The hijacking of the process to update Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections happened twice, the first time by President Trump, the second time by Governor Newsom. But nobody’s laughing the second time around. Instead, Friends of the River and its allies are working to prevent a replay and ensure that new, stronger ESA regulations are ultimately adopted.

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…

Friends of the River and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), along with a coalition of tribes and environmental organizations submitted a formal protest against the water rights application of the Sites Project Authority for the proposed Sites Reservoir. This protest is part of a legally required process to ensure public concerns are addressed when granting water rights in California…

From bad bills to bad rhetoric, there’s the “traditional bad stuff” happening in Congress right now…