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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=danielbacher@fishsniffer.com
href="mailto:danielbacher@fishsniffer.com">Dan Bacher</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, July 02, 2008 9:01 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> California Trout Rescues Fishing License Funds From
Schwarzenegger's Raid </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111
size=4><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"><B>Conservation
Organization Stops Schwarzenegger's Raid on License Fees</B></SPAN></FONT>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(212,220,232)"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111 size=3><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-SIZE: 11px"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111>As President G.W. Bush attempted to raid salmon disaster relief
funds to pay for the U.S. census, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was defeated in
his move to transfer $4 million California fishing license fees to the general
fund. Schwarzenegger's move is unconscionable in the light of the collapse of
the Central Valley salmon fishery and California Delta food chain that his
abysmal environmental policies have created.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">California Trout Rescues Fishing License Funds From
Schwarzenegger's Raid</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">by Dan
Bacher</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">California Trout, a statewide fishery conservation
organization, recently defeated an underhanded attempt by Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger to raid fishing license funds.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">On May
30, California Trout issued a statement release calling for a freeze on
California fishing license fees in the face of a Schwarzenegger administration
proposal to transfer $4 million from the Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Fund
(HIFF) to the state's General Fund. Fortunately, the State Legislature’s
Budget Conference Committee rejected the transfer on June 13, in large part
because the administration officially withdrew the proposal.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“This is
an important victory for fishing enthusiasts and conservation advocates across
California,” said Brian Stranko, CEO of California Trout. “Trying to raid funds
that support state fish hatchery operations and protection of wild
trout stocks was a bad idea from the start. We’re pleased that these funds
remain secure.”</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">As
consequence of June 13’s action by the Committee, California Trout dropped
its call for a freeze on fishing license fees. The conservation group adopted
its call after The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Natural Resources approved
the Schwarzenegger Administration fund transfer proposal.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">“The HIFF
is funded exclusively through license fees paid by anglers who fish in
California,” explained Stranko. “If included in the final version of the 2008
Budget Bill, the loan would not be repaid until 2013.”</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Although
CalTrout opposed the raid on HIFF, the budget subcommittee approved the loan but
made it contingent on a freeze on fishing license fees.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">"It is
unfair to the two million anglers who annually buy fishing licenses in this
state to continue to see their fees raised year after year by the Department of
Fish and Game when it is simultaneously cutting back fish hatchery operations,
wild trout protection, and programs for recovery of endangered species like
salmon," said Stranko. "We believe it is inappropriate to divert these revenues
to address chronic problems in the state's General Fund if DFG is allowed to
continue increasing the cost of a sport fishing license."</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The
Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Fund was created in 2005 through Assembly Bill 7
in order to ensure that at least some of the $60 million collected annually
through fishing licenses in California goes to improve fishing opportunities.
The law specifies that at least 30% of the monies collected through fishing
licenses be dedicated to upgrading hatcheries and funding the state's wild trout
program.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">I commend
California Trout for raising the level of public outrage over this proposal by
Schwarzenegger At a time when we are faced with devastating fishing closures,
including the salmon closure on the ocean and draconian no fishing zones funded
by a private organization, the Resource Legacy Fund, Schwarzenegger attempted a
despicable raid on OUR money.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Bush
Tries Raid on Salmon Disaster Relief Funds to Pay for Census!</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">West
Coast representatives and leaders of fishing groups are outraged over an attempt
by the White House to yank $70 million in disaster funding from commercial and
recreational fishermen in order to pay for the 2010 US
Census.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The Bush
administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday, June 9, sent a
proposal to Congress to amend the president's budget and take back $70 million
of the $180 million West Coast representatives had put into the farm bill for
disaster assistance for fishermen devastated by fishing closures off California
and Oregon and in Central Valley rivers.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">West
Coast Democrats reacted to the proposal by sending an angry letter to President
Bush. They called "unconscionable" his proposal to deny the disaster funding to
fishermen and use it to pay for a failed contract with the Harris Corporation.
