Scott Mattoon
@dwnstrm.bsky.social
Asking: What happens downstream?
Standing for rugged collectivism
Geospatial-California Naturalist
Sierra Club Volunteer Leader
Former Salesforce/Sun/NeXT
It's all here, just not evenly distributed
Standing for rugged collectivism
Geospatial-California Naturalist
Sierra Club Volunteer Leader
Former Salesforce/Sun/NeXT
It's all here, just not evenly distributed
Money in politics corrodes democracy. Buying votes with water erodes ecology.
www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
New federal plan for Delta water pumping conflicts with California requirements
Federal plan to boost Delta exports could shift burden to California and worsen conditions for already struggling salmon populations.
www.sacbee.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Money in politics corrodes democracy. Buying votes with water erodes ecology.
www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
www.sacbee.com/news/politic...
Golf courses are water gluttons. But “Big Golf isn’t making headlines about how it’s upending entire industries, or causing mass psychosis, or keeping coal plants open—or how we could all be facing an economic catastrophe if the market for golf bottoms out.”
www.wired.com/story/karen-...
www.wired.com/story/karen-...
You’re Thinking About AI and Water All Wrong
Fears about AI data centers’ water use have exploded. Experts say the reality is far more complicated than people think.
www.wired.com
December 12, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Golf courses are water gluttons. But “Big Golf isn’t making headlines about how it’s upending entire industries, or causing mass psychosis, or keeping coal plants open—or how we could all be facing an economic catastrophe if the market for golf bottoms out.”
www.wired.com/story/karen-...
www.wired.com/story/karen-...
Mississippi timber grower: “It’s unfair for anybody overseas, especially the EU, to dictate what we can or can’t do with our property.”
lol
www.wlbt.com/2025/12/07/%...
lol
www.wlbt.com/2025/12/07/%...
Mississippi timber markets disrupted as EU rule takes effect early
The European Union’s new deforestation rule is already rippling through Mississippi’s timber industry - creating confusion, restrictions, and growing financial worries for landowners who say they neve...
www.wlbt.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Mississippi timber grower: “It’s unfair for anybody overseas, especially the EU, to dictate what we can or can’t do with our property.”
lol
www.wlbt.com/2025/12/07/%...
lol
www.wlbt.com/2025/12/07/%...
Reposted by Scott Mattoon
Eighty Percent of U.S. Wetlands at Risk:
Why WOTUS Matters to You
“In November 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed revision to the Clean Water Act (CWA) definition of “waters of the United States,” (WOTUS)”
Why WOTUS Matters to You
“In November 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed revision to the Clean Water Act (CWA) definition of “waters of the United States,” (WOTUS)”
Eighty Percent of U.S. Wetlands at Risk: Why WOTUS Matters to You – Waterkeeper
waterkeeper.org
December 9, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Eighty Percent of U.S. Wetlands at Risk:
Why WOTUS Matters to You
“In November 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed revision to the Clean Water Act (CWA) definition of “waters of the United States,” (WOTUS)”
Why WOTUS Matters to You
“In November 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed revision to the Clean Water Act (CWA) definition of “waters of the United States,” (WOTUS)”
Why are DNR’s so reluctant to control pollution from feeding operations?
It must be something in the water.
insideclimatenews.org/news/0412202...
It must be something in the water.
insideclimatenews.org/news/0412202...
Factory Farms in Iowa Generate 110 Billion Pounds of Manure Per Year. No One Tracks Where It’s Going. - Inside Climate News
Manure management planning could prevent fertilizer pollution. But an antiquated system isn’t doing enough to track manure, a former state employee says.
insideclimatenews.org
December 6, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Why are DNR’s so reluctant to control pollution from feeding operations?
It must be something in the water.
insideclimatenews.org/news/0412202...
It must be something in the water.
insideclimatenews.org/news/0412202...
Dam removal may be the most effective ecological restoration tool of all. It’s finally reaching escape velocity. Rivers want to be free.
observatory.wiki/Why_America_...
observatory.wiki/Why_America_...
Why America Is Removing Thousands of Dams and Letting Rivers Run Free
observatory.wiki
December 6, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Dam removal may be the most effective ecological restoration tool of all. It’s finally reaching escape velocity. Rivers want to be free.
observatory.wiki/Why_America_...
observatory.wiki/Why_America_...
Reposted by Scott Mattoon
Federal plan to boost Delta exports could shift burden to California and worsen conditions for already struggling salmon populations.
New federal plan for Delta water pumping conflicts with California requirements
Federal plan to boost Delta exports could shift burden to California and worsen conditions for already struggling salmon populations.
bit.ly
December 6, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Federal plan to boost Delta exports could shift burden to California and worsen conditions for already struggling salmon populations.
Reposted by Scott Mattoon
ICYMI: California strongly objects to Trump’s plan to pump more Delta water south
🔗 Read more: bit.ly/48mYL7u
New letters obtained by the LA Times reveal that the Trump administration is pushing a plan to weaken longstanding Delta environmental protections.
🔗 Read more: bit.ly/48mYL7u
New letters obtained by the LA Times reveal that the Trump administration is pushing a plan to weaken longstanding Delta environmental protections.
