Two-Gates resolution approved Capital Press By Wes Sander August 26, 2010 The Legislature has passed a resolution urging the federal government to prioritize its study of a project that could prot...

Striped bass: Delta villains? Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher June 15, 2010 It was 1879 when a Harvard-educated fish scientist took striped bass caught in New Jersey's Navesink River and poured...

This time, will we end the water war? The San Francisco Chronicle By Matt Jenkins June 13, 2010 In the grand Western tradition of fistfights down at the water hole, no fight has quite rivaled the ...

Judge reverses stance on Delta rules Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher May 18, 2010 A federal judge who invalidated permits on California's dams and Delta pumps two years ago because they were to...

Decline of endangered delta smelt, nutrient pollution Physorg May 17, 2010 "While a great deal of emphasis has been placed on ensuring there is enough water for delta smelt, we also need to recogn...

Calif. regulates power plants to save marine life The Seattle Times By Robin Hindery May 4, 2010 State water regulators on Tuesday ordered coastal power plants to begin phasing out a cooling proce...

New U.S. panel aims to unify smelt, salmon protection Sacramento Bee By Michael Doyle May 4, 2010 The Obama administration on Monday set up a new task force to wrangle California water decisions, ...

Delta smelt move closer to being ‘endangered' CVBT April 2, 2010 The Delta smelt, a minnow-like fish that lives only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, but is often in courtrooms, could be lis...

Federal ruling slows Delta pumping The Fresno Bee By John Ellis March 31, 2010 Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumps will be ratcheted back today after a federal judge in Fresno rejected a request to...

Bill aims to take bass out of Delta Stockton Record By Peter Ottesen March 31, 2010 Striped bass have become targets, not of sport anglers who enjoy catching them, but of Delta water exporters who...

Scientists side with smelt, salmon protections The Los Angeles Times By Bettina Boxall March 19, 2010 A National Academy of Sciences panel has concluded that the much-disputed fish protections tha...

Changes needed to rules governing delta smelt Mercury News By Laura King Moon March 15, 2010 This winter, on certain days, it would take only two small fish known as delta smelt to show up at Cali...

As pros leave, Delta's focus turns to another bass The Stockton Record By Alex Breitler March 15, 2010 The great thing about the Delta, they say, is you don't need a $50,000 boat and thousands of ...

Fish restoration could be a catch for Rio Vista The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser March 12, 2010 Rio Vista, long a hub for levee building and dredging in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, could fi...

Striped bass to blame for California's salmon decline The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser February 27, 2010 Some fish do the eating and others get eaten. That is the nature of nature. But if man ...

Fish find spawns debate The Stockton Record By Alex Breitler February 24, 2010 Biologists found federally protected steelhead stranded in shallow pools on the Calaveras River, and environmentalist...

Rev 'em up: With delta smelt moved, pumps are a go Los Angeles Times February 18, 2010 The delta smelt have moved, allowing water managers to turn up -- at least for now -- the federal pumps that ...

Bill aims to add flexibility to rules on fish protection California Farm Bureau Federation By Kate Campbell February 17, 2010 In a move aimed at increasing the amount of water going to storage fro...

Feinstein's play threatens to roil the water world The Sacramento Bee February 14, 2010 In her long and mostly distinguished career, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has championed many environmental ca...

Judge allows slowdown of pumps to protect smelt The Los Angeles Times By Bettina Boxall February 11, 2010 The big federal pumps that were cranked up over the weekend to send more Northern Californ...

Feds reduce Calif. water pumping to protect fish Mercury News February 9, 2010 The federal government said Tuesday it will reduce pumping in the delta this week because a threatened fish could be ...

Steady flow of conflicting views marks Delta debate Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser January 27, 2010 It's even more vexing if you're trying to figure out how the Delta environment works. A federa...

2009 another bad year for Delta ecosystem Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher January 6, 2010 The latest survey of Delta fish populations shows another ominous dip. Despite ramped-up regulations...

National Academy of Sciences studying Delta The Stockton Record December 18, 2009 The National Academy of Sciences - a kind of "Supreme Court" for scientists - said Thursday it has started a two-y...

California braces for fourth year of drought Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher December 1, 2009 State water officials offered up their bleakest annual water supply prediction ever Tuesday in what...

