Delta group aims for more than environmentalists
November 13, 2006
By Alex Breitler
Record Staff Writer
October 26, 2006
STOCKTON - Sophat Sorn may not be able to list the 29 native fish species found in the Delta or decipher the acronyms that pass as names for myriad water programs.
But this community leader does know that many of the city's estimated 10,000 Cambodian residents cast lines into Delta channels to support diets that are traditionally rich in fish.
And he worries they might become exposed to mercury that has contaminated tiny microorganisms and worked its way up the food chain.
On the Web
For more information about Restore the Delta, visit the group's Web site at www.restorethedelta.org.
That's why Sorn is interested in Restore the Delta, a self-described grass-roots group expected to launch itself into the muddy morass of California water policy in the coming weeks.
Protecting the fragile estuaries west of Stockton should not be left solely to bureaucrats or environmentalists, organizers say.
"I got involved because of the waters, because of the fishing, because of the beauty of the landscape - it's something that really affects our community, our daily life," Sorn said late last week.
Restore the Delta was dreamed up by a small group of environmentalists earlier this year. But its membership is expected to go much further.
Schoolteachers, scientists, churchgoers and farmers have attended preliminary meetings, said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, the new director of the Stockton-based group.
There is a desire for Delta stewardship from many sources, said Barrigan-Parrilla, a Stockton resident who once worked in marketing for Disney and has experience in environmental policy.
She is hoping for a small army of 1,000 members over the next six months - volunteers who could attend meetings, fire off letters and follow the often-convoluted policymaking process. The goal: to make the Delta "fishable, swimmable, drinkable and farmable" by 2010.
Among other issues, Barrigan-Parrilla proclaims a need to "push back" against groups seeking to increase water exports from the Delta.
"Communities have been pitted against each other," she said. "But we all have an interest in protecting the Delta."
The state's Delta Protection Commission is watching the new group's progress. Director Linda Fiack said many of its goals may be shared and that it should work in harmony, not independently.
The Delta spans parts of five counties; officials say they are trying to break down jurisdictional boundaries and look at the land as a single unit.
"With that comes stewardship," Fiack said. "It has brought a lot of collaboration and working together. That's been a good thing."
Bill Jennings, a longtime Delta environmentalist, recently told University of the Pacific students at a forum that the new group would be an opportunity for laypeople to dip their toes into Delta issues.
Such opportunities have been "painfully absent," Jennings said Friday.
"These voices have been largely ignored as Delta decisions are made," he said.
The group will have to come up with funding sources; for now, its lone staffer is paid with private grant money, he said.
Douglass Wilhoit, chief executive officer of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, said his organization views the Delta as more than a marketing and tourism magnet.
For Stockton-area residents, it is quality of life, he said.
"Forget all the politics," said Wilhoit, who serves on the steering committee of Restore the Delta. "We need to get people together to talk about our jewel."
Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com
