Cross-posted from the CA League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) blog,Groundswell.
By Mike Young and Beth Gunston
Late Wednesday, CLCV-endorsed candidate Assemblymember Bill Monning was greeted with some fantastic news: Senator Sam Blakeslee announced that he will not seek re-election. Despite being the incumbent, Blakeslee decided that defending his seat would not be worth the effort since decennial redistricting shifted this coastal district to a new 16% Democratic registration advantage. If that were not insurmountable enough, much of the new district that stretches from Santa Cruz to San Luis Obespo overlaps areas that Monning currently represents in the Assembly.
In 2010, it was largely argued that Blakeslee only won his race against Democrat candidate and environmental champion John Laird because then-Governor Schwarzenegger made that contest a special election where Democratic voters tend to have extremely low turnout. Whether that's true or not, Blakeslee felt he had no viable chance this time around. Without a serious primary challenger and with the incumbent ducking out, Monning is in a great position to essentially walk into the seat. This will be a big pick-up for the environment. Monning (100% CLCV score) will be a much needed breath of fresh air from Blakeslee (21% CLCV score), especially in the Senate where environmental priorities have had a much more difficult time passing. Monning is well regarded for his environmental health work around toxics and pesticides, and has been specifically outspoken about the recent introduction of methyl iodide in the state.
But while Monning’s expected win is a great for the environment, it's time to look this gift horse in the mouth. With little hope of a contender to pit against Monning, the polluter interests that helped Blakeslee win in 2010 will likely now spend their money to defeat a more vulnerable target: state Senator Fran Pavley. Pavley, an environmental leader who authored California's landmark global warming laws, has a much more difficult race this year as redistricting has put her in a Senate seat against Tony Strickland with a very narrow registration advantage. In 2008, despite his 2% record on the environment including countless votes against bills to increase renewable energy, Strickland reinvented himself as a renewable energy expert and narrowly won his current Senate seat. With environmental advocates just one seat away from a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate and environmental champion Fran Pavley potentially being ousted, you can bet big polluters will spend more heavily on this race than any others.
So while the prospects for Bill Monning look fantastic, the consequence may be that we will need to work even harder to protect Fran Pavley. Still, much can change between now and Election Day, and nobody quite knows how the top two primary system will change the political landscape. All we know for sure is that in 2012 we must remain vigilant and work towards electing an environmental majority in the Senate. That way we’ll be more likely to pass bold environmental laws along with a balanced budget, taxes, and fees to keep our state moving forward in the years to come.
The abundance of endangered Delta smelt, an indicator species that demonstrates the health of the imperiled Bay-Delta ecosystem, was greater in 2011 than it has been any year since 2001.
Yet state fishery biologists note that population remains a small fraction of historical abundance. "The improvement is likely due in large part to higher than usual Delta outflow which resulted in more and better habitat," according to Marty Gingras, Department of Fish and Game (DFG) fishery biologist, in a press release on December 22.
The high flows resulted in keeping the Delta smelt away from the state and federal pumping facilities in the South Delta, where millions of Sacramento splittail and other fish were killed this year. Only 51 Delta smelt were "salvaged" in the pumping facilities that export water to southern California water agencies and corporate growers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley in 2011.
It is exceptionally difficult to determine the actual number of Delta smelt, so DFG biologists use survey data to develop "indices" of the species' abundance, Gingras noted. An index is a number that is likely to vary in direct proportion to abundance.
The Fall Midwater Trawl Survey index of Delta smelt abundance was 343 this year while the index in 2010 was 29 and its record high was 1673 in 1970. "After a decade of record or near-record low annual abundance, the increased number of Delta smelt in 2011 is encouraging," said Gingras.
Delta smelt occur only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast of the Americas. The finger-sized fish was historically one of the most abundant in the Delta, but the species declined dramatically in recent years, due to massive water exports out of the Delta.
It was listed as "threatened" under the California and Federal Endangered Species acts (ESA) in 1993. After a further decline due to increased water exports, the species was designated as "endangered" in 2010 under the California ESA.
Other fish numbers increase over 2010, but still low
The DFG survey also documented an improvement in striped bass, longfin smelt, threadfin shad and American shad indices in 2011, but the numbers of these species are also just a fraction of historical abundance. (http://blogs.esanjoaquin.com/san-joaquin-river-delta/files/2011/12/2011_FMWT_Memo-2.pdf)
The striped bass index was 272 this year, compared to 43 last year and a record high of 19,677 in 1967. This year's index was the highest since 2006.
The longfin smelt index was 477 this year, compared with 191 last year and a record high of 81,737 in 1967. This year's index was the highest since 2006.
The threadfin shad index was 228 this year, compared with 120 last year and a record high 15,267 in 1997. This year's index was the third lowest in the history of the survey.
Finally, the American shad index was 894 this year, compared with 683 last year and a record high of 9,360 in 2003. This year's index was the thirteenth lowest in the survey's history.
"Ongoing efforts to protect and recover the Delta smelt population include research on threats to the species, active management to minimize loss at water diversions under federal ESA biological opinions and a state ESA authorization, development of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, improved water quality, habitat restoration and conservation of genetic diversity through special hatchery-rearing techniques," according to Gingras.
However, Delta advocates counter that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build the peripheral canal to export more water to corporate agribusiness and southern California will actually result in the destruction of Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations, rather than "protecting and recovering" them. All scientific evidence points to the fact that taking more water out of the system, as the BDCP aims to do, will result in the extinction of Delta and longfin smelt, Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, green sturgeon, Sacramento splittail and other imperiled species.
Why no mention of huge fish Delta fish kill?
Strangely missing from the DFG's press releases is any mention of the fact of the huge, unprecedented fish kill that took place at the Delta pumps this year. That state and federal government agencies "salvaged" a total of 11,158,025 fish in the Delta water pumping facilities between January 1 and September 7, 2011 alone.
A horrific 8,985,009 Sacramento splittail, the largest number ever recorded, were salvaged during this period, according to DFG data. The previous record salvage number for the splittail, a native minnow found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system, was 5.5 million in 2006.
The fish "salvaged" at the "death pumps" of the state and federal water projects also include hundreds of thousands of threadfin shad, striped bass, American shad, white catfish and other species. DFG data reveals that 742,850 threadfin shad, 514,921 American shad, 496,601 striped bass and 100,373 white catfish were "salvaged" between January 1 and September 7 of this year.
Agency staff also "salvaged" 35,560 Sacramento River spring run and fall run chinooks, 1,642 Central Valley steelhead and 14 green sturgeon in the project facilities during the same period.
While no comprehensive studies have been conducted on how many of the salvaged fish survive, fish advocates believe that the majority of many species perish during and after the salvage process.
Although the salvage counts are certainly alarming, the overall loss of fish in and around the State Water Project and Central Valley Project facilities is believed to be much greater than the salvage counts. The actual loss could be 5 to 10 times the salvage numbers, according to "A Review of Delta Fish Population Losses from Pumping Operations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta," prepared by Larry Walker Associates in January 2010 for the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (http://www.srcsd.com/pdf/dd/fishlosses.pdf).
A record year for water exports
The reason for the massive, unprecedented fish kill in the Delta pumps was the record amount of water exported out of the Delta this year by the Brown and Obama administrations. The pumps exported a record 6.5 million acre-feet of water in 2011, while the previous record was 6.3 million acre-feet in 2005.
"One of the reasons for the record-setting pumping is that much of the water this year went to refill the underground Kern Water Bank, largely controlled by billionaire farmer Stewart Resnick, and to the smaller Diamond Valley reservoir, which serves Southern California," according to Mike Taugher of the Contra Costa Times. (http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19014459 )
Caleen Sisk-Franco, the Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, who is working on an innovative plan to restore winter run chinook salmon to the McCloud River above Lake Shasta, was appalled by the millions of fish killed in the state and federal water export facilities in 2011.
"I am just wondering why it is okay to have the largest fish kill going on in the Delta and no one notices," said Sisk-Franco. "There are more endangered fish killed every day in the Delta pumps that are supposed to be protected. Try catching one of them to eat, and see how fast you get in trouble, but just let them swim into the Delta pumps and no one is trying to save them!"
Sisk-Franco asked, "How many dead fish is too many? Who will speak up for the fish? Everything is connected and soon we will understand what this fish kill means to the human beings."
