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<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>April 23, 2004</FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Media Contacts: </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Clifford Lyle
Marshall
(530) 625-4211 (Chairman)</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Mike
Orcutt
(530) 625-4267 ext. 13 </FONT><BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Tod
Bedrosian
(916) 421-5121</FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE LEADERSHIP URGES SENATORS
FEINSTEIN AND BOXER TO </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>RESOLVE TRINITY RIVER
LITIGATION</FONT> </P><BR>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sacramento, CA</FONT> <FONT face=Arial size=2>-
California Senate leaders have sent a plea to Senators </FONT><BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer asking that they resolve
the litigation blocking </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>the restoration of
the Trinity River before CalFed is completed. Senate
</FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>President John Burton, Agriculture and Water
Committee Chair Michael Machado, and </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Budget
and Fiscal Review Committee Chair Wesley Chesbro signed the letter
</FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>noting, “This long and expensive litigation
has diminished the human and </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>financial
resources needed to restore the Trinity River’s fishery.” Restoration of
</FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>the river, which bisects the Hoopa Valley
Reservation in Humboldt County, has </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>been
blocked since 2000 because Westlands Water District and the Northern
</FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>California Power Agency (NCPA) have sued to
stop a restoration plan by the tribe and </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>the
U.S. Department of Interior. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>“This is one of the last wild and scenic rivers we
have in California,” said </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chesbro, who
represents Humboldt County. “I felt compelled to assist the
</FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hoopa Valley Tribe and other North Coast
communities in making this request to </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Senators Feinstein and Boxer because the fate of the river is at a
critical </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>juncture now. The Central Valley
agricultural interests that have drained this </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>river for 40 years are vigorously pushing through CalFed and obtain new
water </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>contracts. I am urging a resolution of
the Trinity River litigation as a preface </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>to
any federal water deals.” </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>The letter asks that the federal promise to the Hoopa
Valley Tribe and </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Trinity basin communities be
kept for enough water to sustain a fishery in the </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>river. “This promise has not been kept and for the past 40 years up to 90
percent </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>of the Trinity River’s flow at
Lewiston (Dam) has been diverted to the Central </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Valley. In 2002, an estimated 34,000 fish, mostly endangered
species salmon, </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>died in the Klamath River
before they could migrate to the Trinity River to </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>spawn,” notes the letter. In 2000, Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt
signed a </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Record of Decision to begin
restoration of the river after 20 years of study </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>and negotiations with the tribe. Westlands, NCPA and the Sacramento
Municipal </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Utility District (SMUD) immediately
filed a lawsuit to prevent the restoration </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>of
the river. SMUD and NCPA members Palo Alto, Alameda and Port of Oakland
</FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>have since voted to withdraw from the
litigation for environmental reasons. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>“We are very grateful to State Senators Burton,
Machado and Chesbro for their </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>leadership
support of the Trinity River,” said Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman
</FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Clifford Lyle Marshall. He added,
“Agricultural water contracts are important, </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>but these state senators are saying that the Trinity River cannot be
neglected </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>as a resource for the people of
California.” In fact, Calfed will more than </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>make up for the modest amount of water required for Trinity
restoration. “The </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>CalFed process
is an historic opportunity to begin the restoration of the </FONT><BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Trinity River. I hope the Senate will honor the
Nation’s promises to us and </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>bring
this litigation to an end so we can begin to heal the Trinity River,” said
</FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Marshall. </FONT></P>
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