We support scientific research to improve water resources management and policy with the ultimate objective of improving the lives of Californians and protecting California’s natural resources. Investigators who receive funding from the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management carry out studies using data on the imperiled native fishes and environmental factors in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to evaluate management-relevant hypotheses, quantitatively relating the performance of species listed under state and federal endangered species acts to their dynamic, degraded habitats. The Center also funds research aimed at providing guidance to the fish and wildlife and water-resource agencies regarding standards of conservation practice.
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Cognitive dissonance [noun] 1: the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes 2: the State of California’s salmon management policy
The State of California has committed to a policy of protecting wild runs of its Chinook salmon. It’s reflected in both State law, in the Delta Reform Act, and in State policy, including the State Board’s Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan and Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan. The State implements salmon policy by imposing considerable restrictions on the agencies that supply water to residents, businesses, and farmers across much of California at a cost that runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Yet this year returns of wild spring-run Chinook salmon from the ocean were vanishingly small. State officials report that fewer than 25 returning adults were recorded in two of the three
Paul S. Weiland
November 3, 2023
