Stand up for Yosemite's rivers:
Defend the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Defend the law that gives our rivers —
and our communities — a voice
For more than 50 years, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has given everyday Californians the right to weigh in before dams, pipelines, and logging reshape the places we love. Proposition 45 on the November ballot would severely weaken CEQA — limiting public input and fast-tracking corporate polluting projects across the state, including in the watersheds of the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced rivers.
Prop 45 is funded by the California Chamber of Commerce, oil, gas, and electric utilities, and corporate PACs. They have corporations. We have people power.
Join us:
Proposition 45
educational forum
Want to understand what's really at stake — and how to talk about it with friends, family, and neighbors? Join us for a free one-hour forum on Zoom.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 7:00–8:00 p.m. (Zoom)
Hear from two of California's leading environmental law experts:
Gabriel Tolson, Planning and Conservation League
Rachel Hooper, CEQA Works
They'll break down what Prop 45 would do and why it matters for the Yosemite region.
The current situation
Since 1970, CEQA has been California's bedrock environmental law. It requires that major projects be studied for their impacts on water, air, wildlife, and communities — and it guarantees the public a seat at the table through tools like environmental impact reports and water quality plans. CEQA is one of the most important tools we have for protecting the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced Rivers.
Proposition 45 would severely weaken CEQA. The measure is designed to fast-track projects such as data centers, dams, highway expansions, energy infrastructure, and logging of forests — while curtailing the public's ability to weigh in on decisions that affect their water, their air, and their health.
Here's what you should know about Prop 45:
It fast-tracks high-impact projects. Data centers, dams, pipelines, highway expansions, and logging could move forward without adequate environmental review to protect our watersheds.
It muffles community voices. Public input into environmental impact reports, water quality plans, and other decisions would be curtailed — handing more power to corporate polluters.
It costs taxpayers. According to the independent Legislative Analyst's Office, Prop 45 could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
It's not about reasonable housing. Legislation passed last year already addressed CEQA obstacles to urban infill housing.
A powerful statewide coalition — more than 300 labor, public health, environmental justice, and conservation organizations — has joined forces to defeat Prop 45, the Corporate Polluting Projects Prop.
Why this matters for Yosemite's rivers
The Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced rivers provide drinking water for more than 3 million people, nourish 480,000 acres of Central Valley farmland, and support more than 600 wildlife species — from Chinook salmon and steelhead trout to Great Gray Owls and Giant Sequoias.
CEQA is woven into nearly every fight to protect them. When a dam is proposed, when forests face clear-cutting, when new infrastructure threatens water quality — CEQA is what requires decision-makers to study the impacts and listen to the public before moving forward.
If Prop 45 passes:
Projects like new dams and logging in Sierra Nevada watersheds could be fast-tracked without adequate environmental review
Communities — including the people who depend on these rivers for drinking water — would have less say in the decisions that shape their future
Decades of hard-won protections for salmon, water quality, and forest health could be undermined
We've spent more than 45 years defending these rivers. Prop 45 would take away one of the most powerful tools we have to keep doing it.
This fight won't end on November 3. Sign up for our e-newsletter and we'll keep you posted on what happens next — with Prop 45, with the relicensing battles on the Tuolumne and Merced, and with the restoration work happening on the ground across the region.
You'll get action alerts when your voice is needed most, updates from our field crews, and the occasional salmon sighting worth celebrating. No noise, just what matters.
Stay in the
flow
Stay connected and spread the word!
The more Californians who understand what Prop 45 would really do, the better our chances of defeating it. Every conversation counts.
Thank you for standing with the Yosemite Rivers Alliance as we defend the law that defends our rivers!
Questions? Email Peter Drekmeier at peter.drekmeier@yosemiterivers.org