California Dept. of Water Resources
This is the curious story of the Delta Smelt, a tiny, slender fish that resides exclusively in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a fertile area that serves as a transition for water originating in northern California, and ends in water delivery west of the Delta for agriculture and south of the Delta for citizens of southern California.
In order to deliver the water, there are pumping stations near Tracy that are apparently sucking and pulverizing the Delta smelt, and according to environmentalists, leading to a dramatic decrease in population and potential extinction.
The value of the Delta smelt? Essentially nothing. Besides serving as bait for attracting larger fish, the Delta smelt is not edible, does not eliminate pests or have any meaningful commercial value. Sometimes, despite environmentalist’s protestations to the contrary, certain species reach a natural evolutionary dead end.
However, using the weapon of the Endangered Species Act, environmentalist groups sued, and on December 14, 2007, Judge Oliver Wanger of the United States District Court for the Eastern district of California issued an Interim Remedial Order. The Order remanded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with the United States Department of the Interior, to issue an opinion or permit that dramatically reduced the delivery of water from the Delta.
The result has been the diversion of tens of billions of gallons of fresh water away from vital agriculture and population needs and directly into the Pacific Ocean. A precious resource essentially wasted.
The impact on farmers in the area has been devastating with the San Joaquin Valley unemployment rate reaching 14% and leaving thousands of previously productive farming acres scorched and unusable. In addition, water utilities in southern California have already begun raising rates and creating tiered pricing to address the 85% reduction in imported water. To make matters worse, California is already under drought conditions, and in combination with the Delta pumping restrictions, local politicians are calling for Draconian reductions in water use by individuals of 40%.
Fortunately, the State Water Contractors have filed a lawsuit of their own against the Department of the Interior and the US Fish and Wildlife service, claiming that in their opinion, both agencies ignored the most current scientific evidence and other probable reasons for the Delta smelts decline.
Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors, said this; “We're doing everything we can to fight unnecessary, irresponsible restrictions because people are losing their businesses and jobs as a consequence of them. We support effective protection of endangered species, but we need to be smart about how we do it. With the current economic crisis and drought situation, we need to look to comprehensive solutions rather than just pumping restrictions."
As usual, devastation to jobs and economic ruin mean nothing to radical environmentalists. To them, the Delta smelt’s survival has a higher priority than the human condition.
But really, by now should we even be surprised?
Comments
If this little fish is endangered - then Obama should use some bail-out $'s and set up fish farms, grow these little things in bulk and feed them to the Salmon and then the water pumps can be turned back on, the Delta "bait" smelts won't be endangered and the Salmon will have full bellies and best part - NEW JOBS - to build the fish farms, run them, deliver the smelt to the rivers to introduce them into the eco-system and feed the Salmon. Farmers start growing food again, the 38,000 unemployeed because of this environmentalist caused disaster will go back to work and we don't have to worry about buying our food from China.
Make it happen NOW Mr. President, unlike healthcare - this is something the American people would want and you could get done, who knows maybe your sinking job-approval might go up again...
the smelt gots ta go
From what I,ve read so far, the smelt are way understudied and insignificant. They seem to be used as a scapegoat. Water is either diverted back to the Pacific ocean or is being sold to so.cal.for high dollar. My bet is on the latter. Once again, political and corporate greed are ruining peoples lives.
AMEN! TO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS!!!!!!
I too am an environmentalist, but people are the most important. How can anyone suggest that the fish are more important than the farmers and their land. Land is also part of our environment---what about the drought and the land becoming a dust bowl. I totally agree with Laura Moon. Send the fish somewhere else....let's be realistic....Fish over Human Lives!
I am all for doing everything we can to save endangered species of wildlife, however, humanity is important as well. The economy is suffering as it is, and if there is a way to improve our current situation, we should do so.
This is so ridiculous, it's hard to believe this is happening. It's a sad world we live in when fish become more important than human life. Wake up America!
The farmers are now becoming an endangered species.......
there is something "fishy" going on. What are the true motives behind diverting the pumps?
AMEN Simple Solution
Seems to me that a Nation that can place men on the moon and have a vast many unemployed engineers could create a cost effective device to filter off or restrict smelt and salmon and any other species of fish,induction yet allow the water to flow through to the pumps. This is not rocket science! And, it would allow for the administration to create yet more jobs and oversight. Yup a Pump & Water Czar in the making! Solutions and answers for all!
Right ON! Walrus!!!
Alex- i said the same thing last night - i can't believe this is happening in our country! i am 39 years old, but have never seen or even dreamed that fish would even be considered more important than farmers - they liberals will all be mad when they can't get their fancy, organic artichoke dip at some ritzy california restaurant!
