Category Archives: Conservation

Functional Flows for Developing Ecological Flow Recommendations

Posted on December 9, 2018 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Sarah Yarnell, Alyssa Obester, Ted Grantham, Eric Stein, Belize Lane, Rob Lusardi, Julie Zimmerman, Jeanette Howard, Sam Sandoval-Solis, Rene Henery, and Erin Bray To protect California’s native aquatic species, stream flows need to be managed to support important ecological … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Planning and Management, Water Markets | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Getting Strategic about Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation in California

Posted on November 4, 2018 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Jeanette Howard, Kurt Fesenmyer, Theodore Grantham, Joshua Viers, Peter Ode, Peter Moyle, Sarah Kupferberg, Joseph Furnish, Andrew Rehn, Joseph Slusark, Raphael Mazor, Nicholas Santos, Ryan Peek, and Amber Wright An essential first step to protect biodiversity is understanding what species … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, California Water, Conservation, reconciliation | Tagged | 1 Comment

Fish managers tasked with ranching? Conservation wins

Posted on August 12, 2018 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Ann Willis In May, the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) approved $2.4M for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to acquire Shasta Big Springs Ranch on the Shasta River, a tributary to the Klamath River.  This follows a … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Conservation, Planning and Management, reconciliation, Sustainability | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Killing Native Fishes for Fun and Predator Control

Posted on August 5, 2018 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Teejay A. O’Rear, John R. Durand, and Peter B. Moyle A recent posting of a short film on a 2017 fishing derby (FISHBIO 2018a) is disturbing to those of us interested in conserving our native fishes.  The film glorifies … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Fish, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Guest Species – What about the nonnative species we like?

Posted on May 28, 2018 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Karrigan Bork, JD, PhD Conservationists worry about a host of nonnative species, and with good reason. Nonnative species cause north of $120 billion per year in damages in North America alone, and they present the primary extinction risk for roughly … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Fish, Stressors | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Improving Urban Water Conservation in California

Posted on May 6, 2018 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Erik Porse The relatively dry 2017-18 winter in California resurfaced recent memories of drought conservation mandates. From 2013-16, urban water utilities complied with voluntary, then mandatory, water use limits as part of Executive Order B-37-16. Urban water utilities met … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Conservation, Drought, urban water | Tagged | 3 Comments

Moving Salmon over Dams with Two-Way Trap and Haul

Posted on November 5, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Peter Moyle and Robert Lusardi Removing Shasta Dam is the single best action we can take to save California’s wild salmon.  Not possible, you say? Then there are two alternatives. One is to provide plenty of cold water and … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation, Fish, Planning and Management, Salmon, Stressors, Sustainability | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Evolutionary genomics informs salmon conservation

Posted on September 24, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Tasha Thompson, Michael Miller, Daniel Prince and Sean O’Rourke Spring Chinook and summer steelhead (premature migrators) have been extirpated or are in decline across most of their range while fall Chinook and winter steelhead populations (mature migrators) remain relatively healthy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Conservation, Fish | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Little Shasta River: A model for sustaining our national heritage

Posted on September 5, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Ann Willis, Rob Lusardi, Alex Hart, Susan Hart, Blair Hart, Andrew Braugh, Amy Campbell, Ada Fowler Rancher: farms. Conservationist: fish. Researcher: science. Too often, identity is used to divide us. Stereotypes are used to stake out conflicting positions. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Conservation, Fish, reconciliation, Restoration, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

California WaterFix and Delta Smelt

Posted on August 13, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Peter Moyle and James Hobbs The delta smelt is on a trajectory towards extinction in the wild.  Heading into 2017, the spawning adult population was at an all-time low although this past wet winter has apparently seen a small … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Conservation, Delta, Fish, Planning and Management, Restoration, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Sustainability | Tagged , | 17 Comments