For over 17 years, I have worked to restore rivers- from the riparian forests along the Sacramento and Big Sur rivers to my biggest challenge - returning flows and salmon to the San Joaquin. For nine years, I have worked at NRDC on the San Joaquin Project while also working on policy issues related to floodplain management as well as the effects of climate change on water resources. Not surprisingly, when not working, I often spend time kayaking rivers or surfing.
Posted November 15, 2012 by Monty Schmitt in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, U.S. Law and Policy
Standing on the banks of the San Joaquin River earlier this week, I saw something I’ve waited over a decade to witness - a Chinook salmon gliding through the river’s clear water. For the first time in over 62 years,...continued→
Posted October 4, 2012 by Monty Schmitt in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, U.S. Law and Policy
The Regional Director for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Donald Glaser, today signed the San Joaquin River Restoration Program Record of Decision (ROD), completing a major five-year environmental planning and permitting effort, and signaling a new milestone in the restoration of...continued→
Posted July 6, 2012 by Monty Schmitt in Living Sustainably
On June 29th, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board adopted the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan – a plan created by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) over the past five years as required by legislation passed in 2007. The...continued→
Posted February 8, 2012 by Monty Schmitt in Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
Last year marked the fifth year of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program and the two year anniversary of renewed river flows - the first since the 1940s when the operation of Friant Dam dried up the river and...continued→
Posted September 23, 2011 by Monty Schmitt in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Building Rivers Blog Series A New Era of California Water Solutions Santa Monica and Other Cities Increase Water Self-Reliance The Yolo Bypass - Hiding in Plain Sight A Million Toilets Can't Be Wrong This post is part of an...continued→
Posted August 18, 2011 by Monty Schmitt in Curbing Pollution, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, Solving Global Warming
At a time when management of the Colorado River Basin water supply is facing unprecedented challenges due to over allocation and climate change, energy companies are proposing to move forward with oil shale development - a water intensive, inefficient source...continued→
Posted June 1, 2011 by Monty Schmitt in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, U.S. Law and Policy
At a time when water resource conflicts are common throughout the West, the San Joaquin River Restoration Program is a rare example of farmers, water districts, state and federal agencies and environmentalists working together to implement real solutions to problems...continued→
Posted May 23, 2011 by Monty Schmitt in Solving Global Warming
With millions acres of land already flooded in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi -- and Louisiana still bracing for the worst -- this flood will surely be remembered by many as the Great Flood of 2011. ...continued→
Posted February 15, 2011 by Monty Schmitt in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, U.S. Law and Policy
The House Continuing Resolution (CR) released on February 11 contains dangerous and misguided provisions that gut protections for the environment, undermine public health programs and hurt the economy. A perfect example of the wrong-headed thinking in this legislation is the...continued→
Posted April 9, 2010 by Monty Schmitt in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Something unexpected lies buried in the conflict over our collapsing salmon fisheries and water exports: a solution. Some parties in this dispute have presented it as a zero sum game, claiming it’s a matter of “jobs vs. fish.” This is...continued→
Posted March 16, 2010 by Monty Schmitt in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
On March 12th, the San Joaquin River was reconnected to the Bay-Delta and the Pacific Ocean for the first time in 60 years using natural river flows. Part of the San Joaquin River Settlement in 2006, the flows being released...continued→
Posted February 1, 2010 by Monty Schmitt in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
This week, flow releases out of Friant Dam resumed as part of the effort to restore the San Joaquin River that resulted from the historic settlement agreement between NRDC, the Friant Water Users Authority and the federal government. Last fall,...continued→
Posted March 31, 2009 by Monty Schmitt in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
When President Obama signed into law the Omnibus Public Lands Bill yesterday many wonderful things happened, not the least of which was legislation completing a settlement that ended one of the West's longest water battles. The San Joaquin River Restoration...continued→
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