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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>We
might need salmon czar, too<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Sacramento
Bee-7/8/09<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Editorial<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Faced
with a pitchfork rebellion in the San Joaquin Valley, Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar last month appointed a "water czar" to deliver extra water
from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to farmers in certain districts south of
the Delta.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>That
prompts a question: Will the Obama administration also appoint a "salmon
czar" to help bring relief to the North Coast fishing industry, which is
dependent on healthy flows in the Delta so salmon can migrate and spawn?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>So
far, Salazar's water agenda in California has focused almost completely on
Fresno-area farmers, whose wealth and clout tend to demand attention. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>That's
why Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes has been tasked to bring together
federal agencies to expedite certain Delta projects, including a pair of gates
that would block imperiled smelt and salmon from being sucked into pumps that
deliver water to the south.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>It's
commendable that Salazar, a former congressman from Colorado, would want to
wade into the swamp of Delta politics. For the last four years, the Bush
administration barely got its toes wet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Yet
because they are not from this place, Salazar and Obama may not understand the
need for a balanced approach to resolving conflicts over water and natural
resources. They also should be careful not to fuel certain myths that make
resolution more complicated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Some
of these myths:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>•
The Endangered Species Act and related court rulings are the main causes of the
water shortages in the San Joaquin Valley. Not true. As of the end of April, the
water content in the state's snowpack was 66 percent of normal, the third dry
year in a row. Drought is the main cause of water cutbacks in the San Joaquin
Valley.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>•
All water districts in the Valley are suffering. Again, not true. Some water
districts have senior water rights, meaning they get first dibs on available
supplies. While holders of junior water rights, such as the Westlands Water
District, have been cut back severely, other districts are close to their
normal allotments.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>•
Central Valley salmon are suffering only because of ocean conditions. Another
falsehood. Salmon runs have bounced around but have generally declined since
the 1960s, even with gyrating ocean conditions. Clearly, their habitat in the
Valley has degraded – a habitat that is dependent on clear, cold,
abundant water.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Through
improved conservation, water banking, groundwater storage and other projects,
California can help its farms and cities weather the dry periods while
rebuilding a healthy fishery. That will take a cooperative approach.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Yet
if certain farm districts and their congressional representatives choose to
point fingers and inflame myths, cooperation will be hard to come by. The
challenge for the Obama administration will be to bust through those falsehoods
and serve as a moderating force for a more efficient and equitable use of water
in California.# <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><a
href="http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2008146.html">http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2008146.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker, JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
cell</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><span style='color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></a></span></i></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><span style='color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a
href="http://fotr.org/"><span style='color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></a>
</span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
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