Harris, assigned to do the 2010 Census, was forced due to serious mismanagement
to abandon its plans for using handheld computers to conduct the census and will
have to conduct a costly paper census.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">"This
proposal is especially egregious when you consider that your administration's
water policies on all of the Pacific Northwest's major salmon rivers are the
reason this disaster funding is needed in the first place," the letter
said.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The
representatives noted that three different courts have found the
administration's water plans for the Sacramento, Klamath and Columbia/Snake
Rivers to be illegal and in violation of the Endangered Species
Act.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">"These
failed policies have resulted in over 80,000 dead adult salmon in the Klamath
River, record low returns to the Sacramento and Columbia/Snake River systems,
two fishery disaster declarations issued by the secretary of commerce and two
years of fishing closures impacting thousands of families and small businesses,"
the letter continued. "The states of California, Oregon and Washington estimated
this year's closure alone will have a $290 million impact on these fishing
communities. Scientists expect similar low returns to the Sacramento next year
and another closed season for most of the West Coast."</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">California Representatives Mike Thompson, Anna
Eshoo, Doris Matsui, Lois Capps, Lynn Woolsey and Sam Farr; Oregon
Representatives Peter DeFazio, Darlene Hooley, Earl Blumenauer and David Wu, and
Washington Representatives Jim McDermott, Brian Baird, Rick Larsen and Jay
Inslee signed the letter.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">"To
suggest that the money to pay for this contract mistake is diverted from
emergency disaster payments is yet another blow delivered by your administration
to the fishing families and small businesses in the Pacific Northwest," they
stated. "It is a clear sign that your administration is not committed to
protecting these river systems and has no interest in helping the fishing
communities and economies reliant on them.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111>Dick Pool, president of Pro-Troll Fishing Products and coordinator
of Water for Fish [</FONT><A href="http://www.water4fish.org/"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana><FONT class=Apple-style-span
color=#17345c>http://www.water4fish.org</FONT></FONT></A><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">], said news of the attempted raid of the disaster
relief was "very distressing considering the devastating financial impact that
the salmon fishing closure is having on the recreational and commercial fishing
industries of California."</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">"I'm not
surprised to see Bush trying to take away needed money from our community," said
Mike Hudson, president of the Small Boat Commercial Fisherman's Association and
coordinator of the SalmonAid Festival that took place in Oakland on May 31 and
June 1. "Through his actions over the last few years, he has told us time and
again that we don't matter to him. What would you expect from a man who wants to
declare dams as natural structures and lets rivers run dry? That he would allow
a dime to find its way into the pockets of hard-working people who oppose these
dams, diversions and pollution of our waters?"</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The Bush
and Schwarzenegger administrations continue to blame "ocean conditions" for the
sudden and unprecedented collapse of Sacramento River fall run chinook salmon,
while a broad coalition of recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, Indian
Tribes and conservationists contends that increased water exports from the
California Delta and declining water quality play a major role in the collapse.
The Central Valley fall chinook population has declined from over 800,000 fish
in 2002 to under 60,000 this year.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">The
decline of the Central Valley fall run chinook parallels the collapse of four
pelagic (open water) species - delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass
and threadfin shad - in recent years. A panel of state and federal scientists
has pinpointed changes in water exports as the No. 1 reason for the collapse,
followed by toxics and invasive species.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">More
recently, two studies conducted by Richard Dugdale, a San Francisco State
University oceanographer, contend that ammonia from Sacramento's treated sewage
discharge may be killing Delta smelt and other species (Stockton Record, June
11).</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN
class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Fortunately, it is unlikely that the White House
will be able to push Bush's proposal through Congress, based on strong
opposition from both Democrats and Republicans.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">"This
request is a slap in the face to the scores of salmon fishermen in Oregon who
are struggling to make ends meet in the wake of the largest salmon closure in
West Coast history," said Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-Oregon). "Rest assured
there will be a strong bipartisan effort to ensure that these cuts don't go
through."</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Ironically, Smith and the Bush administration, in
order to secure rural southern Oregon votes in 2001, overrode the Endangered
Species Act by cutting off water to fish in order to curry favor with
agricultural interests. The result was the Klamath fish kills of 2002, where
hundreds of thousands of juvenile salmon died in the spring and 68,000 salmon
perished in September in low, warm, disease-infested water
conditions.</SPAN></FONT><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">Bush's
attempted raid was even too much for Governor Schwarzenegger. On June 17,
Schwarzenegger, Oregon Governor Theodore Kulongoski and Washington Governor
Christine Gregoire sent a joint letter to President George Bush expressing
strong opposition to the Administration’s proposal to remove $70 million in
emergency disaster assistance for fishing families, communities and businesses
impacted by the closure of the salmon season, and they urged President Bush to
reconsider his opposition to helping these families in need.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal">"Mr.
President, we disagree with your Administration’s assessment that these funds
constitute 'lower-priority federal programs and excess funds," they stated. "We
believe that it should be a high federal priority to provide the $70 million of
needed assistance to fishing families, communities, and businesses that depend
upon salmon fishing, instead of directing this amount to fix the underestimated
cost of the 2010 census. We urge you to instead stand with fishing families and
communities who rely on this industry for their livelihood."</SPAN></FONT><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN: 0px"><FONT class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana
color=#111111></FONT> </P><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 16px"><BR></SPAN>
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