While the improvement in Delta smelt abundance this year is certainly a positive development, the alarming news about the record fish kill at the pumps this year and state and federal plans to fast-track the construction of an environmentally destructive peripheral canal or tunnel through the Bay Delta Conservation Plan overshadows this welcome information.
Governor Jerry Brown and Natural Resources Secretary John Laird have not only continued the absmal environmental policies of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger by advancing Schwarzenegger's campaigns to build the peripheral canal under the BDCP and to set up controversial "marine protected areas" under the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. They have, in fact, exceeded the fish-killing policies of Schwarzenegger by authorizing record water exports and presiding over a record fish kill at the Delta pumps in 2011.
State and feds to release Delta studies after massive complaints
by Dan Bacher
The state and federal governments on November 29 announced they plan to release Delta science studies in response to the voluminous comments they received criticizing a controversial agreement that fast-tracks the construction of the peripheral canal under the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP).
Tuesday's press release from the U.S. Department of Interior claimed that Interior, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Department of Water Resources "announced a first step in responding to public comments on a draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with California water agencies that will enhance transparency in developing the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) by speeding access to draft technical documents."
"This initial step will be followed by additional responses to public comments that have been filed on the MOA," Interior noted.
The "public comments" included letters from unprecedented 242 fishing, tribal and environmental organizations, 17 California Legislators and 11 Members of Congress, who slammed the top-down process that is dominated by corporate agribusiness and water agency interests that export water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. To read the entire Environmental Water Caucus letter, go to: http://www.ewccalifornia.org/r...
The letter from the 242 groups stated, "The MOA was negotiated behind closed doors and only serves to reinforce the growing awareness that the BDCP is biased in favor of the export water contractor's agenda to increase exports from the Delta and its connected rivers, despite the documented negative impacts those exports have had on endangered fish species, Delta habitats, water quality and public trust values."
Both Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes and Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird extolled the "virtues" of the plan to build the canal or tunnel to export more water to corporate agribusiness and southern California.
"The Bay Delta Conservation Plan may propose the largest habitat restoration project ever to be undertaken in the United States in the largest and most important estuary on the west coast of the Americas," claimed Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes. "This needs to be done right, and that is why we are announcing our joint commitment that all parties have access to key documents involved in the development of the BDCP."
"Our expectation is that broad stakeholder understanding of its scientific underpinnings will improve their engagement in both the plan and its implementation," said Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird. "Fish, farmers and the 25 million average Californians who rely on the San Francisco-San Joaquin Delta for water deserve nothing less."
Laird continued: "One thing is absolutely clear as review of the comments on the MOA have begun -- no one wants even the appearance of a special advantage. Thus, while other comments on the MOA will be addressed in coming weeks, there is no need to wait on committing to release all documents to all parties at the same time."
The "enhancement" will be finalized in a letter among the controlling agencies in December, according to Interior. The letter will spell out that key BDCP-related documents will be posted on the internet at http://www.BayDeltaConservatio... and made available to all parties for review at the same time. A list of expected release dates will be posted on the website within the week.
I am glad that Laird and Hayes have agreed to releasing all of the controversial BDCP documents "to all parties at the same time." However, I find Laird's comments greenwashing the peripheral canal plan, under the guise of a habitat conservation plan, disturbing.
When he says, "Fish, farmers and the 25 million average Californians who rely on the San Francisco-San Joaquin Delta for water deserve nothing less," Laird echoes the false notion that the only "real stakeholders" regarding the future of the Delta are fish, "farmers" and urban water users, a concept that both the Delta Vision and BDCP fiascos have embodied.
What about Delta residents, boaters, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, California Indian Tribes, conservationists, environmental justice communities, business owners and all of those other people whose lives depend on the health of the Delta and its fish populations? Laird has to date done nothing to include them in the BDCP Management Committee because he apparently considers water exporters and political hacks to be the only "real" stakeholders.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director of Restore the Delta (http://www.restorethedelta.org), responded to Interior's release by stating, "The BDCP decides to start releasing science documents because they haven't been transparent. So now we are supposed to trust the science that they are selectively releasing - after we were not at the table to see how that 'science" was created. Judge Wanger, the Delta smelt judge who retired a few weeks ago, is now a lawyer for the Westlands Water District (Nothing like the growing nexus between corporations and the judiciary in this country.)"
"Phil Isenberg, chair of the Delta Stewardship Council, is telling everyone that the contractors will settle for a 9000 cfs. pipe to grab Delta water, and (drumroll please), the BDCP, which doesn't have a project, released a job description for a project manager to build the tunnel. Qualifications are: he/she must have worked for one of the water contractor groups that wants to take the water," Barrigan-Parrilla noted.
Laird and Gerald Meral, Deputy Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, have continued the abysmal environmental policies of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in pushing for the construction of a peripheral canal or tunnel through the Bay Delta Conservation Plan.
However, Laird and Hayes have actually eclipsed the Schwarzenegger and Bush administrations in slaughtering Delta fish and Central Valley chinook salmon in the state and federal water project facilities in the South Delta. The Obama and Brown administrations, under the "leadership" of Laird and Hayes, have killed record numbers of Sacramento splittail and other fish in the pumps while exporting record amounts of water out of the Delta this year.
Over 11 million fish, including 9 million Sacramento splittail, have been "salvaged" at the Delta pumps near Tracy in 2011. The previous record salvage number for the splittail, a native minnow found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system, was 5.5 million in 2006.
The other 2 million fish "salvaged" at the pumps include striped bass, largemouth bass, Sacramento River spring chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead and other species. Yet the numbers salvaged are just a fraction of the actual loss of fish in the pumps; scientific studies point to the real loss being 5 to 10 times the "salvage" numbers. (http://blogs.alternet.org/danbacher/2011/09/09/over-11-million-fish-salvaged-in-delta-death-pumps-since-january-1).
The state and federal water projects pumped a record 6.5 million acre-feet of water from the Delta in 2011. The previous record, set during the Schwarzenegger and Bush administrations, was 6.3 million acre-feet in 2005.
The peripheral canal or tunnel that Laird and Hayes are pushing will only result in the extinction of protected Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail and green sturgeon because this "improved conveyance" will inevitably result in increased water exports from an estuary that has been ravaged by the current diversions.
The BDCP is in reality a "Bad Delta Canal Plan," not a "Bay Delta Conservation Plan."
Legislators ask Salazar and Laird to rescind Bay Delta Plan agreement
by Dan Bacher
On November 22, Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) and 16 other Northern California state legislators asked the Department of the Interior and California Resources Agency to rescind the approval of the widely-criticized Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with a select group of water exporters.
The Obama and Brown administrations are continuing to fast-track the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to build a peripheral canal or tunnel to export more water to corporate agribusiness and southern California, in spite of tremendous risk to Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations and Delta communities.
Their letter to Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird was preceded by a letter sent to Salazar and Laird on November 16 by an unprecedented 242 environmental organizations, environmental justice groups, Native American Tribes, recreational angling organizations, commercial fishing groups and outdoor businesses urging them to rescind the MOA. (http://blogs.alternet.org/danbacher/2011/11/18/bay-delta-plan-agreement-opposed-by-242-groups)
"As representatives of the people of California, we have serious concerns with the current direction of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP)," the California legislators wrote. "The most critical among those include a failure of transparency in the process; the limited set of alternatives being considered; scientific inadequacy, including a lack of flow criteria for the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary (Bay Delta); the absence of cost/benefit analyses; and, the undue influence granted to State and Federal export water agencies to the exclusion of a meaningful role for other public interests."
The letter criticized the agreement for offering the signatories, including water agencies from southern California, the San Joaquin Valley and Santa Clara Valley, "extraordinary opportunities to influence the process, to the disadvantage of Delta communities, environmental organizations, fishing groups and the public at large."
"The MOA binds the parties to a rushed timeline for completing the plan, making adequate scientific analysis and consensus-building impossible. It establishes that long-term guarantees of 'certainty' to Central Valley Project export water contractors will be a first priority for state and federal decision makers. And, it memorializes the 'pay to play' nature of the BDCP, as many of our Washington legislators have phrased it, by giving the export water agencies an unprecedented level of control over what should be an open, public process," the letter continued.
The legislators cited the recent letter by Representatives George Miller, Doris Matsui, Jerry McNerney, Mike Thompson and John Garamendi to U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar that urged him to retract Interior's approval of the MOA and allow a public comment period of 45 days on the agreement prior to final approval.
