Californians have fundamentally altered many of the state’s rivers and streams with dams, pipes, and diversions, and the State is home to some of the world’s most complex water delivery projects. As an unfortunate consequence, habitat for many freshwater species has been degraded or destroyed.
But, is it necessary to tradeoff the freshwater needs of birds, fish, and other species against the needs of farms and cities? Could freshwater flows be managed to better mimic the dynamics of their unimpaired past, dynamics to which native species have adapted and need to persist? And how should climate change considerations be incorporated into water management, to enhance the resilience of freshwater systems for both people and nature?
Our science is focused on tackling these questions.
Science in Action
Freshwater | Science
Restoring California’s Largest River
How can we restore large rivers and floodplains to benefit nature and people?
Freshwater | Terrestrial | Science
Not Leaving it to Beaver
Can we restore meadows by mimicking beavers?
Products
2023 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Informing waterfowl conservation by determining what habitats are least resilient during times of drought
Erin E. Conlisk, Kristin B. Byrd, Elliot Matchett, Austin A. Lorenz, Michael Casazza, Gregory H. Golet, Mark D. Reynolds, Kristin A. Sesser, and Matthew E. Reiter
Landscape-scale wetland conservation requires understanding how wildlife responds to dynamic freshwater habitat availability. This study examined this for dabbling ducks by comparing habitat…
2022 | Freshwater | Science | Publications & Reports
Water balance for gaged watersheds in the Central Sierra Nevada, California and Nevada, United States
James W. Roche, Kristen N. Wilson, Qin Ma, Roger C. Bales
This study evaluated the water balance components of precipitation, evapotranspiration, discharge, and change in storage compared to measured streamflow and unregulated streamflow estimates in the…
2022 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Developing an adaptive management approach to cowbird control on the Santa Clara River, California
Sophie S. Parker, Linnea S. Hall, Mary J. Whitfield, Laura Riege, Kathryn R. Selm, René Corado
This paper presents results from a field-based study that can be used to benefit songbirds in riverside habitats like those found along the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, California. Songbirds…
2022 | Freshwater | Science | Publications & Reports
Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture: Allocations and Environmental Flows
Eric D. Stein, Michael E. McClain, Ashmita Sengupta, Theodore E. Grantham, Julie K.H. Zimmerman, Sarah M. Yarnell
In this chapter of Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture, the authors provide insights on how to integrate environmental flows into water allocation for agriculture across the world. They argue…
2022 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports
Potential Lithium Extraction in the United States: Environmental, Economic, and Policy Implications
Sophie S. Parker, Bradley Franklin, Brian S. Cohen, Melissa M. Rohde, Michael Clifford, Andrew Williams
Climate change will cause severe financial, social, and environmental upheaval if a massive reduction in carbon emissions is not achieved by 2030. To address this challenge, rechargeable lithium-ion…
2022 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Informing shorebird conservation by determining when and how much habitat is needed in wet and dry years
Gregory. H. Golet, Kristen. E. Dybala, Matthew. E. Reiter, Kristin. A. Sesser, Mark Reynolds, Rodd Kelsey
Shorebirds have declined precipitously in North America in the last 50 years, primarily due to the loss of wetlands. Incentive programs that pay farmers to create temporary wetland habitat on idled…
2022 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Quantity and fate of synthetic microfiber emissions from apparel washing in California and strategies for their reduction
Roland Geyer, Jenna Gavigan, Alexis M. Jackson, Vienna R. Saccomanno, Sangwon Suh, Mary G. Gleason
Synthetic microfibers are the most prevalent type of microplastic and apparel washing is a major source of microfiber pollution. Using California as a case study to estimate the magnitude of…
2022 | Freshwater | Science | Publications & Reports
Hydraulic Properties of the Riffle Crest and Applications for Stream Ecosystem Management
Gabriel Rossi, Darren Mierau, Jennifer Carah
A simple stream depth measurement at the deepest part of a riffle crest in a river or stream provides an easy-to-measure and inexpensive metric for ecological researech, environmental flow management,…
2022 | Freshwater | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Modeling Functional Flows in California’s Rivers
Theodore E. Grantham, Daren M. Carlisle, Jeanette Howard, Belize Lane, Robert Lusardi, Alyssa Obester, Samuel Sandoval-Solis, Bronwen Stanford, Eric D. Stein, Kristine T. Taniguchi-Quan, Sarah M. Yarnell, Julie K. H. Zimmerman
