Fourteen California water agencies have appealed to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, urging him not to proceed with planned staff reductions at the Bureau of Reclamation. The agencies argue that terminating 100 employees will not benefit taxpayers. The Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water infrastructure projects such as Millerton Lake and the Friant Kern Canal, is set to reduce its workforce through terminations and buyouts. … A letter signed by representatives from irrigation districts, water, and canal companies in California was sent to Secretary Burgum.

Other water and natural resources agency news:

• KPBS (San Diego): Trump cuts to NOAA already felt in San Diego
• Lookout (Santa Cruz, Calif.): ‘This caught everybody off guard,’ fired Santa Cruz NOAA employee says
• Boulder Reporting Lab (Colo.): ‘A total beheading’: Fired NOAA and other federal workers in Boulder share their stories
• KNPR (Las Vegas, Nev.): Podcast: How cuts to the National Park Service, Interior will affect public lands in Nevada