Imperiled Delta smelt gain 3,400 acres of habitat in largest ever tidal restoration project in California

With a dramatic scoop of an excavator, water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta surged onto a 3,400-acre stretch of land this week for the the first time in a century.

This ceremonial levee breach at Lookout Slough, north of Rio Vista, on Wednesday was attended by nearly 200 spectators who cheered the completion of the largest tidal habitat restoration project in the Delta region.

The project led by the Department of Water Resources is an example of legally mandated habitat restoration to alleviate negative environmental impacts of the State Water Project, the sprawling concrete system supplying water to most of the state’s population.

It aims to revive habitat for the beleaguered Delta smelt, a native fish species teetering on the brink of extinction, and additional flood protection in the Yolo Bypass. The endangered fish is considered functionally extinct by many experts.

After more than six years, $130 million, dozens of land use permits and the transport of six million cubic yards of dirt, the agency celebrated the project’s completion alongside a partner organization with a catered event in the remote area.

Department of Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said big projects are needed to address both environmental and water supply challenges in the Delta.

“In the past, our processes simply have been too slow to confront the challenges that we face. We have to move further and faster to address these challenges, whether it’s environment or water supply,” he said. “We cannot play small ball… This project thinks big and proves we can work at a landscape scale.”

The Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project was done in partnership with Ecosystem Investment Partners, a land restoration organization that helped purchase ranch land from private landowners, some of whom were given property elsewhere.

They also constructed a new 3-mile long setback levee along the northern site of the project area. By allowing the zone to flood with Delta water at nine different breach sites, DWR and EIP expect to see the land quickly return to vital habitat for Delta smelt and other species.

Beyond ecological benefits, the project offers additional flood safety to the Sacramento region by allowing more water storage at the southern end of the Yolo Bypass. Pieces of the slough land will be open to the public for fishing and other recreation.

Several other much smaller state-sponsored projects that restore Delta tidal habitat on land used for agriculture for decades are waiting in the wings. Those include restoration work on Decker Island, Prospect Island and Winter Island.

DWR’s largest, most controversial priority in the Delta is pushing forward with Delta Conveyance, the planned $20 billion tunnel project that would transport water from the Sacramento River beneath the estuary and into the aqueducts of the State Water Project.

It’s unclear what impact this new habitat will have on the Delta smelt, perhaps California’s most infamous fish. The species faces a steep uphill battle for survival after large-scale pumping for California farms and cities all but decimated its habitat over the course of a century.

The fish endemic to the freshwater-saltwater Delta estuary was listed as federally endangered in 1993. Efforts to preserve the species by way of pumping regulations have historically placed the fish at the center of the state’s water wars.

The fish has also become a political punching bag for former President Donald Trump, who took aim at the smelt last week in Los Angeles as he promised California voters he would curb environmental protections and “give you more water than almost anybody has.”

Between long term population decline and acute death spikes, the State Water Project has long drawn the ire of environmentalists for killing native fish that support California ecosystems, the fishing economy and native cultures.

It’s not difficult for environmentalists to distrust a single project’s ability to make a positive impact. But Jacob Katz, a senior scientist with California Trout, said he is optimistic that smelt could someday make a home in the Lookout Slough.

“As far as a mitigation project for the State Water Project goes, this is the biggest by far. It’s big enough to actually make a difference,” said Jacob Katz. “You have to get to a landscape scale to make a population level and difference… you have to go big.”

2024 The Sacramento Bee. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.