Why Advocacy Matters

California water and environmental policy is complex; competing interests, lawsuits, antiquated laws, and ingrained practices inhibit progressive water management on the Tuolumne. We’ve been working on policy issues since our inception over 40 years ago, and have no plans to stop.

Through policy proceedings and decisionmaking at the federal, state, and local level, we are working to reverse profound damage inflicted upon the Tuolumne and its watershed over the past 170 years.

Our goals are to improve habitat conditions for fish and wildlife, rehabilitate Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Trout populations that are on the brink of extinction, revive meadows and streams, restore forest health, and improve parks and park access so that many have access to the beauty and wonder of the Tuolumne River.

While in many cases, environmental and habitat conditions in the watershed can be improved through physical restoration projects, such as forest restoration, floodplain restoration, and meadow restoration, this approach alone is insufficient to fully restore the River’s health

In some cases, the federal, state, and local agencies’ management of the River must be changed, and thus the rules that guide these agencies’ management must be changed. We engage in efforts to improve their policies and rules through grassroots organizing and advocacy.

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