blog post Smoothing the Bumps in the Road to Ecosystem Restoration By Lori Pottinger Feb 22, 2021 California’s environmental permitting system was developed to prevent bad things from happening to ecosystems, but it often slows efforts to do good things, too. We talked with a group of experts about how to make the process more efficient and effective.
blog post Commentary: New Approach Needed to Protect Health of California’s Rivers By Ted Grantham, Jeffrey Mount Sep 14, 2020 In the face of the changing climate, biodiversity loss, and continuing conflict over water, California urgently needs to rethink how it manages water for the environment. Restoring seasonal flows to rivers can help.
Report Making the Most of Water for the Environment: A Functional Flows Approach for California’s Rivers By Ted Grantham, Jeffrey Mount, Sarah Yarnell, Eric D. Stein Aug 24, 2020 Water and land management activities have substantially altered river flows across the state, degrading ecosystems and decimating populations of native species. Restoring seasonal components of river flow is key to sustaining the biological, chemical, and physical processes necessary for ecosystem health.
blog post A Faster Track for Ecosystem Restoration By Lori Pottinger Aug 24, 2020 The state’s rivers and aquatic species are in trouble, but restoration projects are often slowed by complex permitting requirements. We talked to Erika Lovejoy of Sustainable Conservation about efforts to simplify the process.
blog post Video: A Path Forward for California’s Freshwater Ecosystems By Lori Pottinger Dec 9, 2019 California’s current approach for managing freshwater ecosystems is not working. An expert panel discussed an alternative path.
blog post Commentary: California Must Stop Relying on the Endangered Species Act to Manage the Environment By Jeffrey Mount Dec 5, 2019 California’s freshwater ecosystems are under pressure and aquatic biodiversity is in decline. The state needs a new approach to protect the many beneficial uses these ecosystems provide.
Report A Path Forward for California’s Freshwater Ecosystems By Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Karrigan Bork, James Cloern ... Dec 4, 2019 California’s freshwater ecosystems are under pressure and its aquatic biodiversity is in decline. The state needs a new approach to protect the many beneficial uses these ecosystems provide. This report describes a way to manage the state’s freshwater ecosystems—called “ecosystem-based management”—that can improve conditions for native biodiversity and human uses, and increase resilience to climate change.
blog post Groundbreaking Dam Removal Moves Forward on the Klamath By Lori Pottinger Jun 11, 2019 In coming years, four dams on the Klamath will be removed, creating the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the country. We talked to Lester Snow about this effort.
blog post The Challenges of Changing Land Use in the San Joaquin Valley By Lori Pottinger Mar 12, 2019 Implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act could require fallowing farmland on a large scale. We talked to Soapy Mulholland of Sequoia Riverlands Trust about this impending challenge.
Report Water and the Future of the San Joaquin Valley By Ellen Hanak, Alvar Escriva-Bou, Brian Gray, Sarge Green ... Feb 20, 2019 California’s largest agricultural region is in a time of great change and growing water stress. New cooperative approaches are needed to bring groundwater basins into balance, provide safe drinking water, and manage water and land to benefit people and nature.