Take Action! Help GSSA Fight for Salmon Families at the California State Water Resources Control Board on April 25 or April 26
The State of California has a disastrous environmental record–dangerously low river flows, unsustainable water diversions out of our rivers, record high water temperatures because of dam operations and record numbers of salmon eggs and juveniles killed in our streams. The CA State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) needs to hear from all our fishing and salmon allies – they need to hear your individual stories on how their water policy failures have impacted your life and destroyed our salmon runs.
On April 25 and April 26, the Water Board will hold a multiday public workshop to discuss voluntary agreements (VAs) proposed by water users and state and federal agencies currently being considered in the process to update the Sacramento River and Delta components of the Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/SacramentoSan Joaquin Delta Estuary (BayDeltaPlan). We must protect our salmon rivers, commercial and recreational fishing and all the families this ecosystem supports. Now’s the time to share your stories.
When: Public comments will begin approximately at 2pm on both April 25 (Thursday) and April 26 (Friday).
Where: Public Comments can be made in-person or online via Zoom
State Water Resources Control Board
Cal EPA Building, Coastal Hearing Room
1001 I Street, Second Floor Sacramento, CA 95814
How: Individual public comments will be limited to 3 minutes unless additional time is otherwise provided. If you wish to make an individual comment, please fill out a virtual speaker card. For those that plan to participate virtually, the Clerk to the Board will respond to your form one day before the workshop with the information needed to join the meeting.
For those who only wish to watch the meeting, a webcast will be available at youtube.com/user/BoardWebSupport/ and video.calepa.ca.gov/ (closed captioning available) and should be used unless you intend to comment.
Additional Information: State Water Resources Control Board Workshop Notice can be found HERE.
Don’t Forget: There will be an in-person rally organized by Save California Salmon on April 26.
Rally Against the Bay-Delta Plan
Voluntary Water Agreements
April 26 (Friday) from 12:30pm
Cal EPA Building, 1001 I Street, Sacramento
Join us and our coalition in protest against the voluntary agreements that have stalled the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan (Bay-Delta Plan), harmed salmon runs and families, and urge for a science-based plan update.
Public Comment Talking Points:
- The salmon fishing industry was shut down in 2023 and again in 2024.
- That shutdown was caused by bad decisions by the Water Board in 2020 and 2021.
- Tell what the shutdown means for you personally, and for your friends and community. How does it affect your business, town, friends and family.
- Wild Sacramento Valley salmon are the backbone of salmon fishing in California and coastal Oregon.
- The wild run on the Sacramento River has collapsed. For the decade from 1996-2005, wild fall-run spawners averaged over 175,000 fish each year. In the fall of 2023, there were only 6,160 fish. That’s a decline of more than 96%.
- The big threat to these salmon is poor water management – inadequate flows and lethal temperatures. The voluntary agreement proposal does not include temperature management or protections. Endangered winter-run chinook salmon, for example, experienced the worst egg to fry survival in 2021 and 2022 and 99.7% of eggs and babies were killed before they could reach the Golden Gate Bridge.
- Water Board, it’s your job to protect salmon and salmon fishing. Frankly, you’ve failed.
- The Water Board should reject the voluntary agreement proposal, which fails to provide adequate protections for our salmon. The proposal also fails to protect river and public health, water quality and everyone that relies on California’s healthy salmon rivers.
- The voluntary agreements ignore the Water Board’s salmon doubling goal, and instead proposes an inadequate alternative that will continue to harm salmon and everyone who relies on the fishery.
- Urge the Water Board to adopt new protections, based on strong science and the unimpaired flow approach, to protect salmon and fishing jobs.