The federal government is charging full-speed into a fossil-fueled future—reviving dam projects, gutting environmental protections, and turning independent agencies like FERC into puppets of political agendas. From Sites Reservoir to the McCloud River, a growing movement of Tribes and environmental advocates is pushing back to defend clean water, native species, and democratic oversight.

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel in our fight to stop Sites Reservoir. After a year of participating in the water rights proceeding to permit the project, Friends of the River and our coalition of California tribes and environmental groups hit a critical milestone, – we submitted closing briefs to the Administrative Hearings Office of the State Water Board, detailing the extensive legal, environmental, and cultural flaws in the proposed project.

This month’s Federal Watch tracks shifting tides in Congress, endangered species protections, and federal agency staffing—revealing how decisions in D.C. ripple across California’s rivers. From fish protections on the chopping block, to subsidies for deadbeat dams, dive into the latest threats and under-the-radar developments.

A little-noticed item appeared in a local newspaper recently. The Placer Sentinal ran a story based on a press release from the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) announcing the construction of some operable gates on top of what is now just a pour-over spillway at PCWA’s Hell Hole Dam on the Middle Fork of the American River…