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<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=4 color=black
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;
font-weight:bold'>No simple answer seen for drastic decline of delta fish;
Federal hearing explores ways to address the problem<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=4 color=black
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;
font-weight:bold'>San Francisco Chronicle – 2/28/06<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><font size=4 color=black
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;
font-weight:bold'>By Gen Martin, staff writer</span></font></b><font size=4
color=black><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><strong><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></strong></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on"><strong><b><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black;font-weight:normal'>Stockton</span></font></b></strong></st1:City></st1:place><font
size=4 color=black><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'> -- The sudden
collapse of several fish species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is
likely a result of factors including water exports, pesticides, non-native
species and even poisonous algae, government scientists testified Monday at a
hearing of the House of Representatives Resources Committee. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>The hearing,
held at the Rough and Ready Naval Reservation in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Stockton</st1:City></st1:place>, follows last year's revelations
that many of the delta's most important fish species, including the delta
smelt, have all but disappeared. Debate over how to address the problem has
pitted environmentalists and academic scientists against agribusiness and
public water agencies. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>A group of
commercial and recreational fishing advocates picketed Monday's meeting,
holding signs calling for reduced water exports from the delta to cities and
farms in the southern half of the state. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"It's an
economic as well as an environmental catastrophe," said <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">Gary Adams</st1:PersonName>, the state president of the California
Striped Bass Association. "Since 1995, businesses related to delta fishing
have lost $4 billion -- boat dealers, marinas, restaurants, tackle shops --
everybody." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Some
congressional members who attended the hearing favored further study of the
problem, while others urged shelving pending plans to increase water exports to
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">South</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"I
understand it's a complex issue, but we can't just say it's complex and then
keep demanding more studies while we continue to pump more and more
water," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Rep. Richard
Pombo, R-Tracy, who chairs the committee and ran Monday's hearing, acknowledged
that some delta fish species "are at an all-time low, but no one can
responsibly say why. The easy way out is to finger-point to some policy or
infrastructure hated by some groups. Throwing money at the cause of the month
will not get us anywhere, either." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Pombo said he
was concerned that 15 years of effort, which involved changing pumping
schedules and spending millions of dollars on fish screens and other measures,
had resulted in no net gain for the fish. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"None of
it has worked, and we need to know why," Pombo said. "Whatever we
decide to do will have a big impact on the delta, but it will also have a big
economic impact on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>."
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Water from
the delta irrigates hundreds of thousands of acres of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
farmland and slakes the thirst of more than 20 million Californians. But
environmentalists and many academic scientists maintain that the population
crash of four key delta fish during the past few years -- delta smelt, longfin
smelt, threadfin shad and striped bass -- is demonstrably linked to reduced
freshwater flows through the delta and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>The four
species suffer, water export policy critics say, because restricted flows
diminish the delta's biological productivity and because the giant pumps near <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Tracy</st1:City></st1:place>, which move the
water south, grind up many fish. But agency scientists said the issue is more
complicated than that. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"This is
a tough problem, and there is no simple answer or smoking gun," said Chuck
Armor, the California Department of Fish and Game's <st1:place w:st="on">Central
Valley</st1:place> bay-delta branch operations manager. "More likely,
there are multiple causes, and they may vary from species to species." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Miller took
to task David Harlow, the assistant field supervisor for the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place> office of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, for not directly addressing the impacts of water exports on
the threatened fish. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Referring to
a plan to conjoin the operation of the state and federal pumps at <st1:City
w:st="on">Tracy</st1:City> to send more water south, Miller asked <st1:place
w:st="on">Harlow</st1:place> why Fish and Wildlife didn't oppose the measure. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>"You
describe this as a very complex problem, but you wouldn't introduce more Asian
clams, would you?" Miller asked. "You wouldn't introduce more
herbicides, would you? But apparently, there is a move on the part of some
agencies to increase water exports from the delta." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=4
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Harlow</span></font></st1:place><font
size=4 color=black><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'> said he had been