I am sure that if these little smelt and salmon were to be found in the water sources which leads to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi's California vineyard and her water was cut-off a bill to amend the Endangered Species Act, would be sitting in committee immediately, if not sooner.
hear hear!,Simple S,
I'm sure that we can figgure out plenty of win win's.Why can't a diverter,canal,be built around the intake of the pumps and screen in the pumps,the smelt could swim around the danger.Why we're at it we could line the farms w/solar pannels & wind farms.
Funded by Accorn's $$..
I am sure that if these little smelt and salmon were to be found in the water sources which leads to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi's California vineyard and her water was cut-off a bill to amend the Endangered Species Act, would be sitting in committee immediately, if not sooner.
As commercial fishing family, I can tell you it is not all about the smelt. The smelt are the miners canary for the salmon industry
here on the coast. The commercial salmon season has been closed for two years at 100% unemployment for fishermen. WE DO NOT GET UNEMPLOYMENT! I can totally sympathize with the farmers who are being put out of business--we have already taken the hit. The salmon are our crop, much like the almonds, tomatoes, etc are to the valley. Our infrastructure has already crumbled in many towns, like Eureka, Fort Bragg, Crescent City, Morro Bay, Bodega Bay.
This is a WATER problem for the entire state and should not be protrayed as fish vs people. Fishermen and Farmers FEED THE NATION! AND BOTH NEED TOP PRIORITY. We could do with a lot more brown lawns.
P.S. I am not a wacko, liberal environmentalist, I am a Republican
who is being put out of business.
The NMFS order will help boost populations of other threatened species - including salmon, sole, crab, herring, smelt, steelhead, sturgeon, bass, and killer whales.
Regional commercial and sport fisheries have collapsed over the past 2 years, and an independent economic research firm estimates that recovery of the salmon fishery alone would create $5.7 billion in new economic activity for the state, and the creation of 94,000 new jobs.
A recent Pacific Institute report shows how simple, and cost-effective irrigation techniques could be adopted by valley farmers to save over 18 times the amount of water per year that was re-routed by the NMFS order
Rural land owners are also purchasing subsidized water from the federal government and selling it for profit on the open market (Sandridge Partners recently made $77 million selling water out of the valley).
Valley farms are full of bumper crops this year. Tomatoes, Almonds, Walnuts, and Pecans all expect surpluses.
I'm new to this whole situation, is it not possible to modify the pump intakes to filter or otherwise divert the bait fish? More importantly, why are folks standing for this? Grab some water pumps and bypass the pumping stations. You government is obviously not operating in your best interest. You all need to step up in large numbers and defy these crooks.
Unemployment in these agricultural areas is 40% in some areas. Not to mention the impending massive increases in So. Cal water rates. Radical environmentalists always use the "canary in a coal mine" argument to justify ridiculous protections of irrelevant species. Turn on the pumps, overfishing of the salmon population has nothing to do with this.
If you're focused on the smelt then you're only seeing a very small portion of the problem. The farmers and socal are sucking the fresh water out of the delta in larger amounts then ever before, you know it, I know it, the whole world knows it. Time for De-Sal (gee Mexico does it why not us)socal and use recycled water on the crops as well, and updating irrigations methods like Isreal.
Rawrr !!!
I Think Everyone Needs To Go With Tha Flow And Juss Chill For Once Seriously We Need A Balance In This We Need Tha Fish But We Need The Water For Crops
Darren, if you think only of the Delta Smelt, you too are seeing only a small part of the problem. As a former irrigation engineer I can tell you this. Mexico and Israel do desalinize water but both can justify it only for high value use. Israel for only high cash crops and only because they get water only from the Jordan River, have to transport it many miles to the farms and can distribute it only through drip irrigation, an extermely expensive system of irrigation. The people need the water and I for one think they are more important than you apparently do. Certainly they're more important than the smelt. If you can't understand the problem perhaps you could try relocating to the west side for awhile and try the breadline.
What the hell. If the judge thinks the fish are so damn important then why dont we gather them all up and put them in his swiming pool. I mean really their endangered right? so there shoudnt be that many of them...FISH DONT VOTE...TURN THE PUMPS ON
I can't believe we let the environmentalists run our country. God intended for things to become extinct or we would still have dinosaurs roaming the earth. And definitely there should be a way to divert this water around the pumps. Heaven forbid we think about saving the American People and creating jobs to stimulate this sagging economy!!
I think adding pulverized fish fertilizer to the farm water supply will make our vegetables yummy.
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