Delta Conservancy In the News

Aerial view of a farmer plowing a field near Sacramento, California. Paul Hames / California Department of Water Resources

Farmers join study on curbing water use
(By: Christine Souza, Ag Alert) | (October 4, 2023)
Farmers have partnered with the University of California and the Delta Conservancy to study different aspects of water conservation, including the amount of water released from plants, soil and other surfaces to the atmosphere, known as evapotranspiration or ET.

View of a vehicle parked near a roadway on Webb Tract in May 2023. Photo by Lauren Damon.

Wetlands, rice fields planned for Delta island
(By: Judith Prieve, Bay Area News Group) | (June 16, 2023)
Grazing cattle on an island in the central Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta could soon make way for Contra Costa County’s first rice fields and a mosaic of restored wetlands now that its owner has received a $20.9 million state grant.

San Joaquin Community Foundation CEO Moses Zapien speaks at a Delta Aquatic Center of Stockton event on May 23, 2023.

Planning begins for $15 million aquatic center along the Delta in Stockton
(By: Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record) | (May 30, 2023)
A $2.5 million investment from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy will help bring a new public aquatic center to Stockton.

Pilot Program Helps Conserve Water/Wildlife
(By: MyAgLife Daily News Report) | (October 13, 2022)
Delta Conservancy Executive Officer Campbell Ingram talks about what’s new for the Delta Drought Response Pilot Program for water year 2023.

Dutch Slough via Department of Water Resources

State Collaborates with Farmers to Conserve Water, Provide Critical Habitat for Migratory Birds in the Delta
(Department of Water Resources, Delta Conservancy) | (October 7, 2022)
Farmers are receiving financial incentives to reduce their water use and protect wildlife and water quality in the Delta as part of a Delta Drought Response Pilot Program launched by the State of California. The program is led by the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, in partnership with the Department of Water Resources (DWR), the Office of the Delta Watermaster, and The Nature Conservancy.

Mashburn selected as chairman of Delta Conservancy board
(By: Daily Republic) | (July 28, 2022)
Solano County Supervisor Mitch Mashburn has been chosen to serve as the chairman on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Board.

A nutria (Myocastor coypus) animal with brown fur, white whiskers and orange teeth. Photo by CDFW.

California is feeling confident it’s winning the war on giant, destructive swamp rodents
(By: Ryan Sabalow, The Sacramento Bee) | (July 20, 2022)
Valerie Cook, who runs the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s nutria eradication program, said her team is seeing nutria numbers declining, and they’ve managed to keep them out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California’s most important waterway.

An aerial view of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Carbon Credits Versus the “Big Gulp”
(By: Katherine Ellison, Scientific American) | (June 7, 2022)
Executive Officer Campbell Ingram explains how the Conservancy is collaborating on a carbon-credits project with the goal of reversing subsidence.

A tractor works in a subsided corn field on Staten Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Photo by The Nature Conservancy.

New Delta Carbon Market Could Boost Bay Area Water Security
(By: Robin Meadows, Bay Area Monitor) | (February 1, 2021)
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy has launched a new initiative aimed at improving the issues of carbon emissions, soil subsidence, and water security.

At the Pond: Davis gets a special visitor
(By: Jean Jackman, Davis Enterprise) | (August 19, 2020)
A look at construction in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area from the auto tour.

Aerial view of cranes and construction crews installing two bridges in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area.

Bridges installed in Yolo Bypass Wildlife area to improve wetlands
(By: Woodland Daily Democrat) | (August 6, 2020)
Construction crews installed two bridges in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area this past week as part of a larger construction project taking place this summer to create new habitat, improve wetlands management and support wildlife-friendly agriculture.

Aerial view looking south along Old River in the center is Fay Island, part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in San Joaquin County, California. Photo taken March 08, 2019. Ken James / California Department of Water Resources, FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Delta Science Needs, Part 2: What Do Managers Need to Know to Effectively Make Decisions in the Future Delta?
(By: Maven’s Notebook) | (June 25, 2020)
Jennifer Pierre (State Water Contractors), Paul Souza (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), and Campbell Ingram (Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy) discuss what their needs are for managing the Delta into the future: Will this be the decade of flow?

Equipment on this tower measures fluctuations in greenhouse gas emissions for managed wetlands on Sherman Island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Can Carbon Credits Save Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Islands and Protect California’s Vital Water Hub?
(By: Gary Pitzer, Western Water) | (Feb 27, 2020)
The islands of the western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are sinking as the rich peat soil that attracted generations of farmers dries out and decays. As the peat decomposes, it releases tons of carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas – into the atmosphere. As the islands sink, the levees that protect them are at increasing risk of failure, which could imperil California’s vital water conveyance system. An ambitious plan now in the works could halt the decay, sequester the carbon and potentially reverse the sinking.

