blog post Preparing California’s Rivers for a Changing Climate By Lori Pottinger Aug 19, 2019 We talked to UC Berkeley river scientist Ted Grantham about the state of the state’s rivers, and how to help them adapt to a changing climate.
blog post Working with California Tribes on Upper Watershed Restoration By Lori Pottinger Nov 20, 2018 A new program taps into tribal understanding of natural resources to ensure indigenous voices are being heard and to provide a more expansive approach to how state and tribal programs can align in the management of rivers, fisheries, and forests.
blog post Managing Forests to Reduce Wildfire Risks By Henry McCann, Van Butsic, Claudia Herbert Aug 20, 2018 As the state’s wildfire risk has grown, the debate over how to address it has become more heated. These four points can help inform the conversation.
blog post Video: Improving the Health of California’s Headwater Forests By Lori Pottinger Sep 26, 2017 California’s forests have become overly dense and more prone to catastrophic wildfire. A panel of experts discussed how to improve forest health to make them more resilient.
blog post Linking Land Use and Water Decisions By Lori Pottinger Feb 24, 2016 The state recently held workshops on aligning land and water planning in rural California. We talked with Debbie Franco of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research about this process.
blog post State’s Ecosystems Face a Flood of Changes By Lori Pottinger Jan 11, 2016 Talk of drought has turned to worries about floods. How will the state’s drought-starved ecosystems adapt to the taps being turned on again? An expert interview with Josh Viers.
Report What If California’s Drought Continues? By Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle ... Aug 19, 2015 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 Bills: Small Changes, High Impact By Caitrin Chappelle, Henry McCann Jun 30, 2015 New policy changes will improve the way we respond to droughts.
press release State’s Environmental Problems Pose Serious Personal Threat, Residents Say Jun 21, 2000
