Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
June 24, 2008
1. Top Items -
A quest for clues creates a rift
Native Americans pay a price for the search for knowledge
Delta's aquatic junkyards polluting waters
The Contra Costa Times- 6/23/08
McCain gambling on offshore drilling: He thinks the nation's high gas prices will trump concerns about protecting the environment, especially in key
The
Resetting Earth's thermostat: In the race to respond to climate change, it's time to invest in an alternative solution — geo-engineering.
The
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A quest for clues creates a rift
Native Americans pay a price for the search for knowledge
By Jennifer MacDonald
The hike to the archeological dig site is long, dusty and steep.
Scaling down the embankment on this winter afternoon, we see a dozen archeologists hard at work hundreds of feet below, digging at what was once a thriving Native American village. The site is usually under the water of
Anthropologists and archaeologists use shovels to sculpt deep but perfectly rectangular holes. Then they screen the dirt looking for artifacts. Arrowheads and stone tools lie just below the ground’s surface. The items they find are placed in plastic bags, tagged and shipped away.
Digs like this one are part of the federal relicensing process for the Oroville Dam, a key component in the state’s water system.
The digs have caused a rift between the Konkow Maidu—Native Americans who live in the Oroville area—and the government agencies in charge of the excavations that have uncovered artifacts, some dating back 5,000 years.
Many Maidu say they feel violated by the digging and collection of their ancestors’ bones and belongings. They are resentful the artifacts and even human remains end up in the possession of government agencies and universities. And they say they want the sites left alone for spiritual reasons.
But under state and federal law, the Department of Water Resources must assess the “cultural impact” of the dam. That means locating and taking inventory of thousands of Native American village sites as well as ceremonial and burial grounds.
The artifacts tell a story about the indigenous societies that thrived for thousands of years without pollution, paved streets or poverty, societies that existed without drug abuse, jails or guns.
Discovering the story of the Maidu and their ancestors could offer insight into a way of life that was connected to the natural world.
But for many Maidu alive today, the search for answers has gone too far.
Art Angle is a tall, stout 67-year-old Konkow Maidu man who speaks with dignity and authority, but likes to joke around, too. Angle’s gray and black hair is just long enough to slick back. This day, he was dressed in cowboy boots and Wrangler jeans, and a pack of Pall Malls was visible through his shirt pocket.
“They’ve dug us up, they’ve examined us, they’ve turned us inside out,” Angle said. “They’ve run us through carbon dating, DNA … whatever they can do to figure out what we looked like, what we ate, and how we survived all these years without European influence.”
Angle, who grew up in
And Angle led the fight to locate and bury the brain of Ishi, the name given the man who was believed to be the last surviving member of the Yahi tribe after he emerged near Oroville in 1911. The story of the recovery of Ishi’s brain from the Smithsonian—vividly documented by Orin Starn in his 2004 book Ishi’s Brain: In Search of America’s Last “Wild” Indian—may be one of the most well-known and wrenching stories of repatriation.
Today, Angle is among the many Maidu who view the excavation of their ancestors’ bones and belongings as a new form of discrimination against a people that has already suffered too much.
“They’re not going out and killing us like they did before,” Angle said. “But on the other hand, when we say, ‘No digging,’ the funds seem to come available for them to continue digging.”
The fight to stop the digging has persisted since the archeological digs began in 2004, with the start of the federal relicensing process for the Oroville Dam and its facilities. More than 1,000 sites have been located within the 40,000-acre project area. At least 600 additional sites are expected to be surveyed in coming years, making the project area one of the richest in site locations in the state, said Janis Offermann, cultural resources manager for DWR.
“We knew there’d be sites with a lot of artifacts,” Offermann said, “but the sheer number of sites was a surprise.”
Dig sites include villages as well as burial and sacred grounds. Under the Native American Graves and Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), if crews uncover human remains, the digging must stop and the tribes must be notified.
The federal law also requires that all human remains and items associated with burial or sacred ceremonies in the possession of the government or private collections be returned to tribes. No human remains have been returned to tribes in Oroville, although 138 bodies were dug up in the early 1960s. The repatriation process is under way for those remains, however.
