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<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;letter-spacing:-.65pt;font-weight:
bold'>SAN JOAQUIN</span></font></b></st1:place><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;letter-spacing:-.65pt;font-weight:
bold'> RIVER RESTORATION:<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'>River restoration plan advances; Judge
grants additional time to finalize a plan to put water back into San Joaquin
River<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'>Fresno</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'>
Bee – 6/20/06<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 E.J. Schultz and Mark Grossi</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;letter-spacing:-.65pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>SACRAMENTO — Farmers and environmentalists say they are close to
a historic agreement to put water back into the San Joaquin River, but they
need more time to define the state's role in the restoration plan.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>"We've really nailed down the details among the parties about what
a settlement should look like," Barry Nelson, a senior analyst with the
national Natural Resources Defense Council, said in an interview Monday.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>He made the comments after lawyers on both sides told a federal judge
that they needed until the end of the month to get buy-in from the state.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The goal is to bring back water — and fish — into a river
that has been slowed to a trickle since Friant Dam was built in the 1940s.
Farmers are seeking a deal that doesn't destroy the Valley's farm-based
economy.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>"We're confident that what we negotiated has the support of the
Friant community," Dan Dooley, a negotiator for Friant Water Users
Authority, a quasi-governmental entity that represents east Valley farmers,
told U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Karlton, who has threatened to schedule a trial if no progress is made,
agreed to let lawyers submit a written report by the end of June. By then,
lawyers said, they expect to have the state issues resolved.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>"I am obviously significantly encouraged by everything you
say," Karlton told the lawyers.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Attorneys remained mum on specific points of the agreement. The general
public might not know the details of the deal until August. That is because
lawyers are expected to hold confidential briefings with interested parties
through much of the summer before finalizing an agreement.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The dealings are being watched closely throughout <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> as the outcome could leave a
lasting imprint on water policy along the 350-mile river, the state's
second-longest stream. <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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Environmentalists have held the upper hand in the case for many years.
The lawsuit took a decisive turn in 2004 when Karlton ruled that the federal
government violated the law more than a half-century ago when it destroyed two
salmon runs.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The decision weighs heavily on east <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
farmers, who have been irrigating with the river water for decades. They fear
they will lose water to restoration. <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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>The question now is how to restore the river, which runs dry in two
places as it makes its way from Friant Dam to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta. <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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Coming into Monday's hearing there was hope that a final deal might be
announced. <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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>But lawyers said there still is too much ground to cover with the
state. While the federal government had joined the negotiations, the state,
though briefed, has not been directly involved.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Nelson said it didn't make sense to bring the state into talks until
the farmers and environmentalists had their differences resolved. With the two
sides now in basic agreement, they have begun negotiating with the state over
how the plan will be implemented.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>For instance, state approvals will be needed to alter the stream bed or
to remove sediment, said Nancy Saracino, chief deputy director of the
Department of Water Resources. All told, restoration could take about 10 years,
she said.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>"The state will be actively involved in the long-term
implementation in any settlement that is reached," she said.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Work could begin "quite soon," said Saracino, noting that the
state budget now being negotiated includes about $10 million, over three years,
for restoration.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Total costs are expected to begin at around $100 million and could run
much higher. Financial help could come from a $5.4 billion natural resources
bond that recently qualified for November's ballot. The bond earmarks $100
million for restoration, though its passage is not a certainty.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Federal help also is expected because Friant is a U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation dam.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Another state issue involves levee work. Levees on the west side of <st1:City
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City>, <st1:City w:st="on">Madera</st1:City> and <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Merced</st1:City></st1:place> counties belong to
the state. The Lower San Joaquin Levee District maintains 191 miles of these
earthen walls, which prevent flooding in high-water years such as this one.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Before dams and levees, the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
historically spread across a broad floodplain, making farming a risky business.
