The 2026-27 Budget: Proposed Elimination of State Environmental Positions

Feb 17, 2026 - For example, at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), positions include game wardens who prov ide important law enforcement and wildlife and resource protection services. Some CDFW positions also administer various permits, a key function to ensure that projects —from habitat restoration to infrastructure and housing development —can be completed with less damage to the environment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5124

The 2021-22 Budget: California Department of Fish and Wildlife [Publication Details]

Jan 27, 2021 - The 2021-22 Budget: California Department of Fish and Wildlife [Publication Details] Translate Our Website This Google ™ translation feature provided on the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) website is for informational purposes only.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/4325

The 2026-27 Budget: Proposed Elimination of State Environmental Positions [Publication Details]

Feb 17, 2026 - In this post, we assess the Governor’s proposal to eliminate certain vacant state environmental positions.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5124

The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements: Ensuring Effective Legislative Oversight

Mar 18, 2026 - The Delta Also Provides Vital Habitat to Hundreds of Fish and Wildlife Species. The Delta supports hundreds of fish and wildlife species, including migrating fish through the estuary and birds along the Pacific Flyway.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5163

The 2022-23 Budget: State Water Resources Control Board—Bay-Delta Plan Update

Jan 31, 2022 - Moreover, the Delta Smelt, a fish endemic to California that only occurs in the Bay ‑Delta and which used to be the most abundant fish in the estuary —once numbering in the millions —has not been observed in the wild at all for the past four years.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4506

The 2024-25 Budget: Salton Sea Management Program

Feb 26, 2024 - Between the 1940s and 1960s, the Sea was a popular destination for tourism, fishing (the Sea was stocke d with sport fish), and water sports. However, due to episodes of flooding, fish die ‑offs, and some of the other trends described in this report, tourism over recent decades has largely faded away.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4859

The 2025-26 Budget: May Revision Trailer Bill Proposals on the Delta Conveyance Project and Water Quality Control Plans

May 27, 2025 - However, environmentalists, commercial fishing interests, native tri bes, and community groups are concerned that the resulting instream flows under the VA pathway would be inadequate for protecting native fish and maintaining healthy conditions in the Delta.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5053

The 2021-22 Spending Plan: Natural Resources and Environmental Protection

Oct 18, 2021 - While certain activities will be undertaken by state departments —such as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ’s (CDFW ’s) efforts to protect the state ’s fish and wildlife from changing conditions —the majority of the funds will be allocated through grant programs to local governments or nongovernmental organizations.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4463

What Can We Learn From How the State Responded to the Last Major Drought?

May 13, 2021 - For example, SWRCB ordered and enforced that less water be diverted from some of the state ’s rivers and streams, and CDFW closed some rivers and streams to fishing in order to protect fish in low water flows.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4429

The Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements: Ensuring Effective Legislative Oversight [Publication Details]

Mar 18, 2026 - This report discusses the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB’s) proposed—and long-overdue—update of the water quality control plan for the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which includes an alternative compliance pathway for certain water users called voluntary agreements (VAs, also known as Healthy Rivers and Landscapes).
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Detail/5163