California is in the fourth year of a severe, hot droughtthe kind that is increasingly likely as the climate warms. Although no sector has been untouched, impacts so far have varied greatly, reflecting different levels of drought preparedness. Urban areas are in the best shape, thanks to sustained investments in diversified water portfolios and con...
Scientists have identified 181 California dams that may need to increase water flows to protect native fish downstream. The screening tool, developed by the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis, to select \textquotedbllefthigh-priority\textquotedblright dams may be particularly useful during drought years amid compet...
Managed seasonally for native fish and waterfowl habitat as well as rice production and flood control, the Nigiri Project is the first stage towards a new multi-use management paradigm for the Yolo Bypass. Innovative use of existing agricultural infrastructure allows seasonal creation of floodplain habitat for endangered native fishes and waterfowl...
California faces enormous challenges as it struggles to adapt its water management system to 21st-century conditions. The state\textquoterights population continues to grow and to urbanize, increasing demands for urban water supply, reliable water quality, and flood protection. At the same time, the state\textquoterights economy no longer depends a...
Coho and Chinook salmon and steelhead are all on a trajectory towards extinction in the Eel River basin, with only winter steelhead being widely enough distributed and abundant enough to persist beyond the next 50 years. Little is known about the watershed or the causes of the fisheries decline. Fishery managers have largely ignored the Eel River s...
California has a complex, highly interconnected, and decentralized water system. Although local operations draw on considerable expertise and analysis, broad public policy and planning discussions about water often involve a variety of misperceptions\textemdashor myths\textemdash about how the system works and the options available for improving it...
Large wood (LW) is known to be very important to fish habitat in conifer-dominated streams of the Pacific Northwest, but has not been well studied in hardwood-dominated streams of the central California coast. In July and August 2006, we studied the occurrence and function of hardwood LW in relation to stream habitat and threatened steelhead (Oncor...
Californias Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is widely perceived to be in crisis today: its levee system is fragile, many of its native species are declining rapidly, and it lacks strong governing institutions to deal with its problems. In its current state, the Delta is unsustainable for almost all stakeholders. This report provides a comprehensive, s...
Suisun Marsh, at the geographic center of the San Francisco Estuary, is important habitat for alien and native fishes. The University of California, Davis, Suisun Marsh Fish Study has systematically monitored the marsh\textquoterights fish populations since 1980. The purpose of the study has been to determine the environmental factors affecting fis...
