The Delta Smelt, a tiny fish teetering on the edge of extinction, has suffered despite billions invested in wetland restoration projects.
Shocking new evidence uncovers that these supposed efforts were based on fraudulent permits and fabricated reports.
This deception not only jeopardizes a key species but also exposes serious flaws in California’s environmental governance, making it a critical issue for anyone concerned about ecological integrity and responsible stewardship of natural resources.
However, newly uncovered documents reveal that these restoration projects, purportedly designed to save the Delta Smelt—a cornerstone species on the brink of extinction—were nothing more than well-crafted reports and fraudulent permits.
At the heart of this alleged cover-up is Point Buckler Island, a small private tract that became a battleground for a decade-long legal war, exposing deeper cracks in California’s environmental governance.
Point Buckler Island: A $39 Million Levee Controversy
Point Buckler Island, 50 acres in the Suisun Marsh, was once just a small duck-hunting club. In 2014, owner John Sweeney repaired a dilapidated levee to protect the island from tidal flooding.
That repair triggered a legal onslaught from multiple agencies—including the California Water Board, BCDC, the EPA, and the DOJ—leading to proposed fines of nearly $39 million for alleged Clean Water Act violations.
What Sweeney discovered next suggests something more troubling than a standard regulatory dispute.
Official databases recorded Point Buckler as a “completed tidal restoration” project—yet he found no evidence of any actual habitat work on the island. If the Smelt is gone, how many other “restored” wetlands were similarly faked?
The EcoAtlas Scandal: 2,500 Acres of Phantom Habitat
Central to this controversy is EcoAtlas, an EPA-funded database overseen by the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) and Calfed.
In 2004, under scientist Stuart Siegel’s direction, projects like Point Buckler Island and Chipps Island—both privately owned by Sweeney—appeared on the map as finished restorations.
But in 2015, a cache of emails revealed a bombshell: these entries were pure fiction. Siegel had logged them using nonexistent Clean Water Act Section 401 and 404 permits, documents required to certify any legitimate restoration.
Shocked, Sweeney confronted SFEI with proof that his land had been included in EcoAtlas without his knowledge or consent. Under scrutiny, the institute confessed that more than 1,000 acres, including Point Buckler and Chipps, had no supporting records at all.
Who Stood to Benefit?
Labeling a wetland as “completed” opens the door to millions in grants, mitigation credits and other incentives—all of which hinge on proving genuine ecological progress.
