California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger bites at $3.1 million in funding for endangered species.
Just how green California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is is definitely up for debate. He has his moments of somewhat progressive policy, which he then dilutes with moments of complete and utter ignorance. For example, when he signed California’s way overdue budget, he lined-out $3.1 million in funding from the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to restore salmon, steelhead and other endangered and threatened species.
“We are deeply disappointed that the governor would opt to severely limit DFG’s ability to protect our environment at this critical time,” said California Trout Chief Executive Officer Brian Stranko. “Particularly given the dramatic recent reductions in salmon populations and other threatened and endangered species, this action seems especially short-sighted. His action is particularly troublesome given the relatively minor savings achieved to our multi-billion dollar state budget.”
Amusingly enough, this was followed up by the Governator taking center stage in San Francisco at a Commonwealth Club event to celebrate the state’s success in its leadership on fightingglobal warming.
“The global warming debate is over,” Schwarzenegger reminded everyone. He went on to say that Washington is “asleep at the wheel,” and that he would not wait.
Yet, Schwarzenegger has limiting critical funding for DFG’s Biodiversity Program staff. Thy are responsible for enforcing California’s Endangered Species Act (CESA), as well as overseeing timber harvesting plans. The state’s efforts for recovery of threatened and endangered species are budgeted under this program, according to California Trout.
Here are some other fouls listed by Indybay:
• The refusal of his appointed officials on the State Water Resources Control Board and regional boards to hold agricultural polluters to the same standards as industry and municipalities, in spite of pleas by fishermen, conservationists and farm workers.
• His veto of historic suction dredge mining legislation, sponsored by the Karuk Indian Tribe and California Trout, last year. More recently, the Governor pressured the Legislature to remove interim suction dredge mining restrictions that were to have been incorporated as part of an omnibus resource trailer bill, AB 1338 (Huffman) that was adopted by the Legislature last Monday night as part of the state budget package and sent to the Governor.
• His persistent fast-track advocacy of “no fishing zones” on the California Coast, under the guise of “Marine Protected Areas.” These areas kick sustainable commercial and recreational fishermen off the water while doing nothing to stop water pollution, habitat degradation, water diversions and water exports that have resulted in huge fishery declines. Could it be that Schwarzenegger is removing fishermen from the water, forcing them to find work elsewhere, in order to eliminate the most persistent critics of his water policies?
• The failure by the DFG under the Schwarzenegger administration to support a volunteer rescue of tens of thousands of striped bass, Sacramento blackfish, Sacramento splittail, largemouth bass and other species last November when the Bureau of Reclamation drained Prospect Island in the California Delta. Before the volunteers were finally allowed to do the rescue, thousands of fish died, making Prospect Island the largest fish kill ever documented on the Delta and one of the largest fish kills in California history.
As campaign director of Restore the Delta Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla said, “Schwarzenegger is as green as a silk plant. When you get up close, you realize that is all a big fake.”
Image source: Night Star Romanus at Flickr
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