I grew up in Orange County, California, a place bounded on one side by beautiful beaches and an ocean stretching to the horizon (after time, you mostly ignore the offshore oil platforms), yet surrounded by a seemingly endless stretch of asphalt in every other direction. Sure, I loved the beach, but growing up, some of my favorite memories are of the parks, forests, and rivers we visited on family road trips across the West. From Big Bear to Yellowstone, the Colorado to the Rogue River, our family crisscrossed the western half of our great country, instilling in me a love of wild places and water. After graduating from college on the East Coast, I packed my bags and volunteered for three months with the Student Conservation Association in Yosemite National Park. That experience confirmed that I wanted a career working to help conserve the environment. More than eight years later, after working as a policy analyst for a national environmental group for several years, I decided to go to law school and earned by law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law. Now, after a couple years as an attorney, I’ve landed my dream job, working to help NRDC restore the Bay-Delta and protect its imperiled wildlife.
Posted February 6, 2012 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
We all know that our water comes out of the tap, but do we know how it got there? Many of us who work on California’s water issues weren’t surprised to learn that recent polling data released last week showed that...continued→
Posted January 17, 2012 by Doug Obegi
Starting with its 2007 report entitled “Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,” the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) has significantly advanced the public conversation about whether to build a peripheral canal to convey water from California’s Bay-Delta estuary. At...continued→
Posted January 6, 2012 by Doug Obegi in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Yesterday, an independent scientific review vindicated the two scientists from the Department of the Interior who were criticized by Judge Wanger in a highly unusual diatribe from the bench shortly before he retired and began working for the Westlands Water...continued→
Posted January 3, 2012 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
2011 was a great year for all of us who care about California’s native fisheries and water supply. Thankfully, 2011 was a wet year that ended several years of drought, resulting in record water exports from California’s Bay-Delta estuary (enough...continued→
Posted December 7, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Just about everyone agrees that the success of BDCP will rely on using sound science to guide the development of a plan for the Delta. Not surprisingly, both state and federal law require use of the best available science in...continued→
Posted November 21, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
A week ago, Tom Birmingham, the general manager of the Westlands Water District, wrote an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee about the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which stated, “The public agencies that depend on this water system are not trying...continued→
Posted October 12, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, U.S. Law and Policy
“Just add water.” For several years, fishermen, conservationists, and scientists have argued that if we provide adequate freshwater flows to the Bay-Delta, native fish populations would begin to rebound. In 2007, a federal court required pumping restrictions to protect native...continued→
Posted September 26, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
I am proud to announce that the San Joaquin River Restoration Program last week received the Department of the Interior’s 2011 Partners in Conservation Award, an award which recognizes conservation achievements that include the collaboration of diverse parties to achieve...continued→
Posted July 19, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
2011 has been an amazing year for California’s water supply. California’s upstream reservoirs are still nearly full in mid-July, and the San Luis Reservoir south of the Delta is storing an incredible amount of water, with much of it likely...continued→
Posted July 7, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
Over the past several years, fights have raged in the Courts and Congress over protections for salmon and other endangered species in the Bay-Delta estuary. Much of the media coverage has focused on a small set of vocal critics of...continued→
Posted June 13, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
This morning, the House Energy and Water Subcommittee held a second hearing on HR 1837, inviting testimony from representatives of California’s largest commercial fishing association, delta water agencies, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Western States Water Council. These...continued→
Posted June 10, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
H.R. 1837, the so-called “San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act” sponsored by Congressmen Nunes, McCarthy and Denham, has met with strong and widespread opposition, including water agencies, Delta farmers, sport and commercial fishermen, conservation groups, state and federal elected officials,...continued→
Posted June 1, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
For more than one hundred years, under section 8 of the Reclamation Act of 1902, federal water projects generally complied with State law regarding the appropriation and use of water. In 1992, Congress and President Bush reaffirmed this federalism scheme...continued→
Posted April 22, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
On Earth Day, we celebrate the majesty and wonder of our planet, and the progress we have made in protecting and sustaining our natural environment and economy. Take some time to enjoy the outdoors and be inspired by the awe...continued→
Posted April 11, 2011 by Doug Obegi in Living Sustainably
This morning, members of the House Energy & Water Subcommittee are holding a hearing in Fresno regarding California's water supply. While the committee will hear from one commercial salmon fisherman and one County Supervisor in the Delta, the majority of witnesses...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
