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Sac Bee editorial: We might need salmon czar, too

Posted by: Maven on July 8, 2009 at 7:55 am

From the Sacramento Bee, this editorial:

Faced with a pitchfork rebellion in the San Joaquin Valley, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last month appointed a “water czar” to deliver extra water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to farmers in certain districts south of the Delta. That prompts a question: Will the Obama administration also appoint a “salmon czar” to help bring relief to the North Coast fishing industry, which is dependent on healthy flows in the Delta so salmon can migrate and spawn?

So far, Salazar’s water agenda in California has focused almost completely on Fresno-area farmers, whose wealth and clout tend to demand attention.

That’s why Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes has been tasked to bring together federal agencies to expedite certain Delta projects, including a pair of gates that would block imperiled smelt and salmon from being sucked into pumps that deliver water to the south.

It’s commendable that Salazar, a former congressman from Colorado, would want to wade into the swamp of Delta politics. For the last four years, the Bush administration barely got its toes wet. Yet because they are not from this place, Salazar and Obama may not understand the need for a balanced approach to resolving conflicts over water and natural resources. They also should be careful not to fuel certain myths that make resolution more complicated.

Read the rest of this editorial from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

July 8, 2009 · Filed Under Wildlife & Endangered Species

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