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Coverage wrap-up: San Joaquin, Sacramento rivers top endangered list

Posted by: Maven on April 7, 2009 at 7:54 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers will be named today as the nation’s most endangered waterways by the environmental group American Rivers. It will be a news flash mainly for the other 49 states.

Many Californians are already well aware of the myriad problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and its two main rivers. They’ve lived for several years with water shortages caused by the Delta’s environmental problems, and with the threat of its declining fish populations, aging levees and problem plumbing.

Yet making the No. 1 slot on the group’s 2009 list of the 10 most endangered rivers is a dubious distinction that both environmentalists and water users say will bring renewed urgency to finally solve these problems.

“It can’t hurt,” said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. “We keep telling the world this system is in crisis. It’s in crisis for the fish and the water supply. So the more attention we can get … the better off we’re going to be.”

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

From the Fresno Bee:

Pressed by population growth and irrigation demands, and imperfectly restrained by outdated levees, the two Central Valley rivers are said to be “on the verge of collapse” in the latest assessment by American Rivers. This marks the first time either river has topped the subjective most-endangered rankings. “We really have to overhaul how we manage this river system,” Amy Kober, communications director for American Rivers, said Monday.

Based in Washington, D.C., American Rivers has been producing the “America’s Most Endangered Rivers” report since 1986. Like similar assessments produced by groups such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation — which publishes an annual “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places” — the river rankings have neither regulatory nor legislative significance.

No objective criteria explains why the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers are considered more endangered than Georgia’s Flint River or Oregon’s Lower Snake River, which rank No. 2 and No. 3 respectively on the American Rivers’ list.

Rather, the 36-year-old environmental group wants the grim report card to rivet public and political attention. Selected rivers generally face an important policy decision — for instance, proposed dam construction — in the coming year. “This really sheds a spotlight on the problem, and puts pressure on the policymakers to do the right thing,” Kober said.

Read more from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

From the Contra Costa Times:

The organization chooses its most endangered rivers from nominations made by environmental groups and bases the selections on the value of a river to people and the environment, the level of the threat and pending decisions that could affect it in the next year, Rothert said.

Jerry Johns, deputy director at the Department of Water Resources, argued that the report did not give adequate consideration to statewide efforts to restore the health of the Delta and its two chief tributaries.

Rivers from Pennsylvania to Alaska also made this year’s list, whose top five included Georgia’s Flint River, the Lower Snake River that courses through Idaho, Washington and Oregon, Mattawoman Creek in Maryland and the North Fork of the Flathead River in Montana.

Read more from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.

From Stockton’s Record:

The findings are no surprise to those who have seen the rivers slowly decline – especially the San Joaquin, which flows through Stockton on its way to meeting the Sacramento in the Delta. “You better believe it’s endangered,” Stockton fisherman Jay Sorensen said Monday. “I wish you could see what the fishing was like in the ’40s and ’50s. … It was fantastic.”

One aspect of today’s report is not likely to please Sorensen and some other Delta advocates. American Rivers says a peripheral canal may be a solution for the rivers, provided that officials commit to greater water conservation, place the Delta ecology on the same level of importance as water supply, and ensure that a system of rules is in place governing how much water can be taken in the canal.

“The concern that American Rivers has expressed and that you will hear from other conservation groups is that the peripheral canal would facilitate a water grab,” said Steve Rothert, American Rivers’ representative in Nevada City. However, he said his group has concluded that a canal showed “more promise” than weaning the state off Delta water altogether.

“It will only work for us if there is a governance structure in place,” Rothert said.

Read more from Stockton’s Record by clicking here.

April 7, 2009 · Filed Under Delta Issues

Comments

6 Responses to “Coverage wrap-up: San Joaquin, Sacramento rivers top endangered list”

  1. America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers Of 2009 | EcoSilly on April 7th, 2009 1:58 pm

    [...] Levee break, Sacramento-San Joaquin River in California. Image credit:American Rivers/Aquafornia blog. [...]

  2. America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers Of 2009 | Only Hybrids on April 7th, 2009 2:00 pm

    [...] Levee break, Sacramento-San Joaquin River in California. Image credit:American Rivers/Aquafornia blog. [...]

  3. TreeHugger | America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers Of 2009 | myGreenCar.eu on April 7th, 2009 2:53 pm

    [...] April 2009 @ 22:52 Levee break, Sacramento-San Joaquin River in California. Image credit:American Rivers/Aquafornia blog. From outdated flood control schemes to harmful dams and mining projects, our nation’s rivers and [...]

  4. EnergyByEarth.com » America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers Of 2009 on April 7th, 2009 5:19 pm

    [...] Levee break, Sacramento-San Joaquin River in California. Image credit:American Rivers/Aquafornia blog. [...]

  5. America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers Of 2009 : Green Resouces on April 8th, 2009 7:00 am

    [...] Levee break, Sacramento-San Joaquin River in California. Image credit:American Rivers/Aquafornia blog. [...]

  6. America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers Of 2009 | Eco Friendly Mag on April 24th, 2009 2:08 am

    [...] America’s 10 Most Endangered Rivers Of 2009 Levee break, Sacramento-San Joaquin River in California. Image credit:American Rivers/Aquafornia blog. [...]

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