<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><head><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:AllowPNG/><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--></head><body><div class="ydp55d63b1cyahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><div>The Trinity River was completely left out of the Biological Assessment. See attached letter.</div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://www.kqed.org/science/1944278/trumps-pending-rules-on-california-water-marked-by-missing-documents-and-hurried-reviews-say-scientists" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.kqed.org/science/1944278/trumps-pending-rules-on-california-water-marked-by-missing-documents-and-hurried-reviews-say-scientists</a><br></div></div><div><br></div><div><div><div class="ydpda61be88routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostFeaturedImage-___PostFeaturedImage__featuredImg" style="position: relative; color: rgb(4, 21, 26); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica Neue, Lucida Grandel, sans-serif; min-height: 650px;"><div class="ydpda61be88routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostFeaturedImage-___PostFeaturedImage__featuredImg_TitleContainer ydpda61be88container" style="margin: auto; border: none; z-index: 10; max-width: 1344px; padding-right: 64px; padding-left: 64px;"><div class="ydpda61be88routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostFeaturedImage-___PostFeaturedImage__featuredImg_Title" style="width: 803.78125px; margin: 0px auto; padding: 24px 31px 0px; border-top-width: 7px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(255, 0, 76);"><div><h1 class="ydpda61be88routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostTitle-___PostTitle__title" style="font-size: 37px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.3; font-family: miller-text, serif;">Trump's Pending Rules on California Water Marked by Missing Documents and Hurried Reviews, Say Scientists</h1></div></div></div></div><div class="ydpda61be88routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostMinisite-___PostMinisite__container ydpda61be88container" style="margin-bottom: 24px; max-width: 1344px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-right: 64px; padding-left: 64px; border: none; color: rgb(4, 21, 26); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica Neue, Lucida Grandel, sans-serif;"><div class="ydpda61be88routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostMinisite-___PostMinisite__mpost_Column" style="width: 803.78125px; margin: 0px auto;"><div class="ydpda61be88routes-Site-routes-Post-components-Post-components-PostMinisite-___PostMinisite__mpost_Info" style="margin: 3px auto 20px;"></div></div><div class="ydpda61be88post-body" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29px;"><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;"></p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;"><span style="font-size: 4.6875em; float: left; line-height: 0.733em; padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0px 0px; font-family: times, serif, georgia;">I</span>ndependent scientists have raised serious concerns about a Trump administration plan to divert more water to California farmers, according to documents obtained by KQED.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">In their analyses, they write that the plan poses risks to threatened fish; that the process is rushed; that they didn’t receive enough information to provide a complete scientific review; and that the Trump administration may be skewing the science to make the environmental impact look less serious.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“It is difficult to imagine how these predicted conditions could be considered an acceptable risk to the critical habitat of a listed species,” wrote Ronald Kneib, an ecological consultant and senior research scientist emeritus at the University of Georgia. </p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;"></p></div><div class="ydpda61be88clear ydpda61be88post-body" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29px; clear: both;">To meet the president’s timeline, scientists at NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had to work at an unprecedented pace, cutting back the independent scientific review, and eliminating the public from the process.</div><div class="ydpda61be88post-body" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29px;"><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">The plan, which involves how much water to pump out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and under what conditions, will control irrigation for millions of acres of farmland in the country’s biggest agricultural economy, drinking water for two-thirds of Californians from Silicon Valley to San Diego, and the fate of endangered salmon and other fish.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">Some see the fingerprints of interior secretary David Bernhardt, who once helped lead the charge to weaken environmental standards and send more water to farmers. A former lawyer for agricultural heavyweight Westlands Water District, Bernhardt is under scrutiny after a recent New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/climate/david-bernhardt-endangered-species.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 0, 76);" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="enhancr_card_2909747337">investigation</a> reported that, shortly after joining the Interior Department in 2017, he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/climate/david-bernhardt-interior-lobbying.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 0, 76);" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="enhancr_card_2868063453">directly advocated</a> on Westlands’ behalf to get more water for farmers at the expense of endangered fish, even though federal rules precluded him from lobbying.