Category Archives: Sustainability

The Dreamt Land by Mark Arax: We’re all complicit in California’s water follies

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Ann Willis

by Ann Willis We are all sinners. At least, that’s the impression Mark Arax leaves in The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California. What’s bold, and distinguishes this book from others about California, is that Arax grapples with … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, California Water, Drought, education, Stressors, Sustainability | 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

Nudging progress on funding safe drinking water

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

by Jay Lund This year’s Nobel Prize in Economics went to Richard Thaler, who pioneered “nudging” to help people volunteer to make more personally and socially beneficial decisions.  As an example, having employees automatically enrolled for retirement contributions and then … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Drinking water, Nitrate, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Water Supply and Wastewater | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Making water for the environment count in an era of change: Cautionary tales from Australia

Posted on December 17, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Alison Whipple The specter of California drought looming again on the horizon gives renewed urgency for water policy and management reforms. Recent discussions reflect a growing recognition that our future depends on us making water count for both humans … Continue reading →

Posted in Around the World, Climate Change, Planning and Management, Sustainability | Tagged | 1 Comment

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

Accounting for groundwater movement between subbasins under SGMA

Posted on October 8, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Christina Buck, Jim Blanke, Reza Namvar, and Thomas Harter The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) presents many new challenges and opportunities.  One challenge is accounting for ‘interbasin flow,’ or subsurface groundwater movement between subbasins, a piece of the overall … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Groundwater, Planning and Management, Sustainability | Tagged | 3 Comments

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

Small, self-sufficient water systems continue to battle a hidden drought

Posted on August 6, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Amanda Fencl and Meghan Klasic California’s drought appears over, at least above ground. As of April 2017, reservoirs were around 2 million acre feet above normal with record breaking snowpack . This is great news for the 75% of Californians that … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Drought, Stressors, Sustainability, Water Supply and Wastewater | Tagged | 8 Comments

Fish, flows, and 5937 – legal challenges on the Santa Maria River

Posted on July 30, 2017 by UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences

by Karrigan Bork, JD, PhD Driving down the 101, you cross a half-mile long bridge over the Santa Maria River into the city of Santa Maria, California. It’s a large bridge, with big levees to constrain the river on either … Continue reading →

Posted in California Water, Fish, Groundwater, Planning and Management, Sustainability | Tagged | 3 Comments