Accounting of everything affecting Delta smelt, salmon Central Valley Business Times November 3, 2009 Legislation has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, that calls for a revi...

Delta smelt still close to extinction, surveys show The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser October 22, 2009 New surveys this summer of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta's tiny smelt show the fish remai...

Group sues Fish & Wildlife Service on delta smelt Yuba Net October 16, 2009 Warning that the federal government is mismanaging the delta smelt into extinction, the Council for Endangered Species A...

Smelt plan lacked critical analysis The Fresno Bee By John Ellis October 2, 2009 The federal government failed to conduct a critical environmental analysis before approving a controversial set of ...

Administration mulls new science review of CA water McClatchy By Michael Doyle September 25, 2009 WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration must now figure out whether to let scientists second-guess ...

When it comes to valley ag, Sean Hannity is all wet The Stockton Record September 23, 2009 Sean Hannity parachuted into the San Joaquin Valley last week to broadcast another diatribe about the "ma...

The water wars San Francisco Bay Guardian By Rebecca Bowe September 2, 2009 When arch-conservative Fox News host Sean Hannity decided to weigh in recently on the contentious - and immensely compli...

Legislation enabling construction of peripheral canal Center for Biological Diversity September 2, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO-A coalition of 16 conservation, commercial-, and sport-fishing organizations ...

Court brings drop of sanity to water limits The Record Searchlight By Tom Elias July 21, 2009 At long last a federal court has recognized that efforts to save the endangered delta smelt actually h...

Action brings sense to muddy water issue Visalia Times-Delta By Don Curlee July 20, 2009 It might be just a trickle, but a stream of hope for improving California's overly regulated water supply b...

House's $33b energy, water bill will help Valley The Fresno Bee By Michael Doyle July 15, 2009 WASHINGTON - The House today is scheduled to approve a $33 billion energy and water bill that include...

Delta gates proposal builds support The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser July 6, 2009 A plan to build gates across two Delta channels has strong support from state and federal leaders, though little ...

Water pumping restrictions to protect Delta smelt end The Modesto Bee By Matt Weiser July 1, 2009 Federal officials on Tuesday ended seasonal water pumping restrictions intended to protect the thr...

'Two Gates' project could ease water crisis The Fresno Bee By Mark Grossi June 30, 2009 A bold experiment in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta could protect threatened fish and ease Californi...

Saving species no longer a beauty contest Washington Post By David A. Fahrenthold June 29, 2009 Are we ready to start saving ugly species? When it began compiling lists of threatened and endange...

Protections expanded beyond smelt The Stockton Record By Alex Breitler June 5, 2009 SACRAMENTO - It's no longer just about the Delta smelt. Federal scientists officially determined Thursday that...

New restrictions placed on Delta water Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher June 4, 2009 Federal regulators levied sweeping new rules on Delta water deliveries Thursday to prevent the thirst of Cali...

Smelt operations a hedge against extinction The Record Searchlight By Dylan Darling May 28, 2009 If the fragile Delta smelt winds up going extinct, the species could be restored where the Sacramen...

Effort to save smelt may worsen water shortages The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser May 26, 2009 A water flow limit set by federal wildlife officials in the Delta is likely to temporarily worsen wat...

New tack in Delta lawsuit The Stockton Record By Alex Breitler May 22, 2009 FRESNO - The latest lawsuit over Delta smelt relies on a decidedly different strategy: It claims the U.S. Fish and Wild...

Failure to regulate Delta power plants PR Newswire May 15, 2009 The Coalition for a Sustainable Delta and the Kern County Water Agency (KCWA) today filed a Notice of Intent (NOI) to sue the U.S. A...

California, feds at odds over Delta smelt The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser May 9, 2009 California water officials are fighting back against federal protections for an iconic Delta fish, a tactica...

Don't blame fish for drought Chico Enterprise-Record By David Little May 3, 2009 We are in a drought, pure and simple. Unfortunately, it's not just a lack of water that plagues our state. It's a l...

Stripers contribute to fisheries decline Chico Enterprise-Record By Paul Ward April 26, 2009 Steve Carson's "Outdoors" column of April 17 once again caught my attention. As a retired Department of...

Central Valley residents start trek demanding water Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher April 14, 2009 Thousands of farmworkers and their supporters marched along a dusty highway Tuesday through a ...

