State and Federal Agencies Cancel Action to Protect Delta Smelt

In California, today marks the start of the new “water year,” the date water managers use to mark the end of the dry season and the beginning of the wet. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) are kicking off this new water year by cancelling the fall flow protection for Delta Smelt — once one of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta’s most common fish —  and now its rarest.  

According to the current state and federal Endangered Species Act permits, DWR and Reclamation are required to release a pulse of water through the Delta to the San Francisco Bay in September and October to improve habitat conditions for the listed Delta Smelt. 

“It is incredibly disappointing to see the Newsom and Biden administrations willing to implement Trump-era water policies,” said Ashley Overhouse, Water Policy Advisor with Defenders of Wildlife. “This decision marks a somber start to the new water year, undercutting years of collaborative work to ensure the best available science is informing our water management decisions.”  

This fall outflow requirement is only triggered in years when it is wetter than normal and is often referred to as “Fall X2.” Some of the state’s largest Delta water exporters wrote to the agencies in August, requesting the suspension of Fall X2, despite Delta Smelt populations having sunk to record low levels in recent years.  

DWR and Reclamation ignored a broad coalition of environmental and fishing groups who urged them that acquiescing to the water users would be the “next step towards extinction.” 

Instead, they are moving forward with cutting short one of the only actions that could help the imperiled species at this time of year. The Fall X2 outflow action uses the bounty of a wetter year to provide a rare measure of relief and recuperation —  colder water, more food for Delta fish, and better water quality. “At this time next year, we may be looking at the extinction of a fish species that was once incredibly abundant when the Bay-Delta Estuary was healthy, and it will have been completely preventable, because we know a lot about what it takes to restore the Estuary’s health,” said Gary Bobker, Senior Policy Director at Friends of the River.  

Instead, the giant pumps of DWR’s State Water Project and Reclamation’s Central Valley Project are ramping back up to export even more water to San Joaquin Valley corporate agribusiness and Southern California. The Water Projects are still largely operating under rules written by the Trump administration. Those rules were challenged by the State and many environmental groups because they ignored legal requirements and the best available science.  

The best available science indicates that a variety of complementary actions — such as improving summer and fall outflows, expanding tidal marsh habitat, and operating salinity control gates differently — are all needed to prevent the Delta Smelt’s extinction. DWR and Reclamation are only prioritizing Smelt survival if it doesn’t involve using any water.  

“DWR and Reclamation conveniently neglected to propose improving summer outflow this year, an ‘adaptive management’ decision that would have scientific justification,” noted Eric Buescher, Managing Attorney with San Francisco Baykeeper. “Instead, they are quelling the October fall outflow action — and with it, possibly, the survival of Delta Smelt itself.”  

Cancelling the fall flow action in 2024 marks the second consecutive year in which wet-year protections for fish have been waived. “The rules protecting fish only work when they are enforced,” said Chris Shutes, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. “But adaptive mis-management is making the rules optional each time water contractors clamor for more water.”

Smelt, of course, aren’t the only fish species in trouble. DWR and Reclamation have killed countless steelhead and salmon on several occasions in 2024, exceeding the legal limits of their ESA permits. The last two years recorded some of the lowest numbers of spawning salmon ever in the Sacramento River. Central Valley fall-run Chinook Salmon numbers are so low that it required  two closures in a row of the California coastal salmon fishing season, threatening tens of thousands of California and coastal Oregon salmon fishing jobs.  

In response to the agencies decision to change Delta operations, Scott Artis, Executive Director of the Golden State Salmon Association stated: “For the salmon fishing industry, this decision is infuriating. Years of reckless water project operations have in turn severely impacted the lives of our communities that depend on healthy salmon runs. Fish like salmon and Delta Smelt are our ‘canary in the coal mine.’ When will the agencies realize they are jeopardizing our future? They slashed protections for fish during the drought. Now they’re doing the same in a wet year. They are preparing to permanently exacerbate conditions for salmon with new ESA permits that are even worse than those adopted under the Trump administration.”

Barbara Barrigan-Parilla, Executive Director for Restore the Delta, concluded, “Once again, government agencies are changing the rules to weaken Delta protections for powerful special economic interests, rather than striving to save the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas for the people.”

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The Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA) is a coalition of salmon advocates that 
includes commercial and recreational salmon fishermen and women, businesses, 
restaurants, native tribes, environmentalists, elected officials, families and communities 
that rely on salmon. GSSA’s mission is to restore California salmon for their economic, 
recreational, commercial, environmental, cultural and health values.  

Friends of the River (FOR) has been at the forefront of the struggle for a sustainable water 
future in California  for more than half a century. FOR is dedicated to protecting and 
restoring California's rivers, streams, and watersheds, while advocating for sustainable 
water management and water solutions that protect the environment.

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their 
natural communities, with a nationwide network of nearly 2.2 million members and 
activists.

San Francisco Baykeeper  (Baykeeper) defends the Bay and its watershed from its biggest 
threats. Since 1989, Baykeeper has patrolled the Bay for pollution, held polluters and 
government agencies accountable, and fought for healthy communities, fish, and wildlife. 
Baykeeper’s investigators, scientists, and lawyers have a winning track record for the Bay 
and the people of the Bay Area.

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance is a statewide advocate for fisheries, habitat, 
and water quality.

Restore the Delta’s mission is to ensure the health of the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary 
and Delta communities.