Download or read book A Scientific Assessment of Alternatives for Reducing Water Management Effects on Threatened and Endangered Fishes in California s Bay Delta written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-08-13 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: California's Bay-Delta estuary is a biologically diverse estuarine ecosystem that plays a central role in the distribution of California's water from the state's wetter northern regions to its southern, arid, and populous cities and agricultural areas. Recently, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service required changes (reasonable and prudent alternatives, or RPAs) in water operations and related actions to avoid jeopardizing the continued existence and potential for recovery of threatened species of fish. Those changes have reduced the amount of water available for other uses, and the tensions that resulted have been exacerbated by recent dry years. The complexity of the problem of the decline of the listed species and the difficulty of identifying viable solutions have led to disagreements, including concerns that some of the actions in the RPAs might be ineffective and might cause harm and economic disruptions to water users, and that some of the actions specified in the RPAs to help one or more of the listed species might harm others. In addition, some have suggested that the agencies might be able to meet their legal obligation to protect species with less economic disruptions to other water users. The National Research Council examines the issue in the present volume to conclude that most of the actions proposed by two federal agencies to protect endangered and threatened fish species through water diversions in the California Bay-Delta are "scientifically justified." But less well-supported by scientific analyses is the basis for the specific environmental triggers that would indicate when to reduce the water diversions required by the actions.
Download or read book Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay Delta written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extensively modified over the last century and a half, California's San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary remains biologically diverse and functions as a central element in California's water supply system. Uncertainties about the future, actions taken under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and companion California statues, and lawsuits have led to conflict concerning the timing and amount of water that can be diverted from the Delta for agriculture, municipal, and industrial purposes and concerning how much water is needed to protect the Delta ecosystem and its component species. Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta focuses on scientific questions, assumptions, and conclusions underlying water-management alternatives and reviews the initial public draft of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan in terms of adequacy of its use of science and adaptive management. In addition, this report identifies the factors that may be contributing to the decline of federally listed species, recommend future water-supple and delivery options that reflect proper consideration of climate change and compatibility with objectives of maintaining a sustainable Bay-Delta ecosystem, advises what degree of restoration of the Delta system is likely to be attainable, and provides metrics that can be used by resource managers to measure progress toward restoration goals.
Download or read book After the Grizzly written by Peter S. Alagona and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2013-05-28 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thoroughly researched and finely crafted, After the Grizzly traces the history of endangered species and habitat in California, from the time of the Gold Rush to the present. Peter S. Alagona shows how scientists and conservationists came to view the fates of endangered species as inextricable from ecological conditions and human activities in the places where those species lived. Focusing on the stories of four high-profile endangered species—the California condor, desert tortoise, Delta smelt, and San Joaquin kit fox—Alagona offers an absorbing account of how Americans developed a political system capable of producing and sustaining debates in which imperiled species serve as proxies for broader conflicts about the politics of place. The challenge for conservationists in the twenty-first century, this book claims, will be to redefine habitat conservation beyond protected wildlands to build more diverse and sustainable landscapes.
Download or read book A Review of the Use of Science and Adaptive Management in California s Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-08-19 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary is a large, complex estuarine ecosystem in California. It has been substantially altered by dikes, levees, channelization, pumps, human development, introduced species, dams on its tributary streams and contaminants. The Delta supplies water from the state's wetter northern regions to the drier southern regions and also serves as habitat for many species, some of which are threatened and endangered. The restoration of water exacerbated tensions over water allocation in recent years, and have led to various attempts to develop comprehensive plans to provide reliable water supplies and to protect the ecosystem. One of these plans is the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The report, A Review of the Use of Science and Adaptive Management in California's Draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan, determines that the plan is incomplete in a number of important areas and takes this opportunity to identify key scientific and structural gaps that, if addressed, could lead to a more successful and comprehensive final BDCP. The plan is missing the type of structure usually associated with current planning methods in which the goals and objectives are specified, alternative measure for achieving the objectives are introduced and analyzed, and a course of action in identified based on analytical optimization of economic, social, and environmental factors. Yet the panel underscores the importance of a credible and a robust BDCP in addressing the various water management problems that beset the Delta. A stronger, more complete, and more scientifically credible BDCP that effectively integrates and utilizes science could indeed pave the way toward the next generation of solutions to California's chronic water problems.
