For a small fish only found in the San Francisco Estuary, the delta smelt has caused a lot of controversy over the years.

It’s tiny, it’s silver and it’s at the center of a decades-long controversy over California’s water system. It’s the delta ...

The two-inch fish has long been a stumbling block to delivering water to the Central Valley and Southern California. The ...

Pity the poor delta smelt. The tiny fish, which seldom grows to more than four inches or lives longer than a year, was once abundant in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It was an important link ...

If you’ve followed Donald Trump’s attacks on California water policy in the mainstream media, you’ve been told how preposterous it is that he’s criticized the delta smelt. A column in the ...

The “smeltdown in the Delta,” as the extinction trajectory of delta smelt is known according to the Center for Biological Diversity, has left the once-abundant species in critical condition because of ...

A Trump executive order directs agencies to 'to route more water' across the state. But some say there's a lot more at stake.

The Center for Biological Diversity has responded to President Trump’s decision to end funding for a delta smelt breeding ...

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025 (main) and a Delta smelt fish (inset). President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on ...

For a small fish found only in the San Francisco Estuary, the Delta smelt has caused much controversy over the years, ranging from lawsuits to executive orders. What is the history of the Delta smelt?