Dear Friends,
On Friday, the U.S. House of Representative passed the 2011 Continuing Resolution, a must pass spending bill, to keep the Federal Government funded. Language included in this base bill, however, would defund the implementation of biological decisions made for reduced Delta pumping, thereby allowing record level of water exports from the Delta to resume.
While some House Representatives, like Congressman Devin Nunes (CA – 21st District), are calling it a water restoration measure, this backdoor attempt to thwart the implementation of sound Delta management principles, would bring the final death blow to several Delta fisheries which are on life support presently.
The Continuing Resolution, however, must now go to the Senate and pass through the Senate before March 4, 2011. Please call Senator Feinstein and ask her to strip this Delta killing provision from the 2011 Continuing Resolution.
Remind her that the California and Oregon salmon fishing industry is tied to the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Please also tell her that the Delta farming community, a multi-billion dollar annual economy, is also tied to Delta water quality. We cannot fix the water challenges in Central Valley communities by destroying working Delta farms and California’s fishing communities. Available State and Federal funding resources must be used to create water self-sufficiency in each region of California and to reduce dependence on Delta water exports.
Senator Feinstein’s office numbers are as follows: (202) 224-3841, Washington D.C.; (415) 393-0707, San Francisco; Los Angeles (310) 914-7300; (619) 231-9712 San Diego; and 559-485-7430, Fresno.
Thank you,
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Restore the Delta
This is the 5th time in my lifetime that the peripheral canal has been proposed. It has been on the ballot at least 3 times that I can remember and defeated every time. I used to own a Duck Hunting club on an island outside of Suisun. We obeyed the strict limits set by Fish and Game. I owned it from 1988 to 2005 and in that short amount of time the types of ducks we attracted changed drastically from ducks that preferred fresh water to ducks that preferred salt water. The club near to us, which received fresh water outflow from the sewage treatment plant stayed the same. This meant that our land and the ecosystem around us was being changed forever due to salt water intrusion into the upper delta due to the fresh water being taken up river. For the most obvious proof just look at the Salmon run…..We need to limit growth in Southern California to a sustainable level and not forever destroy the wildlife habitat in the Delta.