December 4, 2025 at 10:00 PM
ICYMI: California strongly objects to Trump’s plan to pump more Delta water south
🔗 Read more: bit.ly/48mYL7u
New letters obtained by the LA Times reveal that the Trump administration is pushing a plan to weaken longstanding Delta environmental protections.
🔗 Read more: bit.ly/48mYL7u
New letters obtained by the LA Times reveal that the Trump administration is pushing a plan to weaken longstanding Delta environmental protections.
Instead of building another dam to control planetary forces why not enable communities to work with these dynamics and restore water to the land and beneath it. In the face of climate change, the Sites Reservoir is hubris. #cawater
sjvsun.com/ag/state-ann...
sjvsun.com/ag/state-ann...
State announces new funding for Sites Reservoir
Sites Reservoir received a major boost toward construction on Thursday by receiving nearly $220 million in new state funding.
sjvsun.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Instead of building another dam to control planetary forces why not enable communities to work with these dynamics and restore water to the land and beneath it. In the face of climate change, the Sites Reservoir is hubris. #cawater
sjvsun.com/ag/state-ann...
sjvsun.com/ag/state-ann...
Reposted by Scott Mattoon
Everyday Americans such as myself funded your rise to unprecedented heights on the economic ladder, says Issac Bailey.
Hi, Elon. It’s America. We want our money back. | Opinion
Everyday Americans such as myself funded your rise to unprecedented heights on the economic ladder, says Issac Bailey.
bit.ly
December 2, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Everyday Americans such as myself funded your rise to unprecedented heights on the economic ladder, says Issac Bailey.
“We must think beyond terms of what [the river] can provide to us; we must think of what we can provide to it.” #RightsofNature
www.nhonews.com/opinion/gues...
www.nhonews.com/opinion/gues...
Guest Column: What Personhood Status for the Colorado River means to me
The Colorado River is in jeopardy. We have all seen the stories of how the climate is hotter and drier, and under the Post-2026 Process that Arizona will have to
www.nhonews.com
November 29, 2025 at 6:54 PM
“We must think beyond terms of what [the river] can provide to us; we must think of what we can provide to it.” #RightsofNature
www.nhonews.com/opinion/gues...
www.nhonews.com/opinion/gues...
Have you checked your @inaturalist.bsky.social year in Review stats? The infographics are amazing. I especially like the "sunburst" chart (though it shames me into making more diverse observations).
www.inaturalist.org/stats/2025/d...
www.inaturalist.org/stats/2025/d...
dwnstrm's 2025 iNaturalist Year in Review
Scott Mattoon's highlights and stats from 2025 on iNaturalist
www.inaturalist.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Have you checked your @inaturalist.bsky.social year in Review stats? The infographics are amazing. I especially like the "sunburst" chart (though it shames me into making more diverse observations).
www.inaturalist.org/stats/2025/d...
www.inaturalist.org/stats/2025/d...
“Counter to our intuition, dams are contributing to continental drying, not preventing it.” #NoDams
open.substack.com/pub/climatew...
open.substack.com/pub/climatew...
The big groundwater crisis - food, water, pollution, and social unrest : John Cherry interview Part I
groundwater supplies our freshwater, water crisis is based in a groundwater crisis, virtual water hides the groundwater crisis
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 9:33 PM
“Counter to our intuition, dams are contributing to continental drying, not preventing it.” #NoDams
open.substack.com/pub/climatew...
open.substack.com/pub/climatew...
These machines menace my neighborhood almost everyday, and are somehow tolerated. For the workers who operate them, they're a menace every hour of everyday yet somehow indispensable.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
What It Takes to Defeat the Leaf Blowers
To end the use of gas-powered blowers, advocates in one New Jersey town focused on public health and made their case directly to local elected leaders.
www.bloomberg.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:57 PM
These machines menace my neighborhood almost everyday, and are somehow tolerated. For the workers who operate them, they're a menace every hour of everyday yet somehow indispensable.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Because polluters’ revenue is more important than the survival of a species www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/c...
In One Week, Trump Moves to Reshape U.S. Environmental Policy
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Because polluters’ revenue is more important than the survival of a species www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/c...
Ever wonder where the term 'Forest Health' originated?
It is a euphemism offered by foresters in the 1990's to describe “The control and suppression of natural processes to facilitate the orderly extraction of timber commodities.”
It’s about logging, not healthy forests. youtu.be/Zr2SZJAasJA?...
It is a euphemism offered by foresters in the 1990's to describe “The control and suppression of natural processes to facilitate the orderly extraction of timber commodities.”
It’s about logging, not healthy forests. youtu.be/Zr2SZJAasJA?...
Methow Forest Forum Present: Achieving ecologically responsible fire safety
YouTube video by Michael Bird Shaffer
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Ever wonder where the term 'Forest Health' originated?
It is a euphemism offered by foresters in the 1990's to describe “The control and suppression of natural processes to facilitate the orderly extraction of timber commodities.”
It’s about logging, not healthy forests. youtu.be/Zr2SZJAasJA?...