"We urge the same, and for the State, in parallel, to retract the Department of Water Resources' approval of the MOA immediately," Wolk and the other legislators wrote.
Signees to the letter include California Senators Mark Desaulnier, Loni Hancock and Jared Huffman and Assembly Members Michael Allen, Bill Berryhill, Susan Bonilla, Joan Buchanan, Wesley Chesbro, Paul Fong, Alyson Huber, William Monning, Dr. Richard Pan, Nancy Skinner, Mariko Yamada, Jerry Hill and Roger Dickinson.
The letter asked for a reply in writing by December 16, 2011.
The opposition to the BDCP MOA, a plan to export more water disguised as a habitat conservation plan, is mushrooming. Members of Congress and California legislators are opposed to it. A massive coalition of 242 environmental groups, Indian Tribes, fishing organizations, environmental justice groups and consumer advocacy organizations is opposed to it.
Yet the Obama and Brown administrations appear committed to a peripheral canal plan that is likely to result in the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and Sacramento splittail.
These are the same administrations that have eclipsed even the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations in slaughtering Delta fish and Central Valley salmon in the state and federal water project facilities in the South Delta. The Obama and Brown administrations killed record numbers of Sacramento splittail and other fish in the pumps while exporting record amounts of water out of the Delta this year.
Over 11 million fish, including 9 million Sacramento splittail, have been "salvaged" at the Delta pumps near Tracy in 2011. The previous record salvage number for the splittail, a native minnow found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system, was 5.5 million in 2006.
The other 2 million fish "salvaged" at the pumps include striped bass, largemouth bass, Sacramento River spring chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead and other species. Yet the numbers salvaged are just a fraction of the actual loss of fish in the pumps; scientific studies point to the real loss being 5 to 10 times the "salvage" numbers. (http://blogs.alternet.org/danbacher/2011/09/09/over-11-million-fish-salvaged-in-delta-death-pumps-since-january-1).
The state and federal water projects pumped a record 6.5 million acre-feet of water from the Delta in 2011, according to government data compiled by Spreck Rosecrans at Environmental Defense. The previous record was 6.3 million acre-feet in 2005.
If Ken Salazar and John Laird have no problem killing record numbers of fish and exporting record amounts of water, is it any surprise that they are fast-tracking the plan to destroy the Delta by building the peripheral canal?
State and federal officials announced in a joint statement on Thursday, August 11 that they have reached "two significant milestones toward assuring a sustainable water supply for California and a healthy Delta ecosystem."
Translation? The Brown and Obama administrations are aggressively forging ahead with one of the most widely-criticized environmental policies of the Arnold Schwarzenegger administration - the plan to build a peripheral canal to export more water to corporate agribusiness and southern California water agencies.
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the California Natural Resources Agency have agreed to a schedule for completing an effects analysis and a combined environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIR/EIS) as part of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) by June 2012. They also agreed to considering a "suite of alternatives," including a controversial peripheral canal or tunnel, for evaluation in identifying a proposed project.
"This is an aggressive schedule that will allow us to move clearly forward with BDCP and take the guess work out of next steps," said California Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird. "Meeting the dual goals of ecosystem restoration and water supply reliability demand a deep commitment from all parties involved."
"California's complex water problems require science-based solutions developed as part of a close partnership between the federal and state government, as well as all key stakeholders," said Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes. "We share the state's urgency in moving forward with the BDCP as quickly as possible to address the all-important goals of a healthy Bay Delta ecosystem and a reliable water supply for California."
The Brown and Obama administrations outlined the agreement regarding the schedule in an exchange of letters between the California Natural Resources Agency and DOI.
"Additionally, state and federal water officials today laid out a broad range of alternatives that are being evaluated in order to enable the California Department of Water Resources to identify a proposed project that will serve as the basis for federal and state permit applications and environmental review," according to Laird and Hayes. "Those alternatives include a variety of conveyance facilities with capacities ranging from 3,000 to 15,000 cubic feet per second. A range of proposals for habitat restoration is also under consideration."
The peripheral canal or tunnel is strongly opposed by a broad coalition of Delta residents, fishing groups, family farmers, grassroots environmentalists, California Indian Tribes and environmental justice communities. Canal opponents believe the project would result in the likely extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, green sturgeon and other imperiled fish species.
"The agencies would like to get the deed done as soon as possible and we intend to put crowbars in the spokes until they address the full range of reasonable alternatives to this boondoggle, which would end the Delta as we know it," said Bill Jennings, chairman/executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA). "Diverting 3,000 to 15,000 cfs from the estuary would exacerbate water quality impacts, devastate fisheries and virtually eliminate Delta agriculture and recreation."
In addition, canal opponents point out that the range of proposals for "habitat restoration" focus on taking Delta agricultural land, among the most fertile on the planet, out of production in order to continue irrigating drainage-impaired land on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.
Laid also announced that water contractors depending upon Delta water have potentially committed around $100 million to the BDCP process.
"With an agreed upon schedule and impending potential financial commitments of roughly $100 million, the state along with our federal partners can bring us much closer to making our planning efforts a reality," stated Laird.
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, responded to Laird's statement with alarm that more California water ratepayer money was being wasted on the BDCP.
"In this era of fiscal austerity, it's mind boggling that BDCP officials would try to raise $100 million from California water ratepayers to finance the planning of this boondoggle," said Barrigan-Parrilla.
While Laird has claimed he would make the BDCP process "more inclusive," BDCP critics believe the actions of Laird, and Jerry Meral, Deputy Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, prove otherwise.
For example, the BDCP Management Committee has excluded fishing groups, California tribal nations, California's environmental justice community, Delta agriculture, Delta recreation, Delta reclamation districts, Delta water agencies, the Delta Protection Commission, Delta business groups and Delta marina interests.
The Management Committee includes officials from the Natural Resources Agency, Department of Water Resources, Bureau of Reclamation, Westlands Water District, the State Water Contractors Association, Metropolitan Water District, Kern County Water Agency, Santa Clara Valley Water District, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Nature Conservancy. These are the same agencies and organizations that have presided over the collapse of Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations, due to record water exports out of the Delta in recent years.
Meanwhile, staggering losses of Sacramento splittail and other fish species in the death pumps of the state and federal water projects on the California Delta continue as the Brown and Obama administrations export record volumes of water to corporate agribusiness and southern California water agencies.
An astounding 8,966,976 splittail, 35,556 chinook salmon, 430,289 striped bass, 54,412 largemouth bass, 69,383 bluegill, 76,570 white catfish, 28,301 channel catfish, 233,174 threadfin shad, 264,171 American shad, 1,642 steelhead and 51 Delta smelt were "salvaged" in the state and federal water export facilities from January 1 to August 2, 2011, according to Department of Fish and Game (DFG) data. However, the overall loss of fish in and around the State Water Project and Central Valley Project facilities is believed to dwarf the actual salvage counts (http://www.counterpunch.org/bacher08052011.html).
According to the Natural Resources Agency, "The BDCP is a conservation plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, and falls under the federal Endangered Species Act and California Natural Communities Conservation Planning Act. The BDCP is intended to help meet California's co-equal goals for Delta management: water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration. The public draft BDCP, while still under development, includes a set of actions to redesign and re-operate state and federal water projects in the Delta and to restore native fish, wildlife and plant habitat; and address other ecological stressors in the Delta such as invasive plant species, barriers to fish migration, and predation of native fish."
The BDCP environmental review process is being conducted by five state and federal agencies. The California Department of Water Resources is the state lead agency under CEQA, while the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service are serving as the federal co-leads under NEPA.
The EIR/EIS is also being developed in close coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These agencies will analyze BDCP proposed actions and alternatives to those actions, including alternative water conveyance options, in fulfillment of multiple state and federal permitting processes.
Winnemem Wintu will dance for the salmon and estuary on June 5
By Dan Bacher
The state and federal water project pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River continue to kill hundreds of thousands of imperiled Sacramento splittail and hundreds of threatened spring run chinook salmon every day.
Natural Resources Secretary John Laird and the Department of Fish and Game have failed to take action to stop the unprecedented carnage caused by the export of Delta water to corporate agribusiness on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and southern California water agencies. Meanwhile, the state and federal governments continue to go forward with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build a peripheral canal/tunnel.
