Despite the fact that the McCloud River has been protected by the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act since 1989, the first Trump administration made the $2-billion Shasta Dam raise – which would inundate much of the river – a priority. Fortunately it ran out of time to finish the required paperwork in early 2021[RS1] .They also got mired on the shoals of a non-compliant Congress. The second Trump administration has more time and the prospects of a compliant Congress… read on for updates on proposed dam projects throughout the state….

As I wade into the river, a wispy fog rises from the burbling waters gently pushing against my knees. A deer breaks a branch while getting a drink. A bald eagle screeches overhead looking for fish too. It is cold— frost outlines the yellow and red leaves fallen to the ground and a faint band of snow caps the tops of the steep hills. My tranquility is rudely interrupted…

Friends of the River mourns the passing of one of the giants of California water law, Harrison C. Dunning, known as “Hap” since childhood, on March 31, at the age of 86.

Hap was one of the foremost scholars of water law in the state. A long-time professor of law at the University of California at Davis, he started a course in water law there and taught many of the state’s leading water attorneys. The results of his efforts to highlight the uses and importance of the public trust doctrine were cited in the California Supreme Court’s historic Mono Lake decision…

Some of you may have noticed the passing of the actor Richard Chamberlain at age 90. Perhaps the older among you will remember his role as Doctor Kildare in the TV series Dr. Kildare and various other TV and movie roles during his career. What perhaps fewer will remember was his 1984 starring role in the Interior (now Natural Resources) Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives’ hearing on the proposed wild & scenic river designation of the Tuolumne River. I was there and can retell some of the drama of that May day in our nation’s capital…

Let’s face it, the federal government’s environmental protection capabilities and responsibilities are being eroded from within, and this Congress may not prove to be our friend. GOP control of even one house of the Congress has clearly demonstrated the Congressional problem…

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…

I am thrilled to join the hardworking team at Friends of the River as the new Engagement Manager. My passion for rivers and river communities has driven me to this role, and I am excited to contribute to our mission of protecting and restoring California’s rivers. Read on to learn more about me…

When President Trump hit the ground running in late January with a slate of executive orders and other measures, no one was surprised to see federal environmental protections, services, and agencies strongly targeted. But his explicit linkage of federal disaster relief to radical changes in California water policy stood out even in the fire hydrant fountain of proposed actions. And Governor Newsom’s response – or lack of one – has also stood out…

As one might have expected, President Trump and his team were better prepared for their crusade to bend the federal and other governments to his will for his second term at playing President of the United States. That included a blizzard of executive actions in his first week. And yes, California drew some of his wrath….

It had always been a strange sideshow to the 2007-era negotiations surrounding the relicensing of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) Upper American River (hydropower) Project (UARP). El Dorado County, which might have prioritized protecting and developing recreational amenities along the South Fork of the American River, was plainly focused on another prize…

I grew up spending summers in the Sequoia National Forest, in the Tule River watershed, at the family cabin my parents bought before I was born. Once school let out, my mom, my siblings, and I would head to the cabin, staying until the day before school started again. Along Highway 190, as you travel up the Middle Fork of the Tule River, we had several favorite spots to check out. My favorite—the one that still brings back the deep sense of home the mountains give me—is Stevenson’s Fall…

Late Sunday afternoon, January 26, while most of America was watching football with Taylor Swift, President Trump released an Executive Order water and fires. However, it does very little for the fire victims or LA water, will primarily benefit wealthy irrigators in the Central Valley, poses unprecedented threats to state law, and endangered species protection, creates risks to clean drinking water for millions of Californians, and initiates an onslaught of harassing interventions by federal agencies. OPEN TO LEARN WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP…

We have welcomed the New Year, and we want to express our deepest gratitude for your support. Thanks to your generosity and commitment to rivers, we have achieved our 2024 budget target. Your support in 2024 funded a year of impact and important wins. With your help we were able to…

After 15 years, the State Water Board is entering what could be the final year of its update of the water quality standards for the Bay-Delta estuary and watershed – but the warning signs that it will make the wrong decision are flashing…

FOR Program Director, Gary Bobker, breaks down President Trump’s recent tweet that wrongly blamed California water mismanagement for the fires in Southern California.

Governor Newsom recently made a pit stop on his California Jobs First press tour, where he touted the proposed Sites Reservoir and Delta Tunnel projects. During the conference, Newsom made questionable statements, both factually and culturally. Some of his statements even contradicted his own policies. Inside is a list of questions for Governor Newsom, to better understand the his positions—and the facts.

Devil’s Gulch Creek, in Samuel P. Taylor State Park, is a tributary of Lagunitas Creek, which flows into Tomales Bay from the wild north slopes of Mount Tamalpais. Lagunitas Creek hosts the largest remaining Coho salmon run in Central California. Devil’s Gulch is the most intimate place to see the Coho spawning…

One of California’s most knowledgeable and colorful water warriors, Bill Kier, passed away on November 14, 2024. He was 89. Bill spent his entire career working to conserve and protect the state’s endangered native fish and wildlife species from unsustainable water uses and other threats, starting in the late 1950s as a biologist at the California Department of Fish and Game, where he helped developed instream flow assessment methods and eventually became chief of the water projects branch…

Ever since the election on November 5, there’s been no lack of speculation about what exactly the return of Donald Trump to the White House will mean for all kinds of policies, from the economy and immigration to national security and international relations. But there’s no uncertainty about the consequences for the environment – it won’t be pretty….

The history of Friends of the River stretches back 51 years. That’s the same history timeline as the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act.

Important histories deserve historians — and a written history. So, as we face a dark and challenging next four years, it’s perhaps important that our website now contains an 89-page referenced memo…