</p><div><br></div><div id="ydp370557acenhancr_card_2909747337" class="ydp370557acyahoo-link-enhancr-card ydp370557acymail-preserve-class ydp370557acymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" data-url="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/climate/david-bernhardt-endangered-species.html" data-type="YENHANCER" data-size="MEDIUM" contenteditable="false"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/climate/david-bernhardt-endangered-species.html" style="text-decoration:none !important;color:#000 !important" class="ydp370557acyahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table border="0" class="ydp370557accard-wrapper ydp370557acyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:400px"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table border="0" class="ydp370557accard ydp370557acyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp370557accard-primary-image-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/sZiG8qx07jc4YfZ7HnaP_A--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/10/climate/10CLI-BERNHARDT1-promo/10CLI-BERNHARDT1-promo-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg.cf.jpg" bgcolor="#000000" valign="top" height="175" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-size: cover; position: relative; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; min-height: 175px;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/sZiG8qx07jc4YfZ7HnaP_A--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/10/climate/10CLI-BERNHARDT1-promo/10CLI-BERNHARDT1-promo-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg.cf.jpg"/></v:rect><![endif]--><table border="0" class="ydp370557accard-overlay-container-table ydp370557acyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:100%"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp370557accard-overlay-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png" bgcolor="transparent" valign="top" style="background-color: transparent; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; min-height: 175px;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--><table border="0" class="ydp370557acyahoo-ignore-table" height="175" style="width: 100%; min-height: 175px;"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp370557accard-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top"></td><td class="ydp370557accard-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top"><div class="ydp370557accard-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table border="0" align="center" class="ydp370557accard-info ydp370557acyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:#fff;position:relative;z-index:2;width:100%;max-width:400px;border-radius:0 0 2px 2px;border-top:1px solid rgb(224, 228, 233)"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px"><img class="ydp370557accard-object-1 ydp370557acyahoo-ignore-inline-image ydp370557acymail-preserve-class" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/23/logos/nytimes.png" height="36" style="min-width:36px;margin-top:3px"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0"><h2 class="ydp370557accard-title" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);">Top Leader at Interior Dept. Pushes a Policy Favoring His Former Client</h2><p class="ydp370557accard-description" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(151, 155, 167);">David Bernhardt, the agency’s acting chief, wants to roll back endangered-species protections on a tiny fish, a ...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div id="ydpb77ebdedenhancr_card_2868063453" class="ydpb77ebdedyahoo-link-enhancr-card ydpb77ebdedymail-preserve-class ydpb77ebdedymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" data-url="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/climate/david-bernhardt-interior-lobbying.html" data-type="YENHANCER" data-size="MEDIUM" contenteditable="false"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/climate/david-bernhardt-interior-lobbying.html" style="text-decoration:none !important;color:#000 !important" class="ydpb77ebdedyahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table border="0" class="ydpb77ebdedcard-wrapper ydpb77ebdedyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:400px"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table border="0" class="ydpb77ebdedcard ydpb77ebdedyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px"><tbody><tr><td class="ydpb77ebdedcard-primary-image-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/WMYuyeRsvtwTUJ5RpBg1ww--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/03/climate/03CLI-BERNHARDT1/03CLI-BERNHARDT1-facebookJumbo.jpg.cf.jpg" bgcolor="#000000" valign="top" height="175" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-size: cover; position: relative; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; min-height: 175px;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/WMYuyeRsvtwTUJ5RpBg1ww--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/04/03/climate/03CLI-BERNHARDT1/03CLI-BERNHARDT1-facebookJumbo.jpg.cf.jpg"/></v:rect><![endif]--><table border="0" class="ydpb77ebdedcard-overlay-container-table ydpb77ebdedyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:100%"><tbody><tr><td class="ydpb77ebdedcard-overlay-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png" bgcolor="transparent" valign="top" style="background-color: transparent; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; min-height: 175px;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--><table border="0" class="ydpb77ebdedyahoo-ignore-table" height="175" style="width: 100%; min-height: 175px;"><tbody><tr><td class="ydpb77ebdedcard-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top"></td><td class="ydpb77ebdedcard-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top"><div class="ydpb77ebdedcard-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table border="0" align="center" class="ydpb77ebdedcard-info ydpb77ebdedyahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:#fff;position:relative;z-index:2;width:100%;max-width:400px;border-radius:0 0 2px 2px;border-top:1px solid rgb(224, 228, 233)"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px"><img class="ydpb77ebdedcard-object-1 ydpb77ebdedyahoo-ignore-inline-image ydpb77ebdedymail-preserve-class" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/23/logos/nytimes.png" height="36" style="min-width:36px;margin-top:3px"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0"><h2 class="ydpb77ebdedcard-title" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);">Trump’s Pick for Interior Dept. Continued Lobbying After Officially Vowi...</h2><p class="ydpb77ebdedcard-description" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(151, 155, 167);">An invoice and other documents indicate that the nominee, David Bernhardt, continued to lobby after he filed off...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">The Trump administration is expected to announce the rules this week. The final step before that was the independent scientific review, in which federal agencies send their biologists’ analyses of the plan to scientists outside the government for review, to ensure the agencies are using the best possible scientific studies and interpreting them correctly.