Salazar underwhelms Fresno; federal and state officials must act to convene God Squad

From the Pacific Legal Foundation’s PLF on ESA blog:

There is plenty of coverage of yesterday’s visit by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to Fresno. Aquafornia has a nice roundup of the news stories — the problem with these stories, however, is that they fail to portray how truly uninspiring Salazar’s visit was.

While the Secretary’s visit was a nice gesture to those who have been hurt by California’s water crisis, it was disappointing to hear how infrequently he uttered the words “Endangered Species Act” or “pumps.” Salazar and his officials offered quite a bit when it came to long-term solutions (which are no doubt important), but little regarding what to do given the current crisis.

One official suggested monetary relief as a short-term remedy. To say the crowd was not pleased with this proposal is an understatement — “We don’t want welfare, we want water” responded one attendee to loud applause.

Indeed, only Washington would solve the water problem with more money, rather than the common sense solution of more water. Money is not the solution to the regulatory drought. As Rep. George Radanovich stated at yesterday’s forum, “We need action now.” (h/t: Merced Sun-Star)

That is where Pacific Legal Foundation comes in. We have formally requested both President Barack Obama and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to act to convene a special federal panel – nicknamed the “God Squad” – to address California’s water emergency caused by harsh federal environmental restrictions that dramatically reduce the flow of water to millions of agricultural and urban water users.

Read more from the PLF on ESA blog by clicking here.

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