All News – Delta Protection Commission

Delta Leadership Program: Getting to ‘Yes’ (Photo Gallery)

OAKLEY, Calif. (March 28, 2025) – The 2025 Delta Leadership Program spent a beautiful spring afternoon Friday learning the fine art of negotiating mutually beneficial solutions at Big Break Regional Shoreline.

Man and woman seated at a conference table reach with shock to a faux pas they're hearing from someone unseen — Sometimes the art of negotiating is knowing what not to say. Gregg McMillon and Amber McDowell react with dismay to speaker Elizabeth Patterson (not shown) sharing a negotiating faux pas.

The program, a joint effort of the Delta Protection Commission and the Delta Leadership Foundation, is designed to support sustained leadership development in the region.

Elizabeth Patterson – vice chair of the Delta National Heritage Area Advisory Committee, former Delta Protection Commission member, and former mayor of Benicia – shared a wealth of knowledge before participants were split up into teams that had to negotiate to come up with the highest bid for fictional “Ugli oranges.” The key to success was transforming ostensibly adversarial relationships to ones focused on better outcomes for both parties.

Participants are also working on team projects to benefit the Delta, which they are scheduled to present at the May 15 Delta Protection Commission meeting.

Photo Gallery

Click on individual photos to see full-size.

Woman holding a handout gestures to a group she's addressing — Elizabeth Patterson, Vice Chair of the NHA Advisory Committee

Five adults standing on concrete in front of a flagpole staring at pieces of paper in their hands — Elizabeth Patterson, Vice Chair of the NHA Advisory Committee

The Story Behind Weekend-Long Closures of the Rio Vista Bridge

A bridge with a movable deck over a wide river

PHOTO: AnonymousEditor95-WikimediaCommons

RIO VISTA, Calif. (March 24, 2025) – This weekend marks the beginning of a second round of weekend-long closures of the Rio Vista Bridge.

The bridge is a key river crossing on Highway 12, the lone east-west highway traversing the center of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The bridge will shut down from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, and there will be five more weekend closures between now and late June.

The detour can add two hours to motorists’ trips. For many, that’s enough to derail planned travel to or though the area, a hot spot for water sports, fishing, RV’ing, and agritourism.

Why is such a drastic measure required?

The answer lies in the nature of the work, and the width of the bridge, Caltrans officials say.

The Rio Vista (Helen Madere Memorial) Bridge is just two lanes wide, with pedestrian walkways on each side. A key facet of the upcoming job is replacing the concrete deck on the part of the bridge that lifts when ships need to pass underneath it. Deterioration of the current deck has created ongoing maintenance problems.

Why Not One Lane at a Time?

The 300-foot-long lift span is divided into six sections, and each section runs the full width of the bridge. The work involves removing the existing concrete deck, replacing the 10 steel “stringers” that support the deck, and putting a new 6.25-foot thick deck in place. The work can’t be done one lane at a time because once the stringers are removed, there is no support for the deck.

Why 56 Hours?

The duration of the closure is based on the sheer amount of work that has to be done. The only reason it won’t take longer is that the team is using a new strong, lightweight, and rapid-setting concrete that comes up to strength in just two hours.

Why on Weekends?

The alternative is weekday closures, which would wreak havoc on commutes.

Closure Dates

The planned closures, which may be postponed due to weather, equipment or material availability, or other events, will run from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday on the following dates:

March 28-31
April 11-14
April 25-28
May 9-12
June 6-9
June 20-23

Detour route

Learn More

For real-time Caltrans road information, go to Caltrans’ QuickMap or download the QuickMap app from the App Store or Google Play.

Report: Many Socioeconomic Indicators for the Delta See Improvement

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 21, 2025) – Unemployment fell. Median income rose. Land in agricultural production increased. These improving socioeconomic indicators for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are highlights of a report released today by the Delta Protection Commission.

The Socioeconomic Indicators Update is the second report in an ongoing series providing a scorecard of key measures of wellbeing in the Delta, tracking them both over time and in comparison with the state as a whole. The first report (PDF) covered data from 2011 to 2016, and the update covers 2017 to 2022.

The release of the update includes public access to the source data. Data used in the report come from the National Center for Education Statistics, 2021 American Community Survey, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Cropscape and the California Public Utilities Commission.

“The Delta Protection Commission is committed to tracking the effects of the state’s Delta Plan on our region’s economy and quality of life,” said DPC Program Manager Virginia Gardiner, who co-led the update with Delta Stewardship Council Senior Environmental Scientist Chris Kwan, PhD.

“This scorecard does just that, and can be used by Delta residents, elected officials, and others to identify priories or needs for additional information.”

