Planning Efforts Related to Ecosystem Restoration

Pathways to 30×30

In October 2020, Governor Newsom signed his Nature Based Solutions Executive Order N-82-20, elevating the role of natural and working lands in the fight against climate change and advancing biodiversity conservation as an administration priority. As part of this Executive Order, California committed to the goal of conserving 30 percent of our lands and coastal waters by 2030.

Click here to learn more about the Pathways to 30×30 strategy.

The Delta Plan

The Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan is a legally enforceable plan that through its regulatory policies and recommendations seeks to improve California’s water supply reliability, protect and enhance the Delta ecosystem, protect and enhance the Delta as a unique and evolving place, improve water quality, reduce risk from floods, and set an example by using “best available science.” The revised Chapter 4 of the Delta Plan (Ecosystem Amendment) is a new approach that aims to achieve a dynamic and resilient restored landscape envisioned in the Delta Reform Act of 2009.

The Delta Plan contains several recommendations that call for action by the Delta Conservancy. Click here to learn more about the Delta Plan.

Delta Science Plan

The Delta Science Plan is a framework for conducting science that organizes and integrates Delta science activities and builds an open, collaborative science community. The Delta Science Plan sets a shared vision for Delta science and a living framework for guiding, organizing, and integrating science in the Delta. It establishes the major elements, organizational structures, and key actions for improving the efficiency, utility, and application of Delta Science across many agencies and institutions.

The Delta Science Plan identifies several areas of participation and primary responsibility for the Delta Conservancy in implementing the called-for actions. Click here to learn more about the Delta Science Plan.

Delta Conservation Framework 2018-2050

The Delta Conservation Framework is intended to serve as a comprehensive resource and guide for planning conservation in the Delta through 2050.

The Framework provides a template for regional and stakeholder-led approaches to restoring ecosystem functions to the Delta landscape. It incorporates feedback from a series of public workshops initiated in 2016, prior planning efforts and the best available science on Delta ecosystem processes. The history, culture, politics, and ecosystems of the Delta are complex. The Delta is also connected in many ways to the lands, watersheds, and communities that surround it. If the Delta Conservation Framework is used as a guide toward future conservation project planning and implementation, and its conservation goals and strategies are pursued by all Delta stakeholders, it is possible to achieve the vision of a Delta composed of resilient natural and managed ecosystems situated within a mosaic of towns and agricultural landscapes, where people prosper, and healthy wildlife communities thrive.

Click here to learn more about the Delta Conservation Framework 2018-2050.

California EcoRestore

California EcoRestore is an initiative to help coordinate and advance at least 30,000 acres of critical habitat restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Driven by world-class science and guided by adaptive management, California EcoRestore will aggressively pursue habitat restoration projects with clearly defined goals, measurable objectives, and financial resources to help ensure success.

California EcoRestore pursues a broad range of habitat restoration projects, including projects to address aquatic, sub-tidal, tidal, riparian, flood plain, and upland ecosystem needs.

California EcoRestore’s initial goal is to advance (i.e. complete or break ground on) 30,000 acres of Delta habitat restoration:

25,000 acres associated with existing mandates for habitat restoration, pursuant to federal biological opinions. These projects will be funded exclusively by the state and federal water contractors that benefit from the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project systems.
5,000 acres of habitat enhancements. Proposition 1 grants to local governments, non-profit organizations, and other entities will support these habitat enhancements throughout the Delta. Funding will come primarily from the Delta Conservancy, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the California Department of Water Resources.

Additional priority restoration projects will be identified through regional and locally-led planning processes facilitated by the Delta Conservancy. Plans will be completed for the Cache Slough, West Delta, Cosumnes, and South Delta. Planning for the Suisun Marsh region is already complete, and a process for integrated planning in the Yolo Bypass is underway. The Delta Conservancy will lead the implementation of identified restoration projects, in collaboration with local governments and with a priority on using public lands in the Delta.

Click here to learn more about California EcoRestore.

Check out these videos on EcoRestore Projects in the Delta:

Suisun Marsh Habitat Management, Preservation and Restoration Plan

The Suisun Marsh Management Plan is a comprehensive plan designed to address the various conflicts regarding use of marsh resources, with the focus on achieving an acceptable multi-stakeholder approach to restoring 5,000 to 7,000 acres of tidal wetlands and the management of managed wetlands and their functions consistent with the CALFED program, the Suisun Marsh Preservation Agreement, applicable species recovery plans, and other interagency goals.

The Delta Conservancy’s Strategic Plan must be consistent with the Suisun Marsh Management Plan, and the Conservancy may be a partner in implementing the plan. Click here to learn more about the Suisun Marsh Management Plan.

Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (CVFPP)

The CVFPP is a comprehensive framework for system-wide flood management and flood risk reduction in the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins. Included in the 2012 CVFPP is the Conservation Framework, which provides direction for conservation planning in the context of flood management.

The Delta Conservancy’s Strategic Plan must be consistent with the CVFPP. Additionally, the Conservancy may be a partner for the actions called for in the Conservation Framework.

Click here to learn more about the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan.

Local Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) and Natural Community Conservation Plans (NCCPs)

Local HCPs and NCCPs in the San Francisco Bay-Delta propose to allow for economic activities to continue while minimizing and mitigating the impact of authorized incidental take of the endangered or rare species that the plans cover and to conserve these species and their habitats.

One of the Delta Conservancy’s 12 mandates is to assist local entities in the implementation of their HCPs and NCCPs.

Click on the links below to learn more about the plans:

Delta Public Lands Strategy

Through 2018, the Delta Conservancy coordinated a public planning process to develop an integrated conservation strategy for publicly-funded lands in the west, central, and northeast Delta. This collaborative planning process brought together landowners, agencies, and interested stakeholders to develop a high-level strategy for connecting investments in habitat conservation, flood protection and levee improvement, land management, and recreation and tourism to maximize benefits to the Delta ecosystem, regional economy, and water quality. This project was initially called the Central Delta Corridor Partnership.

Click here to learn more about the Delta Public Lands Strategy.