Fourteen months ago the Resource Conservation District (RCD) was formed by a narrow margin of victory in March 2002. Since that time its collaborative, non-regulatory approach to conserving natural resources has garnered nearly $1 million in federal grants to provide local solutions to local problems. »

California's pesticide regulations often duplicate federal rules, slowing the introduction of new pest controls without doing much to protect public health or the environment, says a sweeping government reorganization plan reviewed by The Associated Press.  »

As a result of declining lake levels, the California Department of Water Resources and the Department of Parks and Recreation have imposed temporary vehicular access restrictions at Lake Oroville's Foreman Creek and Enterprise Boat Ramp areas.  »

Commentary from Steve Frisch, director of natural resources at the Sierra Business Council »

The purpose of the resolution is to show progress toward developing a policy for the Central Valley and affirm the Regional Board's commitment to the effort. The final resolution and staff report are available for download on the Regional Board's website. »

A levee break and the subsequent flooding on a Delta island two months ago are to blame for unusually musty water this summer in the Tri-Valley, water officials said.  »

The Yolo County Farm Bureau is supporting Yolo County's planned joint powers authority for the acquisition of the 17,300-acre Conaway Ranch. »

The U.S. Interior Department essentially chose not to answer Humboldt County's request for water promised as part of the project that diverts part of the Trinity River south ... Some 53 percent of the river's flows above Lewiston Dam will still be sent to the Sacramento River, where it's withdrawn by Central Valley irrigators.  »

Customers in the Sacramento Suburban Water District will see their bills increase an average of 54 percent over three years. »

California has an "aging flood-control infrastructure" protecting communities where people are unaware of the danger, according to a massive study released this week. »

The NPS Encyclopedia is a condensed, quick-reference guide that provides an entry point to information on nonpoint source management practices in California. It includes a brief discussion of the main elements and intent of the 61 nonpoint source management measures for each of the six nonpoint source management measures for each of the six nonpoint source categories (agriculture; forestry; urban areas; marinas and recreational boating; hydromodification; and wetlands, riparian areas, and vegetated treatment systems). It also includes descriptions of management practices and how they can be used to meet each management measure, as well as their applicability to various situations in California and their cost-effectiveness in different climatic and land use settings.  »

The sudden release of water from Ralston Reservoir south of Auburn sent a "wall of water three- to four-feet high" down the Middle Fork of the American River, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Tom Marshall.  »

A compromise is being drafted for the proposed Sierra Conservancy, and legislators plan to tackle the issue next week.  »

A broken release gate at a Sierra Nevada reservoir sent a wall of water down the Middle Fork of the American River Thursday, though authorities said it dissipated before it caused any apparent damage or injuries.  »

The Forest Service suggested the Cottage Creek boat launch on Bullards Bar Reservoir may not operate during the Labor Day weekend due to low water levels.  »

Failure to notice an electrical mishap at a Placer County dam caused two gates to stay open for more than an hour Thursday, sending a 4-foot wave of muddy water down the American River middle fork and prompting authorities to evacuate dozens of people. »

A Bush administration official has helped California farmers in a campaign to eliminate endangered species protections for the delta smelt, a tiny fish that has bedeviled Central Valley irrigators, an environmental group has charged. »

Rep. Doug Ose, R-Sacramento, praised a plan to modify Folsom Dam. The Folsom Dam Modification Project includes enlarging eight outlets and adding two new outlets to allow the dam to release water faster during a flood. »

The state panel that has called for sweeping reform of California government wants to create a new disaster-response agency that would combine flood management, fire suppression and emergency services. »

Folsom Lake's water level has dropped to 400 feet, its lowest since 1992. »

Freshly planted digger pines and black walnut trees line the banks of Cache Creek in the Capay Valley, where just a few years ago dredgers mined for gravel. »

A proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's team of government-efficiency experts to reduce and consolidate the state's environmental agencies is getting a thumbs down from several leading environmentalists.  »

Uncertainty over cost and responsibility delayed the response of emergency workers as 12,000 acres of Delta farmland were inundated two months ago, but those delays did not compromise the flood containment fight, a panel of state senators was told Tuesday.  »

The state doesn't worry about the bill when fighting forest fires, and it shouldn't worry about money when responding to floods, officials from San Joaquin County told lawmakers Tuesday. »

Raising Shasta Dam faces a variety of obstacles: an incomplete study, the Bureau of Reclamation, Congress, and residents who oppose it. »

  Troubles with the levees in south Yuba County are rippling through efforts to build a multi-million-dollar wastewater treatment plant in Olivehurst and could delay future development in the south Plumas Lake Specific Plan area.  »

The Anderson Cottonwood Irrigation District board put off a decision Thursday on whether to approve a new U.S. Bureau of Reclamation contract.  »

The Klamath fish kill of September 2002, when 68,000 salmon died because of low, warm water conditions on the lower river, is considered the largest of its kind in U.S. history. However, another “hidden fish kill” that took place on the American River in the fall of 2001, 2002 and 2003 is now vying for this dubious distinction.  »

The old Llano Seco Rancho, the last of the undivided Mexican land grants, was finally divided in 1991 to provide wildlife conservation. »

The Llano Seco Rancho has been revered for more than 140 years as a place where nature coexists with farming and ranching. Strong management turns a profit without squeezing money from the land. »

An examination of the on-going drought. With Colorado River supplies shrinking, the Metropolitan Water District is looking to take more water from Lake Oroville. »

A century ago, the Sacramento River generated about 45 percent of its runoff from April through June, he said. Now, with the snow melting earlier, less than 35 percent arrives during that period. »

