<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:x="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel" xmlns:p="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:powerpoint" xmlns:a="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:access" xmlns:dt="uuid:C2F41010-65B3-11d1-A29F-00AA00C14882" xmlns:s="uuid:BDC6E3F0-6DA3-11d1-A2A3-00AA00C14882" xmlns:rs="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:rowset" xmlns:z="#RowsetSchema" xmlns:b="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:publisher" xmlns:ss="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:spreadsheet" xmlns:c="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:component:spreadsheet" xmlns:odc="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:odc" xmlns:oa="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:activation" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:q="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:rtc="http://microsoft.com/officenet/conferencing" xmlns:D="DAV:" xmlns:Repl="http://schemas.microsoft.com/repl/" xmlns:mt="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/meetings/" xmlns:x2="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/2003/xml" xmlns:ppda="http://www.passport.com/NameSpace.xsd" xmlns:ois="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/ois/" xmlns:dir="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/directory/" xmlns:ds="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#" xmlns:dsp="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/dsp" xmlns:udc="http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:sub="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/2002/1/alerts/" xmlns:ec="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#" xmlns:sp="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/" xmlns:sps="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:udcs="http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc/soap" xmlns:udcxf="http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc/xmlfile" xmlns:udcp2p="http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc/parttopart" xmlns:wf="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/workflow/" xmlns:dsss="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/digsig-setup" xmlns:dssi="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/digsig" xmlns:mdssi="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/digital-signature" xmlns:mver="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns:mrels="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/relationships" xmlns:spwp="http://microsoft.com/sharepoint/webpartpages" xmlns:ex12t="http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/types" xmlns:ex12m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/messages" xmlns:pptsl="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/SlideLibrary/" xmlns:spsl="http://microsoft.com/webservices/SharePointPortalServer/PublishedLinksService" xmlns:Z="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:" xmlns:st="" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoNoSpacing, li.MsoNoSpacing, div.MsoNoSpacing
{mso-style-priority:1;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";
color:windowtext;
font-weight:bold;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</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=WordSection1>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-align:center'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:10.0pt;text-align:center'><b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN’S
ASSOCIATIONS (PCFFA), ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FOUNDATION (ELF), and the INSTITUTE FOR
FISHERIES RESOURCES (IFR)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>For immediate release Date:
June 24, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'> 10:00
AM<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b><span
style='font-size:14.0pt'>Press Contacts:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'>Glen Spain
(PCFFA) (541)689-2000<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'>Jim Wheaton
(ELF) (510)208-4555<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'>Jennifer Maier
(ELF) (510)208-4555<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing align=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center'><b>FISHING AND CONSERVATION GROUPS SUE OVER POOR WATER
MANAGEMENT ON NORTHERN CALIFORNIA’S SCOTT RIVER<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing align=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing align=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center'><b>The State and County have allowed groundwater depletion
and damage to <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing align=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center'><b>ESA-listed coho runs in violation of the Public Trust.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
Sacramento, CA</b> -- <b>On June 24<sup>th</sup>, the west coast’s
largest trade association of commercial fishing families, the Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), teamed up with the
California conservation organization Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) to
jointly file a landmark lawsuit against the California State Water Resources
Control Board (“Water Board”) and Siskiyou County for their joint
failure to leave enough water in the river to protect endangered and threatened
salmon in Northern California’s Scott River. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
The case (<i>Environmental Law Foundation, et al. vs. State Water Resources
Control Board and Siskiyou County</i>, filed in the Superior Court of
Sacramento County) alleges widespread violations of the Public Trust Doctrine,
resulting from years of rubber-stamp Water Board and County approvals of well
permits that have seriously depleted the local aquifer, creating severe water
depletion of Northern California’s Scott River, once an important
salmon-bearing tributary to the Klamath River and still the home of federally
and state protected Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed coho salmon.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
“Scott River water depletion has gotten so bad that today coho salmon are
on the verge of extinction there, once one of their major refuges,” noted
Glen Spain, PCFFA Northwest Regional Director. “All the while, the
state’s water agencies have been looking the other way and doing little
to stop it. But rivers and their fish are public resources, and public
agencies are obligated to protect them, not deplete them.”<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
The Public Trust Doctrine, which goes all the way back to the laws of the Roman
Emperor Justinian issued in 535 A.C.E, requires the waters of the State (and
its aquatic wildlife) to be held in public trust for the common good, and
therefore to be protected by the State against depletion or damage by private
interests.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
The California Supreme Court recognized that the Public Trust Doctrine applies
to water management in California rivers in the landmark 1983 “Mono Lake
Case” (<i>National Audubon Society vs. Superior Court,</i> 33 Cal.3d 419
(1983)) but has not yet ruled on how this Doctrine would apply to groundwater
depletion that in turn affects nearby river flows. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
This case is likely to set new legal precedent on this key water issue at a
time when many of California’s aquifers are suffering widespread depletion,
drying up many aquifer-fed streams. Yet California is one of only two US
states (the other being Texas) that does not manage its own groundwater,
leaving groundwater management entirely to the Counties instead, who have
neither the expertise nor the political will to develop or enforce aquifer
drawdown limits. Many of California’s aquifers also span multiple
counties. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
Groundwater aquifers in the Scott Valley have been increasingly depleted by
well permits issued by the County, and low water aquifers reduce the flows from
springs that feed cold groundwater into the river itself. Depleted aquifers
mean a depleted river where fish now die by the droves nearly every year. But
the County continues to give out new well permits anyway.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
State law, however, acknowledges the connection between surface water flows and
groundwater aquifers in the Scott sub-basin and provides for state regulation
of Scott River “groundwater supplies which are interconnected with the
Scott River” at Cal. Fish & Game Code Sec. 2500.5. However, the
State Water Board has not used that authority in more than 30 years.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
Coho salmon inhabiting the Scott River have so diminished in numbers in recent
years that they have been protected as “threatened with extinction”
under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C. § 1531, et seq.)
