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<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><SPAN class=281553317-19042004>Another
excellent and constructive commentary by Chairman Marshall of the Hoopa Valley
Tribe.</SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">W<SPAN class=281553317-19042004>a</SPAN>ll Street
Journal</SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><o:p><SPAN class=281553317-19042004>April 19,
2004</SPAN></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"><o:p><SPAN class=281553317-19042004>Program:
Ecosystem Restoration</SPAN></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Headline:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>LETTER:</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">The Great Central Valley Water
Battle<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Your March 17 story about the renewal of water contracts
in California's Central Valley ("Is Water Too Cheap?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As Contract Renewals Loom
Environmentalists, Environmentalists, Tax Group Call for Farmers to Pay More")
illuminated some interesting aspects about the cost of "cheap water" in our
state.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But it completely overlooked
one of those costs. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">As chairman of Northern California's Hoopa Valley Tribe,
I have watched my tribe and the Trinity River, which bisects our reservation,
pay dearly for the water that has been taken from us and sent to irrigation and
hydropower users. This water theft has been going on for 40 years<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">despite the assurances of Congress in the 1950s that
enough water would be left to keep our water quality healthy and our fishery
productive. Now the fish are dying, threatening our livelihood, and causing
economic devastation in Pacific Coast communities from Coos Bay, Ore., to San
Francisco Bay.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt signed an
agreement in 2000 with our tribe for enough water to restore the Trinity River.
In that agreement we gave 53% of the Trinity River's flow to the Central Valley,
but that was not enough to satisfy the thirst for subsidized water. The
Westlands Water District promptly sued to block fishery restoration. We have
been fighting them<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">in court for four years, while watching the river and
fish suffer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">The federal commitment to the Trinity fishery has waned
under the Bush administration's stewardship. A year and a half ago, a federal
court concluded that the Department of the Interior had breached its trust
responsibility to our tribe for neglecting the fishery.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Nonetheless, the administration's agenda
to renew subsidized Central Valley water contracts remains on a fast track,
because, it asserts, to do otherwise would drive agribusiness giants out of
business. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Congress and President Bush should keep faith with the
federal government's promise to our people and the Trinity River. They should
tell Westlands that no Central Valley water contracts will be signed until there
is enough water to rehabilitate the Trinity River.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
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style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Hoopa Valley Tribe<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Hoopa,
Calif.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080>Byron Leydecker</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080>Chairman, Friends of Trinity
River</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080>Consultant, California Trout,
Inc,</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080>PO Box 2327</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080>Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080>415 383 4810 ph</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080>415 519 4810 cell</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT color=#808080>415 383 9562 fx</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><A href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><FONT
color=#0000ff>bwl3@comcast.net</FONT></A></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><A href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><FONT
color=#0000ff>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</FONT></A><FONT color=#0000ff>
(secondary)</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><A href="http://www.fotr.org/"><FONT
color=#0000ff>http://www.fotr.org</FONT></A></EM></DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.caltrout.org/"><EM>http://www.caltrout.org</EM></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000></FONT> </DIV>
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