Protecting water in rivers is made more challenging by the lack of quantitative estimates of the amount of water required to protect river ecosystems. The authors developed a model and made…
2022 | Freshwater | Science | Publications & Reports
Functional Flows in Groundwater-Influenced Streams: Application of the California Environmental Flows Framework to Determine Ecological Flow Needs
Sarah M. Yarnell, Ann Willis, Alyssa Obester, Ryan A. Peek, Robert A. Lusardi, Julie Zimmerman, Theodore E. Grantham, Eric D. Stein
Very few rivers have protections to protect flow for species and ecosystems, in part because of the complexity and resources required to develop ecological flow criteria - the amount of water needed…
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Using information on forest succession to advance strategies for salmon recovery and carbon storage in meandering river systems
John C. Stella, Li Kui, Gregory H. Golet, Frank Poulsen
Streamside forests are incredibly important for fish, birds and other wildlife. They are also valuable for storing carbon which is needed to combat climate change. This is especially the case in…
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Sacramento River: balancing ecological and social restoration goals to restore riparian habitat along a lowland floodplain river, California, USA
Case study by: K.D. Holl, G.H. Golet
Advancing conservation requires understanding the constraints imposed on natural systems by human societies. This understanding typically comes from engagement with local stakeholders, as opposed…
2021 | Freshwater | Science | Publications & Reports
The California Environmental Flows Framework: Meeting the Challenges of Developing a Large-Scale Environmental Flows Program
Eric D. Stein, Julie Zimmerman, Sarah M. Yarnell, Bronwen Stanford, Belize Lane, Kristine T. Taniguchi-Quan, Alyssa Obester, Theodore E. Grantham, Robert A. Lusardi, Samuel Sandoval-Solis
The first step to protecting rivers is figuring out how much water they need to protect species and ecological functions - known as ecological flow criteria. Scientists have struggled to develop flow…
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports
Planting Stormwater Solutions: A methodology for siting nature-based solutions for pollution capture, habitat enhancement, and multiple health benefits
Kelsey Jessup, Sophie S. Parker, John M. Randall, Brian S. Cohen, Rowan Roderick-Jones, Shona Ganguly, Jill Sourial
This paper presents results from Planting Stormwater Solutions, part of TNC’s Urban Conservation work in Los Angeles. The authors develop a methodology to prioritize siting of vegetated…
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine | Planning | Science | Video
StoryMap: Restoring coastal wetlands for climate resilience: A case study at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu
Charlotte Stanley, Alyssa Mann, Walter Heady
The United States operates thousands of military installations in the U.S. and worldwide, worth about $1.2 trillion. These facilities are where personnel train and test weaponry, with…
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Restoring coastal wetlands for climate resilience: A case study at Naval Base Ventura County, Pt. Mugu
Walter Heady, Alyssa Mann, Stacey Solie, Bob Battalio, James Jackson, Kendall Lousen, and Bob Barnes
The U.S. Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) have determined that climate change is a threat to national security and have required military installations to develop plans to improve the…
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports
Cannabis farms in California rely on wells outside of regulated groundwater basins
Christopher Dillis, Van Butsic, Jennifer Carah, Samuel Zipper, Theodore Grantham
Water management practices for cannabis farming in California are not well understood. This study examined permit reporting data and found that the vast majority (>75%) of permitted cannabis farms…
2021 | Freshwater | Science | Maps & Webmaps
California Natural Flows Webapp
Julie K.H. Zimmerman, Daren M. Carlisle, Jason T. May, Kirk R. Klausmeyer, Theodore E. Grantham, Larry R. Brown, Jeanette K. Howard, Nathaniel Rindlaub, Falk Schuetzenmeister
Water is essential for California’s people, economy, and environment. Centuries of water management through dams and diversion have altered the flows in many streams and rivers, which can harm…
2021 | Freshwater | Planning | Maps & Webmaps
ICONS: Interconnected Surface Water in the Central Valley
This dataset categorizes the rivers and streams in the Central Valley on the likelihood that they are interconnected surface water (ISW) -- surface water hydraulically connected to groundwater. The…
2021 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports
Predicting shorebird distributions in managed wetland habitats to inform where to implement habitat programs
Erin Conlisk, Gregory H. Golet, Mark D. Reynolds, Blake Barbaree, Kristin Sesser, Kristen Byrd, Sam Veloz, Matthew E. Reiter
Highly mobile species, such as migratory birds, respond to seasonal and yearly changes in resource availability by moving among habitats. Understanding how they select among habitats is important for…