Delta Aquatic Resource Inventory

DARI is the Delta Aquatic Resources Inventory of surface waters, wetlands and other aquatic resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta). The goal of the DARI project is to develop a geospatial inventory of aquatic resources that will be used as a common base map for the Delta. A similar mapping approach used to create the California Aquatic Resource Inventory (CARI) will be applied to provide a map of the aquatic resources and their associated attributes. The final map will be incorporated into CARI and made publicly available through EcoAtlas and similar platforms.

Why is DARI needed?

DARI will provide a standard regional approach to wetland classification and mapping to support wetland restoration planning, tracking, and reporting. It will facilitate implementation of the California Wetland and Riparian Areas Monitoring Plan (WRAMP) in the Delta.

How will DARI be developed?

The procedures to develop DARI included evaluating existing data and using geo-rectified imagery, remote sensing data, and other necessary data to develop a comprehensive map of the Delta. The DARI procedures and wetland classification system developed previously for a pilot study will be updated to guide this project and map those areas of the Delta not yet inventoried. You can learn more about how DARI was developed by reading the DARI Standards and Methods document. Since a goal of this project is to encourage ongoing stewardship, users can submit new or revised data using the CARI Editor Tool and incorporating these new data to update the DARI base map in the future.

When and what are the benefits of DARI?

Once completed in 2022, the common base map for the Delta will provide several benefits, including:

• Establish a baseline of existing aquatic resources in the Delta
• Inform prioritization of management actions and evaluate the effectiveness of projects
• Increase the ability to assess and track the amount and quality of wetlands in the Delta to support compliance monitoring and assessment of wetlands projects
• Increase the capacity for assessing regional and statewide net change in the abundance, diversity, and condition of wetlands as affected by land use
• Facilitate wetland monitoring in the Delta region to assess the status and trends in its wetland ecosystems
• Encourage ongoing stewardship and updating of DARI with protocols and online tools

Bay-Habitat Mapping Workgroup Members

• Cody Aichele-Rothman, BCDC
• Stephanie Baker, DWR
• Elaine Blok, USFWS
• Dylan Chapple, DSC Delta Science Program
• Mark Chin, SWRCB
• ​Kaylee Griffith, DSC
• Shruti Khanna, CDFW
• Otome Lindsey, DWR
• Ron Melcer, Delta Stewardship Council
• Tara Morin, Conserosolutions
• Bill Orme, Public
• Carol Ostergren, USGS
• Jane Schafer-Kramer, DWR
• Sandra Scoggin, SFBJV
• Tim Smith, DWR
• Hildie Spautz, CDFW
• Rachel Wiggington, SSJDC

Academic Internship Mappers

• Esther Adelstein - San Francisco State University
• Rosa Albanese - San Francisco State University
• Michael Breidert - San Francisco State University
• Khaled Bouchama - San Francisco State University
• Jaron Kaplan - CivicSpark Fellow
• Aiden Sullivan - San Francisco State University