Delta rivers top U.S. most-troubled list The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser April 7, 2009 The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers will be named today as the nation's most endangered waterways by the ...

Water users file third suit on water cuts for smelt California Farm Bureau Federation By Dave Kranz March 18, 2009 A third lawsuit has been filed, challenging measures aimed to benefit the delta s...

Something's fishy The Stockton Record March 11, 2009 A silly little bill has been introduced by a Bakersfield assemblywoman to lift the limit on striped bass fishing. Republican Jean Fuller says...

Westlands Water District files lawsuit on B/O Western Farm Press March 10, 2009 The Westlands Water District announced on March 4 that it is joining with other public water agencies in the San Lui...

Groups align to fight for safety of striped bass Stockton Record By Peter Ottesen March 10, 2009 The California Sport Fishing Protection Alliance and Cali-fornia Striped Bass Association have join...

Lawsuit filed on Delta smelt rules The Stockton Record March 6, 2009 Yet another lawsuit has been filed against the federal government regarding new rules protecting Delta smelt, this time by a co...

Bill would slash protection for striped bass The Stockton Record By Alex Breitler March 6, 2009 Striped bass, one of the most valued sport fish in the Delta, would lose protection and funding unde...

Legislator proposes removing striped bass protections The Stockton Record March 5, 2009 A south San Joaquin Valley legislator wants to strip striped bass of funds and protection under state fish a...

Farms, smelt hang in balance during valley drought The Fresno Bee By Mark Grossi March 5, 2009 Over the next six weeks, the fortunes of farmers in the Valley depend on a 3-inch fish and the weathe...

Calif. managers declare longfin smelt threatened The Associated Press March 4, 2009 California fish and wildlife managers are giving new protections to two fish species that play a crucial ecologi...

Suit seeks to block delta smelt rules The Fresno Bee By John Ellis March 3, 2009 The Westlands Water District on Tuesday joined forces with the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority to stop...

New bill tackles Delta smelt predator The Bakersfield Californian March 3, 2009 Assemblywoman Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield, introduced a bill Friday to address the declining endangered Delta smelt p...

Cities face 20% cuts in water use during crisis The San Francisco Chronicle By Kelly Zito February 28, 2009 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought emergency Friday, urging cities ...

Delta native, striped bass at center of controversy The Bakersfield Californian By Steve Merlo February 26, 2009 Water, the most precious commodity we have in the Southern San Joaquin, stands in s...

Congressman launches effort to ease ESA Capital Press Agriculture By Cecilia Parsons February 26, 2009 Frustrated by a law that protects fish at the expense of humans, U.S. Rep. George Radanovich,...

Single-species approach throttles water supply Capital Press Ag February 12, 2009 The two giants of California water management, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the state Department of Water Re...

Bruising battles loom in California Capital Press By Tim Hearden February 13, 2009 Mark Twain is believed to have said, "Whiskey is for drinkin', and water is for fightin' over." If that's true,...

Hearing on suspension of Delta protections set Indybay By Dan Bacher February 11, 2009 Representatives of fishing and environmental groups are urging the public to attend a public hearing in Sacra...

Water exporters want to end ESA California Progress Report By Dan Bacher February 11, 2009 Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, campaign director of Restore the Delta, today issued an urgent action alert to...

Delta bill rekindles debate on exports The Stockton Record By Alex Breitler February 10, 2009 A group of lawmakers says the government should be allowed to bypass endangered species law and expor...

Schwarzenegger, Feinstein and Nature Conservancy Capture Cold, Dead Fish Awards IndyBay By Dan Bacher February 6, 2009 The competition among the candidates for Cold, Dead Fish Awards in 2008 was ...

Delta drought response could pit fish against fish The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser February 6, 2009 It's come to this. A drought approaching epic status in California may force the state to ch...

Delta water managers choosing salmon over smelt The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser February 5, 2009 California's state and federal water managers on Thursday took drastic emergency steps to begin r...

Calif. scientists: fish needs more protections The Associated Press January 28, 2009 FRESNO, Calif.-State scientists are recommending new protections for a tiny fish native to the Sacramento-San J...

Fall fish count in Delta is dismal The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser January 23, 2009 Delta fish continue to hover at the brink of extinction, and conditions could worsen for the estuary and the e...