The federal Central Valley Project pumps killed 470,532 Sacramento splittail, a native minnow species found only in the Delta and Central Valley. The State Water Project facilities killed 34,456 splittail on Thursday, May 19, according to data available from the DFG website. (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/delta/data/salvage/)
On May 20, the federal pumps entrained 475,532 splittail and the state pumps killed 11,708 splittail.
Both the state and federal facilities continue to massacre Central Valley spring-run chinook salmon, a species listed as "threatened" under the state and federal Endangered Species Acts.
The federal facilities killed 96 spring salmon and the state pumps destroyed 60 salmon on May 19. The federal facilities slaughtered 172 Chinooks and the state pumps killed 4 Chinooks on May 20.
Delta pumps killed over 1.9 million splittail in just the three-day period from May 16 through 18. Over the five-day period including May 19 and 20, a horrifying 2,882,046 splittail were killed!
The pumps have killed over 11,000 Chinooks since the beginning of the year.
When are federal and state officials going to take action to stop this unprecedented carnage on the Delta?
There are three things that you can do to take action to stop the massacre:
First, please contact John Laird, California Natural Resources Secretary, and demand that he take immediate action to stop the killing of millions of Sacramento splittail and thousands of threatened spring run Chinook salmon by the Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Water Resources!
Contact him at:
California Natural Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 653-5656
(916) 653-8102 fax
Email: secretary [at] resources.ca.gov
Second, mark Sunday, June 5 on your calendar to support the Winnemem Wintu Tribe's dance for the salmon at Sogorea Te, Glen Cove, in Vallejo, where Native Americans are holding a spiritual encampment to stop the desecration of a native burial site by the Greater Vallejo Recreation District (GVRD). The Tribe has launched a campaign to restore endangered winter run Chinook Salmon to the McCloud River above Shasta.
"Salmon need the splittail to survive in the Estuary," said Caleen Sisk-Franco, chief and spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. "The Estuary is necessary for the survival of Chinook. The Chinook are necessary for the water to be drinkable, and for the People. Climate change will come in to balance once we follow the salmon runs. This is why the Winnemem will dance for the salmon and the Estuary on June 5th at Glen Clove in Vallejo!"
Third, please write a letter to stop legislation by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) aimed at gutting protections in the Bay-Delta Estuary and blocking the restoration of the San Joaquin River. Send your letter by going to the Center for Biological Diversity website, http://www.biologicaldiversity...
Restore the Delta, an advocacy group for the imperiled Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, has asked California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird why the "transparency" he promised regarding the controversial Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) is not being followed up with matching actions.
During the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Public Meeting in Sacramento on April 25, Laird committed to making the BDCP more inclusive of all of the stakeholders - and acknowledged the problems with the Schwarzenegger administration's requirement that participants sign an agreement agreeing to support the construction of the peripheral canal/tunnel.
"I believe that we cannot move forward without listening to the stakeholders around the state," said Laird. "The status quo on the Delta is unsustainable. There is no one from any group that believes in the status quo."
"Somehow we will get to decisions that make people feel they've been heard in the process," Laird added.
In a letter sent to Laird on April 28, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta, claimed that Laird's call for inclusiveness and transparency in the controversial process wasn't matched by recent actions by the Natural Resources Agency.
"At the April 25, 2011 Bay Delta Conservation Plan Public Meeting, you told those in attendance that going forward with the BDCP process there would be no preconditions to keep people out of the process," said Barrigan-Parrilla. "You also commented that Delta communities must be kept whole."
However, since the meeting in Sacramento, Barrigan-Parrilla has learned of two alarming developments that she says do not match Laird's public statements.
First, Restore the Delta found an audio link to Metropolitan Water District's Special Committee on the Bay Delta from April 26, 2011, the day after the meeting.
"MWD's staff explains at section 2B of the agenda that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Executive Committee and Management Committees have recently begun delving into policy issues that need deciding," said Barrigan-Parrilla. "These committees also plan on announcing project description/operations soon under the leadership of Deputy Secretary Jerry Meral."
"Clearly, decisions are continuing to be made behind closed doors, rather than in the light of day in front of the BDCP Steering Committee and the concerned public. Who is on these committees? Specifically, we want to know who has been given the charge of representing in-Delta and fishing community interests in these closed door meetings," she stated.
Barrigan-Parrilla also learned in this audio feed from Metropolitan Water District staff that sizing and modeling work has been completed for the planning of new conveyance - the peripheral canal/tunnel. Fishermen, family farmers, Indian Tribes, grassroots environmentalists and Delta residents oppose the construction of the peripheral canal because it is likely to lead to the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other imperiled species, along with posing a threat to Delta farms.
"This is more than we learned at Monday's public meeting that was held to showcase the new openness and dialogue of the BDCP process," she emphasized. "We find it quite disheartening that we are learning more about the plans for our community from watching an audio feed from the Metropolitan Water District than we are from attending Resource Agency public events."
Second, an official from the Natural Resources Agency has told San Joaquin County staff that parties participating in the various proposed BDCP issue committees will be required to sign a "confidentiality statement," according to Barrigan-Parrilla.
"Can you please provide us with a copy of this statement?" she asked. " And if this is indeed an accurate description of how these committees will operate, can you please explain how this matches up with your statement of no preconditions being placed on participants in the Bay Delta Conservation Plan process going forward?"
Barrigan-Parrilla is now waiting for Laird's reply. She cc'ed the letter to Deputy Secretary Jerry Meral, CA Natural Resources Agency, Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes, Governor Jerry Brown, Senator Diane Feinstein and Senator Barbara Boxer.
The BDCP, a thinly veiled plan to export northern California water to southern California water agencies and corporate agribusiness on the west side of the San Joaquin River, is just one part of the absymal environmental legacy of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. While the corporate media and some "environmental" NGOs praised Schwarzenegger for being the "Green Governor," Schwarzenegger waged a relentless campaign against salmon, Delta fish, fishing communities and Indian Tribes from the day he was elected until the day he left office.
In addition to pushing for the environmentally destructive peripheral canal, he attacked the federal biological opinions protecting Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River winter and spring run chinook salmon, Delta smelt, green sturgeon and the southern resident and killer whales. He allowed irrigators to de-water the Scott and Shasta rivers, at enormous risk to endangered coho salmon.
Schwarzenegger also fast-tracked the corrupt Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, privately funded by the Shadowy Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, to create a network of so-called "marine protected areas" (MPAs) along the California Coast.
The implementation of the MLPA process was overseen by a panel including a big oil lobbyist, real estate executive, marina developer and other special interests. These "marine protected areas" fail to protect the ocean from water pollution, oil drilling and spills, military testing, corporate aquaculture, wave energy projects and all other human impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering.
Bruce Tokars of http://www.salmonwaternow.org took the Salmon Water Now video camera to Antioch on Wednesday, April 27 to record the presentations at the historic Farms and Salmon Summit, attended by over 200 people. Four U.S. Representatives - John Garamendi, Jerry McNerney, Jackie Speier and Mike Thompson - spoke at the event. There are four parts to the video:
2. Panel 1:
Brett Baker - Farmer, Sutter IslandDave Bitts - F/V Elmarue, Eureka
Jeff Sutton - Tehama Colusa Canal Authority, Willows
Dick Pool - ProTroll Fishing Products & Water4Fish, Concord
Jeff Hart - Hart Restoration Inc. & Hartland Nursery, Walnut Grove
Gene Buchholz - Hook, Line & Sinker, Oakley & Bethel Island
3. Panel 2:
Cathy Hemley - Greene & Hemley, Courtland
Barry Canevaro - The Fish Hookers Sportfishing, Pittsburg
Al Medvitz - McCormack Ranch, Rio Vista
Darrell Ticehurst, Coastside Fishing Club, Hillborough
Mark Wilson, Wilson Vineyards, Clarksburg
George Osborn, spokesman for the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO), presented a 25 page document documenting illegal private, non-public meetings of Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative officials to the California Fish and Game Commission during its meeting on February 2 in Sacramento.
The PSO, a coalition of national and regional fishing organizations including the Coastside Fishing Club and United Anglers of Southern California, filed suit in San Diego Superior Court in late January, seeking to overturn South Coast and North Central Coast MLPA closures, alleging violations of the State Administrative Procedure Act.
During his brief public testimony, Osborn exposed the corruption and violations of law by the MLPA's Blue Ribbon Task Force (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7_04BC1acA).
