The San Francisco Chronicle
March 5, 2013

A federal appeals court granted a new hearing Tuesday to environmentalists challenging the government’s decision to renew 41 long-term contracts for water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for agriculture purposes, an action that opponents say would threaten the endangered delta smelt and worsen conditions in the delta.

A panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 in July to dismiss a suit by environmental groups that claimed the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation should have consulted with Fish and Wildlife Service biologists before renewing the contracts in 2004-05 for periods of 25 and 40 years.

Read more

The Sacramento Bee
February 9, 2013

Federal wildlife officials Friday ordered substantial cuts in water diversions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect a rare fish.

The order from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service came after dead Delta smelt have piled up at state and federal water diversion pumps since mid-December. The native species is protected by the Endangered Species Act and considered a bellwether for the health of the estuary.

Read more

CVBT
November 1, 2012

A contingent of California State Water Board representatives from as far away as San Diego and Los Angeles enjoyed a whirlwind all day tour of California Delta pumping stations, a small Sacramento River testing facility, and the UC Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Lab at the Clifton Court Forebay at Byron on Halloween Day.

Read More→

The Sacramento Bee
By Matt Weiser
April 4, 2012

Federal water officials plan to fund a study at UC Davis to learn more about the basic behavior of Delta smelt, the small threatened fish at the vortex of water supply and environmental problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced the study on a government grants website. It plans to pay UC Davis $73,957 to try to answer basic questions about smelt behavior and explain its “fundamental niche” in the environment.

Read More→