advised by his agency's legal counsel to avoid discussing the matter because
the water export plan is under litigation.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=4 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Policy threatens to eclipse science on
Delta, Miller says<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Contra Costa Times – 2/28/06<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Mike Taugher, staff writer</span></font></b><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>STOCKTON</span></font></st1:City><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> - During the first congressional hearing
into what might be causing the ecosystem crisis in the Delta, Rep. George
Miller said Monday that water agency officials are committed to sending water
to <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType>
and <st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place> even it comes at the
expense of the Delta's health.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Miller, D-Martinez, said he doubts whether advice
coming from scientists will be heeded if they conclude that pumping water out
of the Delta is the main cause of the declining ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Water pumping is considered one of the three leading
suspects causing the Delta's problems, along with invasive species, especially
an Asian clam that grows thick in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Suisun</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, and toxic substances
like pesticides. Cutting back on water deliveries could be the logical
recommendation if the Delta's woes are directly tied to the levels of pumping.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"You wouldn't introduce more clams at this point,
would you? You wouldn't add more pesticides, would you?" Miller asked a
panel of state and federal scientists.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>That question underscored the most highly charged
potential fallout of the Delta's problems -- that water deliveries to users in
other parts of the state might be part of the reason for the ecological crisis.
Reversing the problem could affect irrigation water for 7 million acres of
farmland and drinking water for more than 22 million people.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Miller, said that although Monday's hearing was
focused on the science underlying the problems, policy decisions should also be
examined.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"We can keep talking about the best available
science, but when you have the best available science ... it's not being
followed," Miller said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>He cited two examples last year when scientists
recommended temporary curtailments of water deliveries to protect Delta smelt.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>In both instances, which the Contra Costa Times
disclosed in July, water agency managers overrode the scientists' advice and
maintained higher-than-recommended pumping levels, even though at the time they
knew that populations of Delta smelt and other fish were plummeting to alarming
depths.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"The battle cry here is sound science. You get
sound science, and then you have policy people making decisions to overrule
it," Miller said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The field hearing of the House Resources Committee was
convened by committee chairman Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, nine months after
it became public that several Delta fish species were at least three years into
a steep and inexplicable decline.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>That decline, which appears to be indicative of
deepening ecological problems in the Delta, continued to worsen last year. Even
though two of the four fish species' populations rebounded, those improvements
were not as big as expected given good snow and rainfall conditions last year,
scientists said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Meanwhile, Delta smelt, the most imperiled Delta fish
species, went from a record low population to a much lower figure last fall.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"The one thing we learned in 2005 is there is no
simple answer or smoking gun for this. This is a tough problem," said
Chuck Armor of the California Department of Fish and Game.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Pombo said Monday's hearing was the first in what will
be several on the Delta's troubles. The next hearing will probably focus on its
fragile levees, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Pombo said he wanted to avoid politics during Monday's
hearing and delay discussion about what needs to be done so that the focus
could be on what scientists know about the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The panel included seven state and federal scientists
who reviewed the scope and possible causes of the crisis: Last year, scientists
realized that several of the Delta's open-water fish species, including Delta
smelt, young striped bass, threadfin shad and longfin smelt, began a sudden and
sharp decline in about 2002.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The sweeping nature of the decline within the
open-water ecosystem and the fact that it could not be explained by weather
patterns or any other identifiable cause alarmed scientists.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>They quickly identified pumps, toxics and invasive
species as possible culprits, and after a $1.7 million research effort last
year came up with two more detailed theories that might explain at least some
of the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>The first theory involves invasive clams in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Suisun</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
that are eating plankton that would otherwise be food for small fish. The
second theory asserts that higher pumping rates during the winter, which were
instituted to make up for slowdowns meant to protect fish in the spring, appear
to be killing more fish than expected.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>But scientists said they do not know when the cause
will be identified.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>"Unfortunately, they are not as far along on the