"After reviewing the documents turned over to us, which previously the BRTF had improperly withheld from the public, we now have evidence, indicating that the public meetings of the BRTF have been an elaborately staged Kabuki performance, choreographed and rehearsed down to the last detail, even to the crafting of motions, in scheduled private meeting held before the so-called public meetings of the BRTF," said Osborn. "Clearly, this has not been the most open and transparent process, as it has so often been described."
"The BRTF's behavior taints the regulations that are the end product of its work, and these regulations must be reversed," he emphasized. "The PSO respectfully requests that the Commission begin the process to un-do these wrongs committed against California's recreational anglers and as all Californians, see that the MLPA is implemented properly, and reverse actions that unnecessarily close areas to fishing."
"Let's work with Governor Brown and direct California's meager resources to solve real problems that harm the ocean we love," he concluded.
Commissioner Dan Richards asked Osborn for proof about the secret meetings that PSO has accused the privately funded MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force of conducting.
Osborn then submitted to the Commissioners the copies of emails and correspondence by MLPA officials documenting private, non-public meetings. Secret meetings of the Blue Ribbon Task Force were held in April 2007 and on November 3, 2008, December 10, 2008, February 25, 2009, October 20, 21 and 22, 2009.
The documents included correspondence by Ken Wiseman, MLPA executive director, Don Benninghoven, former Fish and Game Commissoner, Melissa Miller-Henson, program manager of the MLPA Initiative, Meg Caldwell, BRTF member and others.
The documents also include the email by Fort Bragg City Council member Jere Melo on November 5, 2009, regarding his resignation from the MLPA Statewide Interest Group (SIG) for its failure to obey state laws.
"I cannot continue on a body that advertises its functions as 'public' and then provides very little or no public notice of its meetings," said Melo. "There is a real ethics question for a person who holds a public office."
The February 2 meeting was a joint hearing of the Fish and Game Commission and the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force for the North Coast. The Commission adopted a unified proposal crafted by recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, environmentalists and business owners that would create marine protected areas in approximately 13 percent of the North Coast state's waters - and for the first time acknowledged tribal gathering rights on the ocean.
The Yurok and other North Coast Tribes did not endorse the proposal, but accepted it, providing that the state formally acknowledges the sovereign rights of Tribes to gather along the coast as they have done from thousands of years.
"There is no evidence that tribes have had a negative impact upon the ecosystem," said Thomas O'Rourke, Chair of the Yurok Tribal Council "They have been part of the ecosystem since time immemorial. Science needs to recognize people as part of the ecosystem. If you don't include people, the proposal will fail. Our rights are not negotiable."
He emphasized, "The Tribe doesn't endorse the unified proposal, but it accepts the proposal."
"Nothing is final until it's final," O'Rourke said after the meeting, in responding to the Commission's decision to move the unified proposal forward. "We are as comfortable as we can be in this stage of the process."
In reference to the lawsuit filed by PSO, O'Rourke stated, "if the state doesn't listen to us and tries to impose regulations on the Tribes, the fishermen's lawsuit is possibly one of many they will have to deal with."
The Commission also heard from supporters of Option Zero, who felt shortchanged because they were only given one minute each to comment at the end of the public comment period. This was done in spite of a letter from Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro and Senator Noreen Evans urging the Commission to "allow for a briefing from Option Zero supporters."
Option Zero proponents, including environmentalists, recreational anglers, and commercial fishermen, support managing fisheries on the North Coast through existing regulations - and criticize the MLPA process for setting up marine protected areas that fail to protect the ocean from water pollution, oil spills and drilling, military testing, wave energy projects and all other uses of the ocean other than fishing and gathering.
MLPA critics also slam the process for its many conflicts of interest, including the domination of the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Forces by oil industry, real estate, marina development and other corporate interests. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association, served on both the North Central Coast and North Coast task forces and chaired the South coast task force.
The MLPA process was privatized in 2004 when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger directed the shadowy Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, a private corporation that North Coast environmental leader John Stephens-Lewallen described as a "money laundering operation for corporations," to fund the controversial process through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Fish and Game.
Since then, the MLPA Initiative has violated numerous state, federal and international laws, including the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings Act, the California Public Records Act, the State Administrative Procedure Act, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, and UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
To see the entire 25-page set of BRTF private meeting documents, go to the San Diego Freedivers website: http://www.sandiegofreedivers....
Three North Coast legislators have requested the California Fish and Game Commission to provide sufficient time for them, Tribes and fishermen to provide testimony during the Commission's upcoming hearing in Sacramento regarding the implementation of the North Coast phase of the controversial Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative.
Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata), Chair of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture and Senators Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), also members of the Committee, made the request in a letter to Jim Kellogg, President of the California Fish and Game Commission, on January 25.
The Commission will hold the special hearing in conjunction with the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force to receive recommendations regarding marine protected areas proposed for the North Coast on Wednesday, February 2, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at the Resources Building Auditorium, 1416 Ninth Street, First Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.
"As you are aware, the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture held a hearing on the North MLPA on January 21 in Eureka, California," Chesbro, Evans and LaMalfa wrote. "We want to share with the Commission what we heard from our constituents and stakeholders."
The Legislators also asked the Commission to allocate time for representatives of North Coast Indian Tribes, as well from the regional stakeholders from the fishing, environmental and business communities, to speak before the Commission regarding their concerns regarding the MLPA process.
"The Committee heard compelling testimony from North Coast Tribes that were unified in their concerns to protect their inherent rights to traditionally gather along the North Coast shoreline," they stated. "We ask for the Commission to respect Tribal interests and provide for adequate testimony from the Tribal perspective. We encourage you to work with the Tribes to develop a workable format for their full participation at your hearing by providing a block of time for tribal testimony."
During the hearing, Thomas O'Rourke, chair of the Yurok Tribal Council, stated, "This act infringes on our rights. We will not surrender this right. Our rights are not negotiable."
Chesbro, Evans and LaMalfa requested a block of time of the Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) to provide group input during a "brief presentation." The RSG members, for the first time in the history of the contentious MLPA process adopted a unified proposal, rather than different proposals as was done in the Central Coast, North Coast and Central Coast MLPA processes.
"Additionally, we urge you to allow for a briefing from Option Zero supporters," the letter concludes.
Supporters of Option Zero support managing fisheries on the Coast through existing regulations - and criticize the MLPA process for setting up marine protected areas that fail to protect the ocean from water pollution, oil spills and drilling, military testing, wave energy projects and all other uses of the ocean other than fishing and gathering.
MLPA critics also slam the process for its many conflicts of interest, including the domination of the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Forces by oil industry, real estate, marina development and other corporate interests. In fact, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association, served on both the North Central Coast and North Coast task forces and chaired the South coast task force.
As required by Administrative Procedures Act, the Commission will hold three hearings on the North Coast marine protected areas prior to adoption. They hope to hold at least one hearing on the North Coast.
At the February 3 meeting the Commission will adopt their calendar for the year - and it is likely a North Coast meeting will be scheduled for fall 2011, according to Chesbro's office.
The Commission will base public testimony time as per their guidelines on the agenda. It will be determined based on the number of people that desire to testify and the amount of time available.
Generally, the Commission allows members of the legislature to speak first. Other elected officials speak next and are often provided 3-5 minutes. Public testimony follows.
The complete coverage of the January 21 hearing, chaired by Assemblymember Chesbro, is available on-demand on Access Humboldt's Community Media Archive: http://www.archive.org/details... In addition, an audio file of the hearing is also posted online: http://ia700409.us.archive.org...
To read the Inter-Tribal Water Commission's Position Paper on the MLPA presented during the hearing, go to: http://www.itwatercommission.org.
Anglers Launch Lawsuit Against Illegal Marine Closures
In other breaking MLPA news, member organizations of the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO), a coalition representing California's recreational fishing and boating community, have filed a lawsuit in the San Diego County Superior Court seeking to set aside regulations established by the California Fish and Game Commission in connection with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative.
The commission approved regulations for the North Central and South Coast study regions in August 2009 and December 2010, respectively, establishing marine protected areas - essentially no-fishing zones - in large areas of the state's coastal waters.
The lawsuit, filed by United Anglers of Southern California, Coastside Fishing Club and Robert C. Fletcher, cites a lack of statutory authority for adopting the regulations, and, in the case of the South Coast regulations, numerous violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in the commission's environmental review of the regulations, according to a news release from the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans.
