We will now discuss in a little more detail the Struggle for Existence. – Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species Articles Hunger and thirst Speaking of BDCP …. 2014 State of Our Rivers Symposium Hunger and thirst By Jane Wagner-Tyack UOP economist Dr. Jeffrey Michael reports in an April 7 blog post that between 2007 and 2012, despite the drought in 2009, San Joaquin Valley agriculture made a clear shift toward permanent crops. Over that period, acreage of field crops (like cotton, hay, grain, and alfalfa) increased by 2 percent. Acreage of fruit and nut crops (like almonds, pistachios and grapes, crops that can’t be fallowed in a dry year) increased by 21 percent. Meanwhile, acreage of vegetable crops decreased [...]

“Go not for every grief to the physician, nor for every quarrel to the lawyer, nor for every thirst to the pot.” – George Herbert So much has happened in the first six weeks of 2014 that anyone may be forgiven for feeling dazed and confused. To help you sort out one thread of events, we’re providing a chronology of drought-related developments, with some details about what is in the various declarations and bills. We’ll leave it to you to see some of the interesting connections. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan has been pushing forward with tightly-structured open houses around the state. Smiling acolytes display glossy foam boards and shiny brochures full of errors, and if you want to make [...]

FOR  IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, January 30, 2014Contact: Steve Hopcraft 916/457-5546; [email protected]; Twitter: @shopcraft; @MrSandHillCrane; Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla 209/479-2053 [email protected]; Twitter: @RestoretheDeltaIn case you missed it…The Bakersfield CalifornianTuesday, Jan 28 2014 10:00 PMLOIS HENRY: While D.C. plays politics, real water issues awaitBy Lois HenryThere are real issues to be discussed involving California’s water troubles. Tough issues.Such as, whether we’ve overplanted with crops that simply cannot be accommodated long term given regulatory changes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta.Oh yeah, I went there. Let the howling begin.Can our water system sustain the explosion in almonds, pistachios, grapes and other permanent crops we’ve seen in Kern and other valley counties?I don’t know.But I do know that’s a question being mulled, even among those in the [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, January 7, 2014 In case you missed it…For Immediate Release: Tuesday, January 6, 2014 Contact: Bill Jennings, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance 209-464-5067; cell 938-9053; email, [email protected]; website, www.calsport.org Delta Fish Hammered Yet Again: Fall Midwater Trawl Results Reveal Continued Biological CollapseThe California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) has released the results of the 2013 Fall Midwater Trawl (FMWT), which reconfirms the continuing biological collapse that is occurring in the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta Estuary. The FMWT conducts monthly surveys from September through December at 100 index stations in the Delta. The results reveal that populations of Delta smelt, striped bass and American shad declined from the disastrous levels of last year while longfin smelt [...]

“In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.” – Czeslaw Milosz Articles [—ATOC—] [—TAG:h2—]Water pokerWithout at all minimizing the hardships that many Californians may experience if drought projections for 2014 are borne out, we want to note that as of December 18, 2013, Southern California’s Castaic Lake reservoir is at 88% of capacity, and Southern California’s Pyramid Lake reservoir is at 97% of capacity.Central Valley reservoirs, by contrast – those serving California’s agricultural heartland – are alarmingly low. Most of these reservoirs lie behind dams built on rivers that used to sustain a complex natural environment, rivers on which fish have relied from time immemorial. And aquifers, the [...]