Bill Jennings, Stockton’s legendary advocate for California fisheries, water quality, dies

Article from Stockton Record.

https://www.recordnet.com/story/sports/outdoors/2023/01/04/bill-jennings-california-fisheries-water-quality-advocate-dies/69777478007/

Dan Bacher, Stockton Record Correspondent
Published 8:30 a.m. PT Jan. 4, 2023

Bill Jennings of Stockton, a relentless advocate for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and California’s fish populations, passed away at age 79 on Tuesday, Dec. 27.

The former DeltaKeeper and executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), Jennings was inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame (COHOF) in January 2022, joining Stocktonians Pete Otteson, Jay Sorenson and Dave Hurley.

Those who worked closely with him over the years commented on his enormous legacy. Jennings was a longtime board member of the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN), a non-profit, tax exempt California corporation that advocates for the equitable and sustainable use of California’s fresh water resources for all Californians.

“Bill Jennings was my hero; from his early days as a Mississippi Freedom Rider to his decades-long crusade to save the fish in the Delta and the watershed that fed it,” said Carolee Krieger, CWIN Executive Director. “He worked tirelessly to make our world a better place. He was a joy to work with. We must carry on the work to honor him.”

“He’s left a legacy that everybody needs to keep alive. He was a great conservationist,” said Roger Mammon, Secretary of the Board of Restore the Delta and President West Chapter of the California Striped Bass Association (CSBA).

“On behalf of San Joaquin County and my fellow supervisors, we are deeply saddened to learn that Bill Jennings passed away on Tuesday,” San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors Chairman Chuck Winn said in a statement. “For over three decades Bill has been a tireless water advocate in protecting fisheries, improving water quality and defeating multiple iterations of the Delta Tunnel Project. His activism and legacy will leave a lasting impact on water policy and projects in our region for many years to come.”

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, stated, “We are deeply saddened to share that Bill Jennings, died on Dec. 27. Bill was a co-founder of Restore the Delta, Board Member Emeritus of our organization, mentor and friend. Bill will be deeply missed.”

In addition, Jennings was a strong advocate of environmental justice, leading him to ally with Central Valley farmworker advocates, including the Community Water Center and Lideres Campesinas, in their battle to pressure the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Board and the State Water Board to clean up polluted agricultural drainage water and domestic drinking water supplies.

Chris Shutes, now the acting executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, summed up Jennings’ legacy in a statement.

“Above all, Bill was a relentless activist. For over 40 years, he used the law, meticulously documented data, an irascible wit, and a stinging pen to defend and protect his beloved Bay-Delta Estuary and all the rivers that feed it,” wrote Shutes in the announcement and story of this amazing life.

“Born in Kentucky in 1943, Jennings grew up in northern Kentucky and southern Ohio. He attended the University of Tennessee, where he became active in the Civil Rights Movement. For several years during the Vietnam War, Bill was also a leading figure in draft resistance in Tennessee,” Shutes wrote.

Arriving in California in the early 1980s, Jennings fought in the fishery permitting processes for nearly four decades. He founded the Delta Angler, a fly fishing store and smoke shop, and quickly became involved in protecting fisheries.

Jennings wrote numerous comment letters, protests and petitions and frequently testified in evidentiary proceedings. He managed an aggressive enforcement campaign that has generated millions of dollars for restoration projects.

Following a massive fish kill on the Mokelumne River, Jennings co-founded the Committee to Save the Mokelumne and served as its chairman. He chaired the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance since 1988 and was its executive director from 2005 until just recently, when Schutes became executive director as Jennings’ health deteriorated after a car accident. Between 1995 and 2005, he served as the Deltakeeper.

Jennings received numerous acknowledgments including the International Conservation Award from the Federation of Fly Fishers, the Director’s Achievement Award from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Conservation Achievement Award from the California-Nevada Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, the Quality of Life Award from the Land Utilization Alliance, and the Delta Advocate Award from Restore the Delta.

The Outdoor Writers Association of California recognized him as Outdoor Californian of the Year and the Delta Fly Fishers selected him as Fly Fisherman of the Year. His efforts in obtaining an historic cleanup of Penn Mine on the Banks of the Mokelumne River led to awards by California Water Policy IX Conference.

I worked closely with Bill over the past three decades and quoted him in numerous articles. We together helped to expose the killing of many millions of fish in the Delta pumps and the state and federal government’s failure to restore Delta smelt, longfin smelt and other fish populations, as revealed in the dismal results of the CDFW’s annual Fall Midwater Trawl Survey.

“The real issue here is the capture of the regulators by the regulated,” Jennings told me, describing the root of the problem behind fish and ecosystem collapses.

In an interview with Alex Breitler in The Record in 2012, Jennings summed up why he was an environmentalist: “A world that is not safe for butterflies and toads and fish will not long be safe for little boys and girls.

Contributions in Bill’s memory can be made to the Stockton-based organization he directed, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, whose mailing address is P.O. Box 1061, Groveland, CA 95321. Donations can also be made on the CSPA website: https://calsport.org/news/.

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