"From the outset, it was clear that the MLPA process was set up to reach a predetermined outcome under the fiction of an allegedly open and transparent process," said Bob Fletcher, former president of the Sportfishing Association of California. "In a rush to establish regulations based on political timelines and a pre-determined agenda, the Fish and Game Commission has ignored the legal requirements it must follow."
Most notably, the petition states that:
• The commission does not have the statutory authority to adopt, modify or delete marine protected areas under the MLPA's main rulemaking provisions until it has approved a final Master Plan for the state. The final Master Plan has yet to be written or approved.
• The other statutory authorities that the commission relies on do not provide the commission with the authority it needs to adopt these MPAs.
• The privately-funded "MLPA Initiative" process has been conducted in a manner inconsistent with the process the state legislature directed in the MLPA, and meetings held by MLPA planning groups that should have been open meetings were closed to the public. The shadowy Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, a private corporation, funds the implementation of so-called marine protected areas through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the California Department of Fish and Game.
• The South Coast study region regulations were adopted on the basis of an environmental review process that is in violation of CEQA.
"Our concerns were presented to the commission prior to its December 2010 vote to approve regulations for the South Coast," Fletcher said. "Ignoring the information before them, the commission went forward with approving regulations to close 116 square miles of southern California's coastal waters to recreational fishing. Many of the best sportfishing areas are included in the closures.
"These closures don't just disappoint the fishermen - they take away jobs and income for many California small businesses along the coast and elsewhere," Fletcher emphasized. " Particularly concerning are the flaws in a regulatory process that has been fueled with private money from special interests. The end result of this process has been a rush by the commission to adopt regulations without the authority it has to have to adopt them, and without a proper review of the environmental consequences of what they're doing. That should be a concern for all Californians, whether they fish for fun or for a living, or whether they've never been fishing at all."
"Much of the best fishing areas are now closed under the MLPA process," noted Dan Wolford, Science Director for the Coastside Fishing Club. "Anglers in the North Central region are now suffering because of excessive, unnecessary closures that we believe were improperly established. We find it extremely concerning that anglers, who are the original conservationists, are being taken off the water through a seriously flawed process, while the real threats to the health of our ocean, such as contaminated stormwater runoff and industrial pollutants, are allowed to continue unabated."
The petition is the second lawsuit involving the MLPA by members of the PSO. In May 2010, Fletcher filed suit against the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force and Master Plan Team - also known as the Science Advisory Team - for failing to respond to a Public Records Act request, as state agencies are required to do.
These groups claimed that they were not required to make their records available to the public on the ground that they are not "state agencies." Last October, a California Superior Court ruled that the Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Science Advisory Team are indeed state agencies and therefore are compelled by California's Public Records Act to share information that they were withholding from public view.
"The good intentions of the MLPA have been derailed by private interests and political motivations," said Fletcher. "We urge anglers, outdoors enthusiasts and anyone who supports good government and the public's right to know what its government is doing, to visit http://www.oceanaccessprotecti... and donate what they can to help us to continue to fight this flawed process in the courts."
Besides the two PSO lawsuits, David Gurney, an independent film maker from Fort Bragg, is suing MLPA officials and state agencies in Mendocino County Superior Court over his arrest for recording and speaking at a "work session" in Fort Bragg on April 20, 2010.
"California's open meeting laws guarantee that citizens and members of the press have a right to keep track of what goes on in a public process, and assures they will not be harassed at public meetings," said Gurney and his lawyer Peter Martin in a news release. "Yet the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, funded by the secretive Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, often had secret, unrecorded meetings, changed the rules of their process at whim, and abided only by the laws of their own choosing."
The defendants in the complaint include the California Department of Fish and Game, California Natural Resources Agency, Eric Bloom, Ken Wiseman, Eric Poncelet and the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative.
The Governor's Office has just announced Brown's appointments, including John Laird to the position of Natural Resources Secretary.
Dan
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Evan Westrup
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
(916) 445-4571
Governor Brown Announces Appointments
SACRAMENTO - Governor Jerry Brown today announced the following appointments.
John Laird, of Santa Cruz, has been appointed Secretary of the California Resources Agency. Most recently, Laird taught in the Environmental Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz. He served six years in the State Assembly, from 2002 to 2008, and was the Assembly Budget Committee Chair from 2004 to 2008. Previously, Laird was a member of the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2002. He was the Executive Director for the Santa Cruz AIDS Project from 1991 to 1993. Laird was Mayor and a City Councilmember for the city of Santa Cruz from 1981 to 1990. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $175,000. Laird is a Democrat.
Marty Morgenstern, of Oakland, has been appointed Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Since 2003, Morgenstern has consulted for the University of California on labor relations matters. He was director of the Department of Personnel Administration from 1999 to 2003. From 1994 to 1999, he worked as a private consultant to various labor organizations. Morgenstern was the Chair of the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley from 1987 to 1994. From 1982 to 1987, he served as a member of the Public Employment Relations Board. Morgenstern served as the Director of the Department of Personnel Administration from 1981 to 1982. In 1975, he was appointed Director of the Governor's Office of Employee Relations by Governor Jerry Brown. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $175,000. Morgenstern is a Democrat.
Mary Nichols, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed Chair of the California Air Resources Board, where she has served since 2007. From 2004 to 2007, Nichols served as director of the Institute of the Environment (IoE) at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she also held faculty appointments as a professor in residence at the School of Law and the School of Public Affairs. Before joining UCLA, she served as secretary for California's Resources Agency from 1999 to 2003. Nichols served as chair of the California Air Resources Board from 1979 to 1983 under Governor Brown and was a member of the CARB beginning in 1975. She served as assistant administrator for Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton Administration. Compensation for this position is $142,965. Nichols is a Democrat.
Ronald Yank, of Oakland, has been appointed Director of the Department of Personnel Administration. He is a retired labor and employment law attorney. Previously, Yank served as a neutral arbitrator and mediator in the field of labor and employment law from 2007 to 2009 and was a partner at Carroll Burdick & McDonough from 1988 to 2007. Yank was a partner at Neyhart Anderson & Freitas from 1981 to 1988. Previously, he worked at Carroll Burdick & McDonough from 1974 to1981 and became a partner in 1979. Yank was an associate at Neyhart Anderson Grodin & Beeson from 1973 to 1974. He was an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric at UC Berkeley from 1967 to 1971 and worked at the Law Offices of R.J. Engel as an Associate from 1971-1973. Yank has represented bargaining units of state employees including the California Correctional Peace Officers' Association and the CDF Firefighters. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $142,965. Yank is a Democrat.
Brown today also announced the following State Board of Education appointments:
Dr. Carl Anthony Cohn, of Palm Springs, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. He has been a Professor and the Co-Director of the Urban Leadership Program at Claremont Graduate University since 2009. Previously, Cohn served as the Superintendent of Schools for the San Diego Unified School District from 2005 to 2007. He was a Clinical Professor with the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California from 2002 to 2005 and the Superintendent of Schools for the Long Beach Unified School District from 1992 to 2002. Cohn is a member of the Association of California School Administrators. Cohn is a Democrat.
Louis "Bill" Honig, of Marin, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. He has been President of the Consortium on Reading Excellence since 2005. Previously, Honig served as a Visiting Distinguished Professor at San Francisco State University's School of Education from 1993 to 1998. He was the Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1983 to 1993. Honig previously served on the California State Board of Education under Governor Brown from 1975 to 1983. Honig is a Democrat.
Dr. Michael Kirst, of Stanford, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. He currently serves as a Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1969. Previously, Kirst served on the California State Board of Education under Governor Brown from 1975 to 1982. Kirst also served as the Director of Program Planning for the U.S. Office of Education and was Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Manpower, Employment, and Poverty from 1967 to 1969. Kirst is a Democrat.
Aida Molina, of Bakersfield, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. She has served as the Executive Director on Academic Improvement and Accountability for Bakersfield City School District since 2005. Previously, Molina was a Commissioner with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing from 2004 to 2007. Molina was a principal with Bakersfield City School District from 2001 to 2005, an elementary school principal with the Sacramento Unified School District from 1999 to 2001, an assistant principal with the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District from 1997 to 1999, and a bilingual teacher from 1992 to 1997. Molina is a member of the Association of School Administrators and the California Association of Bilingual Educators. Molina is a Democrat.
