Welcome to the Delta Protection Commission

Our Mission

We protect, maintain, enhance, and enrich the overall quality of the Delta environment and economy. We do this with a focus on agriculture, recreation, and natural resources, while remaining mindful of the importance of the Delta to all Californians.

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What We Do

Land Use: We protect legacy communities and the agricultural nature of the Delta by ensuring a variety of land-use decisions in the Primary Zone (PDF) conform with the Land Use and Resource Management Plan (PDF). The state Legislature has given the Commission authority to appeal these decisions, and hear appeals brought by others.

National Heritage Area: We promote the Delta’s historic and cultural riches as the agency designated by Congress to coordinate the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area. The Delta is the first and only NHA in California. NHAs are supported by the National Park Service, but locally run and non-regulatory.

Great California Delta Trail: We foster healthy connections to and through the Delta as the agency designated by the Legislature to coordinate the Great California Delta Trail. More than a single trail, the GCDT is envisioned as a network of land and water trails that will connect the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento.

There’s more: Other DPC efforts include advocating for funding for levee maintenance and repairs, economic sustainability, community planning, and promoting the Delta as a place worthy of recognition, respect, and protection.

What is the Delta?

The Delta is the lowest-lying area of California’s Central Valley, where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers converge in a maze of waterways before reaching the Pacific Ocean.

The Delta covers 738,000 acres spanning six counties (substantial sections of Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo counties, and a small corner of Alameda County). It is home to more than half of a million residents, and more than 750 plant and animal species.

Its rich culture reflects its many origins and influences: the tribes that lived here first, Spanish exploration, and Gold Rush-era settlement from America and all over the world, particularly Portugal, the Netherlands, China, Japan, the Philippines, and Punjab.

The Delta is also a hub for California’s water supply, providing a portion of the water used by two-thirds of all Californians. Its rivers and sloughs are bound by 1,100 miles of levees.

The Delta’s fertile soils support a $50 billion agriculture industry that feeds people across the world, and provides a growing array of agritourism opportunities.

Click here (or on the map image) for a full-size, printable PDF.

Other Delta Agencies

There are two other state agencies focused on the Delta: the Delta Stewardship Council and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. Learn about the different missions of the three Delta agencies (PDF).

We have a list of state and local agencies with jurisdiction in the Delta.