Can We Save the San Joaquin’s Salmon?

Sierra Club — Friant Dam, just outside Fresno, California, is a sprawling structure, 319 feet tall and two-thirds of a mile across. It's not the tallest or the longest dam in the United States, but measured by the impact on the river that it constrains, it looms larger than most. Constructed just after the Great Depression, Friant Dam was devised to control the San Joaquin River, Read More…

Federal agencies announce schedule for Clear Creek emergency pulse…

Bureau of Reclamation — The Bureau of Reclamation, NOAA Fisheries, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced their plan today for an emergency pulse flow release from Whiskeytown Dam into Clear Creek to benefit spring-run Chinook salmon. Pulse flows are rapid increases in dam-released flows occurring over a short time frame. During pulse flows, water levels are higher and currents are Read More…

First Nations, commercial, and recreational harvesters join forces to…

The Abbotsford News — First Nations, commercial, and recreational fishing groups have joined forces to help stave off any further decline of fish stocks on the Fraser River. The Lower Fraser Collaborative Table (LFCT), with membership from 23 First Nations of the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance, recreational fishing groups, and commercial reps from the Area E Harvest Commercial, united to Read More…

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries to Propose…

Sierra Sun Times — The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (together the “Services”) have released a plan to improve and strengthen implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The set of proposed actions follows Executive Order 13990, which directed all federal agencies to review and address agency actions during the last four years that Read More…

Toilets, Streetcars, and Light Poles—A Brief History of Artificial…

H2O Radio — Off the coast of Southern California on a stretch of ocean midway between Los Angeles and San Diego, I’m with my brother Rod on his sportfishing boat, Second C, for a short tour. I’m riveted to a computer screen onboard—state-of-the-art sonar that’s telling us what we’re missing underwater, as we head south just a half-mile offshore. The display was quiet when we Read More…

Study reveals bycatch risk for dolphins and porpoises in global…

EurekAlert! — A new study by Newcastle University shows that the risk of dolphins and porpoises being caught in small-scale (artisanal) fisheries is highest in low- and middle-income regions around the tropics and sub-tropics. Marine scientists assessed the risk posed by small-scale fisheries to all 72 species of toothed whales found throughout the world's oceans. They found that this Read More…

How an invisible water source will help Sacramento get through the…

Sacramento Bee — One look at Folsom Lake, the Sacramento region’s primary surface water storage reservoir, says all we need to know about California’s current water situation: We’re in another drought. Like reservoirs throughout the state, Folsom is shockingly low and won’t be refilled by snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada. Low reservoir levels are a big concern for the Lower Read More…

Idaho’s ongoing drought halts some irrigation months early

The News and Observer — Water managers are cutting off irrigation flows to farmers in Idaho’s Wood River basin and wildlife officials are scrambling to move fish to safer waters as a severe drought grips the area. Farmers got 27 days of water this year before the Magic Reservoir reached 4% capacity, prompting the Big Wood Canal Company to shut off the water Thursday. The reservoir feeds Read More…

State Board Orders Reduction of Minimum Instream Flows and Diversions…

County of Sonoma — In response to worsening drought conditions in the Russia River Watershed, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) today issued an order that will reduce minimum instream flow requirements in the lower Russian River from 85 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 35 cfs. The Temporary Urgency Change Order (TUCO) also requires that Sonoma Water and its water contractors Read More…

Antidepressants in waterways may make crayfish bolder, increasing…

National Geographic — Antidepressants meant to treat humans can also affect aquatic animals when those drugs enter waterways. In a paper published today in the journal Ecosphere, researchers found that crayfish exposed to moderate levels of the antidepressant citalopram, commonly sold as Celexa, spent significantly more time foraging for food and less time in hiding. The behavior could Read More…