In May 2007, the California Resources Agency delivered a preferred alternative to the state legislature for consideration, and in June 2007 they released the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Report. It is now up to the legislature to decide whether to proceed with the recommended approach, modify it, or select a different approach.

We have and will continue to send a strong message to the many Salton Sea stakeholders and lead agencies that the revitalization and protection of the Sea is essential. Several of our members are working actively with Senator Ducheny on SB 1256 , which is the piece of legislation written to establish a Salton Sea Restoration Council as a state agency in the Resources Agency to implement preferred alternative activities. This important piece of legislation was introduced by Senator Ducheny in order to create a governing body responsible for implementing and funding projects to improve the water quality of the Salton Sea, to restore the Salton Sea ecosystem, and to take other actions to enhance the sea. Recently, SB 1256 failed to come up for a vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which held the bill, so we will continue to pursue SB 1256 among others in order to provide the groundwork for Salton Sea restoration. For up to date information regarding SB 1256 please visit http://www.leginfo.ca.gov , and search SB 1256 in the bill information search engine.

Our members also continue to work with the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Fish and Game's Technical Work Groups to refine monitoring and restoration plan designs. We also identify and evaluate potential funding sources for the restoration program. For information regarding the Deparment of Water Resources Restoration Program Outreach Meetings, please visit http://www.saltonsea.water.ca.gov/calendar/.

Advocates for the Sea must mobilize now to set in motion the type of unified support necessary for a plan of this magnitude and complexity. We believe that we can build the greatest support by building a broad coalition that represents all of the interests of the Sea, including fish, wildlife, public health, agriculture, tourism and local development. One of our goals is to increase the number of membership organizations so that the Coalition can offer local, state and national representation.