The Park Fire, located north of Chico and near Lassen National Park, ignited on July 24 and is presently California's fourth-largest wildfire. At approximately the size of half of Rhode Island  (~428,808 acres) as of August 9, this ongoing wildfire's rapid expansion is alarming the community, state, and scientists alike.

This month, California's Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) voted to list Southern California steelhead trout as an endangered species.

Salmon in California are struggling – facing drought, river heatwaves, polluted runoff, poor spawning habitat, and barriers to fish passage – is it a wonder that the salmon fishing season in California is canceled, again. Robert Lusardi, Associate Director at the Center for Watershed Sciences and faculty member in the Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Department at UC Davis, says almost half of California's native trout and salmon species could disappear in the next 50 years.

UC Davis' School of Law will host the 2024 Environmental Law Symposium on March 8, 2024 from 9:00am - 3:00pm in King Hall, Room 1001. Of special interest will be the topic of rewilding, the role of habitat restoration and species reintroduction in achieving climate resiliency. The symposium will feature three panels exploring the multiple benefits of habitat restoration, species reintroduction and how to address the potential legal, policy, and social challenges of rewilding. 

Welcome + 3-4 X 10-minute short talks + discussion

Salmon are trapped behind dams in Oregon's Willamette River Valley, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to address the issue by constructing a novel $450 million trap-and-haul style "vacuum" to suck up juvenile salmon and relocate them to large holding tanks, where they will be subsequently transported downstream via trucks and re-released. UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences researchers Robert Lusardi and Peter Moyle, who published a research article on trap-and-haul programs earlier in 2017, warn that the Corps "should proceed with extreme caution" on the current proposed plan.

After enduring a drought that spanned several decades, the wet season of 2022-23 has brought a long-awaited source of relief. Now with the snowpack melting rapidly and overflowing rivers and reservoirs, the excess water will need to be released. Read the coverage by ABC News, "Snowpack in the West is melting rapidly.

California has experienced a series of severe storms and intense rainfall this year – but what are the benefits? The storms and heavy rainfall in California throughout the year has led to flourishing vast expanses of wildflowers and has also given a much-needed impetus to certain endangered ecosystems in the state.

Dr. Jay Lund, distinguished professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, and Vice Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, has been awarded the Academic Senate's 2023 Distinguished Research Award. Congratulations Dr. Lund! 

The recent rains in California have brought about a positive outcome for young salmon – the Yolo and Sutter bypasses have become a rich source of food for young salmon. Listen to CapRadio's lastest piece to learn from Carson Jeffres, a fisheries scientist at CWS, on how the increased water flow resulting from recent downpours has created ideal conditions for juvenile salmon populations to thrive and grow.