• Irrigation Districts and Trump Administration Bludgeon Federal Fish Agency into Submission

    On October 1, 2018, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service wrote a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) retracting its January 29, 2018 flow recommendations for the lower Tuolumne River (see pp. 65-74).  In its October 1 do-over letter, US Fish & Wildlife completely agrees to the required flows in the lower…

  • Conservation Groups Submit Complete Flow Recommendation for Tuolumne River

    CSPA and nine other Conservation Groups filed extensive comments and recommendations January 29, 2018 for flow requirements and non-flow measures for the lower Tuolumne River.    The filing is an important milestone in the multi-year licensing process of the Don Pedro and La Grange dams owned by Turlock Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District.  The comments…

  • CSPA Submits Testimony on Delta Tunnels – Months of Hearings Start in January

    On November 30, CSPA filed testimony and exhibits for the State Water Board’s hearings on the Delta Tunnels (“WaterFix”). This new testimony is for Part 2 of the hearings: impacts to fish and wildlife, recreation, and other Public Trust values. Some of the highlights are described below. CSPA’s biologist Tom Cannon presents thirty pages of…

  • Report on Oroville Describes Urgent Dam Safety and Flood Lessons

    Much of California’s dam and flood infrastructure is obsolete and falling apart.  It needs to be fixed now, says a report entitled “The Oroville Dam Spillway Incident and Lessons from the Feather River Basin.”  The authors of report are from CSPA, Friends of the River, South Yuba River Citizens League, and American Whitewater.  These organizations…

  • CSPA and Coalition Recommend Flows and Habitat for Lower Yuba River

    In a hundred-plus page filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on August 25, 2017, CSPA and other members of Foothills Water Network coalition filed recommendations for improving flow and habitat conditions in the lower Yuba River.  The filing responds to the “Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis,” a major milestone in the relicensing…