There’s a lot to be nervous about in today’s world. Here’s another: President Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom are talking about the future of the environmentally threatened San Francisco Bay-Delta.

On Feb. 5, they met at the White House to discuss fire relief and water issues. Neither party revealed what water issues were discussed or if an agreement was reached.

The public and the people who depend on the health of the magnificent Bay-Delta ecosystem, have a right to know the details of these private talks. And they have cause to be concerned.

There are recent signs of an emerging alignment between Trump and Newsom on weakening Bay-Delta protections. Newsom wants to build a massive Delta tunnel — a mind-boggling 36 feet in diameter — to pump more water south from the Sacramento River. Trump wants to eliminate all Bay-Delta environmental protections that limit water diversions. If you put these two ideas together — the biggest water tunnel in the world and no environmental protections — the result would be an economic, ecological and human disaster.

Since his inauguration, Trump has repeatedly threatened to withhold federal disaster aid for Southern California fire victims. He has demanded a waiver of environmental protections for the Bay-Delta, claiming that it would allow delivery of more water for Southern California fire response. But as the media has reported, Delta protection had nothing to do with Southern California’s fire response.

The federal Central Valley Project does not deliver water to Southern California. And at the time of the fires, Southern California’s major reservoirs were full — holding more water than ever in history. The real purpose of Trump’s hostage-taking is to leverage the diversion of more water for politically influential Central Valley agribusiness interests.

Trump’s push conveniently dovetails with Newsom’s agenda: On Jan. 31, the governor issued an executive order modeled on two new executive orders signed by Trump. The president’s orders direct federal agencies to overturn federal and state protections for the Bay-Delta to squeeze more water from this collapsing ecosystem. Newsom similarly ordered state agencies to give him a list of protections that he will consider “suspending.”

It would be a major change from California’s legal approach to Trump water policies during his first term. Five years ago, California’s attorney general pushed back against federal rollbacks of environmental protections. But Newsom has a history of undermining protections for the Bay-Delta — and failing to stand up to Trump to protect the environment.

The Bay-Delta is the largest estuary on the West Coast. Excessive water diversions are already causing harmful algae blooms that can sicken children and kill pets in Delta communities such as Stockton. The Bay-Delta is now a global hot spot for fish extinction, with two salmon runs, two sturgeon species, steelhead and more at risk of vanishing forever.

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The collapse of the Bay-Delta’s salmon runs — largely because of Trump’s water policies in his first term and Newsom’s policies — has resulted in a ban on salmon fishing in California for the past two years. We don’t know yet if that ban will continue in 2025 — at a cost of some 20,000 jobs for fishing families and coastal communities.

With so much at stake, there should be no backroom deals. Transparency in government decision-making is essential to a healthy democracy. At a time when the federal government is making reckless and dangerous water management decisions, the public has a right to know where these discussions between Trump and Newsom are headed and what that means for the health of the Delta and San Francisco Bay.

And salmon fishermen, the environmental community, Delta communities and tribes, all of whom the governor has refused to meet with for six years, have the right to know if our futures are being sold down the river.

Scott Artis is executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association. Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla is executive director of Restore the Delta.