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Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
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Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County

Local Agencies Shirk Groundwater Accountability

February 28, 2021 By Eric Caine 7 Comments

Stanislaus River

Local experts on water and water use like Vance Kennedy were apoplectic when farmers planted almonds and walnuts in the foothills of eastern Stanislaus County, where one of the last viable aquifers in the San Joaquin Valley provided enough groundwater for tens of thousands of acres of trees. “That aquifer should be saved for use in an emergency,” said Kennedy, a retired hydrologist formerly with U.S. Geological Survey. Today, obeying […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, San Joaquin Valley groundwater, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

Trinitas Partners Brings its Water Hammer to Maui

July 22, 2019 By Eric Caine 12 Comments

Almonds to the horizon, eastern Stanislaus County

Like any journalist in these days of escalating water prices amid growing scarcity, Deborah Rybak maintains a keen interest in agriculture. So late last December, when she learned 56,000 acres of farmland had changed hands on the island of Maui, her reporter’s radar went on full alert. Rybak writes for Maui Time, the island’s leading news journal. The selling price alone—$262 million—was enough to pique her interest. Anyone with that […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, OID water sales, Trinitas Partners, Trinitas Partners Oakdale

Fallow Me to Water? Not Likely

February 26, 2019 By Eric Caine 14 Comments

For the better part of thirty years, Modesto’s Vance Kennedy has been trying to tell people we don’t have enough water. Now in his mid-nineties, Kennedy is a retired hydrologist who received the highest possible service award from the Environmental Protection Agency when he was with the United States Geological Survey. In an announcement bound to foment even more than the usual furor over water issues, the Public Policy Institute […]

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Eastern Stanislaus County groundwater, mining groundwater

The Real Water Grabs

November 14, 2016 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

The signs are up all around Stanislaus County. “Worth your Fight,” they say, and the “o” in “worth” is in the shape of a water drop. Local media and political leaders are shouting, “water grab,” and have plenty of support in their opposition to the state’s proposal to increase flows along Valley rivers. Water, of course, is worth everyone’s fight, and that’s just where the state’s problems begin. King Solomon […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Almond orchards Stanislaus County, water grab

Water, History, and the Environment: Part III

July 31, 2015 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Fact? Fiction? What’s the diff? Even though the state has mandated sustainable use of groundwater resources, there’s still a lot of misinformation about groundwater, rivers, and aquifers. Sometimes the misinformation appears in mainstream media and adds to public confusion about the harm caused by overdrafting groundwater. That’s what happened in a recent Modesto Bee opinion piece by Janie Gatzman. Gatzman is an appraiser with American AgCredit. In “Orchards on the […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, eastern Stanislaus County

Water, History, and the Environment: Part I

July 25, 2015 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

When local residents met in Knights Ferry last month to discuss the effects of the almond boom on their quality of life, the emphasis was on domestic wells running dry, but there were many other concerns. One that received little media attention was the effects of almond orchards on wildlife. “Your people are shooting the deer,” said one man who lives near orchards owned by Trinitas Partners. “We used to […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Trinitas Partners

Almond Siege Threatens Valley Homeowners

April 23, 2015 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

Just outside the city of Oakdale, houses along Orange Blossom and Horseshoe Roads represent most everyone’s dream of country living come true. Nestled under canopies of cottonwoods and oaks and with close access to the Stanislaus River, many of the homes feature backyard pastures with grazing horses, frolicking dogs, and large country cats hunting mice and gophers.   Lately, though, residents of the once idyllic neighborhood find themselves more and more […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Stanislaus County groundwater, Trinitas Almonds

Will the Kite Survive?

January 30, 2015 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

  In his classic Birds of the Pacific States, Ralph Hoffmann laments the decline of the White-tailed Kite: “The softness of its coloring and the confiding and gentle nature of the White-tailed Kite, so different from the wildness of most birds of prey, make a strong appeal to lovers of nature, but not alas! to the usual run of gunners.” First published in 1927, Hoffmann’s book was reprinted for at […]

Filed Under: Featured, Nature Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Almond orchards Stanislaus County

Critical Care for Groundwater?

December 2, 2014 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

“Sustainability is the 21st century IQ test,” said Brad Barker, “and you can’t keep postponing your way to sustainability.” Barker, Conservation Chair for Yokuts Sierra Club, was speaking at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors. The agenda item concerned approval of a newly-revised groundwater ordinance. Barker was one among many who thought the supervisors had waited too long to regulate pumping groundwater on the county’s east […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, eastern Stanislaus County orchards, Stanislaus County groundwater

Dr. Kennedy’s Groundwater Remedy

October 27, 2014 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

Stanislaus County Supervisors probably breathed a sigh of relief when the Modesto Bee chose not to report Dr. Vance Kennedy’s comments at their October 21 board meeting. As an award-winning hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Kennedy accumulated a career’s worth of on-the ground experience to go along with his academic credentials. At ninety-one years of age, he remains current with research in his field, especially research involving groundwater. A […]

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Almond Orchards eastern Stanislaus County, Stanislaus County groundwater, Vance Kennedy

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