Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program Annual Report 2023

California Department of Conservation (CDoC) | April 9th, 2024

The Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program (MLRP) increases regional capacity for repurposing irrigated agricultural land to uses that reduce reliance on groundwat

The Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program (MLRP) increases regional capacity for repurposing irrigated agricultural land to uses that reduce reliance on groundwater while providing community health, economic well-being, water supply, habitat, renewable energy, and climate benefits. The program provides funding for regional block grants, tribal grants, and a Statewide Support Entity to provide technical assistance to block grantees and support progress toward program goals.

Multiple lines of evidence point to pesticides as stressors affecting invertebrate communities in small streams in five United States regions

Science of the Total Environment (Elsevier) | January 24th, 2024

Multiple lines of evidence point to pesticides as stressors affecting invertebrate communities in small streams in five United States regions

Science of the Total Environment (Elsevier) | February 2nd, 2024

National assessment of river protection in the United States

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | January 9th, 2026

To address the enduring and deepening crisis facing fresh waters, many nations have recently set bold targets for freshwater protection. However, the lack of comprehensiv

To address the enduring and deepening crisis facing fresh waters, many nations have recently set bold targets for freshwater protection. However, the lack of comprehensive databases and integrative frameworks hampers a robust evaluation of current freshwater protections and prioritization of future opportunities to meet these goals. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of river protection for the USA by reconciling the disparate array of major federal, state, tribal and private protection mechanisms into a single, multifaceted index. We report that just over one tenth of the river length of the contiguous USA and less than one fifth of rivers nationwide are currently protected at a level deemed viable. Lowland headwater streams and intermittent watercourses are consistently underprotected. Protection is also often spatially misaligned with other conservation objectives, where only a small fraction of watersheds with high biodiversity, habitat intactness and importance to drinking water supply are adequately (30% of river length) protected. Our assessment of river protection highlights the urgency to increase new and fortify existing protections for rivers in the years to come if we are to meet ambitious conservation targets, reverse the curve of biodiversity loss and ensure that healthy rivers benefit everyone.

National Audubon Society v. Superior Court of Alpine County

Supreme Court of California | February 17th, 1983

National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion for the Long-Term Operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | June 3rd, 2009

The purpose of this document is to present NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) biological and conference opinion (Opinion), about whether the U.S. Burea

The purpose of this document is to present NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) biological and conference opinion (Opinion), about whether the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) proposed long-term operations of the Central Valley Project (CVP), operated in coordination with the State Water Project (SWP; hereafter referred to as CVP/SWP operations, the proposed action, or the project), is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the following species: Endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, hereafter referred to as winter-run) Threatened Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha, hereafter referred to as spring-run) Threatened Central Valley (CV) steelhead (O. mykiss) Threatened Central California Coast (CCC) steelhead (O. mykiss) Threatened Southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris, hereafter referred to as Southern DPS of green sturgeon) Endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca, hereafter referred to as Southern Residents) or destroy or adversely modify the designated critical habitat of the above salmon and steelhead species, or proposed critical habitat for Southern DPS of green sturgeon. This Opinion is based on the best scientific and commercial information available.

National Strategy for the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | June 1st, 1998

In February of this year, President Clinton and Vice President Gore released a comprehensive Clean Water Action Plan. The Action Plan provides a blueprint for Fed

In February of this year, President Clinton and Vice President Gore released a comprehensive Clean Water Action Plan. The Action Plan provides a blueprint for Federal agencies to work with States and others stakeholders in restoring and protecting the Nation’s water resources and addresses three major goals: enhanced protection from public health threats posed by water pollution; more effective control of polluted runoff; and promotion of water quality restoration and protection on a watershed basis. A key part of the Action Plan provides for expanded efforts to reduce nutrient overenrichment of waters. Nutrients, in appropriate amounts, are essential to the health of aquatic systems. Excessive nutrients, however, can result in excessive growth of macrophytes or phytoplankton and potentially harmful algal blooms leading to oxygen declines, imbalance of aquatic species, public health threats, and a general decline in the aquatic resource. Recent reports on water quality conditions provided by States indicate that nutrients are the leading cause of impairment in lakes and coastal waters and the second leading cause of impairment to rivers and streams. Nutrient overenrichment has also been strongly linked to the large hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico and to recent outbreaks of the toxic microorganism Pfiesteria along the Gulf and Mid-Atlantic coasts. The Action Plan calls on EPA to accelerate the development of scientific information concerning the levels of nutrients that cause water quality problems and to organize this information by different types of waterbodies (e.g. streams, lakes, coastal waters, wetlands) and by geographic regions of the country. EPA is also to work with States and Tribes to adopt criteria (i.e. numeric concentration levels) for nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus, as part of enforceable State water quality standards under the Clean Water Act.

