Let The Salmon Swim — The 2024 Wild & Scenic Film Festival Action

Thank you to the 644 individuals who signed SYRCL’s letter to Governor Newsom to Let The Salmon Swim.

For 2024, SYRCL’s advocacy action was focused on getting more water to the Bay-Delta and all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge in support of salmon and a healthy ecosystem.

Learn more about the Bay-Delta here.

Here is the text of the letter:

The Honorable Gavin Newsom 

Governor of California 

1021 O Street, Suite 9000 

Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: Let Salmon Swim!

Dear Governor Newsom,

I am writing to you as a concerned citizen and a supporter of the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the Yuba River watershed. I urge you to take action to protect the Bay-Delta ecosystem and the salmon that depend on it. The Bay-Delta is a vital habitat for many native fish and wildlife species, including the endangered spring-run Chinook salmon, which migrate from the Yuba River to the ocean and back. 

Today, Yuba salmon and the Bay-Delta are in peril due to the lack of adequate and variable freshwater flows, which are essential for sustaining these resources. Our current regulations and associated water infrastructure have prioritized the needs of industrial agribusiness and urban development, significantly reducing the amount of water that reaches the Bay-Delta and the Golden Gate. This has resulted in the degradation of water quality, the loss of wetlands, the invasion of harmful algae blooms and non-native species, and the precipitous decline of our salmon population and other important species. Science shows that the largest stressor on fish is lack of water flow in our rivers. Salmon need water to reach the Golden Gate Bridge.

I urge you to support Updates to the Bay-Delta Plan that include and recognize:

• The science for more water is set – The only way to recover the health of the Bay-Delta and salmon is with significantly more water. New studies won’t change the findings of the State Water Resources Control Board’s 2017 report.
• Freshwater must reach the Golden Gate – Water to support a healthier environment needs to fulfill that mission completely by making it under the Golden Gate Bridge.
• Watersheds are not all the same – You said it best: “We’re living with a water system designed for a world that no longer exists.” Watersheds need tailored solutions to support the needs of the Bay-Delta and their water management systems. 
• Include habitat enhancements – While restored habitat can’t replace water, it is an important additional measure in the fight against lost habitat. 
• Recognize and include tribal beneficial uses – Tribes have been here for thousands of years relying on freshwater systems. The “first in time, first in right” beneficial water uses of Tribes need to be recognized. 
• “All-of-the-Above” approach  – There is no single magic solution; more water and habitat restoration projects are necessary to prevent the Bay-Delta from ecological collapse and the extinction of salmon. And it’s crucial that no future dams or new water diversions compromise these protections. 

As the Governor of California, you have the opportunity, and responsibility to ensure that the Bay-Delta Plan is based on sound science and protects the public trust resources of the State.  Please support Board staff scientists’ conclusion that more water is needed and encourage collaboration to provide much higher flows. These science-based actions would provide a more balanced and sustainable approach to managing California’s limited water resources, while preserving the ecological and cultural values of the Bay-Delta and the salmon. 

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.