IEP Stakeholders News

Sharing this announcement with our IEP Community per a request by the Delta Science Program.

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Just Transitions in the Delta – Drought, salinity, and sea level rise
Environmental Justice Workshop

Date: December 3, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Co-host: Restore The Delta
Location: 1234 West Oak Street, Stockton, CA 95202

Just Transitions in the Delta is a University of California research project that seeks to engage California communities in envisioning scenarios for equitable water management and climate adaptation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed. This project seeks to meaningfully include voices that are not often included in such efforts.

This Environmental Justice Workshop is being co-convened with Restore the Delta and is intended for a wide range of participants, from at-risk and impacted Delta community members to environmental justice advocates and champions. The goals of this workshop are to review the adaptation scenarios developed through extensive public input thus far, and discuss the values and criteria Delta communities would like to see used to assess the scenarios. Members of the Just Transitions team will be on hand to provide an overview of the project and to help facilitate scenario workshops. Food and refreshments will be provided.

Please register using the registration link, telephone number, or website link provided.

Registration Link: Environmental Justice Workshop Registration Form;
Email: just.transitions@ucdavis.edu
Phone Number: (530) 754-2877

More information about this project, its research goals, and results from the 1st public workshop are available at our project website: Just Transitions In The Delta

The Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) is hosting a 1-day training diving into the fundamentals of metadata and data publication best practices!

Date, Location & Flyer:

• December 13, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the CDFW West Sacramento Office, 1010 Riverside Parkway, West Sacramento, CA 95605 (California Poppy Room)

• “Our Data Legacy Training Flyer” (PDF) attached with additional details

Parking is free in the designated spots (painted with “CDFW”). WIFI will be available. All visitors need to sign in at the security desk.

Registration:

• Complete the Registration Form: Metadata and Data Publication Training (Registration deadline 27 November)
• Registration will prioritize IEP participants if space becomes limited; otherwise, the training is open to all.

Schedule:

• 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Interactive Lecture
• 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch
• 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Hands-on Workshop

About the Training:

This course is designed for data collectors, managers, and analysts of any experience level who want to better understand how data can be made more usable and useful.

Topics to be covered:

• Power of Metadata: The key to making your data as usable and useful as possible
• EML Demystified: Effective metadata is hard but Ecological Metadata Language can help
• FAIR Principles in Action: Learn the benefits of findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable data
• EDI, Your Data’s New Home: A purposely built repository to enhance and preserve the utility of your dataset
• IEP Support Along the Way: Learn about tools, templates, and expert guidance opportunities to support your data management journey
• Cultivating a Data Stewardship Culture: Become a part of a growing community of data stewards in IEP, working to enable the potential of our datasets.

This training expands on the abbreviated version presented at the IEP Workshop earlier this year, providing a deeper dive into these topics.

Please share this email with colleagues and others who may be interested.

Questions on the training can be directed to Trinh.Nguyen@wildlife.ca.gov.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Best,
Trinh Nguyen

Greetings IEP Community,

On October 31, 2024, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) released a request for assistance in spreading awareness about the detection of Golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei) in the California Delta. Golden mussels are native to rivers and creeks of China and Southeast Asia. They are similar in appearance, biology, and impacts to quagga and zebra mussel, and pose a significant threat to water conveyance systems, infrastructure, and water quality.

CDFW is working to disseminate additional detection and response information as it becomes available. For now, CDFW is requesting the press release be referenced for additional detail and shared with all water managers throughout California to inform them of this discovery.

More information on Golden Mussels in California is available on the CDFW California Invasive Species web page.

Questions can be directed to invasives@wildlife.ca.gov.

Greetings IEP Community Members,

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would like to invite you to a joint information update on Thursday, November 7, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

As has been the case for the past three years of the Delta Smelt Experimental Release project, we normally provide individual updates to various technical teams on our planning efforts.

Next month, we are inviting all interested parties to one joint meeting where we will focus on Year Four Experimental Release plans.

The meeting will be held virtually through Microsoft Teams.

Meeting Information

• Microsoft Teams meeting link
• Meeting ID: 220 701 303 621
• Passcode: CvVsvr

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in November.

Katherine Sun
Fish & Wildlife Biologist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
San Francisco Bay-Delta Fish and Wildlife Office
650 Capitol Mall, Eighth Floor Suite 300
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 930-5641

Dear IEP community,

The Delta Independent Science Board, which provides scientific oversight of programs that support adaptive management, is planning to host a symposium in early 2025 that explores the 1) current climate projections for California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and related uncertainties; and 2) how organizations in the region are incorporating climate change into their decision making. The goal of the symposium is to increase the understanding among Delta ISB members, researchers, practitioners, and affected parties about the latest climate science. The Delta ISB has released a draft prospectus that describes the scope of the symposium and is interested in your feedback on the draft prospectus, as well as ideas for speakers.

You can email comments to disb@deltacouncil.ca.gov by November 19, 2024 at 12:00 p.m.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Delta Independent Science Board
715 P Street, 15-300
Sacramento, CA 95814
disb@deltacouncil.ca.gov
 

Greetings IEP Community Members,

The Delta Science Program would like us to share their Science Communication Survey with IEP community members to better understand the science communication needs of those who live, do research and advance knowledge of California's Bay-Delta. The survey consists of 13 questions, including a mix of multiple choice and short answer questions, to help the Delta Science Program better tailor its science communication efforts. Answers to the survey are by default anonymous. You can choose to share your contact information should you wish to be included in follow up information-gathering efforts on this topic.

