[env-trinity] California governor proposes new plan for managingwater

Wed Feb 5 15:49:18 PST 2020

Dan's story is up on Fish Sniffer:

Voluntary Settlements Are Disastrous for Fish and the Ecosystem – and Are
Not New

https://fishsniffer.com/index.php/2020/02/05/voluntary-settlements-are-disastrous-for-fish-and-the-ecosystem-and-are-not-new/

In his apparent lack of knowledge of both the failure of previous voluntary
agreements and the California Fish and Game Code, Governor Newsom proudly
proclaimed in his piece, “Today, I am committing to achieving a doubling of
California’s salmon population by 2050. These agreements will be
foundational to meeting that goal.”

Actually, there is nothing “new” about this commitment to “achieving a
doubling of California’s salmon population by 2050.

In reality, the Governor, Legislature, Fish and Game Commission and
Department of Fish and Wildlife 32 YEARS AGO formally committed to doubling
California’s salmon numbers by 1999, as written in Fish and Game Code
Section 6902. In addition, the doubling of naturally spawning salmon and
other anadromous species by 2002 was required under federal law, the
Central Valley Project Improvement Act.

Of course, we all know what happened; Central Valley salmon numbers
collapsed in 2008-2009 and have never fully recovered, due to massive water
exports of water to corporate agribusiness interests on the westside of the
San Joaquin Valley and Southern California water agencies, combined with
the mismanagement of Central Valley dam operations by the state and federal
governments and other factors including ocean conditions. Meanwhile, the
Delta smelt, an indicator species that demonstrates the health of the San
Francisco Bay-Delta, moves closer and closer to extinction every year.

“The state’s rationale for its new framework yesterday demonstrates that
they have no intention of satisfying legal requirements to protect fish,
wildlife and water quality in San Francisco Bay,” explained Rosenfield.
“There is a state and federal requirement for the doubling of naturally
spawned salmon population. This voluntary agreements plan won’t achieve its
goals for 30 years, which means that it will never be achieved.”

“State officials said that the flows and habitat in the framework were
intended to produce a 10 percent of improvement of fish populations in the
estuary, but a 10 percent improvement won’t come anywhere close to even
what the populations of those fish were when they were listed under the
state and federal Endangered Species Acts,” he concluded.

Deirdre Des Jardins of California Water Research said the framework “will
likely decimate Fall run Chinook populations and the West Coast salmon
fishery, because fall run typically outmigrate in April, May, and June,
which is peak irrigation season for rice crops in the Sacramento Valley.”

“This is a rice doubling plan, not a salmon doubling plan,” she observed.

On Wed, Feb 5, 2020 at 10:28 AM Daniel Bacher <danielbacher at fishsniffer.com>
wrote:

> Bill
>
> That’s exactly what I thought when I saw Newsom’s announcement.
>
> Doubling salmon numbers has been mandated under law for 32 years. And they
> sure haven’t been doubled. Unfortunately, the reporter didn’t know that.
>
> When I write a story on this, that will be one of my main points.
>
> Thanks
> Dan
>
> On Feb 5, 2020, at 10:18 AM, Kier Associates <kierassociates at att.net>
> wrote:
>
> (As for Mr Bonham’s vow in the AP story below to double California’s
> salmon numbers by 2050) For the record: the Governor, Legislature, Fish &
> Game Commission and Department *32 years ago* formally committed to
> doubling California’s salmon numbers *by 1999* - see Fish and Game Code
> Section 6902
>
> Bill Kier
>
> *From:* env-trinity [
> mailto:env-trinity-bounces+kierassociates=att.net at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
> <env-trinity-bounces+kierassociates=att.net at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us>] *On
> Behalf Of *Tom Stokely
> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 05, 2020 8:58 AM
> *To:* Env-trinity
> *Subject:* [env-trinity] California governor proposes new plan for
> managing water
>
> https://apnews.com/58b637fdb13066f7cd74d4d5d1659dd7
> California governor proposes new plan for managing water
> By ADAM BEAMtoday
>
>
> SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s governor revealed a plan on Tuesday
> that would keep more water in the fragile San Joaquin River Delta while
> restoring 60,000 acres of habitat for endangered species and generating
> more than $5 billion in new funding for environmental improvements.
>
> The framework announced Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom is a unique approach
> to managing the state’s scarce water resources. Historically, California
> has governed water usage by issuing rules — rules that are often challenged
> in court by farmers or environmental groups
>
> Those lawsuits can drag on for years and prevent programs designed to
> boost sagging salmon populations and other threatened species that live in
> the delta.
>
> Instead of issuing new rules, for the past year the Newsom administration
> has been negotiating with water agencies to come up with “voluntary
> agreements” between the two sides with “partnership and oversight from
> environmental groups.”
>
> “Today, my Administration is proposing a path forward, one that will move
> past the old water binaries and set us up for a secure and prosperous water
> future,” Newsom wrote in an op-ed announcing the framework.
>
> But some environmental groups were skeptical. Last year, the Trump
> administration announced new rules that would take more water out of the
> delta. The Newsom administration said it would sue the federal government
> over those rules, but so far it has not done so.
>
> Also, John McManus, president of the Golden State Salmon Association said,
> the framework did not address temperature controls for the river at the
> time of year when salmon need cold water to survive.
>
> “There are definitely worrisome signals coming from today’s announcement,”
> McManus said,
>
> Wade Crowfoot, secretary for the California Natural Resources Agency, said
> the state is still negotiating with the federal government and can still
> file a lawsuit if their concerns are not addressed. He stressed the goal is
> to continue working with federal agencies to resolve the issue.
>
> The agreements would be in place for the next 15 years. But they are not
> finished yet. Both sides still have to finish policy and legal issues.
> Plus, the State Water board must conduct a third-party scientific review.
>
> “This is a promising step that will result in additional water for the
> environment,”said Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan
> Water District of Southern California. “A shared, voluntary approach to
> balancing the beneficial uses of water from the Sierra is far better for
> California’s people and environment than years of litigation.”
>
> Water in the delta comes from snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada mountains and
> provides drinking water for millions of people as well as irrigation for
> farmers throughout the state.
>
> The framework would increase the amount of water flowing through the delta
> by up to 900,000 acre feet in years when conditions are dry, below normal
> or above normal. One acre foot of water (43,560 cubic feet) is more than
> 325,000 gallons, the amount of irrigation water that would cover one acre
> to a depth of one foot.
>
> Additional flows would be less during wet years.
>
> More water means a better environment for the state’s endangered salmon
> population, whose numbers have reached dangerously low levels. The
> framework would also restore more than 60,000 acres of habitat for some of
> the delta’s species by strategically letting rivers flow through their
> natural flood plain to create wetlands.
>
> The idea, according to California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director
> Chuck Bonham, is for the wetlands to attract more bugs, which the salmon
> will eat and grow larger, making it more likely they will return to breed.
>
> “I am committing to achieving a doubling of California’s salmon population
> by 2050,” Newsom wrote. “These agreements will be foundational to meeting
> that goal.”
>
> Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District, said
> previous water rules have focused strictly on providing more water for fish.
> “Unless we address all of the factors that limit the abundance of those
> species, we’re never going to be successful,” he said.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Deirdre Des Jardins
California Water Research
831 566-6320 cell
831 423-6857 landline
*cah2oresearch.com <http://cah2oresearch.com>*
twitter: @flowinguphill <https://twitter.com/flowinguphill>
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