But artifacts like arrowheads and stone tools found within the state-owned project area become the property of the state, Offermann said. The artifacts are shipped to
This infuriates Maidu leaders such as Gary Archuleta, chairman of the Mooretown Rancheria that operates Feather Falls Casino in Oroville. Artifacts should be returned to the tribes, Archuleta said, “not just carted off in a box to end up sitting somewhere.
We can give them a proper ceremony and bury them.” DWR officials say they are willing to build a warehouse in Oroville to house the artifacts and manage it jointly with the tribes.
Rick Ramirez, program manager for the relicensing project of the Oroville facilities, has witnessed first-hand how relationships have changed between DWR and Native American communities.
He has worked for DWR for more than 30 years and says the state entity is trying hard to restore relations with the Maidu—relations that have been tarnished over the years.
“We’ve learned that being good neighbors is good policy,” Ramirez said. “The tribes aren’t going away—that’s their historical area. And the state government isn’t going away. So it’s a good idea for us to sit down and see eye to eye.”
The state has an interest in meeting the mandates of the law; Oroville Dam is the single most important component of the State Water Project that provides water to 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.
The dam, standing at the foot of the Sierra Nevada range, towers 770 feet high and is the tallest dam in the
DWR’s 1957 license to operate Oroville Dam expired last year. Now, the dam is operating on a temporary annual license. DWR wants to relicense the dam for another 50 years. By law, the agency must assess the impact on sites within a quarter-mile radius of the project area.
Artifacts are dated to determine trading boundaries and how long Native peoples engaged in various subsistence activities, Offermann said. When the dam was built in the 1960s, there were no government regulations on cultural items. Today, the cultural preservation and inventory of the area is one of the largest components of the relicensing project.
In the early 1960s, archeology teams wanted to salvage artifacts before the valley was flooded by
The dig was termed a “salvage dig” because it was done in a hurry, and some items were lost in the process.
The research teams took bones and artifacts to
“When we bury our people, we expect that they are going to heaven,” Seek said. “Why should they be dug up again to find out how old they are? How can people manage to think that’s right? Why don’t they think about how we feel?”
Now that archeological projects are under way a second time around, many Maidu are saying enough’s enough. “We have been firm and standing unified that we don’t want any more digging,” said Angle, adding that the Maidu want control of the sites.
DWR can’t give control to the Maidu because the sites are on state property, Offermann says. And DWR is legally bound to figure out which sites need protection. Sites deemed culturally or historically significant are placed on the National Register of Historic Places or the California State Register of Historic Places.
“We’ve got legal obligations to specify what we found out there,” Ramirez said. “In order to answer questions if it should be on the list of historic places, we have to provide data. If we can’t analyze the site, that becomes a little bit harder.”
To the Maidu, every dig is painful.
“The long history of how Native American people have been treated in
“It’s complete disrespect.”
But today—after almost 200 years of conquest and cultural destruction—it’s increasingly clear that much can be learned from Native American culture. The costs of environmental degradation have helped prompt an interest in societies that valued their connections to nature and had no concept of profit.
Richard Burrill, author of the historical novel
“If we can learn their old ways, we’re going to gain a better sense of place and our purpose as human beings in
Back along the shores of
Each handcrafted arrowhead and stone tool dropped into a plastic bag and tagged serves as a reminder of how far our lives have become disconnected from the dirt and the trees and the wind.
For some Maidu and the scientists, discovering the world of the hunter-gatherer tribes is really a search for identity.
Lawana Watson, 44, belongs to the Enterprise Rancheria. She grew up in Oroville but didn’t connect with her culture until about 15 years ago. Since learning how her ancestors lived, Watson feels her life has a purpose.
“Identity is most important,” Watson said. “It makes me think about what I can do to better my kids’ and grandkids’ lives, how to use our environment to teach our kids our culture.”
One local Maidu man actually takes part in the archeological digs. Wayne Nine, a member of the Konkow Valley Band of Maidu, says he feels a connection to the objects unearthed.
“The artifacts we find have stories to be told,” Nine said. “I feel that some artifacts come to me in dreams. Finding artifacts is a part of who I am, too, not just my ancestors.”
Archeologists studying the arrowheads, stone tools and animal bone fragments piece together lives from the past to answer questions about human nature.
“I want to understand why humans work the way we do, what motivates us, what drives us,” said Michael Delacorte, an anthropology professor at Sacramento State and principal archeologist for the Oroville Dam relicensing project.
