A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
December 7, 2007
3. Watersheds
Compromise is urged on river restoration bill -
INVASIVE SPECIES:
Pesky snail discovered in San Lorenzo River - Santa Cruz Sentinel
DELTA SMELT:
State tries to save smelt; A million-dollar plan will try to create a refuge for the endangered Delta smelt - Tracy Press
Compromise is urged on river restoration bill
By Michael Doyle, staff writer
Lawmakers and irrigation district officials are meeting today to discuss the legislation, which would return water and salmon to the river below Friant Dam. The
Water districts represented by the Friant Water Users Authority want legislation passed and the river restored to settle a 1988 lawsuit filed by environmentalists. Farmers lost the lawsuit and fear that without a compromise settlement, a federal judge would give fish more river water.
"We're having ongoing discussions, and I think those discussions have been productive," said Ron Jacobsma, general manager of the authority, which represents 22 water districts serving the San Joaquin Valley's east side. "We're feeling optimistic."
Nonetheless, the bill that backers once optimistically hoped could be finished by Dec. 31, 2006, remains shackled by politics growing more complex by the day.
Supporters and opponents alike have run
"Would it not be better to do a compromise solution now, and defer the decision about a salmon fishery until we have proof that salmon will survive the warm water of the
Even the original House author of the river bill, Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, is joining other lawmakers in denouncing a leading proposal to pay for the river restoration.
"It's no longer just Nunes out there by himself," said Rep. Devin Nunes, a Visalia Republican who has consistently criticized the river bill.
Nunes represents the east side farmland served by Friant water. He has long denounced the river restoration plan that's expected to divert about 19% of the region's irrigation water.
Republican activist and campaign consultant Tal Cloud joined the fray in mid-November by financing the first of what has become a series of ads opposing the river bill. Cloud said he paid for the first ad himself because he was angry.
Cloud subsequently allied himself with a Madera County-based group called Families Protecting the Valley, formed by farmer Dennis Prosperi several years ago. Cloud said the group has raised "between $60,000 and $75,000" and spent about $25,000 on ads.
The Deer Creek and Tule River Authority -- which represents Friant water districts in southern
The competing ads set the stage for today's 9 a.m. meeting at
"We want to reduce the controversy," said Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, adding that "I'm going to listen" to what farmers say.
Costa is now the chief author of the House river bill, having seized it from Radanovich. One of his biggest challenges is paying for at least some of the $500 billion bill.
Radanovich says he still supports the legislation. In a new twist, though, Radanovich has joined his sometime-rival Nunes in saying they would "absolutely oppose" proposals to use a nuclear waste cleanup fund for the
Congressional Democrats are eyeing a decontamination and decommissioning fund relied upon by uranium enrichment plants.
"It would be outrageous for this environmental cleanup money to be redirected to totally unrelated projects," Nunes, Radanovich and other House members declare in a letter being sent to House leaders next week.
Jacobsma said "additional work is anticipated" as the Friant water districts and their congressional champions figure out funding options. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/251429.html
INVASIVE SPECIES:
Pesky snail discovered in San Lorenzo River
By Kurtis Alexander, staff writer
City officials announced this week that the
"When you add the mud snail to all the other impacts these fish have to deal with, you're talking about possible extinction," said Chris Berry, water resources manager for
Local officials became aware of the snail's presence in the river last week when out-of-town researchers reported seeing the snail just north of Highway 1, along the river off Ocean Street Extension.
How long the mud snails have lived there is unknown.
But city and county officials say now that they're aware of the snail, limiting its impact is a top priority.
"It's important to contain the snail so it doesn't spread to other waterways in our area," said Kristen Kittleson, fishery resources planner for the county.
The snail gets around primarily by attaching itself to humans, officials say, and the best way to stop it from spreading is to inform those who spend time in and around the water they may be carriers.
City and county officials hope to launch a campaign to get fishermen to wash their gear after casting in the San Lorenzo, but they have yet to get a buy-in from the state Department of Fish and Game, which oversees efforts to control pests in
The steelhead fishing season began here Saturday, but low water levels have kept the number of anglers to a minimum.
The aquatic mud snail is native to
At many of the state's infested sites, Fish and Game officials have worked to bring the snail's presence to the attention of the public, posting signs along rivers and fliers at boat and tackle shops.
State officials concede that little research has been done on the snail's long-term impacts on steelhead and coho. But given the snail's rapid advancement, officials are worried.
"There hasn't been any evidence of waterways where they've devastated a fishery," said
The mud snail reproduces asexually, and one snail can produce dozens of embryos. The mollusk faces little threat in
Native fish populations in the
Coho salmon, which is federally listed as endangered, vanished about 20 years ago from the
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?sid=51338&storySection=Top+Stories
DELTA SMELT:
State tries to save smelt; A million-dollar plan will try to create a refuge for the endangered Delta smelt
Tracy Press – 12/6/07
The State Water Resources Control Board endorsed a $1.2 million plan this week that would create a refuge for the endangered Delta smelt, the tiny fish that scientists say serves as an indicator of the estuary’s overall health.
The water board’s action is in response to the sharp decline in population of the smelt and other similar fish that are native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The board’s staff reported at Tuesday’s meeting in
The water board, at its Tuesday meeting, pledged $600,000 to the California Department of Fish and Game, which operates the Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory near Byron. The Department of Water Resources has also pledged $640,000.
The Department of Fish and Game will use the money to expand the lab, which is the home of about 1,000 wild-born smelt.
Because the fish are on the brink of extinction and legal limits dictate how many of the smelt can be removed from their natural habitat, the state will not be allowed to catch any more fish to start a refuge.
The $1.2 million the state has put up for the refuge is expected to keep the project going through the end of 2008. #
http://tracypress.com/content/view/12567/2242/
####
No comments:
Post a Comment