California Sport Fishing Alliance reports on Wanger’s ruling

From IndyBay.org:

John Beuttler, conservation director of the California Sportfishing Alliance, summarizes the recent federal court ruling by Judge Oliver Wanger that mandated reductions in water exports from the California Delta at certain times of year in order to better protect Delta smelt from the impacts of the state and federal projects.

“The court’s ruling was based on the best science available, a principle the Interior Department neglected to use,” said Beuttler.

Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez) also commented on the ruling. “Today’s order is a very important step in the effort to force California’s water policy into compliance with the law. Nobody should be surprised by this order, nor should they be surprised to learn that the government must now take substantial steps to save the Delta and the Bay ecosystem.”

The ruling occurs in the context of the Bay-Delta estuary’s worst-ever ecological crisis. Four species of pelagic (open water) fish – delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad – have declined to record levels because of increased water exports by the state and federal governments in recent years.

This court ruling is very welcome news for those of us concerned about the future of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Unfortunately Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the worst ever government for fish and the environment in California history, continues to campaign for increased water exports from Delta that is already crashing. To provide the capacity for increased exports, Schwarzenegger and the California Chamber of Commerce are backing water bond initatives for a peripheral canal and two new reservoirs. Unless we stop the Governor and his corporate supporters in their drive to build the canal and more dams, the delta smelt and other fish species are destined for extinction.

To read the rest of this article from CSPA posted on IndyBay.org, click here. The article contains comments by Congressman George Miller, a summary of the court ruling, and information regarding the latest smelt survey.

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