[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 5/11/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

May 11, 2007

 

3. Watersheds

 

TUOLUMNE RIVER REGIONAL PARK:

Tuolumne River park gets funding promise - Modesto Bee

 

FISH STOCKING PROGRAMS:

Judge rules stocking program needs to be checked - Riverside Press Enterprise

 

 

TUOLUMNE RIVER REGIONAL PARK:

Tuolumne River park gets funding promise

Modesto Bee – 5/11/07

By Adam Ashton, staff writer

 

Political promises keep flowing to the Tuolumne River Regional Park.

 

Assemblyman Kevin DeLeon, D-Los Angeles, on Thursday pledged to help steer money to the developing 550-acre park.

"To bring this park to fruition is amazing," said DeLeon, the Assembly's assistant majority leader.

 

He visited the park's "Gateway Parcel" near downtown Modesto at the request of Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto. They're working to designate funds for the $22 million project through state propositions and other sources.

 

A month ago, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California took the same tour and pledged to push for $2 million in federal funds for the park.

 

Though the park has been decades in the making, riparian restoration near the Ninth Street Bridge just began.

 

"When they first started thinking about this, I said, 'Man, that's a big vision,'" Berryhill told DeLeon. "To see everything start to take place, it's a pretty neat deal."

 

The park is being built by Ceres, Modesto and Stanislaus County. So far, it has collected about $4.8 million through state grants, Modesto and Stanislaus County. #

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/13573630p-14174248c.html

 

 

FISH STOCKING PROGRAMS:

Judge rules stocking program needs to be checked

Riverside Press Enterprise – 5/10/07

By Jennifer Bowles, staff writer

 

A Superior Court judge ruled that the California Department of Fish and Game must analyze what happens to native fish and frogs, some of which are already in low numbers, when the state stocks streams with hatchery raised trout.

 

The judge said there is "substantial evidence" supporting the argument by environmental groups that the stocking program has significant impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

 

Steve Martarano, an agency spokesman, said Thursday the department had set in motion the review before the lawsuit was filed last year.

 

He said the judge is allowing the stocking program to continue while the study is being conducted.

 

Noah Greenwald, with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs, said the trout compete for food and space with native species, and they can also prey on them.

 

In a review he conducted of the agency's documents, Greenwald found that trout were stocked in 47 water bodies where 36 imperiled fish and amphibians live.

 

In the Inland region, they include the Santa Ana River and Strawberry Creek, a tributary of the San Jacinto River. #

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_C_fish11.3f2c96a.html

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