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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Salmon
Fishermen Swim Against Political Tide in Long-Running Calif. Water War<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>N.Y.
Times-4/2/10 <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>By
Colin Sullivan<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"'>California
congressmen George Miller and Mike Thompson stumped for salmon fishermen
yesterday during a political rally here meant to counter the political muscle
of San Joaquin Valley farmers who tend to get more media attention in the
long-running war over the state's strained water supply.<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
Democratic lawmakers represent Northern California districts that were once
home to some of the nation's most active king, or chinook, salmon runs. But the
California and Oregon salmon fishery that largely starts in the Sacramento
River north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has collapsed.<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"'>There
were 28,000 naturally spawning Central Valley salmon caught in 2009, down from
nearly 700,000 wild salmon harvested as recently as 2000. The plummeting catch
has led to the cancellation of the commercial salmon season the past two years,
causing the loss of 23,000 jobs and $2 billion in revenue, according to a study
by Southwick Associates, an analytical firm that specializes in resource
issues.<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"'>Commercial
salmon fishermen blame the agriculture industry for the fishery's collapse --
namely, Central Valley farmers who have seen their share of water from federal
and state sources steadily increase in recent years. Water exports from the
delta, the fishermen say, had reached record highs from 2003 to 2007, prior to
the fishery collapse and the implementation of pumping limits under the federal
Endangered Species Act.<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"'>And
though there are other factors hurting fish in the delta, Miller, Thompson and
the blue-collar band of trollers they support believe the salmon side of the
California water story has been neglected. They say television news reporters
-- notably, representatives of Fox News and CBS's "60 Minutes" --
have come to California in the past year to tell one part of a complex tale of
pressures on the troubled delta, which supplies much of the state's drinking
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"'>The
congressmen had harsh words in particular for a group of "third tier"
water rights holders, led by the Westlands Water District, that have fought in
court and in political circles to get more water from reservoirs and the delta.
But they also said courts are starting to sense the gravity of the situation,
as evidenced this week by a federal district court decision rejecting an
attempt to attain a restraining order on the salmon recovery plan.<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"'>"We've
always fought an uphill battle" against the agriculture industry, Thompson
said in an interview. "But it's wrong to choose economic winners and
losers. That's why these people are here today."<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"'>Miller,
who is now in his 18th term on Capitol Hill and whose father fought the same
water fights as a state senator, has long been an advocate of the fishing
community. He is also the lawmaker most likely to take on Sen. Dianne Feinstein
(D-Calif.), who many in the fishing industry view as their nemesis. In a swipe
at the state's senior U.S. senator, Miller said the recent National Academy of
Sciences review of the science behind a salmon recovery plan confirms that
rolling back the Endangered Species Act to allow more water to flow to farmers
should not be on the table.<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"'>"This
system has to be looked at as a waterway of national significance," said
Miller, comparing the delta to the Everglades and the Chesapeake Bay.
"This is the beginning of a long struggle to right what is wrong."<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
rally that drew several hundred people here yesterday was staged by the Pacific
Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, the Environmental Defense Fund,
the Natural Resources Defense Council and local fishing groups. Hundreds of
fishermen, many clad in blue jeans and baseball caps, attended and carried
signs that said, "I love salmon and I vote" and "Fishermen
deserve better."<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"'>Larry
Collins, a commercial angler based in Fisherman's Wharf and president of the
Crab Boat Owners Association of San Francisco, said the industry is making a
concerted effort to counter "agribusiness bigwigs" who he accuses of
stealing water. Collins concedes that many in the state have started to view
the fishermen as something of a dying breed, but he said restoration of wild
salmon is still possible if voters start paying 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"'>"We've
lost 80 percent of our fleet in the last 25 years," Collins said, citing a
drop in state-issued fishing permits from 5,000 in 1985 to about 1,200 today.
"I don't think the farmers can say that."<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"'>Key
to their strategy is the species-protection law, which has forced a federal
judge to place limits on how much water can be pumped from the delta.
Spring-run and winter-run chinook salmon are listed as endangered already, and
the fall-run may not be far behind.<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] has been the key to holding the line," said Jim
McCarthy, of SalmonWaterNow. "These environmental protections are really
all these fisherman have."<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
commercial fishermen are also hoping the legal maneuvering to outsmart a
federal biological opinion on salmon, which has led to the pumping curtailment,
will stop once public pressure is brought to bear. Dick Pool, who owns
Pro-Troll Fishing Products in Concord, Calif., said federal scientists should
be able to enforce the Endangered Species Act outside political pressure from
farmers who, in his view, should be directed to work harder at efficiency and
plant more drought-resistant crops.<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"'>But
why not shift the focus away from salmon to crab, halibut, tuna or rock cod,
all of which are fished out of the San Francisco Bay? Because there is money in
salmon.<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"'>Collins
said 70 percent of his income has been historically attached to the salmon
catch, which is the top-selling fish in the United States. Duncan McLean,
captain of the Barbara Faye out of Half Moon Bay, Calif., says the only reason
he started fishing crab was to pay his taxes.<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"'>"Losing
the salmon season," McLean said, "is like retailers losing
Christmas."<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"'>Still,
the fishermen acknowledge "Big Ag" tends to hold more political sway
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"'>Feinstein
has long favored exporting more water to farms in the valley, which is
considered a pillar of the state's economy, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
was able to push through a series of water bills last year that could lead to
billions of dollars invested in infrastructure designed to store more water and
transfer it around the state.<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"'>Schwarzenegger
and Feinstein both support an $11 billion water bond that goes before voters in
November. The campaign on the bond is expected to pit environmentalists and fishermen
against irrigators and farmers, with Democrats and Republicans slugging it out
on the sidelines depending on their constituency.<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"'>To
Collins, who calls the forthcoming ballot fight "David vs. Goliath,"
the future of his industry is linked to that bond like no other piece of
policy. If it passes, Collins says he might as well start planning for
retirement.<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"'>"We're
done if that thing passes," Collins said. "The farmers are never
going to stand up and say, 'We have enough water now.'"<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"'>Miller
said the answer is to "back up" the fishing community's passion in
Washington, where he wants Congress to approach the delta's maze of problems
with the same kind of state-federal partnership responsible for attempting to
restore the Everglades. Miller has met recently with Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy
Sutley to urge a deltawide approach, as opposed to a piecemeal
project-by-project strategy.<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"'>As
for the farmers, Miller said he wants to reach out to them and bring all
interests to the table.<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"'>"We
asked our colleagues in the Central Valley, were they willing to check their
guns at the door?" he said. "We can't go back to the old way of doing
business."<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
White House appears to be listening to both sides. Salazar conceded to
Feinstein when she demanded the NAS study of the delta. And he included in the
Obama administration's budget proposal for fiscal 2011 increases of $106.0
million for Land and Water Conservation Fund programs and $71.4 million for
investments in major ecosystem restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay,
California's Bay Delta, the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, and the
Everglades.<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"'>Asked
whether he saw that political balance on the issue might be shifting away from
agriculture to the fishing community, Rep. Thompson was philosophical.<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"'>"I
don't think," he said, "that's going to change anytime soon."<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/fax (call first to fax)</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
mobile</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
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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
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