Wednesday May 6, 2026
EurekAlert! —
Healthy watersheds support wildlife, recreation, and clean water for communities across California. From a public-health standpoint, we need to know if a river or stream is safe to swim or fish in. From the lens of wildlife support, in addition to being clean, a healthy aquatic habitat must sustain a whole food web.
Knowing a stream’s health also indicates how resilient it is to adversities such as wildfires, land-use changes and agricultural runoff. When stream health is compromised, the potential consequences are dire: from a community’s loss of recreational options or a food source, to the rapid collapse of an ecosystem that evolved over millennia.
California invests in work to monitor ecosystems and to understand the range of pressures on them, as well as opportunities to maintain or restore them. For example, through its Cannabis Restoration Grant Program, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) funds innovative research and projects that help support and protect California’s natural resources in areas affected by cannabis cultivation—such as initiatives that help scientists and land managers better detect impacts and guide restoration.