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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>This
is a most interesting and worthwhile, especially from a Trinity River Restoration
point of view, message from Zeke Grader, Executive Director, Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermen's Associations, to the environmental staff persons for
Senators Boxer and Feinstein. It follows a conference call last week in
which certain language was changed in proposed water transfer legislation.
Friends of Trinity River opposes this clearly unnecessary legislation that achieves
nothing beyond opening the gates wider for shipment of more Northern California
water south, further fishery and Delta destruction, and financial benefit to a
handful of taxpayer subsidized mega-irrigators. Tom Birmingham's remarks to
Zeke are most interesting.<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><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>> <b>From:</b> <b>Zeke
Grader <a href="mailto:[mailto:zgrader@ifrfish.org]">[mailto:zgrader@ifrfish.org]</a></b>
<br>
> <b>Sent:</b> <b>Wednesday, December 09, 2009 6:45 AM</b> <br>
> <b>To:</b> <b>'Lynn_Abramson@boxer.senate.gov'; 'leah_russin@feinstein.senate.gov'</b>
<br>
> <b>Subject:</b> <b>S.1759</b> <br>
> <br>
<b>> Lynn and Leah <br>
> <br>
> I want to thank both of you for your efforts to try to bring everyone
together S. 1759 and come up with language to facilitate transfers in the San
Joaquin Valley from between those who have water to spare and those who are
short. What began troubling me after the call, however, was whether the
limited transfers that would be provided for under the revised bill language
would cause additional diversions from the Delta by east side folks to transfer
to the west side. Westlands, as you know, covets Trinity River water and
I do not want to agree to any scheme that would assist in their efforts to undo
the Trinity ROD. <br>
> <br>
> Moreover, as I thought about it, while we’re attempting to help
growers who are short on water this year and maybe next by <u>changing</u> the
law, what about trying to help the fishing fleet along coast by seeing to it <u>existing</u>
law is enforced, specifically the CVPIA (I’ve enclosed my 3 November
letter to you that refers to those sections)? <br>
> <br>
> I sat down yesterday and re-read the note that Bill Kier sent you last
Friday afternoon and e-mails from Byron Leydecker (about the only two
“elders” I have left in all of the water wrangling) and realized
that I should have been more concerned, during last week’s call on the
“proposed red-line for mark-up” S. 1759 language, with the
very real prospect of water moving from the east to west sides of the San
Joaquin Valley only to be replaced with increased water deliveries from the
Delta <br>
> <br>
> I guess I was hoping during the conference call that someone just might be
playing it straight with publicly funded water this time. I certainly
believe both of you are, but I’m not so trusting of some of the interests
pushing for these transfers. <br>
> <br>
> Monday afternoon I drove to Fresno to participate in a Fox affiliate
90-minute televised discussion of San Joaquin Valley water issues with a large
panel (sans Sean Hannity) that included Devin Nunes and Tom Birmingham (with Jim
Costa, George Radanovich, and Dennis Cardoza wired in from DC) – all of
whom carped and moaned about the Valley’s “loss” of water to
the long-overdue compliance with the law forced by things like the San Joaquin
River settlement agreement. <br>
> <br>
> I tried to be civil until Nunes accused my members of being
“supposed” fishermen (he, of course, has no interest in going to
Fort Bragg or Eureka to meet with supposed fishermen) and complained of the
millions provided in disaster relief they finally received in 2008 (he
doesn’t talk about the billions in subsidies growers are receiving) when
I finally called him demagogue that he is. In the backroom following the
program, I talked with some of the growers and offered to work with them on the
water problem to ensure we protect and expand our food production by both
farmers and fishermen. We really are committed to that, since food, along
with energy and water, will be the contentious issues of this century.
Following that short exchange I had a few words with Tom Birmingham that ended
when he blurted that if fishermen thought they were getting screwed before in
these water deals, “they haven’t seen nothing yet,” which got
me thinking once again about the language in S.1759. <br>
> <br>
> <br>
> Frankly I’ve had it with trying to make nice with some of these
water hustlers. As my former president, the late Nat Bingham, told a
group of water districts and contractors about 20 years ago, “we’ll
bend over backward to work with you, but we’re not going to bend over
forward.” Sorry to be so crude, but it’s about the only language
these folks seem to understand. <br>
> <br>
> As far as I can see, the S. 1759 proponents are pushing back from the
language that we proposed because they really do intend to drain the Trinity
River and, with BOR’s help, game every drop of that 800,000 acre-feet a
year the salmon and estuary were supposed to get from CVP yield in the CVPIA.
With California plumbed the way it is – and with these water hustlers
running the show these days – there isn’t any way we can go with a
bill in which the BOR says “trust us to do the right thing”. They
have been nothing but treacherous for decades <br>
> <br>
> We would really appreciate it if you would use the language we offered you
in our 3 November letter. Otherwise, we just see S. 1759 as another plum for
the water hustlers. As Birmingham says, the screwing of the fish and the
fishermen may have only just begun <br>
> <br>
> Thanks, Zeke</b></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt'> <br>
> </span><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>
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