Ag Today Monday, July 7, 2014

As drought persists, frustration mounts over secrecy of California’s well drilling logs [Sacramento Bee]

…But while all other Western states make such records – known as well completion reports, or well logs, for short – open to the public, California does not. Here, access to the documents is restricted….Two legislative efforts in the past three years to make the records more accessible have failed. Opposition remains strong among farmers who fear release of the records could raise questions about who’s pumping how much and where, and invite lawsuits and restrictions on groundwater use that is unregulated in many places….I don’t see a real benefit for throwing a lot of that information out for public demand,” said Paul Wenger, president of the California Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization. “Those who are in authority and who have a need to know have access to it now.”

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/06/6534974/as-drought-persists-frustration.html

Water transfers: Wrong and wasteful? [Marysville Appeal-Democrat]

Year after year, Sacramento Valley groundwater is pumped out to replace surface water being sent south. It's been called an amoral practice and an unnecessary strain on a resource that is being depleted. It's said the impacts are being swept under the rug so big business agriculture in the south can stay afloat during the drought. But those allegations by conservation organizations against groundwater substitution transfers — one of the ways that water is moved across the state — have also been labeled generalizations by water managers who employ the practice. They say groundwater substitutions are perfectly legal and often carefully studied to avoid negative impacts, and they are made possible by infrastructure improvements that have bolstered the groundwater basins, not hurt them.

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/water-transfers-wrong-and-wasteful/article_75efc13a-04dc-11e4-bf01-001a4bcf6878.html

Editorial: Ensuring future of agriculture [Santa Maria Times]

…Central Coast agriculturalists are rolling the dice as you read these words, and have been for the past two years-plus. They are trying to beat the odds of successfully operating ranches and farms during a full-on drought….We bring this up because, as the drought continues, there will be the inevitable struggle between agriculture and non-agricultural water users. When this debate begins, we have to keep in mind the value of agriculture to just about everyone who lives on the Central Coast. That reality requires balance when water decisions are being made, and new policies formulated. Sooner or later — and sooner would be better — those involved in making water policy decisions need to put their heads together and discuss the potential for desalting sea water, for both ag and non-ag uses.

http://santamariatimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/ensuring-future-of-agriculture/article_8a0b8d9f-5b78-54a9-b7c1-e9827dc949af.html

Logging companies ordered to report water use in controlling dust [Sacramento Bee]

Logging companies in the Sierra Nevada and elsewhere in California will now be required to report how much water they extract from streams for dust control. The California Board of Forestry adopted the emergency regulations in response to the drought. The action arose from concerns that very low water flows in many mountain streams could be further depleted by water extractions related to logging….The central and southern Sierra Nevada are two regions where the new regulations are expected to have the most effect.

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/05/6532676/logging-companies-ordered-to-report.html

Commentary: Don’t rob from healthy forest programs to fight wildfires [Sacramento Bee]

A recent study from the Sierra’s Mokelumne River indicates that it makes economic as well as environmental sense to invest in forest fuels reduction, so why aren’t we doing more of it? One problem is a lack of funding. Each year, funds directed to taking care of our forests to reduce the risk of destructive megafires are redirected to help fight fires….To end this downward spiral, the California Forest Watershed Alliance is supporting the federal Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, which seeks to prevent borrowing from accounts at the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to pay for wildfire suppression efforts when those accounts become depleted in extreme fire years.

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/05/6532901/viewpoints-dont-rob-from-healthy.html

Editorial: Pt. Reyes park leaders need to build bridges [Marin Independent Journal]

…While Supreme Court justices didn't believe the legal case warranted its review, the oyster farm has had strong support from the West Marin community, where the park's refusal to renew the farm's lease is seen by many as heavy-handed and a possible threat to the agricultural leases across the seashore….In his decision, Salazar stressed the importance of the ranches that stretch across much of the park and promised that they would remain. But Salazar retired before his promise could be written into law. The park service has started a lengthy review of the ranches' future. But while fulfilling Salazar's pledge might be the impetus for the study, there are political forces that want to turn those historic leases into cow-free wilderness areas, and will push for that change….Moving forward expeditiously in fulfilling Salazar's promise that the park's ranches are important to both the park and the community would be a step in the right direction.

http://www.marinij.com/ci_26087604/editorial-pt-reyes-park-leaders-need-build-bridges

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