Ecologist warns California's population growth threatens salmon and watershed health

A stark warning about California's environmental future emerged during the State Water Resources Control Board's recent public workshop on the Draft Updates to the Bay-Delta Plan. An ecologist highlighted the urgent need to address the unsustainable growth of both the global and California populations, which have surged dramatically over the last century.

With California's population ballooning from 3 million a century ago to nearly 39 million today, the speaker linked this growth to a significant decline in salmon populations, which have plummeted from an estimated 5.5 million returning to California's rivers historically to fewer than 500,000 on average since the 1950s. This decline, the ecologist argued, is not merely an aesthetic concern; salmon play a crucial role in nutrient cycling within ecosystems, benefiting both agriculture and municipal water systems.

The speaker emphasized the necessity of maintaining a 65% unimpaired streamflow standard to support salmon habitats and warned against practices that lead to warmer water temperatures, which are detrimental to fish survival. They also proposed a shift in agricultural practices, suggesting that converting California's rice fields to quinoa could save millions of acre-feet of water annually, a critical consideration in a state often facing drought.

In closing, the ecologist urged for a reevaluation of growth strategies, arguing that pursuing continuous growth in a finite system is delusional. They called for a collective effort to reduce the human footprint for the long-term benefit of both current and future generations, framing the discussion as a matter of common sense rather than radical change. The implications of these discussions are profound, as California grapples with balancing population demands and environmental sustainability.