For decades, government agencies, stakeholders, scientists, and planners have tried to develop a common vision for the future Delta, only to be stymied by environmental and economic politics. A new paradigm developed by diverse interests, however, proposes six regional conservation strategies to be achieved through collaborative, phased projects tailored to the needs of each sub-region, with a priority on improving public lands first. Proponents of the new framework say long-term conservation of the Delta is not a choice but an urgent necessity that will benefit people as much as natural communities. “It is a call to work together to improve ecosystem function, bolster ecosystem services for people, support Delta wildlife, and grow our science capacity so we can keep learning conservation lessons,” says Carl Wilcox for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Department is accepting public comment on the draft Delta Conservation Framework until November 17, 2017. The Framework envisions the Delta as a mosaic of towns, agricultural lands, and resilient ecosystems—both natural and managed — all thriving together by 2050. RM

Broad buy-in is the hoped for result of a proposed new landscape-level vision for conservation of the Delta.

For decades, government agencies, stakeholders, scientists, and planners have tried to develop a common vision for the future Delta, only to be stymied by environmental and economic politics. A new paradigm developed by diverse interests, however, proposes six regional conservation strategies to be achieved through collaborative, phased projects tailored to the needs of each sub-region, with a priority on improving public lands first. Proponents of the new framework say long-term conservation of the Delta is not a choice but an urgent necessity that will benefit people as much as natural communities. “It is a call to work together to improve ecosystem function, bolster ecosystem services for people, support Delta wildlife, and grow our science capacity so we can keep learning conservation lessons,” says Carl Wilcox for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Department is accepting public comment on the draft Delta Conservation Framework until November 17, 2017. The Framework envisions the Delta as a mosaic of towns, agricultural lands, and resilient ecosystems—both natural and managed — all thriving together by 2050. RM

About the author

Robin Meadows is an independent science journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s a water reporter at Maven's Notebook, a California water news site, and contributor to Chemical & Engineering News, Ka Pili Kai, KneeDeep Times, and Scientific American. Robin is also a Pulitzer Center grantee, an Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources fellow, a contributor to The Craft of Science Writing, a mentor with The Open Notebook, and a UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program graduate. Find her on Tumblr and Twitter.

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