Panel to debate controversial water issues Central Valley Business Times January 22, 2009 A public debate on water policy in California and the Central Valley will be moderated by U.S District Ju...

Delta's condition going from bad to worse The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser January 22, 2009 Experts say estuary is undergoing a shift Delta fish continue to hover at the brink of extinction, an...

Stop Schwarzenegger's End Run to Build the Peripheral Canal IndyBay By Dan Bacher January 13, 2009 Barbara Barrigan Parrilla, campaign director of Restore the Delta, fears that two recent moves b...

Water crisis has parallels with financial meltdown Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher January 11, 2009 To understand how California reached its current water crisis, one could look for an analogy ...

Shutting off pumps to save delta smelt unwarranted The San Francisco Chronicle By Craig Manson & Brandon Middleton January 8, 2009 There's great cause for concern over the biological opinion ...

Delta fish hit record lows in 2008 Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher January 5, 2009 Delta fish numbers sank again to record lows in 2008, according to results of a key fall survey. Delta smelt...

Big impact for little fish on California's water outlook Capital Press December 24, 2008 Like the famed snail darter, which in 1973 derailed construction of a Tennessee Valley Authority dam, the t...

Restrictions Increase Uncertainty Over Delta Water Patterson Irrigator By John Saiz December 24, 2008 To read the 400-page report on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's new restrictions to protec...

Delta dilemma The San Francisco Chronicle December 22, 2008 Stepping in where the state of California has feared to tread, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a new set of rules designed t...

U.S. tightens the tap on water from Northern California The Los Angeles Times By Bettina Boxall December 16, 2008 New restrictions are intended to protect the delta smelt and the Sacramento-San J...

Delta water use restriction permanent The Stockton Record By Alex Breitler December 16, 2008 New rules to protect a fish the length of a finger will permanently slash Delta water deliveries to two...

Smelts like deeper water trouble for Californians Central Valley Business Times December 16, 2008 • Feds propose new rules to cut water deliveries • ‘Will impact families, businesses and f...

U.S. issues rules to protect Delta smelt The San Francisco Chronicle By Peter Fimrite December 16, 2008 Scarce irrigation and drinking water in California could be reduced under a set of rules ena...

Rules protecting smelt cut water supplies to be sent to the Bay Area and LA The Stockton Record December 15, 2008 Long-awaited rules to protect Delta smelt were released today, permanently slashin...

Delta Water Exports Could Be Reduced by Up to 50 Percent Under New Federal Biological Opinion The Wall Street Journal December 15, 2008 DWR Director Snow Responds to Delta Smelt Biological Opinion...

State water supply may drop 50% The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser December 15, 2008 Officials worried about delta smelt breeding activity. Some Californians could see their water supply cut as m...

Federal Agency Releases New Biological Opinion for Delta Smelt Indybay.org By Dan Bacher December 15, 2008 The federal government issued a rewritten management plan for Delta smelt today, declari...

Feds Re-open Comment Period for Uplisting Delta Smelt Indybay.org By Dan Bacher December 15, 2008 If you want to comment on the uplisting of Delta smelt under the federal Endangered Species Act (E...

Leaders must take bold action to secure safe water supply for all Western Farm Press By Gabriele Ludwig December 15, 2008 An estimated 250,000 acres of almonds, fully one-third of the state's plan...

Proposed Delta restrictions irk state water officials Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher December 12, 2008 State water managers have sharply criticized environmental protections for the Delta that...

Study Underscores Impact of Court Imposed Water Pumping Restrictions The Wall Street Journal December 12, 2008 California Economy and Water Supply Reliability Hit Hard. A new study released tod...

Pressure mounting on smelt study The Sacramento Bee By Matt Weiser December 11, 2008 Feinstein wants to ease economic impact on state. Political pressure is bearing down on a major study due Mon...

Public comment sought on Delta smelt The Folsom Telegraph By Roger Phelps December 11, 2008 Part of a flurry of recent events that could affect Folsom Dam water releases is the opening Dec. 9 of a...

Feinstein: Delay new water restrictions for fish Contra Costa Times By Mike Taugher December 10, 2008 Sen. Dianne Feinstein is seeking a delay in a long-anticipated permit, due Monday, that will ...

My View: Delta water plan is key to California's future The Sacramento Bee By Tom Zuckerman December 04, 2008 This month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will release a draft plan to protect th...