(Yes, we need to do something! – promoted by atdleft)
I once saw a sticker saying “Save California’s Water. Drink Coors.”
robertinmonterey posted a quickie that said:
SoCal to face “extreme drought” (Robert in Monterey) the worst on record, in fact. NorCal and the Central Coast aren’t far behind..
If you believe that, then the time for action is now. The canary n the coal mine for California Water policy is the delta smelt and the population has crashed precipitously. I posted California Greening with an action alert from the Planning and Conservation League (I also got the same alert from Restore the Delta and the Fish Sniffer magazine.) The text follows…
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS IN THE DELTA
DELTA SMELT ARE on the BRINK of EXTINCTION
Results from a just completed survey by the Department of Fish & Game:
–Scientists failed to find any smelt in 30 of 36 stations in the Delta
–The survey found only 25 smelt overall; a 93% drop from 2006
–This is the worst return in the history of this survey, in fact these numbers are ONE TENTH of previous record lows
NO RESPONSE TO SAVE THESE FISH
–Even though SEVERAL Delta species have been collapsing for SIX YEARS, the State has refused to commit to actions to avoid extinction
–Last year the State and Federal water projects exported near RECORD amounts of water through massive pumps in the Delta Smelt?s habitat
–The State pumped 55 BILLION gallons of “EXTRA” water in January even while they were telling the Judge there was no problem with smelt
MORE DELTA FISH ARE HEADED TOWARD EXTINCTION
Severe declines in multiple fish populations show that the Delta ecosystem is collapsing. Since 2005 the State and Federal governments have known about the problem, but have failed to commit to actions to save the Delta.
WHAT MUST BE DONE TO SAVE THE DELTA SMELT?
Scientists’ recommendations to help the Delta Smelt must be immediately implemented (see attachment below).
Call the Governor and tell him to commit to actions to save the Delta Smelt before its too late!
Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Phone: 916-445-2841
http://www.govmail.c…
More information:
Tom Philp of the Sacramento Bee?s Blog provides a link to the Delta Smelt Working Group’s recommendations to respond to the delta smelt crisis:
Hank Shaw’s blog on this issue:
During May 2007, pumps have taken more smelt (84) than the Delta survey (8):
Department of Fish and Game
20 mm survey: http://www.delta.dfg…
Notes from Delta Action Team (State and Federal Agencies)
See how this year’s most recent DFG survey of Delta Smelt compares to similarly-timed surveys in years past: (click here to view).