Our Work

A 2/12/26 letter from four San Joaquin Valley congressmen pleaded with Governor Newsom to waive a Delta outflow requirement in 2026.  The requirement is the “Port Chicago standard” in Water Rights Decision 1641 (D-1641), in effect since 2000.  Additional letters from the “Coalition for a Sustainable Delta” and from Westlands Water District made similar requests.…

This winter, Friends of the Eel River, a Eureka nonprofit, is launching the Eel River Native Plant Network. The goal of the Network is to increase regional capacity to produce native plant products. The initial focus will be to assist PG&E in its effort to replant native wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees in the project…

Many fly fishing clubs play important roles in advocacy and conservation. Clubs connect hundreds of people beyond their own members with local streams and lakes. The clubs assist local and visiting fishermen by providing up-to-date reporting on fisheries and river conditions. Anglers often have a deep understanding of the quality of a fishery. Stepping into…

The free-flowing Klamath River, where the J.C. Boyle dam once stood. Image: Angelina Cook The federal government is formalizing a process to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the upper Klamath River basin. The process seeks to prioritize irrigation deliveries in the upper Klamath basin over the protection of threatened and endangered species. In…

In 2025, The Wildlands Conservancy marked its first year of seeing coho salmon in a Sonoma coast stream called Russian Gulch. With luck and hard work, this event should herald a return of coho salmon in the Russian Gulch Watershed. The change was brought about by more than a decade of effort by Conservancy staff.…

The 43rd annual Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) conference will take place in Redding from April 28 to May 1, 2026. The conference is a great opportunity to learn about native species of anadromous fish and hands-on and regulatory efforts to increase their populations. CSPA will make several presentations at this year’s conference.  The Salmonid Restoration…

It’s the time of year when I constantly daydream about swinging up a beautiful Winter steelhead. I’ve been obsessed with these incredible creatures ever since I landed my first one under Wohler Bridge on the Russian River 15 years ago. It was an exhilarating and unforgettable experience. The acrobatics, runs, and aerial maneuvers that occur…

The updated Bay-Delta Plan will set flows into San Francisco Bay, through the Delta estuary upstream, and in the Sacramento Valley rivers that flow into the Delta.  On December 12, 2025, the State Water Resources Control Board (the Board) issued two major documents that describe its latest proposal for an update. These are the Revised…

On December 10, 2025, the State Water Resources Control Board (Board) issued a revised draft version of its update of the Bay-Delta Plan. The draft includes a “partially recirculated” Chapter 13 of its September 2023 Draft Staff Report on the Bay-Delta Plan update.  Both the Bay-Delta plan update and the new Chapter 13 of the…

Entrainment of fish into surface water diversions is a major anthropogenic cause of fish kill. Entrainment occurs when diversion works redirect flows from a natural channel into a pipe or canal, and aquatic organisms get directed or sucked into the artificial intake.  While rates of entrainment per diversion may appear insignificant, the cumulative rate of…

The public comment period for Pacific Gas & Electric Company’s (PG&E) license surrender application (LSA) for the Potter Valley Project (PVP) was extended to December 19, 2025. A wide array of Tribal Nations, agencies, NGOs and individuals submitted comments, likely totaling well over a thousand. While many comments expressed support for the LSA, there were…

In the Lagunitas Creek watershed of Marin County, the Olema-based nonprofit called Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN) is helping to increase the largest population of Central California Coast wild coho salmon. The program focused on this project is TIRN’s Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN). SPAWN has a staff of one full-time employee, several residential…

This winter, a host of stakeholders are examining how Chico-area waterways and the Chinook salmon and steelhead trout that live in them are faring, after the intense burning of the July-September 2024 Park Fire. Two of the most interesting sets of observations will come from Deer Creek and Mill Creek, which are tributaries of the…

At an unprecedented level, federal and state governments are advancing special interests at the expense of the public trust. Today more than ever, non-profit organizations must be leaders in enacting and enforcing policies that empower practical alternatives to the depletion and pollution of rivers, streams, estuaries, and aquifers. The Opportunity That’s where the California Sportfishing…

Having fished and surveyed the Russian River watershed for many years, there have been occasions when I’ve observed spawning adult Chinook salmon, stumbled across a carcass, or accidentally hooked a “Jack” or “Jill,” a young maturing Chinook salmon. These observations were exciting. They are a reminder that a small and resilient population of fall-run Chinook…