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“Independent scientific review is critical because it provides a check on the agencies,” said Doug Obegi, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco who has read the reviews. “What the reviews show is that the agencies seem to be rushing the analysis to try to meet President Trump’s deadline rather than following the science.”</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">Skewing the Science: Missing Documents and Hurried Reviews</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;"><span style="font-size: 4.6875em; float: left; line-height: 0.733em; padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0px 0px; font-family: times, serif, georgia;">P</span>resident Trump ordered in October 2018 that the incredibly complex rules to be drafted faster than ever before.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;"></p></div><div class="ydpda61be88clear ydpda61be88post-body" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29px; clear: both;"><div class="ydpda61be88utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-AsideShortcode-___AsideShortcode__aside" style="width: 391.578125px; margin: 20.609375px 0px 20.609375px 36.46875px; float: right;"><div class="ydpda61be88components-List-___List__list ydpda61be88components-List-___List__list__cardsMiniSidebar"><div class="ydpda61be88components-List-___List__list_Cards"><div style="position: relative; z-index: 0;"><a title="Trump's California Water Order Rushes Science and Cuts Out Public, Emails Show" class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Inner enhancr_card_2327363674" href="https://www.kqed.org/science/1938750/trump-pressure-on-california-water-plan-excludes-public-rushes-science-emails-show" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(4, 21, 26);" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Image_Wrapper"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Image" style="position: relative; width: 82.421875px; padding-bottom: 61.8125px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Image_Inner"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Image-___Image__imageContainer" style="position: relative; width: 82.421875px; min-height: 61.8125px;"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Image-___Image__imageContainer_ImageLoaded ydpda61be88components-Image-___Image__imageContainer_ImageLoaded__complete" style="background-size: cover; z-index: 2; background-image: url(https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/FL_Aqueduct_Y_Split-8042-web-1020x574.jpg);"></div><div class="ydpda61be88components-Image-___Image__imageContainer_ImagePreLoad" style="background-size: cover; z-index: 1; background-image: url(https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/FL_Aqueduct_Y_Split-8042-web-32x32.jpg);"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Title" style="margin-left: 12px; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica Neue, Lucida Grandel, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 22px;"><span class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Title_Text" style="padding-bottom: 1px;">Trump's California Water Order Rushes Science and Cuts Out Public, Emails Show</span></div></a></div><div><br></div><div id="ydp53d0e5e5enhancr_card_2327363674" class="ydp53d0e5e5yahoo-link-enhancr-card ydp53d0e5e5ymail-preserve-class ydp53d0e5e5ymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" data-url="https://www.kqed.org/science/1938750/trump-pressure-on-california-water-plan-excludes-public-rushes-science-emails-show" data-type="YENHANCER" data-size="MEDIUM" contenteditable="false"><a href="https://www.kqed.org/science/1938750/trump-pressure-on-california-water-plan-excludes-public-rushes-science-emails-show" style="text-decoration:none !important;color:#000 !important" class="ydp53d0e5e5yahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table border="0" class="ydp53d0e5e5card-wrapper ydp53d0e5e5yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:400px"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table border="0" class="ydp53d0e5e5card ydp53d0e5e5yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp53d0e5e5card-primary-image-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/hX46kAMhVYU0V1aZvQCMWw--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2020/03/FL_Aqueduct_Y_Split-8042-web.jpg.cf.jpg" bgcolor="#000000" valign="top" height="175" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); 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line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);">Trump's California Water Order Rushes Science and Cuts Out Public, Email...</h2><p class="ydp53d0e5e5card-description" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(151, 155, 167);">KQED investigation finds federal biologists concerned that shortened deadline from president cuts time needed to...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div class="ydpda61be88components-List-___List__list_Footer"></div></div></div></div><div class="ydpda61be88post-body" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29px;"><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“We will have it done very, very quickly,” Trump said to members of the California GOP congressional delegation last October as he signed an executive order. “I hope you enjoy the water that you’re going to have.”</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">The rules govern a delicate balancing act, determining how much water is sent to cities and farmland and how much must remain in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem for threatened wildlife, like endangered salmon. That’s made them a target for Central Valley agricultural interests, because in dry years, the rules can limit their water supply.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">Federal biologists set these rules, and they are the final word on how much and when water can be pumped out of the Delta. By law, federal scientists must complete an intricate analysis, and vouch in detailed documents, called biological opinions, that the rules will not drive threatened species such as endangered salmon, delta smelt and other fish to extinction.