science as I had hoped in terms of conclusions and policy
recommendations," Pombo said. "To make any kind of major policy
change would be premature."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Five members of Congress, including Pombo and Miller,
attended the hearing.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Atwater, Rep. Grace Napolitano,
D-Norwalk, and Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, asked scientists to consider
other possible explanations besides pumping rates, which they suggested could
include global climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Napolitano asked if fertilizers could be causing the
problem and Cardoza wondered.</span></font><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>Go fish</span></font></b><font size=4
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>; </span></font><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:
bold'>Hearing uncovers few answers to declining Delta populations</span></font></b><b><font
size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:
bold'><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><b><font size=4
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:
bold'>Stockton</span></font></b></st1:City></st1:place><b><font size=4
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>
Record – 2/28/06<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>By Warren Lutz, staff writer<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=4
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>STOCKTON</span></font></st1:City></st1:place><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> - A team of state and federal scientists
struggled Monday to explain to federal lawmakers why several fish species are
dying in the Delta.<br>
<br>
"We still have a lot of questions we need to answer over the next couple
of years," Department of Water Resources scientist Ted Sommer told five
House Resources Committee members who met at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Port</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Stockton</st1:PlaceName></st1:place>.<br>
<br>
Some lawmakers - and some attendees - had their own suspicions.<br>
<br>
Species of threadfin chad, striped bass, longfin smelt and Delta smelt are at
or near historic lows in the 1,000-mile estuary, prompting scientists earlier
this year to study possible causes.<br>
<br>
Their research so far has yielded three primary reasons or a combination of
them: exports of Delta water to <st1:place w:st="on">Southern California</st1:place>,
pollution and invasive species that gobble native fish's food supply. They just
don't know which problem is the biggest culprit.<br>
<br>
With nearly $2million spent on their quest last year, some lawmakers voiced
frustration at not having solid answers.<br>
<br>
"After all this time being under the microscope, you'd think we'd know
more than we do," said Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk.<br>
<br>
About 23 million Californians drink Delta water, sent south from large pumps
near <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Tracy</st1:City></st1:place> to
communities and farms. Napolitano's district lies in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>,
which she said gets one-third of the Delta's water.<br>
<br>
"We benefit from everything you do up here," she said.<br>
<br>
Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, hammered the scientists with questions over
those same exports.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Miller wanted to know why state and federal officials are planning to
send even more water south as fish populations continue to crash.<br>
<br>
"We can keep talking (about) sound science, ... but it's not
followed," said Miller, a vocal environmentalist in Congress who last
summer persuaded Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, to hold the fish-crash hearings.<br>
<br>
Pombo chairs the Resources Committee and also represents part of the Delta
region. He said in September that he planned to hold the hearings in <st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State> instead of a typical <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1:place> hearing. The Resources Committee
oversees much of the nation's environmental policy, including various wildlife
agencies.<br>
<br>
The scientists who testified Monday - representing the state Department of
Water Resources, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and state and federal wildlife
agencies - reminded the legislators that they do research, not policy-making.<br>
<br>
When important findings emerge, California Fish and Game Bay-Delta manager
Chuck Armor said, "it will be made available as soon as it can make it up
to our directors and out. ... They make the call on what to do with it."<br>
<br>
Pombo advised committee members to stick to the issues. "I did not want
this hearing to become another round of finger-pointing," he said.<br>
<br>
Some at Monday's event pointed fingers anyway.<br>
<br>
A dozen anglers stood outside the hearing, protesting water exports. Some were
members of groups that sued the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Bureau
of Reclamation last year, claiming state and federal water operations were
killing fish.<br>
<br>
Mike McKenzie, vice chairman of the Bay-Delta chapter of the Federation of Fly
Fishers, noted the scientists who testified worked for the same agencies that
manage the water-export pumps.<br>
<br>
"What we saw," McKenzie said, "was a bunch of government
biologists constrained by the real-life politics of the issue." </span></font><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<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><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'>Advisor, California 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
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<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 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></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="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a></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><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>http:www.caltrout.org</span></font></u><font
color=lime><span style='color:lime'> </span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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