John Cain
Director of Conservation for California Flood Management

Department: Conservation

Area of Focus: John works to restore California's Rivers and the Delta of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers by reconnecting these systems to their floodplains.  John believes that reconnecting rivers and floodplains will enhance fisheries, cleanse water, and better protect people from floods.

Background: John joined American Rivers in 2009.  He previously served as the Director of Restoration Programs at the Natural Heritage Institute in San Francisco for 12 years where he specialized in ecological restoration and water resources management in California's Bay-Delta watershed.  He has advocated, analyzed, and planned tidal marsh and river restoration projects in the Delta and San Joaquin River resulting in the 1,200 acre Dutch Slough tidal marsh restoration project and key technical contributions to the historic San Joaquin River Settlement.   He served as a member of the Delta Vision stakeholder committee, and co-chair of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Habitat Technical Team.  He currently serves as the co-chair of both the BDCP Integration team and the Habitat Operations technical team.  He conducted graduate research on the hydrology and geomorphology of the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam and later consulted to both NRDC and the Friant Water Users Authority on restoration of the river.  He previously served as the staff scientist for the Mono Lake Committee where he participated in the Mono Lake water rights hearings and served on the committee overseeing restoration of Rush and Lee Vining Creeks. He holds a bachelors degree in physical geography and a masters degree in environmental planning from U.C. Berkeley.

Education: B.A. Physical Geography, UC Berkeley and M.L.A Environmental Planning, UC Berkeley

Favorite River: Sacramento River