Key findings of the report include:

The unemployment rate dropped by 5.4 percentage points in the Secondary Zone, from 12.4% to 7%.
The 7% unemployment rate in the Delta was slightly higher than the statewide rate of 6.5%, but substantially lower than the San Joaquin Valley rate of 9.3%.

Bar chart showing unemployment rates in the Delta Primary Zone, Delta Secondary Zone, Delta as a whole, San Joaquin Valley, and State of California. Rates in the Delta are slightly higher than statewide, and significantly lower than the San Joaquin Valley.

Both median household and median individual incomes for the Delta increased over the previous period and were higher than the state’s as a whole.
Land in agricultural production from 2017 to 2022 increased by over 10% over the 2011-2016 study period.
Continuing trends from the previous period, higher value crops were being planted, with corn coverage dropping and almonds increasing.
In 2022, 350,000 acres of land in the Primary Zone were in active agriculture: Top crops by total land cover were alfalfa, corn, grapes, clover/wildflowers, and winter wheat.

Bar chart showing increases and decreases in various crops in the Delta. Almonds increased the most and corn decreased the most.

Road pavement conditions, a measure of quality of infrastructure and public safety, worsened compared with the previous period by over 20%.

For more information about this report, email Virginia Gardiner.

The Delta Residents Survey, published in 2023, explores Delta residents’ sense of place, quality of life, risks/resilience to climate change, and civic engagement. The survey was conducted by the Delta Stewardship Council with researchers from UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and Oregon State. Read the survey summary here, and explore the data here.

Articles Exploring Delta Data

Report: Many Socioeconomic Indicators for the Delta See Improvement

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 21, 2025) – Unemployment fell. Median income rose. Land in agricultural production increased. These improving socioeconomic indicators for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are highlights of a […]

March 21, 2025

Survey: Only 21-36% of Delta Residents Have Flood Insurance. Question: How Can We Do Better?

Pretty much the entire Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a floodplain, where the chances of flooding in any given year are as high as 1 in 10 in some areas[1]. But […]

October 21, 2024

Survey: The Delta Supports State-Boosted Sustainable Ag. Practice: What Does That Look Like?

What policies would Delta residents support for adapting to environmental changes in the region? Given nine choices in a recent survey of Delta residents, only one garnered majority support: increasing […]

August 22, 2024

Delta Protection Advisory Committee Application Deadline Extended to 5 p.m. May 1

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (March 14, 2025) – The application period to fill five seats on the Delta Protection Advisory Committee (DPAC) has been extended to 5 p.m. May 1.

Five incumbent Committee members’ terms expire in May:

Delta Business (Seat 1) – Arron Pellarin, Village West Marina
Delta General Public (Seat 1) – Anna Swenson – Clarksburg
Delta Flood Entity – Chris Elias – San Joaquin Area Flood Control Agency/CA Central Valley Flood Control Association
Delta Conservation/Habitat NGO Entity – Jim Cox, CA Striped Bass Association
Delta Water Exporter – Russ Ryan, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

All are eligible to reapply.

DPAC provides recommendations to the Delta Protection Commission on diverse interests within the Delta. Committee members are expected to attend six meetings per year. DPAC typically meets on the first Tuesday of even-numbered months (February, April, June, August, October, and December), though meeting dates may occasionally shift. Meetings are held in the Delta at rotating locations.

Committee member terms are three years, so these terms will expire in 2028.

Apply for the openings here.

If you have questions, please contact Delta Protection Commission Interim Executive Director Dan Ray at dan.ray@delta.ca.gov.

Chinese New Year Celebrated in Locke – Photo Gallery

Locke, Calif. (Feb. 22, 2025) – The historic Delta town of Locke filled with revelers Feb. 22 for its 17th annual Chinese New Year celebration, ushering in the Year of the Snake.

Beautiful red lanterns criss-crossed the town’s streets, and “Happy New Year” and “Happy Lunar Year” posters adorned buildings. A vibrant lion dance, accompanied by thunderous drumming, thrilled the crowd. The day featured calligraphy and painting demonstrations, and family-friendly activities including a Chinese Zodiac puppet show.

Journalist William G. Wong spoke to a captivated audience about his new book, Sons of Chinatown: A Memoir Rooted in China and America.

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is considered China’s most popular festival. The history of the festival, which marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring, can be traced back roughly 3,500 years.

A young girl in pink and red traditional Chinese garb

Lettuce hanging from a red ribbon in a doorjamb

Veteran of Delta Public Service Named Interim Executive Director of Delta Protection Commission

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Feb. 28, 2025) – The Delta Protection Commission has named Dan Ray of Davis as its Interim Executive Director, effective Feb. 27.

