Imperiled Delta Smelt gain 3,400 acres of habitat in largest ever tidal restoration project
With a dramatic scoop of an excavator, water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta surged onto a 3,400-acre stretch of land this week for the the first time in a century. This ceremonial levee breach at Lookout Slough, north of Rio Vista, on Wednesday was attended by nearly 200 spectators who cheered the completion of the largest tidal habitat restoration project in the Delta region. The project led by the Department of Water Resources is an example of legally mandated habitat restoration to alleviate negative environmental impacts of the State Water Project, the sprawling concrete system supplying water to most of the state’s population. It aims to revive habitat for the beleaguered Delta smelt, a native fish species teetering on the brink of extinction, and additional flood protection in the Yolo Bypass.
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