[env-trinity] FW: Salmon Restoration Bill Receives Final Approval from State Senate

Wed Apr 2 11:09:54 PDT 2008

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From: Dan Bacher [mailto:danielbacher at fishsniffer.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 10:31 AM
Subject: Salmon Restoration Bill Receives Final Approval from State Senate

Salmon Restoration Bill Receives Final Approval from Senate

The State Senate gave final approval Tuesday to salmon restoration
legislation sponsored by Senator Patricia Higgins. The bill designates $5.3
million in "urgent funding" for coastal salmon and steelhead restoration
projects in California.

The Central Valley Chinook population rise and fall graphic is courtesy of
Dick Pool.

 <http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/04/01/chinook_rise_and_fall.pdf> 

 <http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/04/01/chinook_rise_and_fall.pdf>
chinook_rise_and_fall.pdf

 <http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2008/04/01/chinook_rise_and_fall.pdf>
download PDF (125.4 KB)

State Senate Gives Final Approval to Wiggins Salmon Restoration Bill

by Dan Bacher

The State Senate gave final approval on April 1 to Senate Bill 562,
legislation by North Coast Senator Patricia Wiggins (D Santa Rosa) to
designate $5.3 million in '"urgent funding" for coastal salmon and steelhead
fisheries restoration projects.

The Senate action takes place at a time when West Coast salmon fisheries are
in their greatest crisis ever, due to the unprecedented collapse of the
Sacramento River fall chinook population. Although poor ocean conditions
have played a role in the collapse, fishing, tribal and environmental groups
point to massive increases in water exports from the California Delta and
declining water quality on Central Valley rivers as key factors in the
sudden decline.

Commercial and recreational fishermen face a salmon fishing closure off
California and Oregon this year for the first time since commercial salmon
fishing began in San Francisco Bay and the Delta in 1848, according to Zeke
Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations (PCFFA).

There are many factors that went into our salmon decline, but none as
significant as the loss of freshwater flows to the Delta and San Francisco
Bay that are essential for maintaining the biological function of this
estuary and sustaining native salmon and other fish populations," said
Grader at an historic press conference outlining solutions to the salmon
collapse in Sacramento on March 14.

SB 562 is supported by a diverse group, including the California Farm Bureau
Federation, Association of California Water Agencies, Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermens Association, the Karuk Tribe, CalTrout, the Sonoma
County Water Agency and the Sierra Club.

"The Assembly approved SB 562 on March 24, so todays 27-10 Senate vote means
the bill will soon be on the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his
consideration," said David Miller, Press Secretary for Senator Wiggins. "SB
562 is an urgency measure, meaning the bill will take effect immediately
upon signing by the Governor."

If signed into law, the Wiggins bill would allocate $5.293 in Proposition 84
funds to the state Department of Fish and Game to be used for its coastal
salmon and steelhead fishery restoration efforts. Voters approved Prop. 84 -
the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and
Coastal Protection Bond Act in 2006.

Wiggins also said that enactment of SB 562 will allow the state to leverage
up to $20 million federal dollars for salmon restoration this spring.Every
week adds a new development to our burgeoning salmon crisis, Wiggins noted
after the Senate floor vote.

We have all seen the recent headlines regarding salmon in California:
Fishermen fear lost salmon season; Officials warn of salmon population
collapse; Regulators Could Close West Coast Salmon Fishing This Year'," said
Wiggins in presenting SB 562 before her colleagues.

This bill is about this legislature taking action to protect Californias
$100 million dollar salmon industry, Wiggins added. She later stressed that
the industry extends beyond fishermen to include tackle shops, processors,
ice suppliers, restaurants and tourism.

Although the bill is a good start, more legislation and aggressive measures
are needed to save the embattled salmon of California's coastal and Central
Valley rivers. Agricultural diversions on coastal rivers, declining water
quality in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, American, Feather and other Central
Valley rivers and massive water exports from the California Delta by the
state and federal governments are problems that need to be immediately
addressed to solve the salmon crisis.

Also, all commercial, tribal and recreational fishermen and all related
businesses must be compensated in full for any loss of income caused by the
salmon collapse. While environmentally destructive agribusiness interests in
drainage impaired land on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley have
received massive federal subsidies for decades, salmon fishermen and related
businesses have had to struggle for any type of significant relief.

Fortunately, federal legislation sponsored by Representative Mike Thompson
(D-St. Helena) aims to provide disaster relief to businesses impacted by the
salmon collapse.

Senator Wiggins is Chair of the Joint Committee on Fisheries & Aquaculture.
For more information, call (916) 651-1897 or Fax (916) 324-3036.

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