Ray will oversee the agency’s day-to-day operations and manage its staff of eight.

Ray retired as Chief Deputy Executive Officer of the Delta Stewardship Council in 2017 and subsequently worked as a retired annuitant for the Commission.

Previously, he served in the Department of Water Resources Delta Levees Program, the California Bay Delta Authority, and the CalFed Bay Delta Program.

He also served as Chief of California State Parks’ Planning Division, where he represented State Parks on the Delta Protection Commission.

Earlier in his career Dan developed management programs on the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes, and California’s coast.

“Dan brings a wealth of experience to this role,” said Commission Chair and Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis. “We are grateful that Dan has agreed to come out of retirement to take on this role temporarily. The Commission will also be moving forthwith to recruit and select a new permanent Executive Director.”

Delta Leadership Program Visits Port of Stockton

The 2025 Class of the Delta Leadership Program at the Port of Stockton on Feb. 7, 2025

STOCKTON, Calif. (Feb. 9, 2025) – The 2025 Class of the Delta Leadership Program spent Friday at the Port of Stockton interacting with state and regional water policy leaders and touring the port.

The tour included a sighting of agricultural wood waste being unloaded from big rigs, not the kind of thing most people see every day, or ever at all, with the entire trucks raised on hydraulics to let material fall out the back (video on Facebook). The port tour was led by Jeff Wingfield, himself an alumni of the first class of the DLP (2016).

The program is a joint effort by the Delta Protection Commission and the Delta Leadership Foundation to support sustained leadership development in the region.

A man at a conference table laughs and gestures — DLP participant Josh McMillon of Walnut Grove

A woman smiles as she looks at a fellow panelist — DLP participant Josh McMillon of Walnut Grove

Delta Protection Advisory Committee Openings (Deadline: March 14, 2025)

Montage of four men and a woman with text about an application deadline WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Jan. 28, 2025) – Applications to fill five seats on the Delta Protection Advisory Committee (DPAC) opened today. The application deadline is 5 p.m. March 14, and the Delta Protection Commission is scheduled to make the appointments May 15.

Five Committee members’ terms expire in May 2025:

Delta Business (Seat 1) – Arron Pellarin, Village West Marina
Delta General Public (Seat 1) – Anna Swenson – Clarksburg
Delta Flood Entity – Chris Elias
Delta Conservation/Habitat NGO Entity – Jim Cox, CA Striped Bass Association
Delta Water Exporter – Russ Ryan, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

All are eligible to reapply.

Committee member terms are three years, so these terms will expire in 2028.

Apply for the openings here.

If you have questions, please contact Delta Protection Commission Interim Executive Director Dan Ray at dan.ray@delta.ca.gov.

Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan Approved by Department of Interior

UPDATE: The final Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan (26MB PDF) is now available.

West Sacramento, Calif. (Jan. 16, 2025) – The U.S. Department of Interior today approved the Management Plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area (Delta NHA).

“The Delta Protection Commission developed a plan that promotes the continued appreciation and protection of the natural, historic, and cultural resources associated with the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area, a place important to our nation’s history and heritage,” wrote Charles F. Sams III, Director of the National Park Service.

“We commend you for completing this well-conceived plan and for involving the interested Tribes, citizens, and organizations in the five counties of the Delta region.”

The Delta NHA, created by Congress in 2019 (PDF), is California’s first and only National Heritage Area. The Delta Protection Commission, a California state agency, was designated the local coordinating entity for the Delta NHA.

“We are grateful to Interior for its approval,” said DPC Executive Director Bruce Blodgett. “The Management Plan is critical for the success of the NHA, because it serves as a guide for the DPC and the NHA partnership network going forward.”

Diane Burgis, Chair of the Delta Protection Commission, also lauded Interior’s action. “The Delta is precious and fragile,” she said. “It is a national treasure, worthy of recognition, celebration, and protection. The approval of the Management Plan acknowledges that and assures us that we are on the right path.”

The NHA

The NHA’s boundary extends from Sacramento to Stockton to Vallejo with the junction of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers at its heart (see map below).

The Management Plan outlines five broad themes that will be celebrated as implementation moves forward:

Water: Precious Lifeblood for the Delta and California – The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is California’s oasis, located at the center of the state’s water challenges and opportunities, and a water passage between the Pacific Ocean and inland California.
The Beating Heart of Natural California – The Delta lies at the center of California’s biological and physical environment, supporting numerous biologically diverse species and connecting California’s freshwater resources to the Pacific Ocean.
Abundance, Diversity, Resistance, and Survival – Native Americans in the Delta – Native Americans thrived in the Delta prior to European settlement, developing complex and diverse societies, deeply rooted in the landscape, that have endured despite existential threats such as disease and genocide.
The Delta Becomes California’s Cornucopia – Through capital, human labor, and technology, the Delta became one of the nation’s most productive agricultural regions, with the ability to grow a large variety of crops, farmed by large and small operations.
Cultural Influences of the Delta – Enduring Legacies of American, Asian, European, and Latin American Immigrants: Bringing their own ambition and skills to the Delta, cultural and ethnic communities from Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States shaped the region’s agriculture and industry during the late 19th Century and early 20th Century and continue to leave an indelible imprint on the landscape.

