Grey Wolf listing decision looms at Fortuna meeting Wednesday [Siskiyou Daily News]
On
Wednesday, the California Fish and Game Commission will take another step
toward a decision on whether it will list the gray wolf as threatened or
endangered. Earlier this year, the FGC voted to delay the decision in order to
give north state stakeholders an opportunity to offer comments in person….In
the months since that meeting, other groups, such as the Society for
Conservation Biology and the Del Norte Farm Bureau, have submitted documents
urging the commission to vote one way or the other. The SCB submitted a report
detailing the historic range of the gray wolf and the ways the group believes a
listing will benefit the species. On the other end of the spectrum, the Del
Norte Farm Bureau cites potential harm to livestock owners and ranchers in its
request for the commission’s no vote on a listing.
Stakeholders
tout Klamath basin deal [Bend Oregon Bulletin]
The
water-sharing deal for the Klamath River Basin under consideration by the U.S.
Senate could be a model for other Western states facing water shortages,
stakeholders said Tuesday. After decades of winner-takes-all litigation over
competing water rights, the parties have compromised to preserve the way of
life of all those who rely on the river and want to see its ecosystem restored,
including the Klamath Tribes, ranchers, farmers, professional and recreational
fishermen and environmentalists. John C. Bezdek, a senior adviser to the
Interior Department’s deputy secretary, said the Obama administration supports
the comprehensive solution for water, fishery and power issues in the Klamath
basin, contingent upon additional funding from nonfederal sources. Under the
Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement, signed by the parties in April,
the federal government will pay $505 million over 10 years, according to the
Congressional Budget Office.
http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/2130711-151/stakeholders-tout-klamath-basin-deal?entryType=0#
Opinion: State water grab
hurts local farmers [Red Bluff Daily News]
The
State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) adopted emergency regulations last
week authorizing the curtailment of water diversions, including pre-1914 and
riparian water rights, on Antelope Creek, Deer Creek and Mill Creek….The impact
this regulation will have on local farmers and ranchers in these watersheds is
significant….The legal rationale behind the SWRCB's decision is that diverting
surface water from these creeks is a "waste or unreasonable use" of
water when there is insufficient water in the creeks to provide certain flows
for Spring-run salmon, a threatened species….Clearly, this is a troubling
development for local farmers and ranchers. While protecting our natural
resources is important, it must be done in balance with other interests, and in
accordance with due process standards that allow all voices to be considered.
Opinion: Time to take the
big picture in dealing with California's droughts [Palo Alto Daily News]
Let's
not keep telling people to conserve more water, take fewer showers or recycle
their washing machine with gray water. We need to do something much more
dramatic to handle what, most likely, will be continuing droughts in our arid
state….Now every drop that we save, be it from farmers or folks, counts. But we
have to approach the drought problem differently. We have to save more water.
The last dams we built in this state were in 1973, when our population was
substantially lower….I understand the inherent logic. We can't as a state
continue refusing to build reservoirs. Logic demands we store more water.
Opinion: Don’t let our
burned-out national forests become a ‘national ashtray’[Sacramento Bee]
Something
is terribly wrong with California’s national forests, vast public lands that
cover 20 percent of our state. According to the U.S. Forest Service, they’re
burning up faster than we’re replenishing them. They’re also on track to become
net carbon emitters by the middle of this century….Post-fire recovery and
reforestation, including tree planting, is expensive. It requires public
support and investment. A reliable funding source is the sale of dead timber to
nearby sawmills. Unfortunately, some activists have vigorously – often
successfully – opposed post-fire salvage logging. Stopping all commercial
harvesting, even that required to clear dead trees for reforestation, has
become an ideological badge of honor. Success in “saving” a burned public
forest from salvage logging only helps to pile on the acres of “deforested
conditions.” Welcome to the “national ashtray.”
Opinion: Top-two primary
gives business interests an opening [Fresno Bee]
Professional
politicians clearly dislike California’s still-new “top-two” primary election
system, which was forced on them by voters. Placing all candidates on the same
primary ballot, with the two top finishers facing each other in a November
runoff, makes outcomes less predictable by broadening the universe of voters
who can cast ballots. If there’s anything political pros dislike, it’s
uncertainty. Amateur ideologues who dominated closed primaries, but now wield
less influence, also aren’t happy.
Ag
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