A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 22, 2007
3. Watersheds
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Bypass fish has farmer in hot water - Vacaville Reporter
DELTA ISSUES:
Editorial: Let's save the Delta now - Stockton Record
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Bypass fish has farmer in hot water
By Mike Taugher, Contra Costa Times staff writer
In an apparent conflict of interest, a former high-ranking Bush administration official helped remove a fish from the list of threatened and endangered species in a decision that eased an economic threat to her farm near
Julie MacDonald resigned April 30 as deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Interior, a month after the department's office of inspector general issued a scathing report that accused her of altering scientific reports in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered species programs and improperly leaking internal reports to industry groups and friends.
The report said nothing about MacDonald's participation in the decision to remove the
But documents show she edited the decision on the fish, at one point softening scientists' conclusion that the species "is likely" experiencing a population decline to say it "may be" in such a decline.
The
Documents show MacDonald was deeply involved in crafting the language used to justify that decision.
The decision to withdraw the protective status of the fish was first made in the Fish and Wildlife Service's
But her participation in the decision making at any stage of the process may have violated conflict of interest rules because MacDonald owns an 80-acre farm in the Yolo Bypass, a floodplain of wetlands, pastures and row crops north of the Delta that is key habitat for the fish.
In almost all circumstances, federal law prohibits federal employees from participating in decisions in which they have a personal interest.
MacDonald did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment to her
In response to Times inquiries, the Department of Interior issued a written statement.
"To our knowledge, senior departmental officials were unaware of these issues," the statement read. "The Department of the Interior Inspector General investigated former Deputy Assistant Secretary MacDonald's role in administering the Endangered Species Act and issued a report. We rely upon the Inspector General's investigation and counsel. If it turns out that former Deputy Assistant Secretary MacDonald acted inappropriately regarding the
The splittail is more dependent on floodplains than any other fish in the Delta. And the Yolo Bypass is the last big floodplain in the
That's why landowners in the bypass have been concerned about the splittail's status: A mandate to boost the splittail's population could lead to more flooding in the bypass, which could inundate crops and equipment. Farmers also worry that measures to enhance splittail populations could force them to install costly fish screens at water intakes and submit to stricter regulations on their use of pesticides.
"In the Sacramento drainage, the most important spawning areas appear to be the Yolo and Sutter bypasses, which are extensively flooded during wet years," according to a 2004 white paper on splittail biology.
According to financial disclosure reports, MacDonald's farm is worth more than $1 million, and she receives $100,000 to $1 million a year in income from it.
On Monday, Rep. George Miller, D-Solano, and Rep. Nick Rahall, D-West Virginia, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, wrote to Interior Secretary Kempthorne requesting a full accounting of MacDonald's role in the Sacramento Splittail decision, an explanation of her apparent conflict of interest, and a thorough review of the science underlying the decision to remove the Sacramento Splittail from the threatened species list.
"It looks like another Bush Administration official was protecting her own bottom line instead of protecting the public interest," said Miller. "This news raises serious questions about the integrity of the Interior Department and its policy decisions. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has enough problems without political appointees at scientific agencies cooking the books."
"At the very least, this certainly has the appearance of a conflict of interest," said Mary Boyles, spokeswoman for Common Cause in
"The government ethics rules clearly state that you're not supposed to participate" in decisions that affect you personally, Boyles said. "We need enforcement of these rules that are on the books."
In addition to influencing the agency's decision on the splittail, MacDonald has come under fire for meddling with scientific reports on other endangered species, including the
The March 23 inspector general's report concluded that MacDonald, an engineer with no background in biology, "has been heavily involved with editing, commenting on, and reshaping the Endangered Species Program's scientific reports from the field."
The wildlife agency's deputy director, Marshall Jones, described MacDonald to the inspector general's investigator as a Bush administration "attack dog."
Though the report found no evidence of a crime, it said she broke rules against granting preferential treatment and distributing internal agency information.
The report said MacDonald:
• Released an internal draft of regulations on designating critical habitat for endangered species to the Pacific Legal Foundation, a Sacramento-based law firm that regularly sues to weaken endangered species rules.
• Asked subordinates to gather internal information about Delta smelt that was requested by a California Farm Bureau lobbyist and then passed that information to the lobbyist.
• Forwarded to a California Farm Bureau attorney an e-mail she had sent to the
• E-mailed large internal files from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including one on plans for water quality regulations, to e-mail accounts ending in chevrontexaco.com.
• Sent an internal document on Delta smelt to a friend she met during online role-playing games, through the e-mail address of the friend's father.
The report noted that the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Dale Hall, said MacDonald was particularly interested in endangered species issues in her home state of
Before MacDonald went to work in
Several of the other participants were contacted for this story, but none could recall much, if anything, about her involvement.
But the strategy document, completed in 2001, reflects a number of concerns that landowners in the bypass had regarding ecosystem restoration projects to benefit fish, including splittail.
The fish is also of deep concern to water users elsewhere in the state because it could add a new layer of complexity to the increasingly difficult task of maintaining the state's water supply for farms and cities, and protecting its ecosystems.
That is because splittail's dependence on floodplains is unique in the Delta, and that opens up a new set of potential impacts on water supply.
Splittail are large minnows that can grow to more than 12 inches long and live five to seven years. Their populations tend to drop substantially during long droughts and rebound dramatically in response to wet weather.
There is an honest disagreement among scientists about whether the fish belongs on the list of protected species, with some arguing that splittail are well-suited to bounce back from depressed population numbers and others contending the population is on a worrisome downward trend.
In response to concerns that splittail were in decline, the wildlife service added it to the list of threatened species in 1999.
When the court ordered the listing decision redone, it set off a highly unusual series of reports in which biologists in the wildlife service's
But none of those reports was sent to
Then, in January 2003, the head of the
Shortly thereafter,
"I thought it was clear we weren't going to be able to list it. In the face of uncertainty, you err on the side of the species," said Douglas, who now works in the agency's
Thompson, the head of the
"Certainly, Julie MacDonald called me on a regular basis, and I'm sure she talked to me about it," Thompson said.
On Sept. 15, 2003, eight days before the decision to take splittail off the threatened species list was made final, the Washington office faxed to Sacramento six marked-up pages of the new rule with the cover page notation, "re: Julie MacD's latest comments/edits."
In it, MacDonald made numerous changes and comments, most of which appear to have been aimed at softening the language of the rule. In addition to changing the conclusion that splittail "are likely" declining to "may be" declining, she wrote that, "At this point, none of the threats individually or collectively rise to a level of concern that warrants listing."
That sentence does not appear in the final report. #
http://www.thereporter.com/news/ci_5957826
DELTA ISSUES:
Editorial: Let's save the Delta now
The members of a board of directors in downtown
They would let the earthquake hit, then make repairs. Why fix the situation ahead of time?
Even if this made economic sense, members of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California should keep such thinking to themselves until they find support from those more familiar with the Delta.
These board members recently voted to stockpile repair materials and wait.
Of course, they're in no direct danger down there. Let somebody else deal with the initial impact is their cavalier attitude.
"It's not as elegant as our other strategy," said Roger Patterson, Metropolitan's assistant general manager, sounding as disconnected as his district's attitude.
Here's the only sensible strategy: property owners, officials of reclamation and water districts and state and federal officials should cooperate and coordinate a comprehensive modernization and restoration plan. Before it's too late. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070522/A_OPINION01/705220302/-1/A_OPINION06
####
No comments:
Post a Comment