<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6001.18157" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY
style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space"
bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV> </DIV>
<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> Monday, December 15, 2008 7:06 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Federal Agency Releases New Biological Opinion for Delta
Smelt</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>�<IMG src="cid:5A554CBDCDA94CCEA560FF8EF29F206C@homeuserPC">
<DIV
style="MIN-HEIGHT: 12px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 10px Verdana; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
face=Verdana color=#111111 size=2><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-SIZE: 10px"><B>dsmelt2r_1.gif</B></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MIN-HEIGHT: 13px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 11px Verdana"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span color=#111111><BR></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">Federal
Agency Releases New Biological Opinion for Delta Smelt</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">The
federal government issued a rewritten management plan for Delta smelt today,
declaring that water operations must be dramatically altered to protect the
imperiled fish and California's Bay-Delta ecosystem from imminent
collapse.</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">Fishing
and environmental groups praised the new decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, saying it will help restore the ecological health of the West Coast's
largest estuary and its threatened fisheries. The �biological opinion� was
issued today in compliance with a federal judge�s order that a Bush
administration assessment of risk to the threatened fish from massive water
export pumps in the California Delta was illegal and must be
rewritten.</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">In his
ruling in May 2007, Judge Oliver W. Wanger of the U.S. District Court in Fresno
ordered the agency to rewrite its 2005 opinion, saying "The Delta smelt is
undisputedly in jeopardy as to its survival and recovery.The 2005 BiOp's 'no
jeopardy' finding is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to
law."</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">"We are
delighted that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finally recognized that we
have reached the limits of how much water can be pumped out of the Delta without
causing the complete collapse of the Delta ecosystem and all the creatures that
depend upon a healthy Delta for their survival -- including people,� said Mike
Sherwood, Earthjustice attorney. "The Service found that excessive pumping of
water out of the Delta over the last several years is driving the Delta smelt,
an indicator of the overall health of the Delta, to
extinction.�</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">Sherwood
noted that excessive pumping and other operations of the State and Federal Water
Projects has also driven California chinook salmon and steelhead to the brink of
extinction, resulting in the collapse of the multi-million dollar salmon fishery
in northern California and Oregon. Commercial and recreational salmon fishing in
ocean waters off California and Oregon was closed for the first time this year,
due to the collape of Central Valley salmon. Fishing for salmon in Central
Valley rivers was also closed for the first time this year, with the exception
of two month season from November 1 to December 31 on the Sacramento River
between Knights Landing and Red Bluff.</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">�Greater
protection for the smelt translates into more protection for the Delta and
economically important fish such as the salmon,� emphasized Zeke Grader,
Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen�s Associations,
the largest commercial fishing organization on the West Coast. �To restore the
smelt and the salmon, overdrafting water of the rivers and Delta has got to
stop.�</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">�Fish
need water to survive,� said Doug Obegi, staff attorney at the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC). �Today�s opinion reflects the conclusion of numerous
scientists and the Governor�s own task force, who all agree that the delta smelt
need additional protections to keep them from going extinct. The opinion
requires the state and federal water projects to operate in a more
environmentally sustainable manner that better protects delta smelt, salmon, and
the fishermen and farmers who depend on healthy fisheries and clean
water.�</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">Delta
farmers also lauded the decision. �Delta farmers also depend on water to raise
our crops,� said Tom Zuckerman, a Delta farmer who works as special projects
manager for the Central Delta Water Agency. �We know that the water projects
have simply been pumping too much water. Delta farmers and our local economy
will benefit from adequate protections for the delta smelt.�</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 Department of Fish and Game (DFG)
Director Donald Koch, in issuing a statement reacting to the release of the
biological opinion, touted the controversial Bay-Delta Conservation Planning
process as a �more comprehensive approach� to improving conditions for Delta
smelt and other fish 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">�The
biological opinion issued today provides measures to address the effects of the
operation of state and federal pumps on a single species, the Delta smelt,� said
Koch. �However, the information contained in the document clearly underscores
the fact that the Delta as a natural community is in trouble. A more
comprehensive approach to improving the condition of the Delta for fish and
wildlife is being developed in the Bay-Delta Conservation Planning
process.�</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">�DFG has
been actively involved in the Bay Delta Conservation Planning effort and we are
committed to its success,� he added. �Our goal is to protect and ensure the
sustainability of the fish and wildlife species that rely on a healthy
Delta.�</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">Many in
the fishing and environmental community feel that the Bay Delta Conservation
Planning effort, along with the Governor's Delta Vision process, are politically
manipulated processes to produce a pre-determined goal - the building of a
peripheral canal and two new Central Valley reservoirs. Fish advocates fear
that, in spite of claims otherwise by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the
appointed members of the panels that guide these processes, the infrastructure
will be created to export more water from the estuary when it is less exports
that are needed to restore the estuary.</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">Scientists regard Delta smelt, a small, translucent
fish that lives only in the California Delta, as an indicator of the health of
the entire Bay-Delta ecosystem and representative of a much larger decline in
local fisheries, including striped bass, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, and
Central Vally chinook salmon.</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
Biological Opinion includes the following findings:</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
delta smelt are at their lowest level of abundance since
1967;</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">�
Continued operation of the projects' pumps, dams, and canals will likely lead to
the extinction of the smelt;</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
survive and recover, smelt need more cold, clean water and improved habitat
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">"Contrary
to statements by the California Department of Water Resources and the commercial
water industry, this will not cause millions of California citizens to go
thirsty,� stated Sherwood. �Instead, limiting pumping of water out of the Delta
to sustainable amounts is good for the smelt, good for salmon and the northern
California fishing and native American communities that depend upon the salmon,
and good for people who depend upon clean water and a healthy
Delta.�</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">Sherwood
contends that the amount of water "lost" by this biological opinion can easily
be made up by simple conservation measures such as more efficient irrigation
systems in farms and by switching from inappropriate and water-intensive crops
such as cotton to crops more appropriate for an arid climate.</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>To read the complete biological opinion, go to: </FONT><A
href="http://www.fws.gov/sacramento/es/documents/SWP-CVP_OPs_BO_12-15_final_OCR.pdf"><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana><FONT class=Apple-style-span
color=#17345c>http://www.fws.gov/sacramento/es/documents/SWP-CVP_OPs_BO_12-15_final_OCR.pdf</FONT></FONT></A><FONT
class=Apple-style-span face=Verdana color=#111111>�</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">Background: The End of A Long Legal
Battle:</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">In 2005,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife issued a biological opinion on the Long-Term Operational
Criteria and Plan (OCAP) for coordination of the Central Valley Project and
State Water Projects that found no harm in increasing pumping from the Delta.
Water project operators used the wildlife's agency's opinion as justification to
increase delta exports and to renew 25- and 40-year contracts to irrigation
districts and urban water agencies.</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">In 2006,
conservation groups sued in federal court, arguing that the 2005 Biological
Opinion was not supported by science. Attorneys from Earthjustice and Natural
Resources Defense Council represented California Trout, San Francisco Baykeeper,
Friends of the River, and the Bay Institute in the 2006 court
challenge.</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">In May
2007, federal court judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno vacated the 2005 BiOp finding
that increased water exports violated the federal Endangered Species Act. This
began the process of writing a new permit that was finalized
today.</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><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV
style="MIN-HEIGHT: 15px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Verdana; COLOR: rgb(17,17,17)"><BR
class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV></BODY></HTML>