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State wildlife agency urges higher flows for Lower Owens River; committee sets 2026 flows but agrees to reopen adaptive‑management talks
Summary
California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended a larger seasonal habitat flow for the Lower Owens River Project to improve floodplain activation and cottonwood recruitment. Facing timing constraints the standing committee adopted LADWP’s proposed 12‑day/133 cfs flow for 2026 and 500 acres for Black Rock, and both parties committed to reconvene MOU partners and CDFW to pursue adaptive management over the next 12 months.
The standing committee considered seasonal habitat‑flow recommendations for the Lower Owens River Project (LORP) and a Black Rock Waterfowl Management Area flooding plan during its May 2026 meeting.
Graham Meese, supervisor for the Eastern Sierra Habitat Conservation Unit at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), told the committee that two decades of monitoring show the current hydrograph is failing to produce expected geomorphic and ecological outcomes. CDFW recommended the standing committee adopt a 14‑day seasonal habitat flow peaking at 200 cubic feet per second (cfs) for 2026 to mobilize sediment, improve cottonwood and willow recruitment and maintain channel form. “Adaptive management is required in these foundational documents,” Meese said, and monitoring results, he added, “trigger the need for adaptive management.”
LADWP had proposed a 12‑day seasonal habitat flow with a 133‑cfs peak that follows the 2004 EIR schedules and the department’s technical advice. LADWP and Inyo County staff said timing constraints tied to water‑quality risks and the seasonal life cycle of fish make a decision before the end of June necessary.
After debate the committee accepted the LADWP‑proposed seasonal habitat flow for 2026 (12 days at 133 cfs) and approved continuing the Black Rock interim plan to flood 500 acres for late fall through early spring 2026–27. Inyo County recorded its agreement to the flows with the explicit caveat that Los Angeles and county staff commit to reconvening the MOU parties and CDFW for a focused adaptive‑management process over the next 12 months to identify a path toward improved ecological outcomes.
CDFW officials said a modest increase from 133 cfs to 200 cfs for two extra days would likely produce measurable benefits; CDFW also recommended engaging a restoration‑focused consultant and using recent aerial imagery and high‑resolution topography to refine flow and hydrograph targets. Several public commenters and MOU parties urged re‑establishing frequent technical meetings and field trips to examine mitigation parcels and improve transparency.
What comes next: the standing committee set the 2026 seasonal habitat flow as presented but also agreed to a written commitment — recorded in the meeting minutes — to resume in‑depth adaptive‑management discussions with CDFW and MOU parties and to pursue scientific work (including potential grant‑funded consultants) to inform future hydrograph adjustments.
