March 4, 2024 - FAIRFIELD, CA. - Last week, U.S. Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA08), Josh Harder (D-CA10), Ami Bera (D-CA06), and Mike Thompson (D-CA04) sent a letter to the State of California’s Delta Protection Commission supporting the draft management plan for the federally designated Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area released for public comment on February 5.

“We write in support of the Delta Protection Commission’s draft management plan for the federally designated Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area noticed for public comment on February 5. After incorporating any changes called for during the public comment period ending on March 6, we trust the Commission will submit the final management plan to the National Park Service by the March 12, 2024, deadline under federal law. Any delay in approval by the National Park Service could risk $10 million in federal grant funding to conserve the Delta’s rich cultural heritage, historic landmarks, and natural beauty,” wrote the Representatives in their letter to California’s Delta Protection Commission.

The full letter is available to read here.

In 2019, Congress passed a landmark federal law designating the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as California’s first National Heritage Area. Of the six National Heritage Areas designated nationally that year, California is now the only state without a completed management plan approved by the National Park Service. The National Heritage Area Act of 2023 (Public Law 117-339) set a March 12, 2024, deadline for the Delta Protection Commission to finalize and submit the management plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area. Every year without a final management plan approved by the National Park Service risks $1 million from the $10 million total in federal grantmaking authorized by Congress for the Delta National Heritage Area. 

Timeline of Events: As U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 1995 to 1998 during the Clinton Administration and now as a member of Congress representing the California Delta since 2009, Congressman Garamendi has a lifelong passion for conserving California’s special for future generations to enjoy. Garamendi’s family has called the Delta home for more than 40 years. 

• 2010: Rep. Garamendi and late Senator Dianne Feinstein first introduce the “Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Act,” cosponsored by Reps. Thompson and Matsui. 

• 2014: Senate Committee first passes the “Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Act” as part of the comprehensive “National Heritage Area Authorization Act of 2014.” 

• 2019: Garamendi and Feinstein’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area Act was signed into law as part of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9). 

• 2021: House passes Garamendi bill to expand the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area to include approximately 62 acres of adjacent publicly owned land in Solano County encompassing the decommissioned United States Army Reserve Center (Rio Vista), U.S. Coast Guard Station Rio Vista, Beach Drive Wastewater Treatment Plant (City of Rio Vista), and Sandy Beach County Park (Solano County). 

• 2023: President Biden signed the National Heritage Area Act of 2023 (Public Law 117-339), extending the management planning deadline from March 2022 to March 2024 in recognition of the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• February 2024: The Delta Protection Commission released for public comment the draft management plan for the National Heritage Area on February 5, 2024.
  Source: Congressman John Garamendi