It is a euphemism offered by foresters in the 1990's to describe “The control and suppression of natural processes to facilitate the orderly extraction of timber commodities.”
It’s about logging, not healthy forests. youtu.be/Zr2SZJAasJA?...
Only two months after I finished reading it, a book review of robgmacfarlane.bsky.social ‘s Is a River Alive?
open.substack.com/pub/dwnstrm/...
open.substack.com/pub/dwnstrm/...
Is a River Alive?
Book review: Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Only two months after I finished reading it, a book review of robgmacfarlane.bsky.social ‘s Is a River Alive?
open.substack.com/pub/dwnstrm/...
open.substack.com/pub/dwnstrm/...
I left the tech industry for the same reason I entered it - to work on something I believed in.
substack.com/@dwnstrm/not...
substack.com/@dwnstrm/not...
Scott ཀattoon 🧢 (@dwnstrm)
This NYT Opinion inspired my own reply https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/opinion/silicon-valley-meta-apple-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
The outline of Zamost’s ex...
substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:39 PM
I left the tech industry for the same reason I entered it - to work on something I believed in.
substack.com/@dwnstrm/not...
substack.com/@dwnstrm/not...
Gutting the Clean Water Act defies reason. Giving polluters a free pass & jeopardizing our water, health, & environment for a handful to profit even more is an injustice. Tell your representatives to vote NO on this attack on #CleanWater #ProtectOurWater share.sierraclub.org/s/aQ3wo38x
Take action
share.sierraclub.org
November 11, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Gutting the Clean Water Act defies reason. Giving polluters a free pass & jeopardizing our water, health, & environment for a handful to profit even more is an injustice. Tell your representatives to vote NO on this attack on #CleanWater #ProtectOurWater share.sierraclub.org/s/aQ3wo38x
I can’t remember the last time solar panels spilled into a river.
King coal!
King coal!
A Union Pacific derailment in Plumas County spilled about 1,400 tons of coal into the Middle Fork Feather River. State law bans coal in waters; cleanup continues.
Union Pacific coal spill in Feather River, Plumas County
A Union Pacific derailment in Plumas County spilled about 1,400 tons of coal into the Middle Fork Feather River. State law bans coal in waters; cleanup continues.
bit.ly
October 31, 2025 at 2:09 AM
I can’t remember the last time solar panels spilled into a river.
King coal!
King coal!
Researchers are using AI to help understand sperm whale communications.
Lawyers think the discoveries could galvanize the world to recognize whales’ legal rights—and advance the global rights of nature movement.
Lawyers think the discoveries could galvanize the world to recognize whales’ legal rights—and advance the global rights of nature movement.
Researchers are using AI to understand whale communications. The findings could put animals’ voices at the heart of legal battles to protect them.
October 31, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Tune in at 10am Pacific to hear a first person First Peoples' account on the undamming of the Klamath
www.kalw.org/show/your-ca...
#cawater
www.kalw.org/show/your-ca...
#cawater
Amy Cordalis on her family's fight to save the Klamath River
In 2024, the removal of four dams on the Klamath River marked a historic victory for an Indigenous-led movement, achieving the largest river restoration project in history.
www.kalw.org
October 27, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Tune in at 10am Pacific to hear a first person First Peoples' account on the undamming of the Klamath
www.kalw.org/show/your-ca...
#cawater
www.kalw.org/show/your-ca...
#cawater
It's almost as if the salmon want to find their ancestral waters.
kobi5.com/news/salmon-...
kobi5.com/news/salmon-...
Salmon repopulation raising concerns says Klamath Drainage District - KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2
KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. – As Chinook salmon continue to make progress in the Klamath Basin following dam removal, a local organization is calling for fish screens to protect both family farms and fish. T...
kobi5.com
October 26, 2025 at 4:49 AM
It's almost as if the salmon want to find their ancestral waters.
kobi5.com/news/salmon-...
kobi5.com/news/salmon-...
A measure of hubris and contempt for water as commons: How much subsidence is tolerated for the benefit of ultra-wealthy ag interest? sjvwater.org/boswell-dema...
Boswell demands correction: Only plans to sink Corcoran six feet, other areas 10 feet – SJV Water
A wide-ranging letter from J.G. Boswell Company Vice President Jeof Wyrick accuses SJV Water of misrepresenting the farming giant’s plan to deal with
sjvwater.org
October 24, 2025 at 8:31 PM
A measure of hubris and contempt for water as commons: How much subsidence is tolerated for the benefit of ultra-wealthy ag interest? sjvwater.org/boswell-dema...
Today’s feature on Oligarchs IdeaExchange: Giant monument to eternal suffering and fire in SF Bay. Cost: $450B
www.sacbee.com/opinion/arti...
www.sacbee.com/opinion/arti...
Crypto bro wants giant Prometheus in SF Bay — as if California needed more fire | Opinion
There’s some great irony in building an ode to the mythical fire-bringer, in a state that is annually destroyed by wildfires, writes Robin Epley.
www.sacbee.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Today’s feature on Oligarchs IdeaExchange: Giant monument to eternal suffering and fire in SF Bay. Cost: $450B
www.sacbee.com/opinion/arti...
www.sacbee.com/opinion/arti...