By Alastair Bland, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo via Calif. Dept. of Water Resources:  A drone provides a view of a section of the California Aqueduct within the California State Water Project, located near John R. Teerink Pumping Plant.

January 27, 2025 (Central Valley, Calif.) - President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order Sunday that told federal agencies to “immediately take action” to deliver more Central Valley water and eliminate rules that stand in the way, including endangered species protections.

By Henri Migala

Photo: cc via Bing

January 22, 2025 (Washington D.C.) -- On Monday, January 20, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time, once again placing the world's top historic emitter of greenhouse gases outside the global pact aimed at pushing nations to tackle climate change.

The withdrawal comes amid increasingly severe wildfires, hurricanes and other severe weather disasters fueled in large part by rapidly accelerating climate change. A National Climate Assessment study found that climate change is affecting every region in the U.S., across economic sectors.

Far from taking any other steps to reduce carbon emissions, however, President Trump has issued executive orders to end actions aimed at cutting carbon and increase use of fossil fuels that accelerate climate change.

His administration has also deleted all climate change information and references from federal websites, eliminating access to key data for researchers, the press, and the public.

Drop-off locations and curbside pickup info for all San Diego County residents

Source: I Love a Clean San Diego

Image: CC via Bing

December 14, 2024 (San Diego) -- Did you know a Christmas tree can take hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill due to lack of oxygen? San Diego residents can help prevent waste and save landfill space by transforming their old Christmas trees into nutrient-rich compost or mulch.

The County of San Diego and I Love a Clean San Diego make it easy for residents to recycle their real Christmas trees by compiling a list of drop-off locations and instructions for curbside pick-up. The countywide recycling resource, WasteFreeSD.org, hosts the 2024/2025 Christmas Tree Recycling Guide with listings for curbside and drop-off locations.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo, left: Mark Robak, chair of the Water Conservation Garden’s joint powers authority

November 21, 2024 (Rancho San Diego) – The Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College celebrated its 25^th anniversary on November 9 with a free celebration commemorating a quarter century of educating the public on water conservation and more. 

By Miriam Raftery

November 7, 2024 (Rancho San Diego, CA) – The Water Conservation Garden is hosting a free 25^th anniversary celebration this Saturday, November 9,  from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Celebrating 25 years of educating the public about water conservation, this event features animal encounters, garden talks, food, live music, activities and fun for all ages. The event is free,  but guests are asked to register here.

The garden is located at Cuyamaca College, 12122 Cuyamaca College Drive, El Cajon.

Below is a full schedule of events.

East County News Service

August 27, 2024 (Jacumba Hot Springs) – Dana Law has hiked the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail  from Mexico to Canada and the 800-mile Arizona Trail from Mexico to Utah.

On August 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Jacumba Library (44605 Old Highway 80), he will share his backpacking experiences on these trails, including recently completing the Arizona Trail, which included hiking the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim.

East County News Service

August 11, 2024 (Alpine)—Supervisor Joel Anderson is asking the public to sign a petition which he will deliver to Sweetwater Water Authority asking the agency to restore sunrise-to-sunset hours at Loveland Reservoir. You can sign the petition here.  

Anderson  has emerged as a champion for local recreational enthusiasts seeking to protect access at several local lakes, including a prior petition that yielded positive results.

Photo: El Capitan County Preserve

By Shauni Lyles, County of San Diego Communications Office

August 7, 2024 (San Diego’s East County)-- Due to triple-digit temperatures, two County parks will be closed for the month of August. They are El Capitan County Preserve in Lakeside and Mt. Gower County Preserve in Ramona.

These locations have difficult trails that end in isolated areas. They also offer very limited shade which can lead to dangerous conditions during major heat events. They join two desert parks that are already closed for the summer due to extreme heat: Vallecito and Agua Caliente County Parks.

By Miriam Raftery

July 11, 2024 (Alpine) – The nonprofit Friends of Loveland Reservoir has been advocating for a return of sunrise-to-sunset hours at Sweetwater Reservoir.  Such access was agreed to along with an easement as part of a land-swap deal between the U.S. Forest Service and Sweetwater Water Authority (SWA) years ago, but in recent years amid tightened budgets, that agreement has not been honored.

Friends of Loveland states in an email to its supporters that it proposed for members of its large volunteer base to open and close Loveland daily from sunrise to sunset, with a new lockbox and gate key.  “ SWA agreed to open the gate every morning and would work with a volunteer group as long as USFS provided oversight. Unfortunately, the USDA Office of General Counsel did not agree,” the Friends group states in its email.

Friends of Loveland Reservoir (FLR)has sent a letter in response to the Forest Service sharply criticizing the federal agency for refusing to enforce the public’s access rights and asking for a meeting with the Forest Service, FLR, and SWA representatives.(See copy of their letter below).

FLR also urging the public to contact the following Forest Service representatives: