SAN DIEGO — As drought dried up rivers that carry California’s newly hatched Chinook salmon to the ocean, state officials in recent years resorted to loading up the fish by the millions onto trucks and barges to take them to the Pacific. The surreal and desperate scramble boosted the survival...
Newsom Asks Warren Buffett to Back Dam Removal
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom has appealed directly to investor Warren Buffett to support demolishing four hydroelectric dams on a river along the Oregon-California border to save salmon populations that have dwindled to almost nothing. Newsom on Wednesday sent a letter to Buffett urging him to back the Klamath...
Water Is Life. It’s Also a Battle. So What Does the Future Hold for California?
Water plays a lead role in the state’s political theater, with Democrats and Republicans polarized, farmers often fighting environmentalists and cities pitted against rural communities. Rivers are overallocated through sloppy water accounting. Groundwater has dwindled as farmers overdraw aquifers. Many communities lack safe drinking water. Native Americans want almost-extinct salmon...
San Joaquin River's Genetic Imposters Made Salmon History
An unexpected number of chinook salmon swam up the San Joaquin River last spring, prompting surprise and giddy pronouncements that the river’s long-dead spring-run population had been resurrected. The 500 or so fish were living proof that the 11-year-long river restoration program was a success. A “smashing” success, some advocates...
Gov. Newsom Proposes New Plan for Managing Water
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed a plan on Tuesday that would keep more water in the fragile San Joaquin River Delta while restoring 60,000 acres of habitat for endangered species and generating more than $5 billion in new funding for environmental improvements. The framework announced Tuesday by Gov. Newsom...
California Will Sue Feds over State Water Project Rules
SACRAMENTO — California officials said Thursday they will sue the federal government over proposed rules managing the state’s scarce water, arguing its conclusions are not scientifically adequate and fall short of protecting species and the state’s interests. The state, which has historically relied on the federal government to set rules,...
Senate Bill 1 Threatens California Farms, Water Supply: Adam Gray
California has made a sport of disagreeing with President Trump. When he tweets his favorite color is red, one of my progressive colleagues inevitably introduces a bill declaring the best color is blue. So it was somewhat surprising when legislative leaders decided to use the President’s worst habit — ignoring...
Scientists Monitoring New Marine Heat Wave off West Coast
SEATTLE — Federal scientists said Thursday they are monitoring a new ocean heat wave off the U.S. West Coast, a development that could badly disrupt marine life including salmon, whales and sea lions. The expanse of unusually warm water stretches from Alaska to California, researchers with the National Oceanic and...
Off the Hook: California King Salmon Rebounds After Drought
SAN FRANCISCO — Trolling off the California coast, Sarah Bates leans over the side of her boat and pulls out a long, silvery fish prized by anglers and seafood lovers: wild king salmon. Reeling in a fish "feels good every time," but this year has been surprisingly good, said Bates,...
State OKs More Water for Salmon, Less for Farmers and Cities
SACRAMENTO — A state board on Wednesday approved a contentious proposal to boost water flows through the San Joaquin River, a move that would increase habitat for salmon but deliver less water to farmers and cities such as San Francisco. The plan under consideration by the Water Resources Control Board...