A wetland created by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) on Sherman Island in the Delta. Photo by Jonno Rattman.

Want to Prevent California’s Katrina? Grow a Marsh
(By: Moises Velasquez-Manoff, Bay Nature Magazine ) | (Sept 16, 2019)
Subsidence is a problem in the Delta because much of the water that irrigates the Central Valley, and that many Californians depend on for drinking water, is pumped through a sprawling network of canals from the Delta. A large enough breach of those levees—especially if it affected many of the Delta’s 57 islands simultaneously—could hamper the flow of fresh water to the Central Valley, leaving huge swaths of the state without usable water for months, even years.

Aerial view of the Blacklock restoration site in Suisun Marsh. Photo by Department of Water Resources.

DWR Awarded Prop 1 Grant to Study Removal Methods of Highly-Invasive Plant in Suisun Marsh
(By: California Department of Water Resources ) | (Sept 11, 2019)
With funding from the Delta Conservancy’s Proposition 1 Grant Program, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) will begin a study this October to determine the effectiveness and environmental impacts of various ways to control a highly invasive plant species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

CDFW Releases Delta Conservation Framework
(By: California Department of Fish and Wildlife) | (Jan 15, 2019)
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) released the Delta Conservation Framework as a comprehensive resource and guide for conservation planning in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta through 2050.

Large excavator, caterpillar front loader, and construction trucks on a large, flat excavated site in a Delta open space area. Photo by Roni Gehlke for Bay Area News Group.

Around East County: Progress on Marsh Project Causing Excitement
(By: Roni Gehlke, East Bay Times) | (Updated Oct 16, 2018)
Construction has begun on the Dutch Slough Tidal Marsh Wetland Restoration Project, allowing wetlands to be grown and offering a natural habitat for water birds and mammals.

Roger Cornwell, General Manager of River Garden Farms, in a parking lot with an example of a refuge composed of large pieces of woody debris tied to a man-sized rock like the ones that were lowered into the Sacramento River at Redding to shelter juvenile salmon. Photo by Water Education Foundation.

When Water Worries Often Pit Farms vs. Fish, a Sacramento Valley Farm is Trying to Address the Needs of Both
(By: Gary Pitzer, Western Water News) | (Aug 24, 2018)
River Garden Farms is piloting projects that could add habitat and food to aid Sacramento River salmon.

Nutria - Myocastor coypus. Photo by California Department of Fish and Wildlife

California v Nutria: State Seeks to Eradicate Scourge of Giant Rodents
(By: Alastair Gee, The Guardian) | (Aug 15, 2018)
As the dog-sized creatures destroy wetlands and dig through levees, officials have a goal: total extermination.

Bay Point Regional Shoreline Restoration and Public Access Project
(By: East Bay Regional Park District) | (2018)
The East Bay Regional Park District will restore wetlands and grasslands, and improve public access to the shoreline by raising trail elevations, improving disabled access, creating new viewpoints, and installing interpretive panels supporting environmental education.

Wetland Restoration is Working at Bay Point Regional Shoreline
(By: San Francisco Bay Joint Venture) | (Jan 29, 2018)
The East Bay Regional Park District is working to restore up to 30 acres of marshland along the Bay Point Regional Shoreline.

Chemical treatment of arundo at a steep shoreline from an aerial boom lift hanging over the water.

Chemical and Biological Control of Arundo at Brannan Island State Recreation Area
(By: Aaron Haiman, UC Weed Science) | (Feb 14, 2018)
This story is about the Delta Conservancy’s work on arundo control in the Delta.

Land, water and roads in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Photo by Randall Benton, The Sacramento Bee.

California’s Delta Poised to Become Massive Carbon Bank
(By: Matt Weiser, Water Deeply) | (June 9, 2017)
This story is about the Delta Conservancy’s work on a new carbon banking methodology.

ACR Approves Landmark Carbon Offset Methodology for California Wetland Restoration
(By: American Carbon Registry ) | (April 25, 2017)
The American Carbon Registry announced approval of a new carbon offset methodology to scientifically quantify greenhouse gas emissions reductions from the restoration of California deltaic and coastal wetlands. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy was the lead agency in developing this methodology.

ACR Presents Innovation Award to the Delta Conservancy
(By: American Carbon Registry ) | (April 20, 2017)
The American Carbon Registry presented the Innovation Award to the developers of a landmark methodology for California wetland restoration. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy was honored as the lead agency.