This report updates and extends the Department’s previous published estimates of unimpaired flows for 24 Central Valley sub-basins and the Delta. Monthly unimpaired flows are presented for water years 1922 - 2014.

Feasibility Study for a Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area

Delta Protection Commission (DPC) | June 4th, 2012

In Fall 2009, the California State Legislature passed a comprehensive package reforming governance of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) and related aspects of stat

In Fall 2009, the California State Legislature passed a comprehensive package reforming governance of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) and related aspects of statewide water management. In Section 85301 of Senate Bill X7-1 (Delta Reform Act of 2009), the Legislature charged the Delta Protection Commission (DPC) with developing: “A proposal to protect, enhance, and sustain the unique cultural, historical, recreational, agricultural, and economic values of the Delta as an evolving place....The Commission shall include in the proposal a plan to establish state and federal designation of the Delta as a place of special significance, which may include application for a federal designation of the Delta as a National Heritage Area.” This feasibility study has been undertaken in order to fulfill this legislative mandate, which upon acceptance of this study by the DPC, it will be submitted to a Delta Congressional Representative to introduce legislation to establish a Delta National Heritage Area (NHA). The study inventories and describes resources of the region which are supportive of the proposed NHA’s story and themes that make the area a place of national significance. The study also proposes how the NHA will be managed and organized to coordinate heritage area activities. Additionally, local groups who support the NHA are listed, along with letters of support; and organizations who are interested in potentially serving as partners on NHA activities are described, along with letters of partnership commitment. During the course of this process a separate effort was initiated to establish a Delta NHA. In January 2011, Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation into the Senate, with companion legislation introduced by Congressman John Garamendi into the House of Representatives to designate a Delta NHA, with the DPC as the management entity. The DPC has been monitoring the progress of this legislation while continuing to work on this feasibility study. A NHA is a place designated by the United States Congress where natural, cultural, historical and recreational resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally-distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography. These areas tell nationally important stories about our nation and are representative of the national experience through both the physical features that remain and the traditions that have evolved within them. The DPC developed this study with a process that incorporated public involvement throughout its entirety. A variety of activities were undertaken to acquire stakeholder input, including: public meetings, public presentations, stakeholder interviews, public review memos, and project study team meetings.

Fish and Game Commission Twenty-Second Biennial Report for the Years 1910-1912

State of California | December 31st, 1912

Focused groundwater recharge in the Amargosa Desert basin

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 1st, 2007

 The Amargosa River is an approximately 300-kilometer-long regional drainage connecting the northern highlands on the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nev., to the floor

 The Amargosa River is an approximately 300-kilometer-long regional drainage connecting the northern highlands on the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nev., to the floor of Death Valley in Inyo County, Calif. Streamflow analysis indicates that the Amargosa Desert portion of the river is dry more than 98 percent of the time. Infiltration losses during ephemeral flows of the Amargosa River and Fortymile Wash provide the main sources of ground-water recharge on the desert-basin floor. The primary use of ground water is for irrigated agriculture. The current study examined ground-water recharge from ephemeral flows in the Amargosa River by using streamflow data and environmental tracers. The USGS streamflow-gaging station at Beatty, Nev., provided high-frequency data on base flow and storm runoff entering the basin during water years 1998–2001. Discharge into the basin during the four-year period totaled 3.03 million cubic meters, three quarters of which was base flow. Streambed temperature anomalies indicated the distribution of ephemeral flows and infiltration losses within the basin. Major storms that produced regional flow during the four-year period occurred in February 1998, during a strong El Niño that more than doubled annual precipitation, and in July 1999. The study also quantified recharge beneath undisturbed native vegetation and irrigation return flow beneath irrigated fields. Vertical profiles of water potential and environmental tracers in the unsaturated zone provided estimates of recharge beneath the river channel (0.04–0.09 meter per year) and irrigated fields (0.1–0.5 meter per year). Chloride mass-balance estimates indicate that 12–15 percent of channel infiltration becomes ground-water recharge, together with 9–22 percent of infiltrated irrigation. Profiles of potential and chloride beneath the dominant desert-shrub vegetation suggest that ground-water recharge has been negligible throughout most of the basin since at least the early Holocene. Surface-based electrical-resistivity imaging provided areal extension of borehole information from sampled profiles. These images indicate narrowly focused recharge beneath the Amargosa River channel, flanked by large tracts of recharge-free basin floor.