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Secretary Mike Chrisman, a Visalian, sees opportunity in water crisis

Posted by: Maven on March 23, 2009 at 7:36 am

From the Fresno Bee:

As leader of the state Natural Resources Agency, Visalia rancher Mike Chrisman has a delicate balancing act. He must cater to fishermen, farmers and environmentalists — all while managing a $6.1 billion budget and 17,000 employees in departments overseeing California’s water, wildlife, fish, forests and parks.

In his sixth year on the job, Chrisman is pulling it off for the most part, said a leading environmentalist. “We may disagree with some decisions sometimes. We also applaud other decisions, but I think overall he’s a fair guy,” said Ann Notthoff, California advocacy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

His job is getting tougher, however, and some of his critics are growing louder. Budget cuts have chipped away at the agency’s ability to enforce environmental rules. And the drought and deteriorating Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are stretching state water operations.

Chrisman, the third-longest serving secretary in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Cabinet, sees opportunity in the water crisis. Along with the governor, he’s pushing for a multibillion-dollar water bond to help pay for new dams, more conservation and improvements in the delta. Previous proposals have gone nowhere, but Chrisman is hopeful a deal can be reached soon to put a measure on the 2010 ballot.

“We’re in as good a place now as we’ve been in 25 years. We have got to get this done,” he said in an interview last week. He led a panel of five Cabinet secretaries who in January endorsed the bond proposal while also calling for sweeping changes to the delta, the state’s water hub.

Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

March 23, 2009 · Filed Under Legislation - State & Federal, People in the News

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