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CSPA and Allies Comment on Revised Draft Water Rights Permit for Sites Reservoir
State Water Board Plans Adoption on November 4 On October 5, 2026, CSPA joined allied environmental organizations, fishing organizations, a Tribe, and Tribal advocates (“NGO Parties”) in comments on the Revised Draft Water Rights Permit and Revised Draft Water Rights Decision on the proposed Sites Reservoir. The State Water Board and its Administrative Hearing Office…
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An anti-regulatory federal government tries to strongarm California over who controls the State’s water resources
by Chris Shutes and Gary Bobker First published as guest commentary in Maven’s Notebook, September 13, 2026 The latest chapter in the Trump Administration’s war on California opened on September 3 and 4, 2026, when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation– which operates the largest water project in California – and Westlands Water District – the…
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Short Casts From the Desk of Chris Shutes
Bay-Delta Plan released: On August 19, 2026, the State Water Board released the almost-final version of the update of the Bay-Delta Plan. The Plan allows the vast majority of water right holders in the Bay-Delta watershed from Stockton north to skate under “voluntary agreements” that marginally increase flows compared to existing conditions. Comments on the…
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Reminding ourselves why we do this: return to cherished streams after 40 years
For two years, I did not fish once. For someone who spends most of his waking life trying to make conditions better for California’s fish, this is not the desired condition. I had the chance to partially correct this sorry situation this August when I returned to the Bridgeport (Mono County) area to fish a…
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From spike-toothed salmon to modern salmonids: paleontology’s lessons for climate change
The spike-toothed salmon (Oncorhynchus rastrosus) was a roughly 7-foot-long species that lived along the Pacific Coast and Japan five million years ago. This history of this species, particularly its evolution and extinction, reveals that it is difficult to predict the results of climate change. Data from spike-toothed salmon fossils, reviewed with information from biological studies…
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