This September, California Trout’s Central Valley Program was part of a diverse coalition of water, farming and environmental partners that traveled to Washington, D.C. to promote the benefits of floodplain reactivation and discuss federal support for scaling up floodplain efforts. The coalition included CalTrout’s own Dr. Jacob Katz and leaders from Northern California Water Association, Reclamation District 108, Ducks Unlimited, Audubon California, River Garden Farms and several Sacramento Valley landowners. The group’s whirlwind D.C. visit included meetings with members of Congress, federal agency decisionmakers and culminated in a packed Congressional Briefing on Floodplain Reconciliation in the House Natural Resources Committee room.
The group educated national leaders on the floodplain reactivation concept outlined how the federal government could help expand floodplain reactivation and showcased an unprecedented partnership of water, farming and conservation organizations. Over the last year, the coalition has seen significant progress at the state level to support floodplain reactivation as a water and ecosystem resiliency tool, this invitation to brief Congress and federal agencies have laid the foundation for similar support and enthusiasm at the national level.
“While in D.C. we met with decisionmakers from across the political spectrum – one minute we’re meeting the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Interior and the next we’re having a glass of wine with Senator Feinstein!” said Dr. Katz. “Thanks to win-win benefits, floodplain reactivation has garnered bi-partisan and truly diverse support in an age of heightened political division. This federal outreach effort brought us closer together as partners and exemplifies the power and broadening support for floodplain reactivation in the Sacramento Valley.”
More Information
Maven’s Notebook – FEATURE: Reactivating our floodplains: A new way forward
EstuaryNews – Clout and Cool Science Push Land-River Connection