The Chowchilla Bypass and its downstream cohort, the Eastside Bypass, are
channels that run east of and parallel to the river, keeping high flows inside
the levees.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Officials need to decide whether the levees will be moved or completely
taken out. They also will have to figure out where the river will run because
many miles of the old channel have not carried a river flow in more than four
decades.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Farmers on the Valley's west side are worried that a restored river
would flood their fields. Officials representing the farmers say they haven't
seen the settlement agreement yet.<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><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>"We cannot make any comments on it yet," said Steve
Chedester, executive director of the quasi-governmental entity San Joaquin
River Exchange Contractors Water Authority in Los Banos. <span
style='letter-spacing:-.65pt'><o:p></o:p></span></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;letter-spacing:-.65pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;letter-spacing:-.65pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=headline1><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Friant Dam talks yield little for settlement</span></font></b></span><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 – 6/20/06<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</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;letter-spacing:-.65pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><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'> - A decision expected Monday over a historic
settlement to restore the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
will have to wait at least two more weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'><br>
Despite settlement talks that took place all weekend, the parties involved in
an 18-year lawsuit to resuscitate the state's longest river told a <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place> court Monday
that they have not yet agreed on everything.<br>
<br>
Environmental groups are suing the federal government over Friant Dam, which
diverts 90 percent of upper <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType> water to farmers and towns near <st1:City
w:st="on">Fresno</st1:City> and points south - water that used to flow down the
San Joaquin and into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Francisco</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<br>
<br>
For the past half-century, the dam dried up large sections of the river,
killing off once-prodigious salmon and steelhead runs and creating low flows
that plagued Delta farmers with salty water.<br>
<br>
The judge hearing the case agreed Monday to give the parties one more chance to
settle.<br>
<br>
"The parties have made substantial progress and are optimistic that they
can resolve the few outstanding issues in the next two weeks," said <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">Hal Candee</st1:PersonName>, senior attorney for the National
Resources Defense Council, one of the parties in the suit.<br>
<br>
In 2004, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled Friant Dam had destroyed
salmon runs and created severe water pollution in the Delta by drying up the
river. The federal government, which operates the dam, has been negotiating
with the other parties in the lawsuit since.<br>
<br>
Earlier this year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter to the court
pledging his support to a proposed settlement. The parties have been discussing
the settlement since then with state agencies.<br>
<br>
The remaining issues involve "translating the governor's strong statements
of support into specific provisions for state participation in the
implementation of this settlement," Candee said.<br>
<br>
Details of the intensely private negotiation process have been kept
confidential.<br>
<br>
However, the NRDC and the Friant Dam Water Users Authority, a defendant in the
lawsuit, have suggested a settlement is close. The Friant authority has said it
already is considering other means of delivering water to its members.<br>
<br>
James Thompson, an attorney for the Friant group, said the parties have agreed
not to discuss the settlement process until it is over but said the parties
have reached an agreement in principle.<br>
<br>
"I think that sounds pretty good," he said.<br>
<br>
Previous reports have suggested it would take about 400,000 acre-feet of water
per year to restore the river below Friant. The dam holds 520,500 acre-feet of
water, roughly enough to grow 210,000 acres of tomatoes. <span
style='letter-spacing:-.65pt'><o:p></o:p></span></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;letter-spacing:-.65pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;letter-spacing:-.65pt'><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'>Judge gives more time to reach final <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> agreement<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'>San Jose</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'>
Mercury-News – 6/19/06<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 Samantha Young, Associated Press 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;letter-spacing:-.65pt'><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'>SACRAMENTO</span></font></st1:City><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> - A federal judge on Monday gave farmers
and environmentalists until the end of the month to reach an agreement that
seeks to restore year-round water flows to parts of the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType>,
negotiations aimed at bringing salmon runs back to one of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s most important waterways.<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'>Attorneys for both sides told U.S. District Court
Judge Lawrence Karlton that they have resolved key substantive issues to
reverse the negative effects of a dam built nearly 60 years ago.<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'>A final agreement remained elusive, however, as
attorneys continued to negotiate details with state officials. Those details
focused on how the state Department of Water Resources would implement the
final accord, they 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'>"Our hope and expectation is we'll be able to
close (discussions) off by the end of June," said Phil Atkins-Pattenson,
an attorney representing the Natural Resources Defense Council.<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'>Details of the tentative agreement remain confidential
under a court order.<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'>Attorneys representing <st1:place w:st="on">Central
Valley</st1:place> farmers, environmentalists and the federal Bureau of
Reclamation had negotiated through Monday morning in hopes of meeting a
court-ordered deadline for a final plan to release more water from Friant Dam,
which was built in 1949 and created a reservoir that is now a state recreation
area.<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 case dates to a 1988 lawsuit filed by the Natural
Resources Defense Council. The environmental group was seeking to restore
salmon runs after the dam choked the flow of water along the <st1:place w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:place>, leaving many downstream sections filled with tumbleweed.<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 expected agreement would set in motion the largest
river-restoration project in state history, ensuring the river would run year
round from below the dam to where it enters the delta near <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Stockton</st1:City></st1:place>.<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 <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place> is a
crucial link in the state's vast water-delivery network. It helps irrigate
Central Valley farm land and is part of the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Sacramento-San</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType>
delta, which supplies drinking water to more than 20 million Californians as
far south as <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:City></st1:place>.<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'>"What we're trying to do is get fish back to the
delta without sacrificing the country's most productive agricultural
economy," said Gregory Wilkinson, a partner with Best Best & Krieger
who is representing the Friant Water Users Authority, a group that represents
15,000 farmers.<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'>At a previous court hearing in April, the judge had
threatened to impose his own solution if the parties failed to reach an
agreement by a deadline he set for Monday. But as the deadline day arrived,
Karlton said he was "significantly encouraged" that an agreement
appeared close and ordered the attorneys to submit a written report by the end
of the month.<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'>"Last time we said we'd get this buttoned up by
today," the judge said. "Here we are getting closer." <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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