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California’s Fish Emergency

By Lori Pottinger

An expert interview with fisheries expert Peter Moyle about what can be done to bring native species back from the brink.

blog post

California’s Ecosystems in Perpetual Drought

By Lori Pottinger

The state’s freshwater species are adapted to a "boom and bust” ecology, but human intervention and drought have taken away the "boom.” An expert interview with river scientist Ted Grantham. 

blog post

A Pragmatic Reason to Protect Freshwater Fish

By Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle

When species make the endangered species list, we’ve not only failed them, we’ve made it harder to manage water during drought. 

Report

What If California’s Drought Continues?

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ...

California is in the fourth year of a severe, hot drought—the kind that is increasingly likely as the climate warms. Although no sector has been untouched, impacts so far have varied greatly, reflecting different levels of drought preparedness. Urban areas are in the best shape, thanks to sustained investments in diversified water portfolios and conservation. Farmers are more vulnerable, but they are also adapting. The greatest vulnerabilities are in some low-income rural communities where wells are running dry and in California’s wetlands, rivers, and forests, where the state’s iconic biodiversity is under extreme threat. Two to three more years of drought will increase challenges in all areas and require continued—and likely increasingly difficult—adaptations. Emergency programs will need to be significantly expanded to get drinking water to rural residents and to prevent major losses of waterbirds and extinctions of numerous native fish species, including most salmon runs. California also needs to start a longer-term effort to build drought resilience in the most vulnerable areas.

blog post

Drought: 10 Ways the Federal Government Can Help

By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount

Here is a short list of things the federal government can do to help California get through this drought and better prepare for future droughts.

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