Supported by $400,000 from the Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program, a coalition of federal, academic, non-profit and private organizations has developed a modeling tool to enhance climate adaptation and resilience planning in five Sacramento River watersheds. These watersheds provide the vast majority of California’s utilized water and over 80 percent of the freshwater to San Francisco Bay. By estimating the ecological returns of conservation and restoration efforts, the modeling tool will help determine what future actions and investments would best restore and protect the health of this important region.
Climate change projections suggest that the Sacramento River watersheds will remain cooler and wetter than most of the State as climate change progresses. With its exceptional biodiversity and diversity of geophysical characteristics, this region has the potential to continue to provide water supplies for people and quality habitats for wildlife, including many species looking for refuge in the area as climate change progresses. However, this future is dependent on whether the region can be restored and protected.
“These core watersheds are the backbone of California’s water supply, as well as essential for many species survival, but they are in a degraded condition and at high risk,” said Laurie Wayburn, president of Pacific Forest Trust. “As the State continues to experience intense weather swings, with both drought and major precipitation events, it’s essential these watersheds are in the best condition possible to continue to provide the State with reliable water. We need to know where to most effectively invest in watershed restoration and conservation to ensure those watersheds we rely on function well. This planning tool provides the basis for that decision making.”
The modeling tool was designed in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Endowment for Forests and Communities, New Belgium Brewing Company, Thornton Family Foundation, Duke University, Endurance Fund and Mary Crocker Trust and the Pacific Forest Trust.