-
Public Hearings on Habitat Conservation /Water Supply "Reliability" (aka Export) Plan for Sacramento River Delta Will be Around State in March 2009

from: http://resources.ca.gov/bdcp/

What is the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP)?

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is a planning and environmental permitting process to restore habitat for Delta fisheries in a way that reliably delivers water supplies to 25 million Californians. Federal and state agencies, environmental organizations, fishery agencies, water agencies, and other organizations are all working together to develop the Plan.

The BDCP is:

• Identifying conservation strategies to improve the overall ecological health of the Delta
• Identifying ecologically friendly ways to move fresh water through and/or around the Delta
• Addressing toxic pollutants, invasive species, and impairments to water quality
• Providing a framework and funding to implement the plan over time

The BDCP is being developed under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (NCCPA) and will undergo extensive environmental analysis that will include opportunities for public review and comment. As the BDCP evaluates alternatives necessary to restore the Delta ecosystem while providing water supply reliability, state and federal agencies are developing a joint Environmental Impact Report/Statement (EIR/S) to determine the environmental impacts of the BDCP. The draft EIR/EIS is expected to be ready for public review and comment by early 2010.

(Here is the latest version (2008) of the Peripheral Canal which voters rejected in 1982 over fears it was a water grab to send more supplies to Southern California developers. This map uses the phrase "conveyance" meaning potential routes to take fresh water out of the Delta and bring it down to the So-Cal aqueduct pumping intake site at Clifton Court.)

-----
Legislature Considers a Bad "Fix" For the California Drought

--Bill Would allow water exports from the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta for Developers as long as rare fish hatched in captivity are released

PLEASE CALL TODAY TO ASK FOR A NO VOTE ON SB 994

Contact: Barb Byrne, Planning and Conservation League, bbyrne@pcl.org, office: 916-313-4524 or cell: 530-304-5389

PCL is working with others (http://www.pcl.org/files/SB994PCLsignon.pdf) in OPPOSITION to SB 994 (Florez, Ashburn, Steinberg) - a very troubling piece of legislation that will be detrimental to restoration efforts for Delta Smelt and also to the collaborative planning efforts that are working to find equitable solutions to restore the Delta. This bill failed passage in the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee on June 4th, but will be heard again TOMORROW MORNING (the morning of June 24th). While the bill (supported by powerful water interests) purports to restore Delta Smelt and restore Delta water deliveries, the "fix" it offers is a false one. In fact, it is quite likely that this bill would do much more harm than good to Delta Smelt.

TALKING POINTS ON WHY WE RECOMMEND A NO VOTE ON SB 994

1. SB 994 allocates scarce resources to a hatchery program that doesn't address the root problems in the Delta SB 994 would require the Department of Fish and Game to develop a "production-scale" Delta Smelt hatchery program. While the use of a fish culture program to maintain a refuge population of Delta Smelt (already in progress - no legislation is needed to authorize this valid effort) is supported by science, the idea of rearing large numbers of Delta Smelt for release into an ailing Delta is not supported as a sound approach to species restoration at this time. Dr. Peter Moyle, an expert on Delta Smelt from UC-Davis, notes that: "Trying to keep Delta smelt going by raising them in hatcheries and releasing them is like trying to raise sheep in a drought-seared pasture surrounded by a forest full of hungry wolves."

2. SB 994 requires the Department of Fish & Game to issue "take permits" in exchange for hatchery funding - despite the fact that a Delta Smelt hatchery is unlikely, under current conditions, to provide effective mitigation. Water diverters who would fund the ongoing expenses of the unproven hatchery would get automatic Delta Smelt take authorization, despite the poor record of hatcheries for other species that have been around for decades.

3. SB 994 forces ongoing planning processes to divert significant resources towards an unproven conservation measure. This bill would prejudge the outcome of the Delta Vision process and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan by dictating that a Delta Smelt hatchery, run as a mitigation bank, be a component of any final plan coming out of those collaborative processes.

Other groups in opposition: Planning and Conservation League • Sierra Club California • Defenders of Wildlife • NRDC • EDF • The Bay Institute • Natural Heritage Institute • American Rivers • The Nature Conservancy • California Sportfishing Protection Alliance • Butte Environmental Council • Friends of the Trinity River • Desal Response Group • Southern California Watershed Alliance • California Trout • Friends of the River • Friends of the Trinity River • California Striped Bass Association • Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations • Environmental Water Caucus • Dan Bacher • Winnemem Wintu • Northern California Federation of Fly Fishers • Earthjustice

-----
Sierra Nevada Forests Protected; Yosemite Road Construction Halted; Sacramento River Fish Lawsuit Continues

May 2008--EarthJustice Legal Foundation Legal Brief
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/e-brief/may-2008.html

June 6 trial set in delta salmon case

Earthjustice attorneys are gearing up for a June 6 trial to determine how steelhead and salmon will be protected in the Sacramento River under terms of a ruling they won in April. The ruling disallowed a state water management plan for pumping water out of the Sacramento delta.

http://www.earthjustice.org/news/press/2008/judge-tosses-biological-opinion-for-salmon-and-steelhead-in-california.html

Yosemite road construction halted

In response to a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice last month, Mariposa County, California has cancelled a permit that would have allowed a private developer to construct two alleged county roads within Yosemite National Park. The roads would have been bulldozed near the Merced Grove of giant sequoias.

