EcoRestore: 5 Years, Thousands of Acres of Restored Habitat

This spring marked the fifth anniversary of the California EcoRestore initiative, a coordinated effort across state agencies to deliver 30,000 acres of restored fish and wildlife habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, an immensely important landscape that five years ago only had 5 percent of its native habitat remaining.

The EcoRestore initiative was built on the assertion that cutting-edge science, strong partnerships, and a healthy impatience could drive more restoration than had ever been pursued in the Delta. After five years of work on 30 projects totaling over $500 million, the Department of Water Resources and its state agency partners are within reach of doubling the Delta’s restored and protected habitat lands. Our EcoRestore 5-Year Highlights fact sheet shows just how far we’ve come and gives a glimpse of what’s ahead.

EcoRestore projects are funded by multiple state sources, with a majority of financial support provided by the State Water Contractors.

The projects employ a broad spectrum of restoration strategies including the following:

• Breaching levees to allow river water to flow up into the banks of the Delta with the tides, allowing fish to access more food.
• Inserting underwater passages in flood-control weirs to reopen floodplains for fish access.
• Inundating Delta islands to sequester atmospheric carbon and reverse subsidence.
• Installing setback leveesto protect communities from flooding and restore ecosystems
• Spurring the production of microbes, or small bugs eaten by fish, by managing flows of river water into new areas.

Looking ahead to the next five years – and then further ahead to the next five – EcoRestore will remain committed to embracing solutions for a sustainable Delta. Science, partnerships, and a stubborn focus on making progress for native species will be complemented by innovation, non-traditional collaborations, and a commitment to the Delta’s agricultural and small-community heritage.