Our Blog
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 that captured the network’s…
Sustainable Conservation’s Hopes for Water Year 2026
Each October 1st, the start of the new Water Year quietly slips by most Californians’ calendars — but not Sustainable Conservation’s Water for the Future Team!
Welcoming New Staff Members Wendy Rash and Kristen Murphy
Join us in giving Sustainable Conservation’s newest staff members, Wendy Rash and Kristen Murphy, a warm welcome!
Notes from the Field: Central Valley Climate Resilience Tour
On October 14th, more than 30 Sustainable Conservation community members, donors, Board members, and staff piled into a tour bus for a jam-packed day of sightseeing cutting-edge climate resilience projects throughout the Central Valley.
Welcoming our New GrizzlyCorps Fellows: Ryan Wakefield and Hayley Willner
Join Sustainable Conservation in welcoming its two GrizzlyCorps Fellows for the 2025-26 term, Ryan Wakefield and Hayley Willner!
Sustainable Conservation Names Dr. Josette Lewis as Next CEO
Dr. Josette Lewis will join Sustainable Conservation in 2026 as our new CEO!
2025 California Leopold Conservation Award Finalists Profiles
Three finalists have been selected for the 2025 California Leopold Conservation Award. Read more about this year’s outstanding finalists, Hat Creek Grown, Iron Horse Vineyards, and Stemple Creek Ranch!
2024 Annual Report
Read our 2024 annual report to learn what your generosity made possible last year.
Improving Recharge Outcomes and Soil Health: Combining Cover Cropping and On-Farm Recharge in California Pistachio Orchards
What if we could make OFR even better? What if we could enhance water infiltration, reduce nutrient leaching, and improve soil health all at the same time? That’s exactly what we’re exploring through this Specialty Crop Block Grant Program project combining cover cropping with on-farm recharge in California pistachio orchards.
Building Climate Resilience in California’s Central Valley: How Watershed Modeling has Recharged Planning
The Merced study represents a shift toward integrated, climate-smart water management in California. It’s about connecting local projects with regional strategies, blending green infrastructure with grey infrastructure, and preparing for a future where flexibility and foresight are essential.
Restoration Round-Up: Arroyo Grande Creek Stream Gauge Modification Project
Investing in faster, more cost-effective regulatory processes for restoration pays dividends for both ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. Thanks to a coalition of local partners led by Creek Lands Conservation (CLC), the Arroyo Grande stream gauge has now been modified to allow federally threatened South-Central California Coast (SCCC) steelhead to once again access eight miles of upstream spawning and rearing habitat.
Turning Science into Policy: ETSGSA Pioneers a Water Credit for Cover Crops
Cover crops are a known practice in California agriculture for reducing water runoff, increasing the amount of water that can infiltrate and stay in the soil, improving biodiversity, limiting groundwater pollution, and supporting better air quality, among other benefits. But under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), concerns persist about whether cover crops “count against” growers’ limited water budgets and begs the question, is cover cropping worth the risk?