Delta Heritage Courier – July/August 2025

Port Chicago, Rattlesnakes, Whole Lotta Pears

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  • Delta Heritage Featured on Television
  • Get Involved in the National Heritage Area!
  • Watch Out for Rattlesnakes
  • Delta Pears Showcased in Pear Pearfection
  • Help Restore the Bell
  • Celebrate the Bats of the Yolo Causeway
  • Two Historic Delta Personalities Honored
  • Martinez Featured in New Alphabet Book
  • Free Fishing day on Aug 30
  • De Anza Superintendent Steps Down
  • Remembering Port Chicago

ALSO: MUSEUMS and EVENTS

Delta National Heritage Area Advisory Committee Openings (Deadline: July 18, 2025)

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (June 2, 2025) – The Delta Protection Commission is accepting applications for four seats and additional alternates on its Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Advisory Committee.

Individual photos of four men and one woman, as well as a Delta National Heritage Area logo The incumbents, who are all eligible to serve additional terms, are Dwayne Eubanks, David Stuart, Dan Whaley, Stuart Walthall, and alternate Paulette Hennum.

The committee, governed by this charter (PDF), advises the Delta Protection Commission about implementation of the National Heritage Area Management Plan (PDF) and acts as ambassadors to the diverse partners and communities in the NHA.

The committee is chaired by the Delta Protection Commission Executive Director or their designee, and includes two members of the Delta Protection Commission, 12 members of the public, and non-voting ex officio members representing the Legislature and public agencies.

Interested members of the public may apply to serve on this committee through 5 p.m. July 18. The Delta Protection Commission is expected to make the appointments Sept. 18.

Committee members are expected to attend six bimonthly in-person meetings per year, which are held in and around the NHA at rotating locations.

Apply for the openings here, or use the form below.

If you have questions, please email dpc@delta.ca.gov.

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan Honored with Award of Excellence

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (May 23, 2025) – The Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association gave the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan (PDF) its Planning Excellence Award.

The 2025 APA SVS Awards “celebrate and recognize local planning superstars” and their innovative plans and projects.

“The jury was very impressed that this is the first National Heritage Area in California and appreciated the multidisciplinary nature of the plan,” said Nikki Zanchetta, APA SVS Awards Coordinator. “Several of the jury members were also impressed with how well written, organized, and engaging the document was to read.”

SVS APA’s recognition of the Management Plan “highlights the value of excellent planning in building strong and resilient communities in National Heritage Areas,” said Blake Roberts, Program Manager for the Delta Protection Commission. The DPC is the local coordinating entity for the National Heritage Area.

This is the second award bestowed on the DPC by the SVS APA. In 2018, the organization honored the DPC with its Local Vision Award for the Delta Leadership Program.

The Sacramento Valley Section will honor all 2025 award recipients on Oct. 15.

Delta Heritage Courier – May/June 2025

Delta Horseshoe, Shellebration, Indigenous Place Names

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  • Tule Horseshoe on Display at Locke Boardinghouse
  • Save the Date: NHA Advisory Committee Applications
  • Shellebrate Turtles at Big Break!
  • Rio Vista Featured in Islands Online Travel Magazine
  • Native Power-Building Fellowship Now Accepting Applications
  • Help Clean Up Historic Benicia City Cemetery
  • Clarksburg Chenin Blancs get a Well-Deserved Shout-Out
  • Discovering Indigenous Place Names Along the Anza National Historic Trail
  • Jump into State Parks Week!

ALSO: MUSEUMS, CLASSES, and EVENTS

Montage of Delta images

Delta Heritage Courier – March/April 2025

Courier: Lunar New Year in Locke, Heritage Planting Party, Davis Camp

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NEWS

  • Locke Celebrates Lunar New Year – Photo Gallery
  • Try Something Fresh from Contra Costa Libraries
  • A Heritage Planting Party in Locke
  • Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan Approved
  • Davis Camp Commemorated in Brentwood
  • New: Exhibit Honoring Chinese Farmers of the Delta

ALSO: GRANTS, MUSEUMS, CLASSES/WEBINARS, and EVENTS

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.

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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

Delta Heritage Courier – January/February 2025

Yolo Bypass History, Port Costa, NHA Committee

Read this issue:

Montage: barn in hills, newsletter heading, Latin dancer, newspaper article screen shot, Delta NHA logoNEWS

  • Historical Landscape of Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area HQ
  • Port Costa Featured on SFGate
  • Delta NHA Advisory Committee Meets
  • Walnut Grove Then & Now: a Storymap
  • Public Comment Period Open for Port Chicago Plan
  • NHA Plays Role in Disaster Recovery

ALSO: AWARDS, GRANTS, MUSEUMS, CLASSES/WEBINARS, and EVENTS

Delta Heritage Courier – November/December 2024

Heritage Forum, Delta Stories Journal, Walnut Grove Storymap

Read this issue:

NEWS

  • 2024 Delta Heritage Forum – Photo Gallery and Reviews
  • Delta Stories Launches
  • Antioch to the Twenties: Reprint Now Available
  • Walnut Grove Then & Now: a Storymap
  • Public Comment Period Open for Port Chicago Plan
  • NHA Plays Role in Disaster Recovery

NHA OPPORTUNITIES

  • NHA Plays Role in Disaster Recovery
  • Work for the National Heritage Area – Application Deadline on Nov. 22

ALSO: AWARDS, GRANTS, MUSEUMS, CLASSES/WEBINARS, and EVENTS

Photo Gallery: 2024 Delta Heritage Forum

ANTIOCH, Calif. (Nov. 17, 2024) – More than 80 Delta heritage professionals and aficionados gathered Friday at the Antioch Historical Society Museum for a day of storytelling and inspiration at the 6th Delta Heritage Forum.

The Forum was organized by the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area. The NHA – California’s first and only – was created by Congress in 2019, underscoring the region’s historical and cultural value. The NHA is coordinated by the Delta Protection Commission.

To receive notifications about next year’s Delta Heritage Forum, sign up for the NHA’s bi-monthly newsletter, the Delta Heritage Courier.

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