If present trends continue, almost half of California’s native salmon, steelhead and trout are likely be extinct in the next 50 years — and 70 percent of these iconic fish will be gone in one hundred years. By Dan Bacher That was the alarming news unveiled by scientists and conservation group leaders in a press teleconference announcing the findings of a new […]
Federal scientists strongly disagree with Gov. Jerry Brown’s claim that “best scientific thinking” supports the construction of California’s Delta tunnels. In fact, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has released a draft biological opinion documenting the harm the tunnels would cause to salmon, steelhead, Delta and longfin smelt, other fish and wildlife species, and water quality. […]
By Dan Bacher Delta residents will have a great opportunity to ask the major Delta Tunnels proponent and Delta islands purchaser, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, some tough questions, in Stockton on September 15. Restore the Delta (RTD) encourages you to attend. See the meeting details below. Governor Jerry Brown is currently promoting […]
By Dan Bacher In a big victory for fishing groups who were mobilizing for a huge turn out of anglers at the California Fish and Game Commission meeting in Folsom on August 25, Stewart Resnick’s Coalition for a Sustainable Delta Astroturf group and their water contractor allies withdrew their petition to increase bag limits and […]
By Dan Bacher Below is an urgent action alert and press release from John Beuttler and Dr. David Ostrach of the Allied Fishing Groups. I urge you to contact Senator Feinstein’s office to stop her drought legislation from destroying our Delta fisheries: The situation is critical. Should the bill pass as currently written, it will […]
By Dan Bacher The state and federal governments pleaded their case for Governor Jerry Brown’s controversial Delta Tunnels plan in testimony submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board on May 31 and in a media teleconference held on June 1, claiming that the planned new water diversion points won’t endanger other water users. The […]
By Dan Bacher While California Governor Jerry Brown poses as a “Green Governor” at climate conferences, he is promoting the salmon-killing Delta Tunnels, the expansion of fracking, and water policies that have brought salmon and delta smelt to the brink of extinction. In the latest development in the long saga of Governor Jerry Brown’s rapidly […]
By Dan Bacher Governor Jerry Brown’s California WaterFix to Build the Delta Tunnels, a $60-billion plan to divert Sacramento River water to corporate agribusiness interests, Southern California water agencies, and oil companies conducting fracking and extreme oil extraction methods, is “broken” and in “chaos.” That’s the assessment of a coalition of fishing, environmental and farming […]
By Dan Bacher Restore the Delta (RTD) today released a powerful open letter to Governor Jerry Brown from Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, RTD Executive Director, stating “It’s time to detach your legacy from the Delta Tunnels proposal.” “It’s time to face the reality that this plan is falling apart,” she said. Brown’s controversial California Water Fix to build the Delta Tunnels is […]
By Dan Bacher As Delta smelt and other fish species reach record low population levels and fishermen and fisherwomen brace for salmon restrictions this season, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California authorized the purchase of four islands in the San Francisco Bay-Delta for an undisclosed sum at a closed session of the agency’s Board of Directors meeting on the […]
By Dan Bacher In comments to the press at the “Water 2.0 event” sponsored by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) this January, Governor Jerry Brown claimed building the Delta Tunnels under the California Water Fix project is “absolutely necessary” for the “future” of California. Delta and fish advocates strongly disagree with the Governor’s claim. Delta […]
By Dan Bacher I wrote the below article about the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative for the Sacramento News and Review in 2009. Unfortunately, none of the fundamental problems with the process pinpointed in this and other articles have ever been resolved. First, the marine protected areas created under the MLPA Initiative still fail […]
By Dan Bacher The Brown and Obama administrations are not the only ones pushing for the construction of the Delta Tunnels under the California Water Fix, as evidenced by the inclusion by Congress of a provision to fund the widely-contested project at taxpayer expense revealed today by Restore the Delta (RTD). “Deep within the 2009 […]
By Dan Bacher As Governor Jerry Brown resumes his campaign to build the salmon-killing Delta Tunnels after spending a week green washing his image in Paris at the Climate Summit, Congress is doing its best in Washington D.C. to eviscerate protections for Central Valley and Trinity/Klamath River salmon and steelhead. HR 2898, an agribusiness-backed “drought relief” bill that […]
By Dan Bacher Urge Senator Boxer To Protect SF Bay-Delta From HR 2898 HR 2898, an agribusiness-backed “drought relief” bill that would strip environmental protections for Central Valley salmon and steelhead and Delta smelt, is back for the third time, according to Restore the Delta (RTD). Senator Dianne Feinstein appears ready to sign […]