Governors Brown and Newsom have made no secret of their strong support for the construction of another west-side off-stream reservoir to park Sacramento River water. Such a giant reservoir would exist in the seismically prone valleys of the Coast Range west of the Central Valley…

The California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board or Board) recently released its Draft Staff Report for the Phase II Update of the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan (Bay-Delta Plan or Plan). This report, and the process to update the Bay-Delta Plan, will have critical implications for the health of California rivers and ecosystems. Unfortunately, the Staff Report outlines several options that will fail to protect the Delta and its tributary rivers…

Republican California Governor Ronald Reagan signed the legislation creating the California wild & scenic river system in 1972. In 1989, California Governor George Deukmejian (the Duke), also a Republican, signed legislation providing similar protection for the McCloud River under the state Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. Current House Republicans are working to dismantle these protections…

H.R. 4821, the Interior Appropriations bill, proposes to substitute what should be a scientific conclusion — that the Central Valley Improvement Act (CVPIA) is “complete” — for a Congressional “expert” political opinion. Among CVPIA’s goals were the doubling of natural stocks of salmonid fish…

The Smith River is the largest entirely free-flowing river in California. Unfortunately, the Smith River National Recreation Area and wild & scenic river designations exclude the North Fork Smith River watershed in Oregon. Although relatively small in area, the northern headwaters of the Smith River supports a unique landscape, miles of pristine rivers and streams, and priceless recreation opportunities…

Some folks just won’t quit. Some years ago, the Nevada Irrigation District (NID) asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to supersede the State of California’s authority to protect its waters under the Clean Water Act (CWA). FERC obliged. We responded by taking the issue to court. NID is now trying again…

Brent Blackwelder recently passed away. He had a long and important career as an environmental leader in our nation’s capital. His passing is worth publishing a trinity of short remembrances by three of us who worked with him…