• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

The Godfather Speaks: Bob Hackamack on the Tuolumne River

July 14, 2012 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

 

Hackamack's Hole

Bob Hackamack is already immortalized with a portion of the Tuolumne River named for him—Hackamack’s Hole, a Class IV rapid. Fortunately for the river, Hackamack, a Control Systems and Chemical Engineer, is as adept with a slide rule as he is with a canoe or kayak paddle. Many of those who know best about protecting rivers credit Hackamack with the unique mix of passion and scientific expertise it took to bring the river to Wild and Scenic status.

In fact, Friends of the River Executive Director Ron Stork suggests Hackamack may be as important to early river conservation as John Muir was to the Sierra Nevada.

“He’s the grand old man of Tuolumne River conservation,” said Stork recently. Stork agrees with others who say that Hackamack pioneered river conservation in the modern era.

John Amodio, who was the first Director of The Tuolumne River Trust, and himself played a major role in Tuolumne conservation, said recently,

“Bob, indeed, did heroic work. He and others were responsible in the 1970’s in persuading the Forest Service to recommend that Congress should designate the Tuolumne as a federal Wild & Scenic river. For this and his continued unique and essential contributions to the Tuolumne’s ultimate protection as a Wild and Scenic river, as well as several additional decades focusing on its restoration, I consider him the Godfather of the Tuolumne. As an Italian-American, I am not using the mobster version popularized by Hollywood, but the traditional role of a Godfather who willingly takes on responsibility for the care and protection of a child, and serves that role throughout their life.”

Author Tim Palmer has written that Hackamack’s persuasion of Congressman Jack McFall to sponsor legislation calling for a study of the Tuolumne as a “Wild and Scenic” river was, “a stroke of political genius.”

Hackamack still follows Tuolumne River issues closely, and recently responded to questions from The Valley Citizen. Here’s the interview:

Valley Citizen:  How long have you been studying and lobbying for preservation of the Tuolumne River?

Hackamack: 43 years.

Valley Citizen:  You were the major factor in acquiring Wild and Scenic status for the Tuolumne. What added protection comes from Wild and Scenic status?

Hackamack:  I’m not a major factor, but an important factor. New dams and major new diversions are forbidden by designation.

Valley Citizen:  Over the years, what has been the most consistent threat to the River?

Hackamack: Considering the entire river, not just the designated upper portion, new dams and increasing existing diversions. Second is inadequate flow below La Grange for anadromous fish, principally salmon and steelhead trout.

Valley Citizen:  How much confidence do you have in the MID’s predicted water savings after infrastructure improvements?

Hackamack: As you know, MID puts more water into their canals than is required for farm irrigation in order to make operation easy. Unused water is spilled at the far end. The plan is to use money from San Francisco for extra drinking water to pay for reducing spills from 40,000 acre feet a year to 3,000. It is up to the MID board of directors to implement that plan step-by-step over a number of years instead of using the money for other purposes.

Valley Citizen:  Over the years, how often did you find errors or omissions in MID proposals?

Hackamack: I follow only Tuolumne River matters. In 1976 I discovered after more than eight hours of estimations and calculations on a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) new dams proposal (in which MID and Turlock Irrigation District (TID) were not yet involved), that water would be shifted from existing electric generation at Moccasin to the proposed Wards Ferry Dam. MID and TID were expected to buy that same amount of electricity for seven times as much, putting about $2 million more a year into SFPUC profit. The day after I sent those calculations to others for verification, MID and TID joined SFPUC as sponsors of that project without notice or hearing. I went public with my findings. After the Districts realized what I called a swindle of the Districts in the Modesto Bee, their interest in that project cooled. After a while, SFPUC consultants wrote me saying my calculations were all wrong—that I had overestimated the shift by 12%! Not bad for a calculation without all the critical data. Three years later the shift was undone in a revised plan, which made the project’s benefits less attractive to the Districts and SF. This helped the effort for Wild and Scenic classification.

To answer your question succinctly, the Districts didn’t have their staffs go through that thick project report to pick up on the hint of the switch and pursue a review of the report through the obvious omissions of technical data to a conclusion. The staff and boards just accepted the SFPUC consultants’ rosy conclusions.

After the San Francisco Board of Supervisors endorsed Wild and Scenic, the Districts and SFPUC kept putting money into the preliminary work for those three dams until Congress, in effect, withdrew permission for dams on the main stem. Thereafter MID and SFPUC did the wise thing by opting out of the remaining proposed dams.

