Newly approved high-speed train route has 'unavoidable' effects on Valley [Fresno Bee]
The
latest section approved from Fresno to Bakersfield for California's proposed
high-speed train project would displace hundreds of homes and businesses and
take as much as 5,000 acres of farmland out of production on at least a
temporary basis during construction. Those details are embedded in the 20,000
or so pages of the environmental impact report certified last week by members
of the California High-Speed Rail Authority board at its meeting in
Fresno….Among the effects detailed in the EIR are:…The permanent loss of about
3,500 acres of "important" farmland between Fresno and Bakersfield
for the railroad right of way or related structures and roads….The splitting of
almost 140 farm properties, and displacement of 15 agriculture-related
facilities, by the railroad right of way as it heads across the landscape,
including for the bypasses around the communities of Hanford, Corcoran and
Allensworth….A reduction of about $34 million in agricultural revenue and about
340 fewer farm jobs as a result of farmland being taken out of production
across the four-county region, mostly in Kern and Kings counties.
New entity to manage
planning for massive Delta tunnels [Sacramento Bee]
Construction
planning for the giant water diversion tunnels proposed in the California Delta
is about to be handed off to a new entity, one that gives a prominent role to
the water diverters that will benefit from the project. The California Department
of Water Resources, which has led the project engineering so far, has agreed to
start sharing that duty in a joint powers arrangement with the water agencies
it serves, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and
the Kern County Water Agency. The arrangement will be operational as of June 1,
according to a memo sent to employees last week by DWR Director Mark Cowin.
Opinion: Get groundwater rules right for everyone [Modesto Bee]
…Daily
news reporting of the drought and concerns regarding worldwide climate change,
coupled with reports of widespread land subsidence and the “loss” of millions
of acre-feet of groundwater because of overpumping, have caused the politicians
in Sacramento to focus on groundwater management in ways we have never seen
before….Water-management issues in California are bound to get more complicated
and controversial. We owe it to our children and their grandchildren to help
shape the tools they will need to manage their water supply. We need to stay
calm and on task. There’s a ton of work to do. It will take the full spirit of
local cooperation, and open and honest dialogue to get it done. Knee-jerk
reactions often lead to unintended – and costly – outcomes. There is no reason
to panic. We must remain prudent and practical and keep our eye on the greater
public good.
$2M project will
monitor Imperial County air quality [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
A
new $2 million project will monitor air quality over the next four years in
Imperial County, an area bordering the Coachella Valley and Salton Sea that for
years has faced some of the highest asthma hospitalization rates in the state
and exceeded standards for air-quality measures. The project, conducted by
Comite Civico del Valle in partnership with the California Department of Public
Health’s California Environmental Health Tracking Program, the University of
Washington and others with funding from the National Institutes of Health, will
examine pollution and dust in the air over the next four years….Dusty, rural
desert towns stretch along Highway 111 in the Coachella and Imperial valleys,
with large carrier trucks transporting agriculture on routes between Los
Angeles and Phoenix. Long, green fields full of crops such as onions and
lettuce dot the communities, where pesticides are routinely sprayed to control
insects, bacteria and weeds, and annual grass scalping and agricultural burns
are meant to maintain the desert’s agriculture. In some of the unincorporated
communities, residents live close to waste dumps on farmlands.
Wolf OR7 may have found
a mate [Sacramento Bee]
The
famous wolf known as “OR7” that spent many months traveling Northern California
may have found a mate, and they may already be raising a litter of pups. The
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported Monday it has photographic
evidence that OR7 has found a female companion somewhere in the state’s Rogue
River-Siskiyou National Forest region….The possibility of a wolf family in
southern Oregon is likely to make additional wolf movements into California
more likely. At its meeting in April, the California Fish and Game Commission
postponed for 90 days a decision on whether to protect wolves under the state
Endangered Species Act.
No relief from warm
weather in sight for Lodi-area cherry farmers [Lodi News-Sentinel]
It’s
going to be another light crop for the cherry industry this year, and there
could be more than one reason why. While 2013 gave California one of the
lightest crops on record, Joe Valente, manager of Kautz Farms in Lodi, said
it’s anyone’s guess why this year will see another light harvest. Cherries
require sufficient chilling hours to grow healthy, and December and January
provided little of that, Valente said….Farmers all over the state are
considering not even going out into the orchards to pick cherries this year,
Valente said. “(Not picking) really only happens when there is damaged fruit
out there, but it’s not damaged,” he said. “We’re going in with good fruit, and
quality fruit. There just isn’t enough of it.”…Bruce Blodgett, executive
director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau, said many people and jobs can be
affected by a light cherry crop, including growers, packing companies and
grocery stores.
Ag
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