blog post Why Is the Delta Starving? By Sarah Bardeen Aug 9, 2021 PPIC Water Policy Center fellow James Cloern discusses his new study, which estimates—for the first time—just how much primary production the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has lost. Can the state restore this process, which forms the base of the Delta’s food chain?
blog post What It Means to Store Water for the Environment By Sarah Bardeen Jul 26, 2021 In times of drought, California’s ecosystems often suffer. CalTrout Ecosystem Fellow Sarah Null is investigating how to better manage scarce water supplies so that the state can protect vulnerable ecosystems—even as the climate changes.
blog post Anticipating and Addressing the Impacts of the Drought By Alvar Escriva-Bou, Ellen Hanak, Jeffrey Mount May 4, 2021 With the latest drought off to a strong start, what lessons can we learn from the last major dry period—and what actions can we take to manage it?
blog post Can Dryland Farming Help California Agriculture Adapt to Future Water Scarcity? By Lori Pottinger Apr 19, 2021 Future restrictions on groundwater pumping to meet sustainability requirements could result in large areas of farmland coming out of production in the San Joaquin Valley. We talked to agroecologist Caity Peterson about the potential for dryland farming to reduce the need to fallow land.
blog post Creating a Place for Nature in the San Joaquin Valley By Lori Pottinger Apr 13, 2021 The quest for groundwater sustainability will result in large amounts of irrigated farmland being retired in the San Joaquin Valley. We talked to Scott Butterfield of The Nature Conservancy about how some of these lands could be restored to natural areas that bring multiple benefits.
blog post Why Is It Taking So Long to Restore the Sediment-Choked Elk River? By Lori Pottinger Apr 5, 2021 The Elk River was damaged by landslides from logged land more than 20 years ago, which harmed fisheries and drinking water supplies. Darren Mierau of CalTrout talks about ongoing efforts to restore the river.
blog post Commentary: As Drought Alarms Sound, Don’t Ignore the Environment By Jeffrey Mount, Caitrin Chappelle Mar 29, 2021 The last major drought caused unprecedented stress to California’s freshwater ecosystems and pushed many native species to the brink. Are we ready this time to better manage ecosystems through another drought?
blog post Finding a Balance between Supply and Demand to Get to Groundwater Sustainability By Lori Pottinger Mar 15, 2021 The San Joaquin Valley is facing difficult tradeoffs in getting to sustainable groundwater management. We talked with Emmy Cattani, a fifth-generation farmer from Kern County, about how to minimize economic harm resulting from efforts to reduce groundwater use.
