Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3906 Feb 28- Mar 13 | Page 23
Feb 28-Mar 13, 2020
VOL.39 • ISS. 6
21
Voluntary Settlements Are Disastrous for Fish
and the Ecosystem – and Are Not New
O
n February 4, Governor Gavin
Newsom unveiled what he
describes as a “comprehensive solution for
the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta”
through a series of voluntary agreements
in an opinion piece at Cal Matters, “Gov.
Newsom: California must get past differ-
ences on water. Voluntary agreements are
the path forward.”
In the tradition of the failed CalFed,
Delta Vision, Bay Delta Conservation
Plan and California Water Fix processes,
Newsom presents a “new path forward”
that gets an array of “diverse stakeholders”
to supposedly resolve their differences,
seek common ground and work for the
coequal goals of water supply supply reli-
ability and ecosystem restoration:
“Historically, disputes over water, or
what some call ‘water wars,’ have pitted
stakeholders against one another: urban vs.
rural; agriculture vs. conservation; North
vs. South.
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.
Guided by science, this new framework
will provide the foundation for binding
voluntary agreements between government
agencies and water users with partnership
and oversight from environmental groups.
These agreements will require adaptive,
holistic management of enhanced water
flows and habitats to protect, restore, and
enhance California’s largest rivers and the
Delta.”
However, scientists and salmon and Delta
advocates say the agreements would be
disastrous for fish and wildlife – and are
really nothing new.
In a tweet, Dr. Jon Rosenfield, senior
scientist for the San Francisco Baykeeper,
criticized the “framework” for being
developed without input from river
ecologists.
“Today, a new VA ‘framework’ was
released (developed without input from
river ecologists) that would treat ALL the
Delta’s environmental flows as an annual
block. Water quality, endangered species,
All flexible; no underpinning of natural
hydrology + evolutionary history,” said
Rosenfield.
“This is a bear hug of the Trump admin-
istration extinction plan by the Newsom
administration,” Rosenfield told the Sacra-
mento Bee, referring to the Trump water
plan to maximize water exports to San
Joaquin Valley contractors at great expense
devastate Central Valley and Bay-Delta fish
populations.
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 Cali-
fornia’s salmon
*Trolling
numbers by 1999,
Motors
as written in Fish
*Fishfinders
and Game Code
Section 6902.
*GPS
In addition, the
*VHF
doubling of naturally
Radios
spawning salmon
*Radar
and other anadro-
*Batteries
mous species by
and
2002 was required
Chargers
under federal law,
the Central Valley
Largest Service
Project Improvement
Center
Act.
in the West!
Of course, we
all know what
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happened; Central
Valley salmon numbers
ficial uses of water from the Sierra is far
collapsed in 2008-2009 and have never
better for California’s people and environ-
fully recovered, due to massive water
ment than years of litigation. Metropolitan
exports of water to corporate agribusiness
commends the Newsom administration for
interests on the westside of the San Joaquin seeking to move forward in a collaborative
Valley and Southern California water
fashion.”
agencies, combined with the mismanage-
Last year, Patrick Porgans of Planetary
ment of Central Valley dam operations
Solutionaries called Newsom’s voluntary
by the state and federal governments and
agreements the “Munich Agreement on
other factors including ocean conditions.
California Water” in his piece on the Daily
Meanwhile, the Delta smelt, an indicator
Kos website: https://www.dailykos.com/
species that demonstrates the health of the
stories/2019/9/16/1885850/-The-Munich-
San Francisco Bay-Delta, moves closer and Agreement-on-California-Water.
closer to extinction every year.
In his piece, he exposes the “disastrous
“The state’s rationale for its new
track record” of voluntary agreements. He
framework yesterday demonstrates that
points out that the voluntary agreements
they have no intention of satisfying legal
all have one thing in common: “they find
requirements to protect fish, wildlife and
that restrictions on Delta export pumping
water quality in San Francisco Bay,”
to protect fish aren not needed.” Porgans
explained Rosenfield. “There is a state and
writes:
federal requirement for the doubling of
“We’ve been here before – Voluntary
naturally spawned salmon population. This Settlement Agreements in California water
voluntary agreements plan won’t achieve
are not new. They have a disastrous track
its goals for 30 years, which means that it
record. The 1994 Bay-Delta Accord, signed
will never be achieved.”
25 years ago, espoused the same hoopla
“State officials said that the flows and
that collaboration and habitat restoration
habitat in the framework were intended
and voluntary efforts to increase flows
to produce a 10 percent of improvement
in the Delta would restore fisheries and
of fish populations in the estuary, but
increase reliability of water supplies.”
a 10 percent improvement won’t come
Over $8.4 billion in taxpayer borrowed
anywhere close to even what the popula-
money ($13.5 billion with interest) was
tions of those fish were when they were
spent under the CalFed program, while fish
listed under the state and federal Endan-
populations in the Delta crashed. Adaptive
gered Species Acts,” he concluded.
management under CalFed also failed.
Deirdre Des Jardins of California Water
Joe Grindstaff, former director of CalFed
Research said the framework “will likely
acknowledged: ‘Fundamentally, the system
decimate Fall run Chinook populations and we devised didn’t work.” Felicia Marcus,
the West Coast salmon fishery, because fall former chair, State Water Resources
run typically outmigrate in April, May, and Control Board stated in 2018 that ‘Some
June, which is peak irrigation season for
native fish species have been pushed to the
rice crops in the Sacramento Valley.”
edge of extinction in an ecosystem on the
“This is a rice doubling plan, not a
verge of collapse.’
salmon doubling plan,” she observed.
Recommendations by independent and
On the other hand, Jeffrey Kightlinger,
agency biologists to increase flows to
general manager of the Metropolitan Water restore fish populations have been blocked
District of Southern California, lauded the
for decades by the water export contrac-
agreements, claiming they would “resolve
tors’ opposition, effectively delaying the
a pending update” of the Bay Delta Water
Water Board actions. On the eve of the
Quality Control Plan before the State Water Water Board’s finally taking long needed
Resources Control Board.
regulatory actions, the Voluntary Settle-
“This is a promising step that will result
ment Agreements were championed by the
in additional water for the environment,
Brown administration and supported by the
habitat restoration and improved science,
Newsom administration.”
preparing California for a sustainable water
It is no surprise that Governor Newsom
future. While more work lies ahead, Metro- received a total of $755,198 in donations
politan is committed to finding a workable
from agribusiness in 2018, based on the
solution,” said Kightlinger. “A shared,
latest data from www.followthemoney.
voluntary approach to balancing the bene-
org. That figure includes $116,800 from
Beverly Hills agribusi-
ness tycoons Stewart
and Lynda Resnick, the
largest orchard fruit
growers in the world
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