James Ramos, of San Bernardino, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. Ramos has served as the Chairman for the San Manuel Band of Indians since 2008, having previously served as Treasurer, as a member of the Business Committee, and as Chairman of the Tribe's Gaming Commission. Ramos was re-elected in 2010 as a member of the San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees, where he has served since 2005. He has served as a member and chairperson of the Native American Heritage Commission since 2007. Ramos is a Democrat.
Patricia Ann Rucker, of Elk Grove, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. Since 2008, she has worked as the Legislative Advocate for the California Teachers Association and was a consultant for the California Teachers Association on instruction and professional development from 1997 to 2008. She also served as a teacher in the Del Paso Heights School District from 1983 to 1997. Rucker is a Democrat.
Trish Boyd Williams, of San Jose, has been appointed to the California State Board of Education. She has served as the Executive Director for EdSource since 1992. Previously, Williams served as a program consultant to the Director for the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth from 1983 to 1990, and as a Presidential Management Intern and then a Management Analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1979 to 1982. Williams is a Democrat.
State Board of Education appointments require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem.
This is my open letter to John Laird, who is expected to be appointed as Natural Resources Secretary, the top environmental post in in California, by Governor Jerry Brown. Environment California and the Sierra Fund in press releases announced his appointment, although neither Laird nor Brown have confirmed it yet.
The 60-year-old Santa Cruz resident served in the California Assembly from 2002 to 2008. The Democrat's career includes Analyst, Santa Cruz County Administrative Office, 1974-1978, 1979-1991, 1995-2002; Santa Cruz City Council, 1981-1990; mayor, 1983-84 and 1987-88; and executive director of Santa Cruz AIDS Project, 1991-1994.
Environment California praised Brown's appointment of Laird based on his environmental record in the Assembly and on the California Waste Board.
"From waste reducer to wildlife protector Laird is sure to make 2011 a great year for the environment," said Environment California Legislative Director Dan Jacobson in a press statement. "Legislative Director "John Laird is a great choice to defend and protect the environment. His work as a state legislator and on the Waste Board gives him the experience he will need to make a major impact."
"As the chair of key environmental committees, Laird authored several bills to protect our environment, including several bills to protect our ocean. As the chair of the budget committee he knows how to fund key environmental programs," Jacobson stated.
The appointment of Laird is expected to garner strong opposition from agribusiness, timber industry and the California Republican Party. In an article in the San Jose Mercury News on January 1, Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring slammed his appointment.
"An appointment like John Laird, to me, is an indicator of how far to the left Jerry Brown is reaching to populate his administration," said Nehring, a former member of the state Board of Forestry. "John Laird is an extreme liberal, and he believes the only way to protect the environment is to make government as big and intrusive as possible."
On the other hand, fishermen, Tribes and grassroots environmentalists worry that Laird may be too heavily influenced by representatives of well-funded corporate environmentalist NGOs, known for their strong support of controversial programs including Schwarzenegger's MLPA Initiative, the peripheral canal and Bay Delta Conservation Plan and "cap and trade" corporate "green energy" scams. They are worried that Laird may not listen to grassroots activists - and will continue the failed ocean and water policies of the Schwarzenegger administration that resulted in the collapse of Central Valley salmon and Delta smelt and the creation of fake "marine protected areas."
"I hope that Mr Laird remembers to listen to all of the 'stakeholders' and those to whom the last Secretary failed to hear," said Mark Franco, headman of the Winnemem Wintu (McCloud River) Tribe. "No matter the politics around him, I hope he sees the resources that he is now over seeing as the precious gifts they are and not items of commodity to be abused and sold."
Open Letter to John Laird: Save Our Fisheries!
John Laird, California Natural Resources Secretary
Dear John
Congratulations on your appointment to the Natural Resources Secretary position by Governor Jerry Brown.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger finally left office on January 2, 2011 after waging an unprecedented war on California fish populations and fishing communities since he came to power in a recall election. Faced with the environmental wreckage that Schwarzenegger has left in his wake, you, as the new Natural Resources Secretary and the Governor will have a monumental task ahead if you plan to restore California salmon and other fish populations.
You have a rare opportunity to break with the failed water and fish management policies of Secretaries Lester Snow and Mike Chrisman. Rather than pushing the agenda of agribusiness leaders, southern California water agency representatives, water privateers and corporate environmentalists as Snow and Chrisman did, I strongly encourage you to listen to and work cooperatively with recreational anglers, California Indian Tribes, commercial fishermen, environmental justice communities and grassroots environmentalists in an unprecedented effort to restore our declining Central Valley and North Coast salmon and Delta fish populations.
"I hope that Mr. Laird remembers to listen to all of the 'stakeholders' and those to whom the last Secretary failed to hear," said Mark Franco, headman of the Winnemem Wintu (McCloud River) Tribe. "No matter the politics around him, I hope he sees the resources that he is now over seeing as the precious gifts they are and not items of commodity to be abused and sold."
Here are seven immediate actions that I advise you and Brown to take to begin the recovery of California fish and fishing communities.
First, issue an executive order mandating all state agencies to comply immediately with the provisions of the federal biological opinions protecting Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt and other species. To comply with these decisions, the state and federal governments must reduce water exports, better manage water releases from dams, remove dams and provide fish passage for fish above dams, including Shasta, Folsom, Englebright and New Melones. The Resources Secretary should work closely with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and federal government to restore winter run chinook salmon to the McCloud River above Shasta Dam.
Second, direct all state agencies, in cooperation with the federal government, to comply with the "doubling goal" of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) of 1992. The law set as its goal the doubling of all natural spawning anadromous fish populations - chinook salmon, steelhead, white sturgeon, green sturgeon, American shad and striped bass - by 2002. However, rather than doubling, these populations of fish collapsed to record low levels because of abysmal management by the state and federal governments.
Third, abolish the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) that was instituted under Schwarzenegger and all state plans to build a peripheral canal and new dams. Instead of continuing the BDCP's path to the Delta's destruction, You and Brown should establish the first ever "Blue Collar Task Force" (a concept inspired by Troy Fletcher, acting executive director of the Yurok Tribe), to recover fish populations and restore the Delta. The task force would be made up of representatives of California Indian Tribes, recreational fishing groups, commercial fishing organizations, grassroots conservation groups, family farmers, environmental justice organizations and those who have been marginalized in the BDCP and Delta Vision fiascos.
Fourth, cancel or suspend the controversial Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative and work with the Legislature to begin an investigation of corruption, conflicts of interests and the violation of numerous state, federal and international laws, including the American Indian Religious Freedom Act and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, under the process. The investigation would begin with an executive order by Brown, citing the provisions of the California Public Records Act, asking the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, MLPA officials and Department of Fish and Game to turn over all of their records relating to the implementation of the MLPA.
Fifth, you and Brown should meet with Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator, and demand she terminate the "catch shares" program being instituted on the West Coast, since it is a failed environmental strategy that will result in local, sustainable fisheries being replaced with corporate, unsustainable fisheries. This policy, if implemented, will result in the privatization of public trust resources and the concentration of West Coast fisheries in a few corporate hands.
Sixth, the Natural Resources Agency should officially oppose the Water Bond on the November 2012 ballot and should find an alternate source of money to finance California's costs for removing the four PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River, like the State of Oregon has done. Schwarzenegger stuck $250 million for Klamath dam removal in the water bond, an initiative that funds new dams in the Central Valley.
Seventh, increase the game warden force in California by at least 50 officers to stop the epidemic of fish and wildlife poaching that has ravaged the state. California currently has the lowest number of wardens per capita in the United States.
These seven actions by you and the Governor would help to reverse the fishery collapses that the Schwarzenegger administration helped to engineer and will begin to put California fish and fishing communities back on the path to restoration and sustainability.
Gov.-elect Jerry Brown is expected to appoint former Santa Cruz legislator John Laird head of the state Natural Resources Agency, sources said Saturday -- a role that will give the environmental advocate a powerful voice in oversight of logging, fishing, farming, parks and water policies. (Bay Area News Group)
While right-wing extremists and other non-relevant "leaders" like Ron Nehring complain about Laird's record, it is really hard to argue. He has been a leader on environmental issues, and fought for issues that the state cares about. At the same time, he has worked as Assembly Budget Chair to balance the budget, and understands the fiscal side of the issues.
It's hard to think of a better appointment for the Director of Natural Resources than John Laird, if indeed that happens next week.
