blog post Commentary: Drought Requires New Strategies for Managing Cropland By Andrew Ayres, Caitlin Peterson Aug 9, 2022 With careful planning, research and development, and incentive programs, the San Joaquin Valley can avoid the worst consequences of land fallowing — and perhaps even create environmental and economic benefits.
blog post Commentary: Can San Joaquin Valley Agriculture Survive with Less Irrigation? Here Are Ways To Do It By Caitlin Peterson Aug 5, 2022 Water-limited crops can be a challenge to grow in the San Joaquin Valley. But where water is scarce they could offer a good alternative to fallowing—and provide other benefits.
event Farmland in Transition: The San Joaquin Valley Jul 26, 2022 As the San Joaquin Valley works to bring its groundwater basins into balance, hundreds of thousands of acres of irrigated farmland may come out of production. How do we manage all this newly fallowed land? Our latest research examines whether water-limited agriculture might help ease the transition—and what other management practices could mitigate dust and air quality concerns in the valley.
Report Exploring the Potential for Water-Limited Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley By Caitlin Peterson, Cameron Pittelkow, Mark Lundy Jul 20, 2022 As irrigated farmland comes out of production in the San Joaquin Valley, valley residents will face increased pests, weeds, and dust—as well as a loss of employment and economic activity. Water-limited cropping is one alternative to fallowing that can improve soil health and air quality, create habitat, and keep land in production.
blog post The Challenges of Using Less Water in the Southern San Joaquin Valley By Sarah Bardeen Jun 13, 2022 As the San Joaquin Valley grapples with the twin challenges of groundwater overdraft and land subsidence, we spoke with two experts about how programs like multi-benefit farmland repurposing are helping the region adapt.
blog post Commentary: Four Strategies for Managing California’s Crucial Watershed By Ellen Hanak, Greg Gartrell May 23, 2022 California is not doing a good job of tracking changes to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta and its watershed. In our recent commentary, we argue that’s making it even tougher to manage the water that is available for the benefit of the state’s communities, economy, and environment.
Fact Sheet The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta By Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Greg Gartrell May 18, 2022 The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta is California’s largest estuary and a vital hub in the state’s water supply system. Three interlinked issues currently face the Delta: an increasingly unreliable water supply, a decline in ecosystem health, and a fragile system of levees. Learn more about this key watershed in our new fact sheet.
blog post America’s Public Lands: A Bipartisan Political Success Story By Sarah Bardeen May 16, 2022 In an era marred by bitter partisanship, law professor John Leshy says that our public lands are one of the country’s greatest bipartisan achievements—and a shining political success story that’s worth emulating. Read our interview with him!
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Tracking Where Water Goes in a Changing Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta By Greg Gartrell, Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak May 16, 2022 The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta supplies water to roughly 30 million Californians, over 6 million acres of farmland, and countless ecosystems. But the watershed’s climate is changing: recent decades have seen record warmth, higher evaporation, and declining snowpack. We track where the water is going—and how to adapt.
blog post Maximizing Benefits of Solar Development in the San Joaquin Valley By Annabelle Rosser, Mitchelle De Leon May 9, 2022 Solar development offers one promising way to soften the economic blow as more irrigated farmland comes out of production in the San Joaquin Valley. We met with a diverse range of stakeholders to discuss how to maximize benefits—and mitigate potential harm.