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">To meet the president’s timeline, scientists at NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had to work at an unprecedented pace, cutting back the independent scientific review, and eliminating the public from the process.</p><a href="https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/07/DBK_Delta_Smelt-2444.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 0, 76);" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img class="ydpda61be88size-medium ydpda61be88wp-image-1944297" src="https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/07/DBK_Delta_Smelt-2444-800x478.jpg" alt="" style="border-style: none; max-width: 748px; display: block; width: 100%;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true" draggable="false"></a>A juvenile delta smelt inside a rearing tank at the UC Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Lab, located at a state Department of Water Resources facility in Contra Costa County. <cite>(Dale Kolke / California Department of Water Resources)</cite><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">All told, they had 135 days to complete their analysis. The last time NOAA Fisheries completed the analysis, in 2008 and 2009, it took 246 days.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">In 2008, a seven-member scientific panel reviewed NOAA’s draft rules, including holding a <a href="http://www.science.calwater.ca.gov/events/reviews/review_ocap.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 0, 76);" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">forum</a> that was open to the public. The panel ultimately produced a<a href="http://www.science.calwater.ca.gov/pdf/reviews/OCAP_NMFS_BO_final_review2.pdf" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 0, 76);" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> report</a> more than 50 pages long, flagging issues in the science for federal biologists to consider. </p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">This time around, the independent review has been less rigorous, according to documents obtained by KQED. Fewer scientists were involved, they received incomplete drafts of the plan, and were given less time to complete their review.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">In early June, two scientists received a draft of NOAA’s biological opinion evaluating the impact of the plan on endangered salmon, and were given 12 days to review it. But the draft lacked a key chapter explaining how scientific studies about threatened species will inform a water pumping plan.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“These unavailable chapters precluded a thorough top-down review from objectives, methods, results and conclusions,” wrote John R. Skalski, a professor of biological statistics at the University of Washington. </p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">The other reviewer echoed that.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“I therefore provide answers [to] the charge questions that are restricted in scope due to time constraints and not knowing the details,” wrote Kenneth Rose, professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, in his review.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">Rose also left four review questions blank “due to time limitations,” he wrote.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;"></p></div><div class="ydpda61be88clear ydpda61be88post-body" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29px; clear: both;"><div class="ydpda61be88utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-AsideShortcode-___AsideShortcode__aside" style="width: 391.578125px; margin: 20.609375px 0px 20.609375px 36.46875px; float: right;"><div class="ydpda61be88components-List-___List__list ydpda61be88components-List-___List__list__cardsMiniSidebar"><div class="ydpda61be88components-List-___List__list_Cards"><div style="position: relative; z-index: 0;"><a title="California Adopts Landmark River Plan to Bring Back Salmon" class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Inner enhancr_card_2151959797" href="https://www.kqed.org/science/1935707/california-water-officials-say-find-way-to-share-water-or-well-do-it-for-you" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(4, 21, 26);" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Image_Wrapper"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Image" style="position: relative; width: 82.421875px; padding-bottom: 61.8125px; min-height: 0px;"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Image_Inner"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Image-___Image__imageContainer" style="position: relative; width: 82.421875px; min-height: 61.8125px;"><div class="ydpda61be88components-Image-___Image__imageContainer_ImageLoaded ydpda61be88components-Image-___Image__imageContainer_ImageLoaded__complete" style="background-size: cover; z-index: 2; background-image: url(https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/12/merced-river-1020x634.jpg);"></div><div class="ydpda61be88components-Image-___Image__imageContainer_ImagePreLoad" style="background-size: cover; z-index: 1; background-image: url(https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/12/merced-river-32x32.jpg);"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Title" style="margin-left: 12px; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica Neue, Lucida Grandel, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 22px;"><span class="ydpda61be88components-Card-components-CardMiniRelated-___CardMiniRelated__card_Title_Text" style="padding-bottom: 1px;">California Adopts Landmark River Plan to Bring Back Salmon</span></div></a></div><div><br></div><div id="ydp246001c8enhancr_card_2151959797" class="ydp246001c8yahoo-link-enhancr-card ydp246001c8ymail-preserve-class ydp246001c8ymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" data-url="https://www.kqed.org/science/1935707/california-water-officials-say-find-way-to-share-water-or-well-do-it-for-you" data-type="YENHANCER" data-size="MEDIUM" contenteditable="false"><a href="https://www.kqed.org/science/1935707/california-water-officials-say-find-way-to-share-water-or-well-do-it-for-you" style="text-decoration:none !important;color:#000 !important" class="ydp246001c8yahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table border="0" class="ydp246001c8card-wrapper ydp246001c8yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:400px"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table border="0" class="ydp246001c8card