• Delta Science Program's Science Communication Survey Form

Questions related to the science communication survey can be directed to Miranda Tilcock at Miranda.Tilcock@deltacouncil.ca.gov.

Please see the general announcements below that may be of interest to you and others.

Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service announce Notice of Funding Opportunity for Central Valley Project fish studies

The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for projects that collect information on Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, green sturgeon, white sturgeon, and Delta smelt.

Reclamation and the Service are awarding up to $5M in FY2025 to projects that collect biological information on select fish population in the Central Valley and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The information will be used to reduce uncertainties in existing decision support models, which are used to evaluate recovery strategies for Chinook salmon, rainbow trout, green sturgeon, white sturgeon, and Delta smelt. Eligible projects include field and laboratory research studies that are aimed at measuring fish growth and survival rates, movement, spawning population size, abundance and distribution, and many others.

View the News Release for more information about this exciting funding opportunity and how to apply.

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CDFW Kicks Off White Sturgeon Season Opener with "Conserve The Sturg" Campaign

The white sturgeon sport fishing season opens Oct. 1, 2024, only for catch-and-release fishing. Anglers may continue to fish using 2024 Sturgeon Fishing Report Cards purchased earlier in the year, but all remaining 2024 sturgeon harvest tags are invalid, and no harvest is permitted under any circumstances.

“Conserve The Sturg” Campaign

In support of sustaining sturgeon and California’s fisheries, CDFW has developed the “Conserve the Sturg” campaign that aims to raise awareness about sustainable angling and stewardship for this large, long-lived and prehistoric fish.

“There is a unique thrill to catching this living-legend fish while also releasing it back to its waters knowing that this species will live on for future generations,” said Jonathan Nelson, CDFW environmental program manager.

To learn more about “Conserve the Sturg” and about how the public can help sustain this prehistoric species, visit wildlife.ca.gov/Conserve-the-Sturg.

View the 2022-2024 CDFW News Releases for more information about the Sturgeon Season Opener, the "Conserve the Sturg" campaign and monitoring efforts for white sturgeon.

Greetings IEP Community,

Last year, the Predation Project Work Team (PWT) rebooted a Predation Project Tracker. The objective of the tracker is to share predation-related projects in the region, to promote complementary efforts and collaboration, and to provide a resource for researchers and managers who are interested in project design, methods, or results.

The tracker consists of a voluntary project submission form that people who lead predation-related projects in the region can share information about their projects. In our first year, a total of 12 projects were entered into the Tracker and posted on the Predation PWT web page.

As planned, we are sending an annual reminder to update existing projects or submit new predation-related projects. If you previously submitted a project and have any changes or updates, please complete the project submission form. If you have a new project to submit, use the same form. If you know of someone else who leads a predation project, please share this message or the form link. The form is largely multiple choice with a few short answer questions, with an average completion time of under 15 minutes.

Please be aware that form submissions will be posted publicly, except for email addresses. Please submit your revised or new predation-related projects by the end of October, although the form will remain open at all times for new projects or to update already-entered projects.

In early November, we will post the updated list of predation projects on the Predation PWT web page.

Questions may be addressed to Geoff Steinhart (geoffrey_steinhart@fws.gov).

Thanks,
Geoff Steinhart and Tyler Pilger
Predation PWT Co-Chairs

Greetings IEP community,

Analisa Vavoso, an undergraduate researcher at Chapman University, in collaboration with Dr. Richelle Tanner, is conducting a survey on environmental practitioner's emotions related to climate change. They kindly requested we share this survey with our members. See their announcement below.

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IEP community members,

We thank you in advance for your consideration to distribute this message to your staff, colleagues, and organization.

We are reaching out to individuals whose work or education concerns the environment. This survey is focused on emotions concerning climate change and burnout. We hope you can help us address the role that climate change plays in environmental practitioner’s emotions by answering a quick, ~10-minute survey. If you complete the survey, you will be entered into a raffle to win one $100 Amazon gift card.

If you are interested, follow the survey link to take the survey. We will make every effort to keep your study data confidential and not share your personal information with anyone outside the research team, however, we cannot guarantee confidentiality.

Thank you in advance for your participation!

Survey Link: Chapman University environmental practitioner's emotions concerning climate change(opens in new tab)

Please consider helping us distribute this widely across the environmental science field by sharing this email.

If you have any questions, please let us know.

Richelle Tanner, PhD
Email: rtanner@chapman.edu

Analisa Vavoso
Email: vavoso@chapman.edu

Hello All!

The DELTA (Developing Environmental Literacy, Taking Action) education program was developed for grades 6 – 8, emphasizing student interactions with scientists that work in the Delta through hands-on scientific investigations, and evidence-based explanations for discoveries. It's hoped that this program will provide students in the region, as well as their families, with information about the important role that science plays in managing Delta water for the state's people and its environment.

The curriculum meets California standards for science and English-Language Arts, with different emphases for each grade level:

• 6th: Introduction to California's water infrastructure and how it works (tentative timeframe is January or early February 2025)
• 7th: Ecosystem monitoring with an interactive field component (tentatively scheduled during the week of September 9th, 2024. Many volunteers are needed due to the field component.)
• 8th: Invasive species and environmental DNA monitoring (tentative timeframe is March or April 2025)

Please fill out our DELTA Education Program Volunteer Interest Survey form if you would like to volunteer.

Thank you!
The DELTA Team

Sarah Brown, PhD
Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisor)
sarah.brown@water.ca.gov
Division of Integrated Science & Engineering
California Department of Water Resources
Mobile: (279) 386-6084