Latest San Joaquin River Stories

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- California conservation and wildlife organizations announced today that the Central Valley Flood Protection Board has adopted the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan. The plan establishes a framework for flood management throughout the Central Valley for the coming century. It focuses on improving flood protection for urban areas and prioritizes expansion of flood bypasses along the lower Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to improve flood...

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- California Trout and Trout Unlimited today launched an outreach campaign to advocate for a science-based approach to managing the Central Valley's flood protection system including connected floodplains required for salmon recovery. The groups came together in response to FloodSAFE, a California Department of Water Resources (DWR) initiative designed to improve the state's integrated flood management plan. FloodSAFE is a result of 2007...

Rep. Nunes' Bill Would Harm California Environment and Economy WASHINGTON, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to the legislative hearing today by the House Subcommittee on Water and Power on Rep. Nunes' "San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act" (H.R. 1837), nine conservation groups have sent a letter to subcommittee members, warning its passage would lead to disastrous results. The groups on the letter include: Environmental Defense Fund, American Rivers, California...

NOVATO, Calif., May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In his most outrageous performance yet, Congressman Devin Nunes, the southern San Joaquin Valley Republican lawmaker who accuses environmentalists of being Communists and attacks water officials who negotiate environmental agreements as sell-outs, has introduced a new bill that would eliminate or weaken most protections for the collapsing Bay-Delta ecosystem. HR 1837, the San Joaquin Valley Reliability Act, introduced on May 11, would completely...

NOVATO, Calif., March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Spotlighting the San Joaquin River for World Water Day, The Bay Institute will host a special event at Aquarium of the Bay on Tuesday, March 22. Leaders from The Bay Institute will be joined by Assemblyman Jared Huffman and Take Me to the River authors Coke & Joell Hallowell for discussions of restoration work on the San Joaquin River, as well as its importance to the entire Bay-Delta ecosystem and the individuals and communities that rely...

Report features 25 years of endangered rivers success stories WASHINGTON, June 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Rivers today released its most anticipated report of the year, America's Most Endangered Rivers(TM) of 2010. The 25th anniversary edition of the report spotlights ten rivers facing the most urgent threats, and also features key endangered river success stories from the past two decades. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100218/DC56550LOGO) The number one river on...

NOVATO, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- One year after President Obama signed landmark legislation to implement the restoration of the dewatered San Joaquin River, releases from Friant Dam have now reconnected the river - where significant stretches are dry in most years - to San Francisco Bay. The river flows, which began on February 1, 2010 and reached the lower river and the Bay-Delta earlier this month, were the second series of interim releases made pursuant to the 2006 restoration...

New space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California's primary agricultural region -- the Central Valley -- and its major mountain water source -- the Sierra Nevadas -- have lost nearly enough water combined to fill Lake Mead, America's largest reservoir. The findings, based on data from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace), reflect California's extended drought and increased rates of groundwater being pumped for human...

Reps. Cardoza, Costa championed new Farm Bill partnership programs, enabling coalition of growers and conservationists to secure funds WASHINGTON, July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Farmers in the Northern San Joaquin Valley will be eligible for more than $2.6 million in funds this year under two new farm bill conservation partnership programs this year to tackle some of the region's most pressing environmental problems. The awards will be renewable for several years, likely bringing the...

Biologists say they're using sound, bright lights and bubbles to keep baby salmon from being sucked into pumps on California's San Joaquin River. The pumps divert water from the southern Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for use on farmland and for drinking water for 25 million Californians, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday. The $1 million project is the latest attempt to save baby salmon en route to the sea and also could aid threatened delta smelt, said Jerry Johns, deputy...