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<DIV><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">See reference to Trinity River
below. </SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"></SPAN></FONT></B> </DIV>
<DIV><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Interesting how the locals opposed
the Madera Water Bank when Marc Reisner proposed it, but now it's approved and
"feasible."</SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"></SPAN></FONT></B> </DIV>
<DIV><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Tom Stokely<BR>Water Policy
Coordinator<BR>California Water Impact Network<BR>504A Lennon St. (USPS and
UPS)<BR>Mt Shasta, CA 96067<BR>V/FAX 530-926-9727<BR>Cell 530-524-0315<BR><A
href="mailto:tstokely@att.net">tstokely@att.net</A><BR><A
href="http://www.c-win.org/">http://www.c-win.org/</A></SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma"></SPAN></FONT></B> </DIV>
<DIV><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Senate approves bill that would aid
San Joaquin River<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<H2 id=story_subheadline
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><I><FONT face=Tahoma
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Legislation
includes Madera County water bank, John Krebs
Wilderness.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></B></H2>
<H4 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><FONT face=Tahoma
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">The <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Fresno</st1:place></st1:City> Bee –
1/15/09<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H4>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN class=byline4><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Michael Doyle</SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN><B><FONT face=Tahoma size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P><!-- CLOSE: #story_header -->
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><st1:State w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">WASHINGTON</SPAN></FONT></st1:State><FONT size=4><SPAN
lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> -- The Senate on Thursday approved a grab-bag
public lands bill that's supposed to save the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San
Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType>, store
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Madera</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType> groundwater and secure <st1:place
w:st="on">Sierra Nevada</st1:place> wilderness.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">At 1,296 pages, the public lands
bill was stuffed with more than enough goodies to ensure its passage over
conservative opposition. The House is expected to take up the bill within the
next few weeks. Once approved by the House, it's bound to become one of the
first bills signed by President-elect Barack Obama after he takes office.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"Restoring the once-mighty
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> -- and putting an end
to the years of legal battles over the river's resources -- has long been one of
my top priorities," Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein declared. "The good news is
that the Senate today took us one step closer to this vital goal."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Lawmakers call the bill the Omnibus
Public Lands Management Act of 2009. Skeptics call it pork, but they could not
block its 150-plus provisions through a filibuster. The bill passed easily,
73-21.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"I believe we're doing this because
we're thinking in the very short term," said Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of
Oklahoma, citing the "blatant, corrupting process of
earmarks."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Senators constructed the public
lands package by combining individual bills, some of which had been floating
around for years. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> provisions
include:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=4><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">San Joaquin</SPAN></FONT></st1:PlaceName><FONT
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></SPAN></FONT></st1:place><FONT size=4><SPAN
lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"> restoration. The bill directly provides $88
million and the work necessary to restore water flows and the salmon population
below Friant Dam. This federal money is a down payment on a highly ambitious
effort that settles a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council in
1988.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Storing <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Madera</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> groundwater. The bill authorizes
$22.5 million to help the Madera Irrigation District construct an underground
water bank, designed to store up to 250,000 acre-feet of water. Notably, the
bill unilaterally declares the project planned for the 13,646-acre Madera Ranch
near Highway 99 to be "feasible" and establishes that "no further studies" are
needed.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Expanding <st1:place
w:st="on">Sierra Nevada</st1:place> wilderness. The bill honors former
Fresno-area congressman John Krebs by designating 39,740 acres of land currently
in Sequoia and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Kings</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Canyon</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> national parks as the "John Krebs
Wilderness." This is smaller than original plans, although an additional 45,186
acres in the southern <st1:place w:st="on">Sierra Nevada</st1:place> will be
added to the existing Sequoia-Kings Canyon
Wilderness.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The legislation adds, as well, new
wilderness protection to land in Inyo and Mono counties, on the eastern side of
the <st1:place w:st="on">Sierra Nevada</st1:place>. It orders a study of adding
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Tule</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> camp, where some
Valley Japanese-Americans were confined in World War II, to the national park
system. It transfers 66 acres in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Tuolumne</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> to the Me-Wuk
Indians.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Well beyond <st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State>, the bill sets the stage for a potential
William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site in <st1:State
w:st="on">Arkansas</st1:State>, creates the new Ice Age Floods National Historic
Trail in four Northwestern states and adds to the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Everglades</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">National
Park</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The new 39,740-acre Krebs
wilderness is smaller than it was in original plans, which would have designated
some 69,000 acres. Negotiators also exempted privately owned cabins in the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Mineral King</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and allowed Southern
California Edison to use helicopters in maintaining check dams in the otherwise
pristine wilderness. Lawmakers, including Reps. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, and Jim
Costa, D-Fresno, took more than a year to negotiate the
deal.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The wilderness will become one of
the very few in the nation named for a still-living individual. Krebs, who
turned 82 last month, wrote the 1978 legislation that protected the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Mineral King</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> from potential
development.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Negotiators similarly cut the cost
of 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> bill after it was
first introduced in 2006. They had been having trouble finding the $250 million
needed to offset the original price tag.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"This is a truly momentous effort,"
said Monty Schmitt, senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council,
"because it will result in restoring flows and salmon to one of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>'s largest
rivers while also providing water supplies for farms and
cities."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><STRONG>Even with the compromises,
myriad unanswered questions remain, particularly over long-term costs and
consequences.<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><STRONG>Northern California Indian
tribes still worry Trinity River improvements could lose out on money flowing
instead to 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>. Some farmers in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Madera</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and elsewhere worry their
irrigation supplies will likewise dry up by the time salmon are restored in
2013.<o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">"[It] is fiscally irresponsible,"
Nunes said. "It represents an attack on our local economy during a period of
national economic crisis and will deprive our region of precious surface water
at a time of critical shortage."<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The state of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place> is providing
$200 million, and federal spending will almost certainly rise above the $88
million directly provided for restoration. The money will pay for improving the
river channel, isolating gravel pits so they don't trap salmon, installing fish
screens and building a bypass around the Mendota Pool in western <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Fresno</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">County</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. #<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><A
href="http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1133937.html">http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1133937.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=4><SPAN lang=EN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>