[env-trinity] Modesto Bee - Read in Conjunction with SF Chron Article on Litigation

[Byron]

Delta smelt meltdown indicates other problems


 


 


 


 


 


 



 
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Last Updated: February 14, 2005, 04:05:23 AM PST

The government has been tracking fish populations in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta for 38 years, and never have the findings been as bleak and
disturbing as they are now. 

The population of the delta smelt, a particularly sensitive fish because of
its one-year life cycle, is at historic lows. Striped bass, shad and other
species aren't far behind. If these new population surveys are confirmed by
ones now under way, it will take some deft management by state and federal
agencies to avoid the kind of full-blown water crisis that plagued the delta
more than a decade ago. 

The dinky and unlovable smelt don't elicit the same emotional attachment or
interest as the runs of majestic salmon or silvery stripers that pulse in
and out of the delta. But the smelt serve as the proverbial canaries in a
coal mine. 

Smelt must reproduce or perish every single year. Due to their legal status
under state and federal laws as a threatened species, this little fish has a
big impact on the management of the delta. 

And anything that affects the management of the delta has effects felt
'round the state. The delta is the water supply for two-thirds of the
state's population and also is one of the hemisphere's most important (and
altered) estuaries. 

Unusually wet or dry years can trigger big drops in fish populations. But
the past few years have been just about average. So what's happening now - a
widespread multispecies die-off with no historic explanation - is new and
worrisome. 

Who or what is the culprit? 

There are many suspects, from an increasing number of non-native predators
to invasive plants to changes in pesticides finding their way into the
delta. None can be ruled out, and neither can the massive state and federal
pumps that carry millions of gallons of water south. 

In such a dynamic system, several reasons are more likely than just one.
Until more is known, the correct political response is to use extreme
caution. 

Metropolitan Water District and other water exporters have been aggressively
pushing officials to increase the rate of delta pumping, particularly in the
summer. A more flexible pumping regime may prove helpful, even though that
might not produce more water for exporters. 

But the delta is as complex and fragile as it is important. If new and
better science and changing environmental conditions are to guide water
policies, this is a time to pause and figure out what is really happening,
not a time to add any new stresses to it.

http://www.modbee.com/opinion/story/9954863p-10796080c.html 

 

Byron Leydecker, 

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

Consultant, Californiua Trout, Inc.

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 ph

415 383 9562 fx

415 519 4810 ce

bwl3 at comcast.net

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary)

http://www.fotr.org

http://caltrout.org

 

 

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