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California

SGMA Signals

Wetlands from a creek with a field and ridge of trees in the background.
Big Springs Creek (ALL RIGHTS) October 2010. Big Springs Creek runs through TNCâ s Shasta Big Springs Ranch in Siskiyou County, California. The Klamath River was once the 3rd largest source of salmon on the Pacific coast, with the Shasta River producing more than half of its salmon. The majority of which were reared in the waters on Shasta Big Springs Ranch. The Conservancy purchased Shasta Big Springs Ranch in March 2009 to monitor and restore these vital waters. Photo credit: Erika Nortemann/© 2010 The Nature Conservancy © Erika Nortemann/The Nature Conservancy

How well did the first 30 Groundwater Sustainability Plans submitted account for nature’s needs? A new report by TNC finds that nearly all GSPs have room for improvement.

For most GSAs, achieving groundwater sustainability and fully accounting for nature’s needs in their Plans will be a work in progress. The metrics and scores highlight gaps in GSPs regionally and at the GSA level. These gaps leave nature vulnerable to not having its needs met and could potentially lead to the loss of some of the few remaining groundwater dependent ecosystems. It is our hope that these scores are a starting point and, with time and support, GSAs will build their capacity to better engage environmental stakeholders and incorporate nature into their Plans and management actions.