Jim Fitzgerald 5606 5.8%
Mark Hinkle 1874 2.0%
John Laird 39857 41.5%
Sam Blakeslee 48617 50.7%
UPDATE by Robert: Returns are slowly being updated by the five counties. Here's the latest, as of 10:16 pm:
Jim Fitzgerald 7277 5.6%
Mark Hinkle 2811 2.1%
John Laird 56653 43.2%
Sam Blakeslee 64352 49.1%
UPDATE by Brian: As of 12:07 AM, with 100% of precincts reporting:
Jim Fitzgerald 8014 5.1%
Mark Hinkle 3162 2.0%
John Laird 69649 44.1%
Sam Blakeslee 77107 48.8%
Sam Blakeslee will be the next Senator in SD-15. Arnold's gamesmanship worked like a charm. By moving this election away from a real election date, he got what he wanted. From the look of these numbers, I think we have a great shot of winning this election if it was held concurrently with the general in November. I hope he's going to pay the extra money that it took to win this seat for Blakeslee out of his own pocket.
Today's the day. Well, not really today so much as the last few weeks have culminated with today. Though it doesn't really feel like an election day, today is the official election day along the central coast in the skirmish to replace St. Abel Maldonado since he was called up appointed to be the Lt. Governor.
Residents from Santa Clara County to Santa Barbara County -- including Saratoga, Los Gatos, Almaden Valley and Morgan Hill -- are choosing a replacement for former state Sen. Abel Maldonado, who was appointed lieutenant governor earlier this year.
Though the winner of ?today's Senate race could help shape the outcome of the state's muddled budget negotiations, the oddly-timed summer election is not likely to draw a high turnout.(SJ Merc)
I cannot stress enough the importance of electing John to the Senate. Beyond the numbers game in the Senate, which is plainly critical, John is the right person for the job. He has the experience that we need, his work with the budget in the Assembly was superb. And he is the kind of person, honest and hard-working that the legislature needs more of.
I attended a John Laird fundraiser in San Francisco today, which truth be told, are always some of the more enjoyable of these events. Mostly because John is just one of the most unassuming, friendly guys you'll ever meet. He works hard at his job, and takes his role in government very seriously. He works for his constituents by being available, and he does for the entire state.
He was ultimately able to make this endorsement public today, and the room was pretty enthusiastic upon hearing the good news. Apparently, John is the only candidate below Congressional level to get the President's stamp of approval. Kudos to Team Laird for making it happen. These doorhangers are going out to voters across the very long district. It runs from Santa Clara district in the North all the way down to Santa Barbara County.
You can visit the John Laird website for more information and ways you can help out. They are doing a nice virtual phonebank program if you can't get down to the district. But nothing replaces some good ol' fashioned door-knocking, especially in a race that will be determined by turnout. So, if you can make a trip this weekend or next, I'd highly recommend it.
I really can't be effusive enough about my respect and admiration for John Laird. So, I was a bit disappointed to see Sam Blakeslee top the first round of voting. And he is frightfully close to the magic 50%. Right now he's sitting on 49.7% of the vote with all precincts reporting.
Assuming that holds up we will have a run-off. With exactly the same candidates. Yes, you read that right. Because in special elections, every party leader goes to the general election, we'll be seeing the same four candidates in the race. And turnout will be exceedingly low again.
So, in the next three months, we'll need to work harder to claw back those 10,000 votes and turn out our voters. Surely if we would consolidate this election with the general election, like it should be, we would be in a solid position come November. However, Arnold chose to waste the money for another special election, so we will need to work ever harder to push John Laird over the top.
Back in 2008, Tony Strickland ran something of an interesting campaign to defeat Hannah-Beth Jackson. He ran as a neo-environmentalist. His mail was all about Green energy, and how he has quite the record in developing said energy.
Of course, you'd have to consider some pretty dirty energy to be "clean" to buy that. However, Strickland snuck through by a few thousand votes as enough people bought the hype.
Now, fast forward to today, and it's all being run over again. This time it is Sam Blakeslee, the man who has consistently taken Big Oil dollars trying to make himself all clean and green. It's a tough task to be sure.
But CalBuzz goes ahead and punches the holes out of that story:
The blunt truth of the matter, however, may be found in 1) the lavish oil industry contributions shoveled into committees that have forked out more than $1 million to back Blakeslee's play in the 15th State Senate district and 2) the photograph posted at the top of this story, which shows exactly where the San Luis Obispo GOP assemblyman stood on offshore oil drilling in California - before that whole Gulf of Mexico thing made it really, really unfashionable. (CalBuzz)
As John Laird pointed out about his election, this truly is critical. We'll likely see Laird and Blakeslee in the runoff, but this is where we must start to tell Central Coast voters the real story. Fortunately, the CDP has gotten a virtual phone bank system up and running, so now's the time. The election is Tuesday, let's push John Laird over the top. Heck, maybe we can even avoid that runoff...
"Well", I says to myself. "The seniors sure don't like John Laird much." I had just listened to a radio ad hitting John Laird in his race for the Special 15th Senate District. Something about budgets and spending and salaries and expenses. Standard hit. Nothing special. But I was struck at the end by the sponsors of the ad: The California Senior Advocates League. I've been worried recently about my father who is in a senior center,so I'm glad to learn that there is a League that advocates for him. Who are these guys and is it possible they could help my father?
Abel Maldonado sworn in today as Lt Gov, meaning SD15 needs a special election. And Governor just proclaimed it: 6/22 primary, 8/17 general.
That means: less than four months to build a campaign that can prevail in a very winnable special election with a not insignificant Democratic registration advantage.
Former state Assemblyman John Laird of Santa Cruz and current Assemblyman Bill Monning of Carmel, both Democrats, say they would consider running for Maldonado's seat. On the Republican side, Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo has expressed interest....
While Laird said it was too early to decide on a Senate run, he said he would consider it should Maldonado become lieutenant governor. His bid would require him to move from his current home on Santa Cruz's Westside, since he now lives in Sen. Joe Simitian's district, to nearby Scotts Valley or points south, something Laird said he is willing to do.
"I represented a significant amount of that district when I was in the Assembly: Santa Cruz County, Santa Clara County, Monterey County," he said.
Monning, who replaced Laird in the Assembly last year, said Tuesday he would also weigh a run for the Senate.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Blakeslee, considered the Republican front-runner for Maldonado's seat, has already raised more than a quarter million dollars to seek that office in 2012, according to filings with the Secretary of State. Blakeslee's office, reached by phone Tuesday, declined to comment.
This all jibes with what I'm hearing on the ground here in Monterey County. It's a certainty that Blakeslee would run in the special election on the Republican side, and he will likely have a clear field.
On the Democratic side, either Laird or Monning would be strong candidates. Both hail from the northern half of the district, so they'd have to run a strong campaign in San Luis Obispo County and Santa Maria, where Blakeslee currently represents. But given that SD-15 has a 6.5 point Democratic registration advantage, and given that we in SD-15 voted for Obama by a 20-point margin, there's every reason to believe either Laird or Monning would be able to do well in the southern half of the seat. Plus, it's not exactly going to be hard to entice Southern California progressive activists to make the trek to that part of the beautiful Central Coast in the spring to help organize in SLO and Santa Maria.
It is also unlikely that Laird and Monning would face off against each other. Instead they would almost certainly find some way to work it out and ensure that only one of them runs for the seat.
The race between Laird/Monning and Blakeslee would be a battle over California's future. We can expect Blakeslee to argue that a vote for his Democratic opponent is a vote for a certain tax increase, and that a vote for Blakeslee is the only way to stop Democrats from raising taxes. Laird or Monning would counter by pointing out that they're going to save local K-12 schools and higher education (San Jose State, UC Santa Cruz, CSU Monterey Bay, and Cal Poly SLO have been hit hard by the budget cuts, as have the district's community colleges), and provide for the economic growth and recovery that Blakeslee and the Republicans refuse to offer.
It is the kind of battle Democrats and progressives should wholly embrace. Laird and Monning are both deeply progressive people, the kind of Democrats we can get excited about putting in office. Central Coast Democrats aren't just excited about winning the seat, but winning it with the kind of Democrat that we're proud to work hard to elect, the kind of Democrat who knows the way forward for our failing state.
No matter which Democrat ultimately becomes the candidate in SD-15, we will have the strongest chance we've had in a very long time to finally win the 2/3 majority we so desperately need in order to finally solve California's crisis. Bring it on!