  Contrary to the criticism of some residents, flood control and housing quality issues in the Plumas Lake Specific Plan development have not been brushed aside, Yuba County officials and a housing developer said Monday.  »

Local water officials will receive $1.2 million to restore spawning beds for salmon and other wildlife habitat along lower Putah Creek. »

Farm and grazing land declined by nearly 29,000 acres in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties from 2000-02. Since 1990, urbanized land in the Sacramento-area counties has increased by more than 53,400 acres - an area larger than the cities of Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln and Loomis combined. »

Environmental activists are vehemently opposing a state proposal to eliminate 10 boards that regulate water, a plan they think will put California's water-quality programs on the rocks.  »

The Yuba County Water Agency is looking at a setback levee south of Star Bend on the Feather River and two options for setback levees - north and south - along the Bear River.  »

Just where the American River swings around a bend, there's a swatch of land, prone to flooding and just as easily overlooked, that instead harbors a natural treasure and a legacy to an uncommon woman and her remarkable vision. »

The federal government has bought irrigation water to release down Northern California's Trinity River in hopes of preventing a repeat of conditions that killed more than 34,000 Klamath River salmon two years ago. The water was purchased from irrigation districts in California's Central Valley Project, where for decades more than half the Trinity's flows have been diverted across a mountain range and down the Sacramento River. »

The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the Yolo County Board of Supervisors Thursday. The suit challenges the board's decision to allow the Cache Creek Dairy in Yolo County to expand, according to the County Counsel's office. »

Every summer, the Colusa Drain sends millions of gallons of spent irrigation water into the Sacramento River upstream of the capital. Over the years, critics have blamed the drain, and rice farmers that depend on it, for tainting Sacramento's drinking water with a cocktail of herbicides and other pollutants. Now, after decades of fingerpointing, urban and agricultural water agencies are working together to see if the Colusa Basin Drainage Canal deserves its notoriety. If their ongoing study finds the drain is a major pollution source, the coalition may try to re-engineer the 60-mile canal so it no longer drains directly into the Sacramento. »

Nearly a mile of the Linda levee, a portion of which collapsed in 1986 and devastated Linda, is targeted for improvement work due to potential seepage problems. »

The state Senate passed a bill Monday that would create the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, a funding mechanism to be run by a board that would help identify the highest priority projects for the state's mountain region and initiatives that need funding.  »

A coalition has been formed by Tehama and Shasta county landowners to meet new state water discharge requirements. »

Six House Democrats are accusing the Bush administration of brokering sweetheart water deals with certain Central Valley farm districts that could affect how much water is available to California's cities and environment over the next 25 years. »

Creation of a Groundwater Monitoring and Database Management network will provide an essential building block for future water management activities in Yolo County, according to a report conducted by the Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District. »

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is opposed by the California Farm Bureau, which has argued that it doesn't do enough to ensure that private property owners have a say in Sierra council actions or to protect property owner rights and activities from conservancy decisions.  »

California legislators today approved plans for a Sierra Nevada Conservancy, which would create an organization aimed at protecting the mountain range’s natural resources and economic prosperity. »

This article examines Lake Madigan, a small resevoir on Wild Horse Creek, which ultimately flows to Putah Creek and the Sacramento. »

The Central Valley and state water control boards failed to follow their own procedures and criteria when they issued a wastewater treatment permit that required Yuba City to meet "vastly more stringent" discharge standards than required before, the city claims in a lawsuit filed in Sutter County Superior Court. »

Aiming to reduce flood damages, the Colusa Basin Drainage District Board of Directors recently awarded the South Fork Willow Creek Ranch Grazing Lease to Mike and Kathy Landini of Elk Creek. »

A discussion of the flooding and history of the Yuba bottom lands, and possible use of the area in the future. »

Dozens of long-term water contracts that are part of the biggest federal water project in the West are on track to be renewed in the coming months, raising concern among environmentalists and some Democratic lawmakers that concessions to agribusinesses will come at the expense of fisheries and state water policy for decades to come.  »

Most owners of the 39 homes illegally built on a remote delta island are heeding Contra Costa County's demand that the structures be removed or razed, and demolition of their cherished sanctuaries is expected to start as early as today.  »

The Colusa Basin Drainage District Board of Directors recently concluded a grazing lease proposal process with the awarding of the South Fork Willow Creek Ranch Grazing Lease to Mike and Kathy Landini of Elk Creek. »

 Yuba County supervisors awarded a $1.74 million contract Friday for installation of a slurry wall in a portion of the Linda levee.  »

It will take years before any decision is reached on PG&E's application to relicense its DeSabla-Centerville hydro project, but the utility plans on changing some aspects of its operation a lot sooner to further protect spring-run Chinook salmon in Butte Creek. »

The next meeting to write a comprehensive plan for public lands along the 39-mile stretch of the South Yuba River from Spaulding Reservoir to Lake Englebright »

The Colusa Basin Subwatershed Program sent out letters and bills to 840 Glenn County landowners who have said they want to be part of a coalition to meet Central Valley Water Quality Control Board rules. »

The El Dorado Irrigation District has a new mobile exhibit that explains water's role in the development of the area's gold mining industry. »

If Shasta Dam were raised 6 1/2 feet, the lowest increase proposed, the extra storage space would hold enough extra water for about 1.1 million people for one year. But the McCloud River would also back up, submerging about 20 of the Winnemem tribe's interconnected sacred sites near the McCloud Bridge, where the McCloud River flows into an arm of Lake Shasta. »

A century ago, the Sacramento River generated about 45 percent of its runoff from April through June. Now, with the snow melting earlier, less than 35 percent arrives during that period. »