Mission Statement

Restore the Delta is a grassroots campaign of residents and organizations committed to restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta so that fisheries and farming can thrive together again.

We fight for a Delta with waters that are fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable, able to support a healthy estuary, a healthy bay, and a healthy ocean. A coalition of Delta residents, business leaders, civic organizations, community groups, faith-based communities, unions, farmers, fishermen, and environmentalists, Restore the Delta envisions the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as a place where a vibrant local economy, tourism, recreation, farming, wildlife, and fisheries thrive as a result of resident efforts to protect our waterway commons.

Restore the Delta works in the areas of public education and outreach so that all Californians recognize that the health of this region, of the San Francisco Bay, and of the oceans are interrelated.  In addition, Restore the Delta advocates for Delta stakeholders to ensure that they have a direct impact on water management decisions that affect the well-being of their communities and can undertake action to ensure the region’s sustainability.

Restore the Delta works to:

  • Improve Delta water quality and quantity to meet federal Clean Water Act standards, to protect native and desired species, to protect public health, and to sustain a regional agriculture, recreation, and tourism economy worth over $6 billion to California.
  • Reduce water exports to levels that will restore and sustain the Delta’s ecosystem.
  • Support levee maintenance to protect urban areas, farmland, and infrastructure of statewide significance.
  • Support comprehensive flood management and emergency response planning.
  • Market the Delta as a unique resource for recreation, including fishing, swimming, wine tasting, wind surfing, hiking, boating, camping, hunting, and bird watching.
  • Protect the economic interests of the Delta, including fishing, farming, marinas, recreation, transportation, and tourism.
  • Mobilize a broad-based grassroots movement in pursuit of these goals.