Next Steps

The Management Plan will go to the Commission for final approval in March.

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Media contact: Bruce Blodgett, Executive Director, Delta Protection Commission, (530) 650-6811 or bruce.blodgett@delta.ca.gov.

The Management Plan:

Map of Delta National Heritage Area

2025 Delta Leadership Program Kicks Off

A group of men and women standing in front of a mural posing for the camera — The 2025 Class of the Delta Leadership Program. Back row, L-R: Gerry Goodie Jr., Gregg McMillon, Ashley Seufzer, Megan Harrison, Amber McDowell, Ahmad Majid, Jack Cronin, Lea Emmons II, Lacy Berry, Misty Kaltreider, Heather Swinney, and Gerald Strootman. Front row, L-R: Josh McMillon, Kathleen Schaefer, Esther Mburu, Beatriz Portillo, Yuen Lenh, Kirsten Pringle, and LeighAnn Davis.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Jan. 10, 2025) – Nineteen emerging Delta leaders convened Friday at the Nature Conservancy in Sacramento for the kickoff of the 2025 Delta Leadership Program.

Run by the Delta Protection Commission and the Delta Leadership Foundation, the program is designed to build and support leadership within the Delta community. “We’re making you stronger leaders so the Delta is stronger,” Leadership Foundation President Mike Campbell told the group.

The group will gather four more times between now and April for daylong seminars that will provide deep dives into the Delta’s ecology, economy, heritage, regulatory framework, and more. Seminars will also hone participants’ leadership skills and serve as workshops for team projects that will be presented to the Delta Protection Commission on May 15.

This year’s participants are (a text-only list follows the photo gallery):

Lacy Berry (Clarksburg) – Community Volunteer, Town of Clarksburg

Jack Cronin (Rio Vista) – Assistant Engineer, Metropolitan Water District

LeighAnn Davis (Brentwood) – Executive Director, Contra Costa Co. Historical Society

Lea Emmons II (Tracy) – Water Operations Superintendent, City of Tracy

Gerry Goodie Jr. (Walnut Grove) – Manager/Owner, Wimpy’s Marina

Megan Harrison (Livermore) – District Planner, California Department of Parks and Recreation

Misty Kaltreider (Fairfield) – Water & Natural Resources Manager, County of Solano

Yuen Lenh (Sacramento) – Water Rights Engineer, MBK Engineers

Ahmad Majid (Stockton) – Watershed Protection Advocate, Stockton-area community organizations

Esther Mburu (Stockton) – Carbon Policy Analyst, Restore the Delta

Amber McDowell (Walnut Grove) – Executive Director, Sacramento County Farm Bureau

Gregg McMillon (Sacramento) – Water Resources Engineer, California Department of Water Resources

Josh McMillon (Walnut Grove) – Community Volunteer, Town of Walnut Grove

Beatriz Portillo (Martinez) – Senior Emergency Planning Coordinator, Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services

Kirsten Pringle (Sacramento) – Project Manager, MBK Engineers

Kathleen Schaefer (San Anselmo) – Clerk, Delta Region Geologic Hazard Abatement District

Ashley Seufzer (Sacramento) – Program Manager, Audubon California

Gerald Strootman (Acampo) – Ag and Commercial Lender, F&M Bank

Heather Swinney (Sacramento) – Deputy Project Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ex officio member of the Delta Protection Advisory Committee

Delta Leadership Program: Getting to ‘Yes’ (Photo Gallery)

Photo Gallery

Read More About the Delta Leadership Program

The Story Behind Weekend-Long Closures of the Rio Vista Bridge

Report: Many Socioeconomic Indicators for the Delta See Improvement

Related

Articles Exploring Delta Data

Delta Protection Advisory Committee Application Deadline Extended to 5 p.m. May 1

Chinese New Year Celebrated in Locke – Photo Gallery

Veteran of Delta Public Service Named Interim Executive Director of Delta Protection Commission

Delta Leadership Program Visits Port of Stockton

Delta Protection Advisory Committee Openings (Deadline: March 14, 2025)

Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan Approved by Department of Interior

The NHA

Next Steps

2025 Delta Leadership Program Kicks Off

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