Sierra forest plan nixed by federal court

A U.S. Forest Service plan to greatly increase logging in Sierra Nevada national forests was struck down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Earthjustice had challenged the Sierra Nevada Framework management plan on behalf of Sierra Forest Legacy, Sierra Club, and The Wilderness Society.

http://www.earthjustice.org/news/press/2008/ninth-circuit-rules-to-protect-sierra-forests-faults-usfs-plan.html

-----

Fish and Wildlife Service Claims Sacramento River Islands

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2008/2008-01-02-096.asp
SACRAMENTO, California, January 2, 2008 (ENS) - Two islands in the Sacramento River owned by the federal government have been closed to filing of new mining claims and are proposed to be withdrawn from the general land laws and transferred from the Bureau of Land Management to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Todd Island and Foster Island are isolated tracts of public land within the boundary of the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge and are proposed for withdrawal and transfer to the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect riparian habitat along the river, which is critically important for fish, migratory birds, plants, and river system health.

Located southeast of Red Bluff in Tehama County, the islands cover about 472 acres. Todd Island is one of the last remaining places inhabited by the rare yellow-billed cuckoo.

The Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge (Photo by Mike Weissenborn)

The mining claim closure, or segregation, published in the December 27, 2007 Federal Register, lasts for two years, allowing time for the agencies to conduct various studies and analyses to support a final decision on the withdrawal application filed by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The application has been approved for consideration by the assistant secretary of the interior for lands and minerals management.

If the secretary of the interior eventually approves the withdrawal, the lands would be withdrawn for a specified period from settlement, sale, location, or entry under the general land laws, but not from the mineral leasing or mineral material laws, subject to valid existing rights.

Upon approval of the transfer, and as included in the Sacramento River Comprehensive Conservation Plan, the Fish and Wildlife Service would continue to provide recreation opportunities on the islands including hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photography, environmental education, and interpretation.

Comprised of dozens of individual units on both sides of the river, the 10,000 acre Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge stretches for 77 miles between Red Bluff and Princeton California.

The public has until March 26, 2008 to submit comments, suggestions, or objections on the proposed withdrawal. Comments must be submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service at 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-1832, Sacramento, CA 95825.

The agencies also offer an opportunity for a public meeting, if requested. Anyone who desires a public meeting must submit a written request with the 90-day comment period.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.

-------------------------

RELATED: Two Sacramento River Islands Proposed for Withdrawal (BLM/FWS News Release)
"Two public land islands, Todd Island and Foster Island, have been closed to filing of new mining claims and are proposed to be withdrawn from the general land laws and transferred from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The islands cover about 472 acres and are located within the Sacramento River, southeast of Red Bluff in Tehama County."
http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/info/newsroom/2007/december/CDDNews08-13_sac_islands.html

Increased Protection for Fed-Owned Sacramento Riverlands Urged

6-19-07

Sacramento River National Recreation Area

Imagine 17,000 Gorgeous Acres -- Protected for the Future

Let Senators Boxer and Feinstein know the Sacramento River NRA is worth pursuing: https://secure2.convio.net/fotr/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=131&AddInterest=1241

Map: http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FORSacramentoRiverNRAMap&JServSessionIdr003=224ujatcl2.app5a



Bills currently in Congress could establish a Sacramento River National Recreation Area on 17,000 acres of public land near Red Bluff, California. National Recreation Area (NRA) status would ensure that these lands are managed to protect their unique values -- natural, cultural, and recreational -- for the enjoyment of Californians into the future. The gorgeous landscape in this area, with its volcanic bluffs and scattered vernal pools, harbors many threatened and endangered plants and animals and supports healthy populations of cold water species. Quail, mourning doves, and wild turkeys wander among the rare blue oak woodlands, and bald eagles roost in the area in winter. The meandering river is home to four recognized runs of Chinook salmon and is prized by anglers for its vibrant native trout population. The lower Sacramento River near Red Bluff is one of the last intact riparian zones on the Sacramento River between Redding and Sacramento. Two creeks that are eligible for the national Wild & Scenic rivers system -- Paynes Creek and Battle Creek -- flow into the Sacramento River, and their lower reaches would be included in a Sacramento River National Recreation Area. These reaches contain wetlands that support migrating waterfowl and other species. The Bureau of Land Management has identified this area as one of the richest sources of cultural and prehistoric resources in California and the west. With over ten archaeological sites per square mile, these public lands contain a priceless resource that should be permanently protected for all to learn from and enjoy. People already appreciate the area for recreation. Thousands come to the river each year to enjoy fishing, hunting, hiking, canoeing, boating, rafting, sightseeing, and camping. By designating it as a National Recreation Area, we would ensure that these lands are better managed to protect their outstanding values while also enhancing the recreation opportunities of this truly unique piece of California’s natural heritage. But we need your help! While the bills have been introduced, they will not be pushed through without encouragement from citizens like you.

LEARN MORE

https://secure2.convio.net/fotr/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=SplashPage&id=131&june2007

Sacramento River NRA Information Sheet: http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/site/DocServer/SacNRA_infosheet__2_.pdf?docID=1422&AddInterest=1241

Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.friendsoftheriver.org/site/DocServer/SacNRA_FAQ.pdf?docID=1461&AddInterest=1241