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<font face="Garamond" size=4>sounds like a typical myopic Fox News story,
Byron. I'd be shocked if it were any more global than that<br><br>
BTW, John and Sue Sutton were the Valley anchors for the farmer-fisherman
alliance that Nat Bingham initiated 20 years ago, one of oh, so many
initiatives that Nat had in motion trying to find a way out for the
salmon <br><br>
I pulled a Sunday breakfast in Maxwell with John, Sue and the Family
Water Alliance in my 1993 bid to lead NMFS. <br><br>
They endorsed me !<br><br>
Bill<br><br>
</font>At 03:50 PM 5/13/2009, Byron Leydecker wrote:<br>
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<b>Just a brief update on Fox's Bay Area Channel 2 "Special
Report" on California water last night about which I alerted you in
a message Monday.<br>
<br>
The "Special Report" consisted mainly of answers to questions
and remarks of John Sutton of the Glenn Colusa Irrigation District and a
rice farmer and of Peter Vorster, an hydrologist with The Bay
Institute. It focused on the amount of water that this one district
receives, uses and the excess of its water allocation that it
sells. It is receiving 100 percent of its contract amount this
year. The reporter indicated that water delivered to the district
from the Bureau of Reclamation was free and that it was profiting at the
expense of the taxpayer/owners of a public resource. <br>
<br>
The reporter indicated that the Bureau has contracted to deliver far more
water than exists to its contractors in Northern California and the San
Joaquin Valley. <br>
<br>
It also was indicated that acreage planted to rice in Northern California
has decreased steadily in recent years. Sutton indicated - which is
well known to those familiar with water issues - that rice is not as
intensive a user of water as several other crops. He mentioned
alfalfa and permanent pasture, but there are others, as most of you
know. The "report" seemed to concentrate on water used
for rice farming in this district and the excess water provided the
district under a contracted full delivery that it sells to others for a
profit.<br>
<br>
Editorializing…It seemed to me that focusing on this one district and
water used for rice growing was unfortunate - it could lead people to
believe that water provided this district is an isolated problem when, in
fact, it is a minor issue in the overall California water picture.
<br>
<br>
The "report" was not at all encompassing of major water issues
facing California. The "report" did not deal with the
major implications of the problem of the allocation or mis-allocation of
developed water resources throughout the state and other significant
water issues the state faces. <br>
<br>
If others watched the program and have different thoughts, or if I have
unintentionally misstated something, please offer your further comments
or corrections.<br>
<br>
</b><i>Byron Leydecker, JcT<br>
Chair, Friends of Trinity River<br>
PO Box 2327<br>
Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327<br>
415 383 4810 land<br>
415 519 4810 cell<br>
<b><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a><br>
<a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">
bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a> </b>(secondary)<br>
<b><a href="http://fotr.org/">http://www.fotr.org</a> <br>
</i></b> <br>
<br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
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http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/fotr</a></blockquote>
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<font face="Garamond" size=4>Kier Associates, <i>Fisheries and Watershed
Professionals<br>
</i>P.O. Box 915<br>
Blue Lake, CA 95525<br>
707.668.1822 <br>
mobile: 498.7847 <br>
<a href="http://www.kierassociates.net/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.kierassociates.net<br>
</a>GSA Advantage Contractor GS-10F-0124U<br>
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