Native and alien fishes in a California estuarine marsh: twenty-one years of changing assemblages

American Fisheries Society (AFS) | September 30th, 2002

We used monthly otter trawling and beach seining to sample the fishes of Suisun Marsh in the San Francisco Estuary from 1979 to 1999. We collected nearly 173,000 fish, mo

We used monthly otter trawling and beach seining to sample the fishes of Suisun Marsh in the San Francisco Estuary from 1979 to 1999. We collected nearly 173,000 fish, mostly young of the year, representing 28 native species and 25 alien species. Catch data were related to temperature, salinity, water transparency, and several measures of freshwater inflow into the marsh. Species abundance and distribution within the marsh were the product of several interacting factors: (1) the timing and place of reproduction of the abundant resident species, (2) past reproductive success, (3) habitat differences among sloughs, and (4) physiological tolerance. We did not find consistent groups of potentially interacting species, although some native species showed weak concordance in abundance. The lack of persistent fish assemblages is related to the naturally fluctuating environmental conditions of the estuary, the overall decline in fish abundance through time, and the frequent invasions of alien fishes and invertebrates. Our results suggest that the fish assemblages in Suisun Marsh will continue to be unpredictable until estuarine processes approach their historic range of variability and alien invasions are halted.

Natural Resources Defense Council v. Kempthorne, Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment

United States District Court, Eastern District of California | May 7th, 2007

This case concerns the effect on a threatened species of fish, the Delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) , of the coordinated operation of the federally managed Central

This case concerns the effect on a threatened species of fish, the Delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) , of the coordinated operation of the federally managed Central Valley Project ("CVP") and the State of California's State Water Project *2 ("SWP"), among the world's largest water diversion projects. Both projects divert large volumes of water from the California Bay (Sacramento - San Joaquin) Delta ("Delta") and use the Delta to store water.

Natural Resources Policy: Management, Institutions, and Issues

Congressional Research Service (CRS) | January 17th, 2007

Natural resources management remains a significant issue for the federal government. Growing demands on the nation’s resources and interest in their protection and allo

Natural resources management remains a significant issue for the federal government. Growing demands on the nation’s resources and interest in their protection and allocation among multiple uses have increased the complexity of management. The federal role in defining policy and institutional context shapes the combination of supported uses and protection measures. Certain themes are common to federal resource issues. Many conflicts center on balancing traditional versus alternative uses and protection programs, managing to produce national or local benefits, and supporting current or future resource consumption. Other challenges involve the effect of federal resource management on private lands, fees for using federal resources, and financing of management efforts. Interagency conflicts and overlaps and the coordination of federal, state, and local efforts also are common implementation problems. For many reasons, Congress often confronts resource issues based on the natural resource in question—lands and related resources, oceans and coasts, species and ecosystems, or water. Federal land issues include land ownership and management, prioritization of uses, designation of special areas, and fee collection and disbursement. Energy production and recreation on federal lands remain controversial. Indian land issues include energy rights-of-way across tribal lands and treaty rights. Ocean topics encompass broad policy questions, such as whether to respond to recommendations by two commissions for more coordinated ocean policies and institutions. More specific multi-use management challenges range from fisheries, marine mammal, and coastal zone management, to adherence to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Species management and ecosystem protection topics include federal protection and habitat designations for threatened and endangered species, prevention and response to invasive species, protection of international species, wetlands protection, and large-scale ecosystem restoration. Increased competition for water has fostered interest in the federal role in water resources, particularly in relation to water supply in western states and multi-use river management. Other water topics are dam and levee safety and security, and transboundary water resources management. Natural resource science and management contributes to understanding and mitigating the nation’s natural hazard risks. Science also is instrumental in defining the uncertainty and potential extent and impact of climate change and weather on resource conditions. Often natural resource management is intertwined with other topics of broad public concern, such as environmental protection, energy, and agricultural policy. The 110th Congress may pursue natural resources topics in the context of these other policy areas as well as through authorizations, appropriations, and oversight related to specific natural resources issues.