From our blog: Staff

San Joaquin Valley Watershed Studies Blog Series: Ecosystem Infrastructure

The I-FIRM strategy models habitat improvements through reservoir reoperations and additional natural infrastructure that includes river restoration, flow-through basins, and shorebird habitat. This blog walks through each of these components and outcomes as they relate to ecosystem impacts in the Watershed Studies.

GrizzlyCorps Fellow Hayley Willner’s Final Reflections

Sustainable Conservation’s Accelerating Restoration team was interested to hear perspectives from experts, project proponents, and funders throughout California on funding mechanisms for habitat restoration and what else could be done to create a stable, adequate funding system.

Why is El Niño so Hard to Understand?

Declaring an El Niño has formed is a bit like announcing the first domino in a massive Rube Goldberg machine has tipped over. What happens next depends on dozens of interconnected steps, each capable of amplifying, redirecting, or dampening the chain reaction before it reaches California.

San Joaquin Valley Watershed Studies Blog Series: Recharging for Communities and Ecosystems

Many communities have residents who have already lost or are at risk of losing their access to drinking water. These communities cannot afford to see an unmitigated, climate change-fueled future come into effect.

CEO Column: Josette Lewis’ Reflections to Start 2026

“There is no miracle prescription that will solve all of California’s climate and natural resource challenges, but a combination of science-backed solutions that can be feasibly scaled across the state is what gives me hope right now.”

From Concept to Practice: Reflections on the 2025 Flood-MAR Network Forum

On November 5-6, 2025, over 120 water professionals, researchers, farmers, and agency representatives gathered for the Flood-MAR Network’s biennial forum. The energy in the room told a story years in the making: flood-managed aquifer recharge (Flood-MAR) is gaining widespread adoption across California. Mike Antos (Stantec) opened the forum with a quote from Charles F. Brannan,…