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<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">YOLO BYPASS:<?xml:namespace prefix
= o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Water district buys Yolo tract; The
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/><st1:place w:st="on">Central Valley</st1:place> giant says it wants to aid
fish habitat<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Sacramento</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Bee – 12/14/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H1>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By Matt Weiser, staff
writer</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">One of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s most powerful water agencies has
purchased a huge tract of land in the Yolo Bypass, saying it hopes to create a
nursery for imperiled fish and ease pressure on the state's water
system.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Westlands Water District irrigates more than 600,000
acres of farms in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and is almost entirely dependent on
water pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It is the world's largest
irrigation district, known for power politics as much as a billion-dollar annual
yield of grapes, nuts and cotton.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">But its fortunes are threatened by Delta pumping
restrictions that were driven by a rapid decline in several sensitive fish
species, particularly the Delta smelt, a native fingerling protected by the
federal Endangered Species Act. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">On Wednesday, Westlands closed escrow on a 3,450-acre
tract of farmland on the southern edge of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Yolo</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> alongside the <st1:City
w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City> Deep Water Ship Channel. The acreage lies in the
Yolo Bypass, a swath of land designed to flood in major
storms.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Research shows that fish colonize the bypass to feed on
insects and plants that bloom during floods. By causing more frequent flooding
and creating refuge areas within the bypass for fish to feed and rest,
biologists believe the bypass could boost the population of many native
species.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Government agencies have tried and failed to pull that
off, so Westlands decided to step in.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"The district purchased this property because it thinks
that if we're going to improve our water supply, it's necessary to recover the
species, and restoring the habitat is one of the things necessary to accomplish
that," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manager. "We are not dependent on
federal or state appropriations. So there will be a steady stream of revenue for
the restoration program."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Westlands bought the land for $12 million from longtime
Yolo Bypass farmer Duncan McCormack. He could not be reached for comment
Thursday.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Delta advocates greeted the deal with skepticism and
hope.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The skeptics point to Westlands' track record. In 2006,
it outbid a host of other parties to buy a fishing resort on the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">McCloud</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and 3,000 acres of surrounding land
considered sacred to the Winnemem Wintu tribe.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Birmingham</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:City><FONT
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> stated plainly that Westlands
bought the land to ensure it doesn't become an obstacle to raising Shasta
Dam.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Bill Jennings, director of the California Sportfishing
Protection Alliance, said of the latest Westlands news: "If, in fact, they are
doing this altruistically, it's appreciated. But in the face of this
catastrophic collapse of native species, it may be too little, too
late."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Numerous fish species continue to decline in the Delta.
The state's annual fall trawling surveys for Delta fish, still under way, show
falling numbers for a variety of species, including striped bass, threadfin
shad, longfin smelt and Delta smelt.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The fall chinook salmon run on the <st1:place
w:st="on">Sacramento River</st1:place> has been poor this year, despite
conditions that should have been favorable.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Thousands of Delta fish die each year when they are
sucked into state and federal water export pumps near <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Tracy</st1:City></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The pumps deliver water to more than 23 million
Californians and 2 million acres of farmland. Westlands is the second-largest
consumer.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">A federal judge ruled in August that the pumps don't do
enough to protect Delta smelt, particularly young fish that are too small to be
screened out at the pumps. A final ruling, expected early next week, may slash
Delta water exports by 30 percent.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Competition from invasive species and water
contamination are other culprits in the fish decline. Another is a shortage of
food and habitat, which is where Westlands hopes to
help.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The district plans to work with state and federal
wildlife agencies to restore its new property. This might involve removing some
levees on the land to open up more area to flooding and tides. <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City></st1:place> could not say
when the work would begin, but consultants will be hired soon to develop a
plan.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Some of the parcel will still be farmed, and the land
includes water rights. But <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City></st1:place> said he didn't know much about
that.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"Our interest in acquiring this property was the
potential for creating or restoring Delta smelt habitat," he said. "We have not
done a detailed analysis of water rights on the
property."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The Yolo Bypass and nearby Cache Slough have been eyed
for years as a restoration site.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">In 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a
North Delta National Wildlife Refuge that would have encompassed much of the
area, but Congress refused to authorize it amid opposition from some
landowners.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Officials are again looking at major habitat projects in
the area to address ecological problems. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City></st1:place> said Westlands hopes to jump-start
this effort.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"Of course we need to be skeptical, but if Westlands is
telling the truth that they bought it to do restoration and they want to help, I
applaud them," said John Cain, director of restoration programs at the Natural
Heritages Institute, which has designed habitat projects in the area. "It's
fantastic that Westlands is stepping forward to try and solve the problem that
they helped create." #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="">http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/567260.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Bay
Area water district buys 3,450 acres of Yolo
wetlands<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Woodland
Daily Democrat – 12/14/07<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Mike Taugher, Contra Costa Times staff writer</SPAN></FONT></B><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'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
nation's largest irrigation district, a consistent foe of environmentalists, has
taken the unusual step of buying a $12 million ranch in southern <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Yolo</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> to restore wetlands and other
habitat. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
3,450-acre Yolo Ranch is at the southern tip of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Yolo</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType>
ad is in the Yolo Bypass, an environmentally sensitive region that is flooded
occasionally by managers during high water on the <st1:place
w:st="on">Sacramento River</st1:place>. The area has been identified as a prime
area to restore wetlands and provide spawning and rearing habitat for Delta
smelt, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place> splittail and other fish.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
voluntary move by the Westlands Water District could be followed by similar
investments by the state's biggest water agencies to address the crumbling Delta
ecosystem, a top district official said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
rationale is simple: water deliveries to Westlands and other water districts are
increasingly threatened by the decline of the region's fish, especially Delta
smelt, which are protected under state and federal endangered species laws.
Restoring habitat for smelt to spawn and rear could increase the number of fish
in the Delta and decrease the pressure on Delta water users.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"There is
a crisis in the Delta and the crisis is affecting a number of interests," said
Tom Birmingham, Westlands' general manager. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"Our
intent in acquiring the property was to benefit Delta smelt . . . so the
constraints on the Central Valley Project, which is our primary source of water,
can be relaxed," <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City></st1:place> said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
announcement on Thursday surprised environmentalists who blame Westlands for
much of the Delta's decline. They contend that because the irrigation district
was formed late in the state water game, it has greatly increased the strain on
the Delta's water supplies. The needs of the Delta ecosystem and water users up
and down the state appear to have taken the Delta to a breaking point in recent
years. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">One
environmentalist, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance executive director
Bill Jennings, suggested, implausibly, that Westlands should move its farms
north to reduce the pumping of water out of the Delta.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"The best
thing Westlands could do to protect (fish) in the Delta is move wholesale up to
the Sacramento Valley and fallow an equivalent amount of acreage that should
never have experienced the plow," Jennings said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">"Westlands
has always been perceived as an agency that has been interested in obtaining
water without regard for the environment," <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City></st1:place> said. "We hope this changes that."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><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=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
purchase comes as Westlands and other water agencies are negotiating a Bay-Delta
Conservation Plan which, if completed, could prevent further water supply
cutbacks. In August, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger ruled that Delta smelt
were not being protected and that the Endangered Species Act required him to
impose new restrictions on water pumping. #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="">http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_7716550</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>