Leave it to a crisis to bring out the worst in those who helped bring it about. Led by Devin Nunes, three San Joaquin Valley Republicans are trying to overturn legislation that restored flows to the San Joaquin River after over two decades of litigation. Never mind that a wide consensus of scientific opinion agrees that restored flows are necessary for the survival of San Joaquin Valley salmon runs. Never […]
San Joaquin Delta
The Valley Citizen Water Primer
Until recently, a sixty mile span of the San Joaquin River ran dry every year, no matter how wet or dry the year. Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Trout populations declined precipitously. But because people got informed and involved, a more natural flow cycle has been restored for fish and fisheries. Salmon and Steelhead are returning to the river. Over eighty percent of the water from the Tuolumne River has […]
Restore the Delta Coalition: “Our Books are Open”; "Who's Funding You?"
Sometimes in the water wars it can be difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In the following press release, the good guys, Restore the Delta Coalition (RTD), respond to a smear by the bad guys. If you’re in doubt about who’s who, check out the RTD’s supporters. Anytime you have the Natural Resources Defense Council and the fly fisherman together for nature, you have the […]
Water—It’s a Dirty Business
It’s axiomatic that truth is the first casualty of war, and that’s just as true of water wars as of wars between nations.Throughout the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) water sale controversy, background buzz has maintained that unless the water is sold, “They’ll give it to the fish,” or, less often, “They’ll give it to Los Angeles.” “They,” of course is “the government,” and it doesn’t much matter whether federal […]