Audubon-Backed Policy Wins in California and Celebrating 52 Years of the Clean Water Act

Audubon-Backed Policy Wins in California and Celebrating 52 Years…

WESTERN WATER NEWS OCTOBER 2024

Audubon-Backed Policy Wins in California

From protecting wetlands for both birds and communities to creating the Salton Sea Conservancy, we’re thrilled to celebrate two incredible policy wins in California. These victories are thanks to dedicated legislators, our partners, and every Audubon supporter who let their representatives know they stand firmly behind California’s biodiversity, birds, communities, and the future we build together.

The Legislature passed Assembly Bill 2875: No Net Loss of Wetlands following the U.S. Supreme Court’s rollback of federal protections for wetlands. Additionally, the Salton Sea Conservancy (SB 583) was established to require involvement from communities in the region to coordinate initiatives to protect public health while providing critical habitat for shorebirds and shallow-feeding ducks, safeguarding a vital ecosystem for millions of birds. Read more.

Lesser Yellowlegs. Photo: Steffen Foerster/Audubon Photography Awards.

The Bill Williams River flows through Arizona into Lake Havasu just above the Parker Dam. Its lower section to the confluence with the lake is a national wildlife refuge. Photo: Ted Wood/The Water Desk

Supporting At-Risk Bird Habitat in the Lower Colorado River Basin

The southern part of the Colorado River’s riparian areas account for a tiny portion of the Basin (5%), but are home to a large percentage of the birds in the region (40% of all species). But because of the river’s declining water supplies, birds such as Bell’s Vireo and Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoo are increasingly threatened. In 2005, the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program was established to address threats to birds and other species.

The program works toward this goal by creating beneficial riparian and aquatic habitat specifically targeted to support the well-being of 27 threatened, endangered, and species of interest identified in the program (including 12 birds). Read more.

The Bill Williams River flows through Arizona into Lake Havasu just above the Parker Dam. Its lower section to the confluence with the lake is a national wildlife refuge. Photo: Ted Wood/The Water Desk