But some Maidu argue they already know the history of their people, which has been passed down in stories through generations. And some tribe members think questions of human behavior should be answered by analyzing bones from other communities.
“They’ve been studying Native Americans for hundreds of years,” said Michael DeSpain, who is in charge of repatriation efforts for Greenville Rancheria. “Let them go pick on another race now.”
The cultural assessment of Oroville Dam will continue for years, Offermann said. Whether the divide between tribes and the government will continue is a question that has no clear answer.
“Our hope is that we’re able to continue a dialogue with them,” Ramirez said, “because even though we’re going to get our license, and it may not be a license that contains things they wanted to see, a continued discussion might allow us to find things that do work for them.”
DWR officials say their relationship with Maidu tribes has grown closer. Monthly meetings of the Maidu Advisory Council, a group that consists of members of different tribes in Oroville and DWR officials, allow them to voice concerns.
Still, some Maidu don’t feel like their voices are heard.
“We voiced our opinion on a lot of those issues and one of those issues was, ‘Don’t go digging,’ “ Angle said. “Did it work?
No. They’re still digging.”
Considering the 50 years of the new license, the Maidu worry not only about the impact on their cultural sites, but the effect of the dam on the environment. The dam has drastically changed the ecological makeup of the
Regardless of whether the digs are fair to the Maidu, they are likely to continue for years to come. The resurrection of the artifacts will continue to be a reminder of a civilization where the earth was respected.
“If they don’t correct the mistakes they made, they’re going to hurt the human race,” Angle said. “You can’t keep taking, because there’s going to be nothing left to take.” #
http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=681618
Delta's aquatic junkyards polluting waters
The Contra Costa Times- 6/23/08
By Matthias Gafni
It would have been a perfect location to anchor a Delta houseboat. A stunning view of Bradford and King Edward islands, with a private fishing hole and solitude.
However, by the time sheriff's deputies found the 40-foot vessel with no working engines, it was sinking. Lead-based batteries and butane tanks littered the premises. There was no working toilet.
"It's filthy with feces and old food," Contra Costa sheriff's Sgt. Doug Powell said.
After the sheriff's marine patrol unit earlier this year contacted the elderly owner, an alcoholic with no money except for Supplemental Security Income, he floated the houseboat out of
"Now we're stuck with it," Powell says.
Welcome to "Waterworld," the patrol unit's unfortunate nickname for Fisherman's Cut, due to its large number of marine squatters. The sheriff's office has removed more than 300 derelict recreational vessels from the county's waterways since 1987, according to a recent Contra Costa County Grand Jury report.
No agencies have started to tackle the growing number of abandoned commercial vessels, mostly due to a lack of funding, the report says. To rid the county and its 200 miles of waterways of all the abandoned commercial vessels and debris would cost millions of dollars, Powell said.
"I don't have a solution at this time," the sergeant said. "We're looking at a time where the sheriff's budget has been slashed and the state has its fiscal problems. Where would the money would come from? I don't know."
The county skirts by on a limited state grant that only permits the sheriff's office to remove recreational vehicles. So, sunken barges, tug boats, ditched minesweepers and cranes, decrepit pilings and other maritime ghosts have littered the county's waterways from
"If we had the means to remove commercial vessels we would. We want the waterway to be clean. It's our drinking water and habitat for fish and wildlife," Powell said.
Besides creating an "eyesore and navigation hazard," these vessels create an unknown environmental impact, said Sejal Choksi, San Francisco Baykeeper program director.
"Abandoned boats and abandoned pilings cause pretty significant environmental and public safety issues," Choksi said. "Boats have lead batteries, appliances left, lead paint and fuel. All these things in small amounts may not have a huge impact, but if you look at the number of abandoned boats in the Delta and Bay, it can have a cumulative impact."
The state recognizes Contra Costa, particularly the sheriff's office, as one of the busiest vessel removers in
"Contra Costa is very diligent. They do come to the table every year and they do spend their money," said Denise Peterson, state Department of Boating and Waterways law enforcement manager. This year, the sheriff's office will receive $93,000, including a 10 percent matching amount from the county from the state's limited Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund. Only $500,000 is available to agencies statewide.
