Senator Dodd Recognizes Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Week

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/4zsC7EWccTs

SACRAMENTO – In appreciation of the critical role the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta plays in California’s economy and environment, Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, is recognizing the last week of September as Delta Week.

“The Delta is a cherished watershed and the very lifeblood of California’s water system,” Sen. Dodd said. “It is vital to our state as both a natural resource teeming with abundant wildlife and fish and a vital economic driver for tourism, recreation and Delta farmers. We must continue to protect it for future generations by preventing pollution and further marshland degradation and promoting its environmental health.”

Sen. Dodd’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 119 established Delta Week, which this year kicks off Sept. 24. As part of the annual tradition, it will be preceded on Sept. 23 by Coastal Cleanup Day, which offers Californians a chance to participate in local waterway cleanup events.

Sen. Dodd lauded the stewardship and restoration efforts of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy and Delta Protection Commission. Both have been instrumental in protecting the crucial expanse, formed by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which supports more than 750 species of plants and wildlife, including more than 55 species of fish, and hosts over 12 million visitors a year.

“The Delta is simultaneously an incredible ecosystem that connects the Sierra Nevada to the Pacific Ocean, the hub of California’s water supply receiving water from as far north as Mt. Shasta and sending it all the way to the LA basin, a region of generational farming that produces more than 100 different crops, and a picturesque landscape of beautiful communities and recreation and tourism opportunities,” said Campbell Ingram, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy executive officer. “What other location in California works this hard? Delta Week is when we highlight the magic of the Delta and help others to appreciate and care about this great region.”

“The Delta’s geographic attributes and benefits are widely understood: It is a river system with immense agricultural, recreational, wildlife-habitat and water-supply value,” said Bruce Blodgett, executive director of the Delta Protection Commission. “What is less recognized is its human and cultural value, with its vibrant network of small farm towns still populated by descendants of their ethnically diverse 1800s settlers, as well as the continued presence of the land’s original inhabitants. This kind of cultural continuity is a rare thing in a state constantly reinventing itself amid successive waves of new arrivals. That value guides everything we do at the Delta Protection Commission, whether it's our stewardship of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area, our work protecting farmland or our efforts to help the entire state appreciate the Delta as a place. The people are the place.”

To learn more about the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy’s mission to preserve, protect and restore the natural resources, economy and agriculture of the Delta, visit: http://deltaconservancy.ca.gov/. For information on the Delta Protection Commission, visit: https://delta.ca.gov/

The Delta Watershed is your backyard playground -- a short drive from the San Francisco Bay, Sacramento, and Stockton areas. Explore www.VisitCADelta.com for places to stay, eat, and play during Delta Week, and visit the Conservancy’s Delta Week webpage for more ways to celebrate.

For more information, visit Sen. Dodd’s website at http://sd03.senate.ca.gov/

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Senator Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties. You can learn more about the district and Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.