ydp246001c8yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp246001c8card-primary-image-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/C5IjtloQjRJFDKiGGR1dNg--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/12/merced-river-1180x733.jpg.cf.jpg" bgcolor="#000000" valign="top" height="175" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-size: cover; position: relative; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; min-height: 175px;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/C5IjtloQjRJFDKiGGR1dNg--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2018/12/merced-river-1180x733.jpg.cf.jpg"/></v:rect><![endif]--><table border="0" class="ydp246001c8card-overlay-container-table ydp246001c8yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:100%"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp246001c8card-overlay-cell" background="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png" bgcolor="transparent" valign="top" style="background-color: transparent; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; min-height: 175px;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--><table border="0" class="ydp246001c8yahoo-ignore-table" height="175" style="width: 100%; min-height: 175px;"><tbody><tr><td class="ydp246001c8card-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top"></td><td class="ydp246001c8card-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top"><div class="ydp246001c8card-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table border="0" align="center" class="ydp246001c8card-info ydp246001c8yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:#fff;position:relative;z-index:2;width:100%;max-width:400px;border-radius:0 0 2px 2px;border-top:1px solid rgb(224, 228, 233)"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0"><h2 class="ydp246001c8card-title" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42);">California Adopts Landmark River Plan to Bring Back Salmon</h2><p class="ydp246001c8card-description" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(151, 155, 167);">San Francisco and other water users will have to give up some of their water, unless they can agree on a way to ...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div class="ydpda61be88components-List-___List__list_Footer"></div></div></div></div><div class="ydpda61be88post-body" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 19px; line-height: 29px;"><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“This is definitely a shorter review,” said James Anderson, a research professor at the University of Washington who was on the seven-member science panel in 2008.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">In April, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asked three independent scientists to review its draft biological opinion on the delta smelt, a small fish that is hovering on the brink of extinction. The smelt, considered an indicator of wider Delta ecological health, can be killed by the giant federal and state pumps near Tracy that move billions of gallons of water south. Its population has plummeted due to invasive species and dramatically changed water conditions in the delta. </p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">One of the reviewers flagged the pressure of a 2-week timeframe.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“Due to the overwhelming amount of information provided and the relatively short window for review (this is in the middle of my field season), I requested a 48-hr extension,” wrote Joseph Merz, a reviewer with Cramer Fish Sciences in West Sacramento.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">All three reviewers highlighted that sending more water out of the Delta to farmers would risk the smelt’s existence. </p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“If the conclusion of this BiOP [biological opinion] is that the PA [proposed action] will make things worse for delta smelt and that the numbers are continuing to decrease… doesn’t that suggest great peril for the species?” Merz wrote.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">Kneib, from the University of Georgia, agreed, expressing concern that the agency was skewing the science to make the impacts on delta smelt look less serious. He cited examples “where the available information seemed inappropriately applied or applied beyond the scope of a study from which it was derived in order to support conclusions that effects on Delta Smelt or their critical habitat were minor.” </p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">Last Steps </p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;"><span style="font-size: 4.6875em; float: left; line-height: 0.733em; padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0px 0px; font-family: times, serif, georgia;">B</span>oth federal wildlife agencies are now reviewing the independent scientists’ findings. They could then change their biological opinions based on that feedback.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">“We developed a timeline to complete the biological opinion that allowed adequate time to solicit comments from peer reviewers and the water agencies to be considered and incorporated into the final biological opinion as appropriate,” said Shane Hunt, spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service. “We believe these comments have significantly improved the analysis and have assisted us in ensuring that this biological opinion is complete and informed by the best available science.”</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">NOAA declined to respond to questions about the review process.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">The agencies’ final rules, expected this week, will have far-reaching impacts on millions of Californians and the future of the Delta ecosystem. In some years, roughly half of all the water that flows into the Delta -- a vast system of sloughs and marshes that extends from south of Sacramento to San Francisco Bay -- already is pumped out, reducing water quality and imperiling wildlife.</p><p style="margin: 0px auto 20px; width: 803.78125px;">Critics worry that if more water is taken, species will go extinct and San Francisco Bay’s water quality will decline. In the past, biological opinions have ended up at the center of lawsuits, which, experts say, may well be the outcome with the new ones coming from the Trump administration.</p></div></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>