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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color="#000099" face=Arial><span
style='font-size:11.5pt;font-family:Arial;color:#000099;font-weight:bold'>Delta
smelt meltdown indicates other problems<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
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<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="mailto:metro@modbee.com?subject=Delta%20smelt%20meltdown%20indicates%20other%20problems"><font
size=1 color="#000099"><span style='font-size:7.5pt;color:#000099;text-decoration:
none'><br>
</span></font></a></span></font><i><font size=1><span style='font-size:7.5pt;
font-style:italic'>Last Updated: February 14, 2005, 04:05:23 AM PST</span></font></i><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>The government has been
tracking fish populations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for 38 years, and
never have the findings been as bleak and disturbing as they are now. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>The population of the delta smelt, a
particularly sensitive fish because of its one-year life cycle, is at historic
lows. Striped bass, shad and other species aren't far behind. If these new
population surveys are confirmed by ones now under way, it will take some deft
management by state and federal agencies to avoid the kind of full-blown water
crisis that plagued the delta more than a decade ago. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>The dinky and unlovable smelt don't elicit
the same emotional attachment or interest as the runs of majestic salmon or
silvery stripers that pulse in and out of the delta. But the smelt serve as the
proverbial canaries in a coal mine. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Smelt must reproduce or perish every
single year. Due to their legal status under state and federal laws as a
threatened species, this little fish has a big impact on the management of the
delta. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>And anything that affects the management
of the delta has effects felt 'round the state. The delta is the water supply
for two-thirds of the state's population and also is one of the hemisphere's
most important (and altered) estuaries. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Unusually wet or dry years can trigger big
drops in fish populations. But the past few years have been just about average.
So what's happening now — a widespread multispecies die-off with no
historic explanation — is new and worrisome. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Who or what is the culprit? <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>There are many suspects, from an
increasing number of non-native predators to invasive plants to changes in
pesticides finding their way into the delta. None can be ruled out, and neither
can the massive state and federal pumps that carry millions of gallons of water
south. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>In such a dynamic system, several reasons
are more likely than just one. Until more is known, the correct political
response is to use extreme caution. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Metropolitan Water District and other
water exporters have been aggressively pushing officials to increase the rate
of delta pumping, particularly in the summer. A more flexible pumping regime
may prove helpful, even though that might not produce more water for exporters.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold'>But the delta is as complex and fragile as
it is important. If new and better science and changing environmental
conditions are to guide water policies, this is a time to pause and figure out
what is really happening, not a time to add any new stresses to it.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="http://www.modbee.com/opinion/story/9954863p-10796080c.html">http://www.modbee.com/opinion/story/9954863p-10796080c.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
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<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><em><i><font color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, </span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Consultant, Californiua Trout, Inc.</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
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color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
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<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 ph</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810 ce</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></u></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a><u>
</u></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>(secondary)</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org">http://www.fotr.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a href="http://caltrout.org">http://caltrout.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
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