<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 11 (filtered medium)">
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="country-region"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PlaceType"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PlaceName"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PostalCode"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="State"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="City"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="Street"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="address"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="place"/>
<o:SmartTagType namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PersonName"/>
<!--[if !mso]>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:black;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
color:windowtext;
font-weight:bold;
font-style:normal;
text-decoration:none none;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext;font-weight:bold'>Here’s the
entire <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Merced</st1:place></st1:City>
editorial…A better headline<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><font size=1 color="#272727"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272727'><a
href="http://www.mercedsunstar.com/177/index.html"><font color="#265280"><span
style='color:#265280;text-decoration:none'>Opinion</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:2.4pt;
background:white'><font size=1 color="#999999" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#999999'>Monday, Feb. 15, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
background:white'><b><font size=5 color="#0066ae" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:19.5pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#0066AE;font-weight:bold'>Our
View: Feinstein could spoil years of work<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:1.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
6.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><b><font size=3
color="#666666" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:#666666;font-weight:bold'>Her bill amendment isn't the long-term solution
that has been in the works for a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:1.2pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:
6.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><b><font size=3
color="#666666" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:#666666;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>In her long and mostly distinguished career, U.S. Sen. Dianne
Feinstein has championed many environmental causes. At times she has also
challenged environmentalists to consider interests other than their own.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>That's good. Feinstein's independent streak is one of her
assets as a <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> senator and
a leader of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>Feinstein, however, also has been known to take reckless
stands. She is doing so now, with plans to amend a fast-moving jobs bill to
reduce Endangered Species Act protections for fish, including salmon, in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>Feinstein's amendment, if enacted, would increase Delta
pumping to benefit certain farms in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
Those agricultural operations, ranging from small farms to lucrative corporate
empires, have seen their irrigation supplies drop because of drought and court
decisions involving delta smelt and other fish.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>In a statement Thursday, Feinstein said she was seeking this
amendment because, in so many words, water is being wasted. "Water has
been gushing past the canals and into the oceans while farms on the west side
of the Valley are likely to receive a very low percentage of their water
allocations," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>Feinstein is grossly oversimplifying the water situation in
the delta and the Valley.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>At certain times of the year, juvenile salmon and other fish
need adequate flows to reach the ocean or to avoid being sucked into the giant
pumps that deliver water to Southern California, the Bay Area and the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Joaquin</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Valley</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. Feinstein's amendment threatens
those fish. It could be especially harmful to <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>'s salmon runs, which shrank to
record low numbers in 2009, according to a report last week by the Pacific
Fisheries Management Council.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>Feinstein's action poses other threats. For the last two
years, moderate environmental groups have been working with water exporters on
a conservation plan for the delta. This coalition helped pass water legislation
last year and is studying plans for a canal, tunnel or other form of conveyance
for the delta. That could possibly reduce conflicts over fish and produce more
reliable water supplies for exporters.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>Yet if Feinstein's amendment were to pass, it would likely
end this delicate detente and lead to years of more litigation and fighting
over the delta.<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold'>Feinstein should be smart enough to know this. The question
is: Is she smart enough to acknowledge that she's made a serious error in
judgment?<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-top:4.8pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
line-height:21.6pt;background:white'><b><i><font size=2 color="#272627"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;
font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>(This editorial was written by our sister
newspaper The <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:place></st1:City>
Bee.)</span></font></i></b><b><font size=2 color="#272627" face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#272627;font-weight:bold'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><em><i><font color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, JcT, Chair</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 Land/Fax (Call first to Fax) </span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810 <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Mobile</st1:place></st1:City></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></u></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a></span></font></u></i></em><em><i><font
color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:blue'> </span></font></i></em><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>(Secondary)</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a href="http://www.fotr.org/">www.fotr.org</a>
</span></font></u></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>