Since fiscal year 2002-03, the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office has spent more state grant money than any agency in
A portion of recreational boat registration fees goes toward the abatement fund, which limits its scope to only derelict pleasure craft removal or hazards that directly affect boat navigation.
Powell and his office helped pass legislation in 1997 creating the abatement fund. In 2005, his office helped to get the county to pass a local ordinance restricting damaged boats from anchoring in Contra Costa waters without a permanent dock and proper sanitation. Violators can be fined and have their vessel confiscated.
The number of abandoned boats has dropped since the ordinance began, Powell said. Neighboring counties are copying the legislation to prevent these marine squatters from anchoring in their jurisdiction, he said.
Assembly Bill 1950, currently in committee, would create a vessel turn-in program, allowing boaters to surrender vessels to agencies free of charge.
Removing an abandoned recreational vessel from the water costs about $180 per foot. So pulling out a 40-foot houseboat would cost at least $7,200.
To combat the problem, the grand jury recommended the county look for other funding sources, including nonprofits, and agencies to assist in vessel removal.
It also suggests creating a telephone tip line to report abandoned vessels and a program similar to the state's "Adopt-a-Highway" effort.#
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9676385?nclick_check=1
McCain gambling on offshore drilling: He thinks the nation's high gas prices will trump concerns about protecting the environment, especially in key
The
By Cathleen Decker and Michael Finnegan, Staff Writers
With visits here and elsewhere, Republicans Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger used their environmental credentials to win the governor's office. George Bush the elder announced his support for a delay in oil drilling leases en route to victory in November 1988, when he became the last Republican to win the state in a presidential contest.
John McCain returned to
His newfound support for allowing states to decide whether to drill offshore, announced last week in
Diana Cuttrell of
"It's not going to solve the problem," she said of McCain's proposal to lift the federal moratorium on sea drilling. "It's a Band-Aid, basically. It's just pretty idiotic."
In a visit to
"I envision they would be somewhat further offshore but that would be, again, a decision by the people of this state," said McCain, who has said his views changed because of the impact gas prices are having on everyday Americans and concerns about the nation's dependence on foreign powers.
McCain plans to take part in an environmental panel here today with Schwarzenegger, who spent much of his gubernatorial runs touting hydrogen-based cars. Schwarzenegger, who endorses McCain, forcefully brushed aside the unofficial GOP presidential nominee's position last week.
"We made a decision a while back to say no drilling off our shores in
"McCain is essentially conceding what would have been an uphill fight in
To a large degree, the nation's environmental leanings were sealed in January 1969, when an oil line blowout thrust 3 million gallons of syrupy crude into the Pacific. More than 10,000 birds died, too covered with muck to fly. Sea grasses were smothered. The sludge was so thick it stilled the ocean's waves.
Out of the disaster, the largest of its kind until the Exxon Valdez marred
"It's not an issue here, it's a deeply held value," said consultant Don Sipple, who worked for
Los Angeles Times polls show that, in
A Gallup Poll released last week said that 57% of Americans approved drilling offshore and in wilderness areas. The results were highly partisan: Republicans backed drilling by an 80% to 18% margin, while Democrats opposed it, 59% to 39%.
Independents, a target of both McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, approved of drilling by a 56% to 43% margin.
It is the last group whose reactions to McCain's switch will be key. In
"The wings have been where they have always been," he said, referring to emphatic Democrats and Republicans. "I'm
persuaded that the center of the country has moved on this."
In the past, the debate pitted environmentalists against the oil companies -- hardly a fair fight, even in the best of times. But with gas prices spiking, Mahoney said, the mood has changed.
"People are appreciating the feeling of scarcity and the fact of scarcity," he said.
McCain's argument to independents will be that he feels the economic plight of voters and is willing to take steps necessary to lower gas prices -- even if his own advisors have acknowledged that offshore drilling would have only a minimal and distant impact.
"What McCain is trying to do, maybe not so much in California but in the other states, is to appeal to moderate voters that he understands their pain," said Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California and a longtime opinion pollster. "He's trying to create the perception that maybe Obama is not so concerned about the financial circumstances right now of average people."
In
"What we are seeing is just a shameless amount of opportunism from Mr. McCain on this," he said. "I am somebody who had a lot of respect for him before he ran for president. He is pounding on this because of how much people are hurting."
