FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Contact: Steve Hopcraft 916/457-5546; steve@hopcraft.com; Twitter: @shopcraft; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 barbara@restorethedelta.org; Twitter: @RestoretheDelta
In case you missed it…
Contra Costa Times editorial: Supreme Court’s smelt decision was not surprise
Contra Costa Times editorial © 2015 Bay Area News Group
POSTED: 01/19/2015 12:48:49 PM PST
“It took all of, oh, a couple of minutes for big water districts in the Central Valley to criticize last week’s U.S. Supreme Court for choosing fish over people. If only it were that easy.
“Farmers and cities in the Central Valley and Southern California like to dumb down the argument to just that — the Delta smelt vs. the thirsty masses.
“But it’s not just about the 3-inch fish. The smelt don’t get much support because they’re not even a sport fish like the more celebrated salmon.
“Delta smelt, though, are a marker species, the canary in the Delta coal mine. When they start going away, the Delta ecosystem is in bad shape. That’s what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said back in 2008 and what the Supreme Court upheld last week. …”
See the full story here:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/editorial/ci_27350414/contra-costa-times-editorial-supreme-courts-smelt-decision