Petition targets ‘rogue’ killings by Wildlife Services [Washington Post]
….A
petition seeks to reduce the power of Wildlife Services and shine a light on
its practices, claiming its agents have “gone rogue,” overstepping the mission
to protect the public by killing indiscriminately. There’s no dispute that
Wildlife Services plays a valuable role by eliminating invasive animals such as
nutria and starlings that are a menace. But critics have questions: How many is
too many? Does the agency euthanize wildlife too often on behalf of farmers and
ranchers without regard to ecosystems? The petition filed early this month by
the Center for Biological Diversity isn’t the first time that animal rights
activists have squared off against Wildlife Services, but this time their
coalition includes politicians who agree that the agency is too secret and too
deadly.
Citrus
freeze may be uniquely damaging [Bakersfield Californian]
The
recent freeze that ruined an undetermined amount of Kern County produce was not
a new experience for local citrus farmers, who have endured bad weather and
lost crops worth millions in the past. Neither was it the longest freeze nor
the most severe. But industry veterans say the event's uniquely damaging
aspects -- unfortunate timing combined with longer-term changes in consumer
tastes and production -- narrowly missed becoming a countywide destructive
force. The economic loss for Kern's economy won't be known for months. Yet
growers, producers and observers acknowledge that they dodged a bullet.
"Right now, there's damage," county Agricultural Commissioner Ruben
Arroyo said. "But I don't think it's to the extent that we had in 2007,"
when a frost ruined about half Kern's citrus crop,
FEMA
reverses course on Rim fire declaration [Sacramento Bee]
President
Barack Obama declared this summer’s Rim fire a major disaster Friday, reversing
an earlier denial of aid following an appeal by Gov. Jerry Brown. State
officials included more current Rim fire damage estimates in Brown’s Dec. 3
appeal than in his original Oct. 8 letter requesting a presidential major
disaster declaration. The Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected that
request early last month. Friday’s declaration frees up federal funding for the
state, Tuolumne County and other local governments, as well as certain
nonprofit groups. The money will pay for emergency work and repairs or
replacement of roads and other structures damaged by the Rim fire.
New
flood control plan sought for Salinas River [Monterey County Herald]
With
a plan to allow clearing of the Salinas River to avoid flooding at an impasse,
two state legislators are stepping in. On Friday, Assemblyman Luis Alejo and
Sen. Anthony Cannella held a news conference on the river with other elected
officials and agricultural business representatives to announce their plans for
a "bipartisan coalition" to push ahead with a solution. Alejo, a
Democrat from Watsonville who represents the 30th Assembly district, and
Cannella, a Republican from the Central Valley who represents the 12th Senate
district, said they had already reached out to the Monterey County Farm Bureau
and the Nature Conservancy environmental organization for help in working
together on a ""long-term, holistic approach to the problem," said
Alejo spokesman John de los Angeles.
Editorial: Brown’s tunnel
vision on state water plan [San Diego Union-Tribune]
Simple
fact: Nothing is more important to the economy of San Diego and all of
California than a reliable supply of water. But the intensely controversial
proposal of Gov. Jerry Brown to achieve greater reliability through
environmental restoration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta — the hub of
California’s massive water system — and re-engineering of the delta’s intricate
plumbing increasingly appears unworkable….In any case, the environmental and
plumbing problems in the delta must be fixed. Brown is to be commended for
taking on one of the most important, and contentious, issues in state politics.
But we hope he is not blind to the growing flaws in his twin tunnels plan and
that he will objectively consider other solutions.
Opinion: More storage may be
California’s most important water issue [Sacramento Bee]
…Meteorologists
believe that climate change will reduce California’s winter snowfall and
increase its rainfall, thus shrinking the natural snowpack reservoir. If that’s
true, California will need more man-made storage, either surface reservoirs or
underground aquifers, to capture seasonal rainfall….Four years ago, the
Legislature approved a water bond issue that includes $3 billion for storage
projects, but it was never submitted to voters and efforts will be made in 2014
to write a smaller substitute measure. One of its major conflicts will be over
money for storage, and what happens will have a material impact on California’s
future.
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