Voters' views, meanwhile, were mixed even among Republicans. Dollie Speights, a Republican real estate investor, said McCain's change was "a good thing."
"The technology they have now is so amazing that they leave very little footprint."
But another Republican, Pat Bishop, called McCain's stance a mistake. "I don't want any more of those ugly derricks out there," she said.#
Resetting Earth's thermostat: In the race to respond to climate change, it's time to invest in an alternative solution — geo-engineering.
The
By Samuel Thernstrom
Two facts about climate change have become increasingly clear: New efforts to constrain global greenhouse gas emissions are likely within the next few years -- and their effect on the climate will be modest at best. Rapidly rising emissions in the developing world will swamp whatever reductions the
What will happen? We may hope that the effects will be modest, but there is real risk that they will be very serious, at least for the most vulnerable nations. Some scientists warn of the possibility of abrupt climate change, with unpredictable but conceivably catastrophic consequences. Most troubling, by the time there are unmistakable signs of disaster, even a crash course of emissions reductions will be too late.
Policymakers have only considered two responses to climate change: cutting emissions, and adaptation -- that is, learning to live with a warmer planet. There is, however, a third possible strategy, one that could be fast, effective and affordable -- but that is being ignored. This idea is commonly known as geo-engineering.
The Earth is warmed by two forces: solar radiation, which enters the atmosphere, and the greenhouse gases that trap it there. There are two ways to cool the planet: reduce greenhouse gases or reduce the amount of solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface. Or both. If we cannot do enough of the first, we must consider whether the second option -- geo-engineering -- is feasible.
In fact, geo-engineering could be surprisingly simple. Scientists noted that the 1991 eruption of
A growing number of leading scientists and environmental economists take the idea of geo-engineering very seriously. The National Academy of Sciences, NASA and the Department of Energy have concluded that geo-engineering could be, in the words of the
The question for policymakers is not whether to deploy a geo-engineering system immediately or to make it the primary focus of climate policy. Rather, it is whether to make a serious investment in the research and development needed to accurately evaluate its risks and rewards. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has declined to pursue such research, although it would cost only a small fraction of the $3 billion the federal government spends annually on developing new technologies to reduce emissions.
Why the reluctance to study this idea? Fear. Fear that geo-engineering would not work, and fear that it would.
There are two concerns about geo-engineering. One is the risk of unintended consequences. Scientists note that sulfur particles could cause stratospheric ozone depletion, although the evidence from Pinatubo suggests that this effect would be modest.
Others fear possible disruption of regional climates, such as the Asian monsoon. Most scientists studying geo-engineering believe that these side effects are not likely to be nearly as dangerous as uncontrolled warming, but much more research is needed.
Fear that geo-engineering might work, however, is the reason some people reject, or are reluctant to even openly discuss, this idea. Critics worry that geo-engineering could be used as an excuse to continue unchecked emissions forever. Within the last two years, three high-level conferences have explored geo-engineering; each was held behind closed doors. One premier university was too frightened to even do that. There have been calls for boycotts of the research or, failing that, strict international regulations.
This concern is badly misplaced. Geo-engineering is a remarkable idea with tremendous potential, but it is neither a permanent nor a perfect solution to warming. There are risks to and, more important, limitations on what it can do. Even among its most enthusiastic advocates, no one calls for a policy of "geo-engineering forever, emissions reductions never." Geo-engineering would be a complement to, rather than a substitute for, a long-term program to transition to a zero-emissions economy.
What geo-engineering could do is buy us time to make that transition while protecting us from the worst potential effects of warming. It may be possible to find ways to phase out fossil fuels or capture their greenhouse gases -- but it will take a very long time. Tom Wigley of the
The sooner we begin to study this idea seriously, the more we will know when decisions about deployment have to be made.
The idea of "engineering" the climate may strike people as horrifying or absurd; in fact, we are changing the global climate now -- in a massive, unintentional and uncontrolled experiment. There is no other public policy problem of comparable importance for which the potential harm is so large and the proposed solutions are so clearly inadequate -- while a potentially effective, affordable and practical approach to the issue is being ignored.
Samuel Thernstrom is co-director of an American Enterprise Institute project to study the policy implications of geo-engineering.#
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-oe-thernstrom23-2008jun23,0,4091065.story
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