Our Work

This September marks the first time in two years that there will be a fall ocean salmon recreational fishery. The fall ocean salmon fishery will take place from September 4 through September 7 in waters between Point Reyes and Point Sur, with a total harvest guideline of 7,500 Chinook salmon. Each angler can take a…

The Delta Conveyance Project (DCP) hearing continues this month, scheduled for September 2, 5, 11, 15, 18, 19, 22, 29 and 30. Hearing dates are also scheduled for October 1, 6, 9, 10, 14, & 15. Additional proposed, but not confirmed, hearing dates are September 23 and October 20, 23, 27, 28, and 29.  The…

Now that four dams previously blocking anadromous fish migration on the Klamath River are down, state and local agencies are negotiating the next stage of river restoration. They are acting to regulate the beneficial uses of water in overallocated Klamath River tributaries as equitably as possible. The Shasta River historically produced more salmon per unit…

As an environmental policy consultant for CSPA, I spend a portion of my time visiting fly fishing clubs to recruit club memberships. I’ve found that participating in club casting clinics is a great way to meet club administrators and members while working on my cast! Chatting with fellow anglers about their favorite rivers, and the…

Nonprofits’ research projects on fish serve multiple purposes. They serve an impetus to improve restoration efforts and manage hatcheries better. They make a case for reintroducing species in areas where the species had a historical presence. And they draw funding, volunteers, allies, and media attention. When nonprofits undertake research projects on fish, their results can…

Since dam construction in the early 1900s, Central Valley Chinook salmon have been cut off from their historical spawning and rearing habitat in the upper Feather River watershed. Spring-run Chinook salmon in particular historically utilized the upper river watersheds like the North Fork Feather River. In wake of population declines, especially of spring-run salmon, the…

In July 2025, 34 parties who protested issuing water rights for the proposed tunnel under California’s Bay-Delta estuary filed testimony in opposition to the project. The filing of the protestants’ “cases-in-chief” follows two months of testimony by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) in support of the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP).  CSPA filed three…

On July 11, 2025, after a month floating the free-flowing Klamath River 310 miles, a group of indigenous youth arrived at the river’s mouth. Theirs was the first expedition to boat the river from source to sea since the removal of the fourth dam on the Klamath River in September 2024. The boaters included young…

On July 24, 2025, State Water Board staff released an “updated” version of a proposed Bay-Delta Plan.  The updated Plan is very clear: it is going to give the water users and the Newsom administration every single thing they have asked for in terms of managing water that goes into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and…

Homelessness encampments affect fish populations in three primary ways: Trash from an encampment off Hamilton Avenue in San Jose. Credit: South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition For pollution, actions of concern include:  For physical modification, actions of concern include:  A barrier made of shopping carts and other materials off Cherry Avenue in San Jose. Credit: South…

1. Prevent and reduce homelessness and housing insecurity:  Before and After photos of a clean-up of an encampment near Calabazas Creek in Santa Clara County. Credit: Valley Water 2. Actions that reduce the severity and frequency of harm posed by encampments: Housed volunteers living near encampments are good candidates to assist with clean-up efforts because…

Across California, encampments of people who experience homelessness negatively affect fish populations in multiple ways. The long list of concerns includes poaching fish, cutting down trees above rivers, and polluting waterways. The best way to help fish is to assist unhoused populations get housing and remain housed. Communities also need to address the economic and…

In May 2025, the final iteration of the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project launched. The launch follows years of delay and changing priorities in the wake of Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s (PG&E) 2018 decision not to seek a new license to operate the Battle Creek Hydroelectric Project.  In a parallel process, May…

During the 2024-2025 fall run, 35,450 adult Chinook salmon returned to the Lower Mokelumne River to spawn. This broke the previous 2023-24 season’s record of 28,698. The combination of successful and innovative hatchery operations, habitat enhancement, and the management of cold-water flows from Camanche and Pardee reservoirs account for the consecutive record-breaking returns. East Bay…

Delta smelt survey boat in the Sacramento Delta in 2010, when survey boats were still capturing Delta smelt. Credit: Peter Johnsen, USFWS Last month, the California Department of Water Rights (DWR) concluded the presentation of its case-in-chief for the hearing on the water rights petition for the Delta Conveyance Project (DCP). The next portion of the…