At the request of the U.S. Departments of Interior and Commerce, a National Research Council panel of independent experts will review the draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), which is being prepared through a collaboration of state, federal, and local water agencies, state and federal fish agencies, environmental organizations, and other interested parties to restore the California Bay-Delta ecosystem and protect water supplies, i.e., provide for both species/habitat protection and improved reliability of water supplies.
Specifically, the panel will provide a short report assessing the adequacy of the use of science and adaptive management in the initial public draft of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) by April 2011. This draft, which is currently scheduled for release on November 24th, 2010, will identify a set of water flow and habitat restoration actions to contribute to the recovery of endangered and sensitive species and their habitats in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while improving water supply reliability.
The panel’s review will be related to but be conducted separately from the on-going, more broadly focused National Research Council Committee on Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta. The panel’s report is expected to contribute to the broader study which will be completed in late 2011.