Download or read book Managing California s Water written by Ellen Hanak and published by Public Policy Instit. of CA. This book was released on 2011 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Himalayan Glaciers written by Committee on Himalayan Glaciers, Hydrology, Climate Change, and Implications for Water Security and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-12-13 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientific evidence shows that most glaciers in South Asia's Hindu Kush Himalayan region are retreating, but the consequences for the region's water supply are unclear, this report finds. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is the location of several of Asia's great river systems, which provide water for drinking, irrigation, and other uses for about 1.5 billion people. Recent studies show that at lower elevations, glacial retreat is unlikely to cause significant changes in water availability over the next several decades, but other factors, including groundwater depletion and increasing human water use, could have a greater impact. Higher elevation areas could experience altered water flow in some river basins if current rates of glacial retreat continue, but shifts in the location, intensity, and variability of rain and snow due to climate change will likely have a greater impact on regional water supplies. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security makes recommendations and sets guidelines for the future of climate change and water security in the Himalayan Region. This report emphasizes that social changes, such as changing patterns of water use and water management decisions, are likely to have at least as much of an impact on water demand as environmental factors do on water supply. Water scarcity will likely affect the rural and urban poor most severely, as these groups have the least capacity to move to new locations as needed. It is predicted that the region will become increasingly urbanized as cities expand to absorb migrants in search of economic opportunities. As living standards and populations rise, water use will likely increase-for example, as more people have diets rich in meat, more water will be needed for agricultural use. The effects of future climate change could further exacerbate water stress. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security explains that changes in the availability of water resources could play an increasing role in political tensions, especially if existing water management institutions do not better account for the social, economic, and ecological complexities of the region. To effectively respond to the effects of climate change, water management systems will need to take into account the social, economic, and ecological complexities of the region. This means it will be important to expand research and monitoring programs to gather more detailed, consistent, and accurate data on demographics, water supply, demand, and scarcity.
Download or read book Interior Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations for 2012 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 698 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book H R 1314 H R 1927 H R 4256 H R 4284 H R 4319 and H R 4866 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Natural Resources and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Congressional Record written by United States. Congress and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 1524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)
Download or read book Comparing Futures for the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta written by Jay Lund and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2010-02-02 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ecosystem in freefall, a shrinking water supply for cities and agriculture, an antiquated network of failure-prone levees—this is the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the major hub of California's water system. Written by a team of independent water experts, this analysis of the latest data evaluates proposed solutions to the Delta's myriad problems. Through in-depth economic and ecological analysis, the authors find that the current policy of channeling water exports through the Delta is not sustainable for any interest. Employing a peripheral canal-conveying water around the Delta instead of through it—as part of a larger habitat and water management plan appears to be the best strategy to maintain both a high-quality water supply and at the same time improve conditions for native fish and wildlife. This important assessment includes integrated analysis of long term ecosystem and water management options and demonstrates how issues such as climate change and sustainability will shape the future. Published in cooperation with the Public Policy Institute of California
Download or read book CALFED Bay Delta Program Programmatic EIS Long Term Comprehensive Plan to Restore Ecosystem Health and Improve Water Management San Francisco Bay Sacramento San Joaquin River Bay Delta D Dsum Program Goals and Objectives Dapp1 No Action Alternative written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Shasta Dam and Reservoir Enlargement Project Environmental Study Plan written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Proposed Lower Yuba River Accord written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Flood Risk Management and the American River Basin written by Committee on Flood Control Alternatives in the American River Basin and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1995-10-05 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reviews the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) investigations of flood control options for the American River basin and evaluates flood control feasibility studies for the watershed, with attention to the contingency assumptions, hydrologic methods, and other analyses supporting the flood control options. This book provides detailed comments on many technical issues, including a careful review of the 1991 National Research Council report American River Watershed Investigation, and looks beyond the Sacramento case to broader questions about the nation's approach to flood risk management. It discusses how to utilize information available about flood hazard reduction alternatives for the American River basin, the potential benefits provided by various alternatives, the impacts of alternatives on environmental resources and ecosystems, and the trade-offs inherent in any choice among alternatives which does not lie in the realm of scientists and engineers, but in the arena of public decisionmaking.
Download or read book Recovery Plan for the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta Native Fishes written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book East Bay Municipal Utility District Supplemental Water Supply Project written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 904 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Endangered Species Act Reauthorization Woodland written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Subcommittee on Environment and Natural Resources and published by Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administ. This book was released on 1993 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