since May 6, 1997 (62 Fed Reg. 24,588). Scott River coho salmon have also been
protected since August 30, 2002 under the California Endangered Species Act
(CESA) (C<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>al</span>. F<span
style='font-variant:small-caps'>ish</span> & G<span style='font-variant:
small-caps'>ame</span> C<span style='font-variant:small-caps'>ode</span> §
2050, et seq.). The Scott River has also been federally listed under the ESA
as “critical habitat” for ESA-listed coho salmon since May 5, 1999
(64 Fed. Reg. 24,049). The California Fish and Game Commission also adopted a <i>Recovery
Strategy for California Coho Salmon</i> on February 4, 2004 which contains
numerous measures to protect coho salmon in the Scott River basin. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
Yet state and federally protected coho salmon are now down to double-digit
numbers in the Scott River, where they once sheltered in the thousands. Only
81 ESA-listed coho came back to that river in 2009, according to California
Department of Fish and Game fish surveys. Most biologists believe a population
size of at least 500 is required to truly prevent extinction.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
Chinook salmon and steelhead also spawn and rear within the Scott River, and
their numbers too are today greatly diminished from their historical abundance,
for the same reasons. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><span
style='color:black'> “The Public Trust ensures that our waters are
protected for everyone, not just those who can take it,” noted Jim
Wheaton, with Environmental Law Foundation. “Where one person's
take harms other uses and the public, the Public Trust Doctrine requires the
State to protect the public and future generations.”</span><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
</b><b><span style='color:black'>“Unchecked groundwater pumping is
bleeding this river literally dry, driving formerly productive fish runs there
to the edge of extinction, and no one is being held accountable,” said
Erica Terence of the Klamath Riverkeeper group, which works on salmon
conservation issues in the Scott River. “Siskiyou County and the State
Water Board have an obligation to the public to close this loophole in Scott
River water balancing that allows hay growers to take more than their fair
share.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
The Scott River is also vitally important to resident American Indian Tribes
who have ancestral lands in the Scott Basin. “The quality and quantity
of Scott River water threatens the existing habitat of the diminishing Scott
River salmon runs,” noted Crystal Bowman, Environmental Director for the
Quartz Valley Indian Reservation, which is situated within the Scott Valley.
“<span style='color:black'>Although local resource agencies attempt to
improve these conditions through various programs, un-regulated groundwater
pumping greatly contributes to the unsuitable water quality conditions salmon
in the Scott River have to face. Lowering the water table has negative impacts
on surface water depth, velocity, temperature, and connectivity. The health of
riparian vegetation and nearby environments are also negatively impacted, which
prevents the necessary pollutant load reductions from being realized and
reduces habitat for a plethora of terrestrial species. It is time to
acknowledge these basic ecological principles and coordinate surface and
groundwater use in Scott Valley so that the Scott River and its salmon runs can
recover before it's too late.”</span><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>
“As commercial fishing families, maintaining abundant salmon runs in the
Scott River is a bread and butter issue,” added PCFFA’s Glen
Spain. “Without the Scott River it will be very hard indeed to recover
the seriously damaged salmon runs from the Klamath River and bring these runs
back into their previous abundance.”<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing align=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center'>*****<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing align=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>For
a copy of the <i>Petition for a Writ of Mandate</i> and a Fact Sheet on the
Public Trust Doctrine and how it applies in this case, see ELF’s Current
Case Docket at:<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'>
<a href="http://www.envirolaw.org/currentcases.html"
title="blocked::http://www.envirolaw.org/currentcases.html">www.envirolaw.org/currentcases.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><b>To
find out more about the dewatering of the Scott River in 2009, see the Klamath
Riverkeeper web site at:</b> <a
href="http://www.klamathriverkeeper.org/tribs/SOSS.html"
title="blocked::http://www.klamathriverkeeper.org/tribs/SOSS.html">www.klamathriverkeeper.org/tribs/SOSS.html</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing align=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center'>####<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNoSpacing align=center style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center'>--30--<o:p></o:p></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</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
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>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>