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<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><?xml:namespace
prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">RIVER
RESTORATION FUNDING:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Will
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">S.J.</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType> plan slow the restoration of <st1:place
w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place>?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Stockton</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"> Record –
8/4/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Alex
Breitler, staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman"
color=#053c63 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: #053c63; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The Hoopa
Valley tribe has lived for thousands of years along far Northern California's
tumbling Trinity River, only to see most of its water diverted east to farms in
the Central Valley.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A plan to
restore the mountain stream is in place. But the Hoopa now fear that a more
expensive project to resurrect 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> may slow down progress along the
Trinity.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The tribe
is fighting legislation that would authorize a settlement ending 18 years of
legal battles over 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>. The tribe fears money dedicated to
the Trinity will be siphoned away to the <st1:place w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:place>, a project that according to some estimates could cost $1
billion or more.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Conservationists
who brokered the settlement say the tribe's fears are groundless. Nevertheless,
Hoopa officials continue to criticize the <st1:place w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:place> plan.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"Maybe the
negotiators originally had the best of intentions, ... but they appear to have
lost their perspective" by focusing only on the San Joaquin and neglecting the
rest of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>, tribal spokesman Danny Jordan said
recently.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">At issue
is a restoration fund to which water and power contractors contribute each year.
The fund, usually about $40 million per year, is dedicated to projects lessening
the environmental impacts of diverting water.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The Hoopa
worry that the expensive <st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place> project
will drain this fund. While language in the settlement calls for up to $2
million a year from the fund, the actual legislation contains no such
cap.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Both
projects will need money in addition to what they get from the restoration fund,
said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken. Indeed, last year the
Trinity program's budget included $2 million from the restoration fund and $9.2
million from other sources.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"There's a
lot that's been done up there," McCracken said. "There are a lot of successes
and a lot more water coming down the river."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
Natural Resources Defense Council sued the government and farmers for diverting
too much water from the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType> near <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Fresno</st1:place></st1:City>, causing stretches
of the river to dry up some years.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Hal
Candee, an attorney with the San Francisco-based resources group, said there's
no conflict in restoring both streams.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We are a
strong supporter of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> restoration,
and we believe the Interior Department and Congress should do more to support
funding" for that cause, he said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">It has
been 11 months since farmers, conservationists and the government announced the
<st1:place w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:place> settlement. The legislation, which
must be passed to free up $250 million in federal funds, has been delayed
several times and may see no action until
September.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">But in the
meantime, planning continues, Candee said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"We're not
aware of any impact on the ground ... from the delays that have been
experienced," he said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=articlegraf style="MARGIN: 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A
spokesman for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said the senator remains hopeful that
the legislation can be passed later this year. #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="">http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070804/A_NEWS/708040323</A></SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
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style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
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