COVER STORY
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VOL . 36 • ISS . 22
Hey Dan ! — Letters To The Editor
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Let ’ s hear your compliments , or your gripes ! Whatever it is , send it to : HEY , DAN !, c / o Fish Sniffer Publications , The Fish Sniffer - P . O . Box 776 , Colfax , CA 95713 , or you can now e-mail it at danielbacher @ fishsniffer . com . Please enclose a self-addressed , stamped envelope for the return of pictures or text . Thanks !
Lawsuit Challenges California Permits for Delta Tunnels to Harm Endangered Salmon , Smelt
Hey Dan !
SACRAMENTO , Calif .— Conservation groups have sued the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to challenge the legality of a state permit that would allow the controversial Delta tunnels project to kill endangered salmon and other imperiled fish protected by the state ’ s Endangered Species Act .
The tunnels project known as California WaterFix would divert massive amounts of fresh water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California , doing significant harm to Central Valley salmon runs , declining Delta fish populations and the Bay-Delta ecosystem .
“ Salmon and smelt populations are already on the verge of extinction , and the state ’ s own science shows that exporting even more water from the Delta by approving the tunnels project would hasten extinction ,” said Gary Bobker , program director at the Bay Institute . “ It ’ s clearly illegal to permit WaterFix when doing so places the future existence of these species at risk , and unnecessary too , since there are better ways to meet our state ’ s water supply needs than approving this project .”
The lawsuit was filed Friday in California Superior Court in Sacramento by the Bay Institute , Center for Biological Diversity , Natural Resources Defense Council and San Francisco Baykeeper ; they ’ re represented by the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice . The suit challenges Fish and Wildlife ’ s July 2017 issuance of a “ take ” permit for the tunnel operations . The agency improperly authorized the California Department Water Resources to kill and harm state-protected fish species , including winter-run and spring-run chinook salmon , longfin smelt and Delta smelt .
“ You can ’ t just give a permit to decimate California ’ s remaining salmon runs and drive critical fish species in the Bay Delta to extinction ,” said Jeff Miller with the Center for Biological Diversity . “ It ’ s time to kill this misguided tunnels project once and for all and focus on improving fresh water flows to restore the Delta .”
California WaterFix is the latest in a long line of water diversion projects intended to remove vast quantities of water from the Delta before it reaches San Francisco Bay . On the scale of the English Channel Tunnel , the $ 17 billion to $ 67 billion project would build two 30-mile tunnels , each four stories high , to route water from the Sacramento River in the north Delta to central and Southern California . The water diversions would degrade habitat conditions for declining runs of salmon and smelt , kill young fish at diversion points , disrupt the estuary ’ s food chain and increase salinity in the Delta .
“ Construction and operation of the tunnels will devastate California ’ s native fisheries , threaten thousands of fishing jobs , and leave the Bay-Delta estuary worse off than today ,” said Doug Obegi , a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council . “ It will also divert critical funding away from cost-effective water supply solutions .”
“ The Bay ecosystem needs freshwater inputs to survive and be healthy ,” said Erica Maharg , managing attorney at San Francisco Baykeeper . “ By allowing the proposed tunnels to export too much freshwater for central and Southern California , the Department of Fish and Wildlife is shirking its duty to protect the already threatened and endangered fish of San Francisco Bay .”
“ State officials from the governor on down falsely claim that WaterFix would improve conditions for critically endangered native fish , including California ’ s once abundant chinook salmon ,” said Trent Orr , Earthjustice staff attorney . “ But disrupting a vast area with decades of construction to take even more fresh water from an already degraded Delta would hasten these species ’ demise , not restore them to healthy populations .” Background The proposed WaterFix diversion of Delta water would dramatically degrade habitat and water quality conditions for chinook salmon , longfin smelt and Delta smelt by decreasing flows into and through the Delta , placing already fragile and declining fish populations in serious jeopardy of extinction . All of these fish species are protected under the California Endangered Species Act .
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife cannot legally issue a permit to kill or “ take ” these protected species because operation of the tunnels would jeopardize the continued existence of the protected fish species . Although the Act requires that any take of protected species must be minimized and fully mitigated , the Department failed to include mitigation measures that could successfully prevent these fish species from declining . The Department also violated the Act by failing to use the best available science on the impacts of the tunnels and associated water diversion .
Last week conservation groups challenged the legality of proposed bonds to pay for the construction of the tunnels project . Earlier this week Westlands Water District , the largest supplier of irrigation water to California farms , voted to not participate in the Delta tunnels project . A court ruling against the bonds or rejection of the project by major water districts could be fatal to WaterFix because the project ’ s success hinges on funding commitments by the recipients of the project water . Public funds cannot legally be used to pay for the project . Conservation groups have also challenged the adequacy of the environmental review for WaterFix under California ’ s Environmental Quality Act .
In addition to driving endangered species toward extinction , the project would devastate Delta farmers , Sacramento Valley communities and what is left of California ’ s salmon fishing economy . In response , a large array of organizations , public agencies and municipalities have now filed multiple lawsuits challenging the project on a wide variety of legal grounds , including 21 conservation and fishing groups , 30 water agencies , and 12 counties and cities , as well as Delta famers and the Winnemem Wintu Indian tribe .
~ Jeff Miller , Center for Biological Diversity
Hey Jeff ! I ’ m so glad that your group and three other organizations have filed this lawsuit to challenge the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for issuing a permit to kill endangered salmon and smelt in the Delta Tunnels .
Ironically , the mission of the CDFW “ is to manage California ’ s diverse fish , wildlife , and plant resources , and the habitats upon which they depend , for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public .”
Unfortunately , the CDFW is completely failing in its mission to “ manage ” California ’ s diverse fish populations by approving the take permit in order to appease corporate agribusiness interests and Southern California water agencies .
~ Dan
COVER STORY
Buzz Ramsey of Yakima Bait displays an impressive Columbia River king salmon that hit the net on August 28 . The fish blitzed a Yakima Bait Bob Toman Spinner trolled behind a Big Al ’ s Fish Flash Flasher . Buzz is one of the icons of the salmon fishing world , working with companies such as Luhr Jensen , Berkley and Yakima Bait . Buzz ’ s most recent projects include the development of the Mag Lip Flatfish and a whole new generation of signature series Berkley Buzz Ramsey Air Series salmon and steelhead rods . Buzz graciously hosted the Fish Sniffer ’ s Paul Kneeland and Cal Kellogg for a Columbia River salmon fishing adventure this August . Team Fish Sniffer can ’ t wait to hit the water with Buzz again in the near future ! Photo by CAL KELLOGG , Fish Sniffer Staff .
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