Valley Citizen:  Do increased flows help cleanse the river of toxins and pollutants?

Hackamack: Yes, but more importantly, more flow lowers temperature and provides more rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead trout and other fish in the lower 52 miles of the Tuolumne, and at the same time discourages predators of out migrating young. MID, TID and SFPUC say they need ever more water from the Tuolumne without wanting to spend more money on more water conservation or recycling because their diversion works are large and have been in place for many, many years.

Valley Citizen:  What are some of the overlooked aspects of the proposed MID water sale, including Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing?

Hackamack:  Water sales are legal and encouraged by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to transfer water from low value uses to higher value uses, which is thought to reduce waste of water and reduce the need for more dams. The FERC can tip that scale of uses toward protecting and enhancing natural values by requiring more water be devoted to fish, wildlife, recreation and the aesthetics of the Tuolumne from La Grange to its confluence with the San Joaquin if there is enough public interest in doing so. Also, the SWRCB is now pressing diverters in all of the Sacramento and San Joaquin river watersheds to use less water and send more of the water under their control into the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta for the health of that water body.

Increased fall, winter and spring release of water into the Tuolumne at La Grange is one of those higher value uses to the California economy as well as in the other values for this river.

Valley Citizen: Thank you Bob.

Hackamack: Thanks for letting me explain my views.

 

 

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Bob Hackamack, MID water sale, Tuolumne River

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

Ten Ways Billionaires Avoid Taxes On An Epic Scale
Ten Ways Billionaires Avoid Taxes On An Epic Scale
This article first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative…
talkingpointsmemo.com
A South Texan?s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
A South Texan’s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
When she began her year-long bird-spotting adventure, Tiffany Kersten was lost and lonely. She ended up achieving a major milestone and finding her way.
www.texasmonthly.com
Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, panel reveals
Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, panel reveals
A top aide said the Wisconsin Republican senator wanted to give Pence the list of pro-Trump electors as he prepared to certify the 2020 election.
www.politico.com
Raffensperger says he wishes Fox News carried every Jan. 6 hearing
Raffensperger says he wishes Fox News carried every Jan. 6 hearing
“I think it would have helped our party heal, given [people] more facts.”
www.axios.com
'Not safe anymore': Portland confronts the limits of its support for homeless services
‘Not safe anymore’: Portland confronts the limits of its support for homeless services
Homeless encampments now spill well beyond Portland’s downtown core, dividing a city that has invested liberally in support services.
www.latimes.com
Republicans Will Do It Again
Republicans Will Do It Again
They have not been chastened by the revelations of the January 6 committee.
nymag.com
Birdman
Birdman
Bird Brother: A Falconer’s Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife
www.earthisland.org
The Potato Roll Empire Bankrolling Christian Nationalist Doug Mastriano
The Potato Roll Empire Bankrolling Christian Nationalist Doug Mastriano
The Martins were bit players in politics, until they put Doug Mastriano one step away from becoming Pennsylvania’s next governor.
nymag.com
Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’
Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’
Prominent Christian leaders accuse Trump allies of spreading misinformation about election and Covid, while distorting Christian teachings at ReAwaken America events
www.theguardian.com
Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears 'moment of reckoning'
Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears ‘moment of reckoning’
As the Colorado River water shortage worsens, major cutbacks are needed to reduce most perilous risks, a federal official tells senators.
www.latimes.com
Trump Scammed Supporters Out of $250 Million for Nonexistent Fraud Fund
Trump Scammed Supporters Out of $250 Million for Nonexistent Fraud Fund
Supporters who thought they were donating to “election integrity” instead saw some of their money funneled to Trump hotels
www.rollingstone.com
Police Arrested 31 White Supremacists Crammed Into a U-Haul With a Detailed Riot Plan
Police Arrested 31 White Supremacists Crammed Into a U-Haul With a Detailed Riot Plan
Members of the Patriot Front were allegedly planning to disrupt a pride parade in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
www.vice.com
Dishonor, Trump’s and His Party’s, Is the Real January 6th Takeaway
Dishonor, Trump’s and His Party’s, Is the Real January 6th Takeaway
Liz Cheney, defying the G.O.P., offered a searing indictment of the former President at Thursday’s hearing.
www.newyorker.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design