To the Alameda Creek
Alliance e-mail list:
Action
Alert
Fishing
Groups Align to Oppose Additional Delta Water
Export
Your
Support is Needed!
In light
of the government’s recent announcement of the on-going collapse of
the Bay-Delta Estuary that once sustained multiple runs of salmon
and abundant runs striped bass, American shad, sturgeon and
steelhead, many sport and commercial fishing groups have aligned to
oppose all additional water export out of the Delta until the
estuary and its fisheries are restored.
The
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, the Northern California
Council of Fly Fishers, and the California Striped Bass Association
have been joined in their opposition by California Trout, United
Anglers of California, the Recreational Fishing Alliance, United
Pier and Shore Anglers of California, the Anglers Committee,
California Fly Fishers Unlimited, Tri-Valley Fly Fishers, Fly
Fishers of Davis and by commercial fishermen through the Pacific
Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association. These groups are asking
all anglers to engage and express opposition to any additional
export of Delta water to the governor until the estuary ecosystem
and fisheries are restored.
According
to agency scientists, the estuary’s primary production of food is so
low it is signaling the collapse of the Delta ecosystem. Populations
of key plankton and tiny shrimp that fuel the food web and drive the
system’s ecology have virtually disappeared, as have some of
estuary’s important species of fish including Delta smelt, longfin
smelt, shad and young-of-the-year striped bass. This collapse is the
harbinger of what will happen to other fish and wildlife resources
dependent on the estuary.
Most
alarming is the incredible fact that as this collapse occurs and
agency biologist scramble to try and figure out scientifically what
is going wrong, the Department of Water Resources has announced it
will move forward with their “South Delta Improvement Project”
(SDIP) that would increase water exports out of the Delta up to 25%!
They say the SDIP draft Environmental Impact Report will be
circulated for public review by the end of this
month.
The
decision to move the SDIP forward in the face of a collapsing
estuary can only make the estuary’s problems worse and do
irreparable harm to its fishery resources. While declining
productivity in the estuary in not new since declines in salmon,
steelhead and striper bass have become common place, what is new is
the near total collapse in ecosystem primary productivity upon which
everything else depends.
The SDIP
will be the straw that breaks the estuary’s back. If the food web is
lost it will result in the estuary’s fisheries not being able to
find food where and when they need it for survival. The food web is
irreplaceable! Scientists have long maintained that water export
affects the productivity of the estuary by changing the once natural
flow regime and the amount of water that used to flow through the
Delta into the San Francisco Bay.
Instead of
the high spring runoff through the entire estuary, the water
projects have greatly reduced these flows and changed the timing of
when that water would normally be available to the estuary. Such
dramatic changes are at the very hart of the
problem.
While we
understand that other factors such as toxic pesticides and
unintentionally introduced ”exotic” species may be involved in this
collapse, this is not the time to be increasing exports! In order
for the waters of the estuary to produce food, the water must stay
in the system long enough to do so. When 60% of the estuary’s fresh
water is exported annually, that leaves only 40% of the water to do
what 100% used to do. Increasing exports beyond the current level
can only make the situation worse.
If we are
to completely understand and address the reasons for the collapse,
increasing exports must be stopped until the solutions are found
that restore the estuary and our fisheries.
Given the
push to export more water by water contractors, the best way to stop
the SDIP is to contact Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. We urge you
to ask the Governor to stop the SDIP and any additional Delta export
projects until the ecology and fisheries of the estuary are
restored. You can email the Governor by going to http://www.govmail.ca.gov
where you can fill out the email form and send it to the Governor's
office. Or you can send a letter or card to him
at:
Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA
95814
You can
also call or fax his office:
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax:
916-445-4633
The
message is simple, ask the Governor to stop the plans of the
Department of Water Resources to implement the South Delta
Improvement Project and the export of any additional water out of
Delta until our estuary and its fisheries are
restored.
You can
mention that DWR’s recently released Bulletin 160 clearly
demonstrates that the state's water needs will be met for at least
the next decade with the existing water infrastructure. There is no
water crisis to justify the destruction of the Delta! It is time to
raise our collective voice. The estuary is truly at stake!
If you
would like to send a more detailed letter to the Governor, a sample
letter follows:
Date
Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA
95814
Dear
Governor Schwarzenegger:
I am
writing to urge you to stop the efforts by your Department of Water
Resources to increase the export of fresh water out of the Delta.
Given the ecological value of the Delta as a public resource which
meets a variety of water needs for the state, the recent collapse of
its food-web is a disaster of unparalleled significance. The future
of the Bay-Delta estuary and its vitally important public fishery
resources is at stake.
As you may
know some 60% of the fresh water that flows into the Delta is
exported out of the system for agricultural (85%) and urban
consumption (15%). Over the past several months agency scientists
have confirmed that the estuary’s capacity to produce the food-web
that sustains critical populations of fish and wildlife has
collapsed!
I believe
your leadership is needed to halt all efforts to increase Delta
exports, including the South Delta Improvement Project, until the
problems that have caused this catastrophe are determined and
solutions implemented that have restored the estuary and its fishery
resources.
Given the
fact that DWR’s recently released Bulletin 160 clearly demonstrates
that the state’s water needs will be met for at least the next
decade with the existing water infrastructure, it is imperative to
stop additional exports planning until the long promised restoration
of the estuary and its fishery resources is accomplished!
Sincerely,
(Your name
and address)
******************************************************************************
John
Beuttler
On Behalf of the Allied Fishing
Groups
To contact
CSPA and the Allied Fishing Groups for further information, send
your email to: CSPAORG@aol.com or call us at
510-526-4049
********************
If
you would like to be removed from this list, please notify me by
return e-mail.
The
Alameda Creek Alliance is a non-profit watershed restoration group.
Please support our efforts by becoming a
member.
Jeff Miller,
Director
Alameda Creek Alliance
(510)
845-2233
P. O.
Box
192
Canyon, CA 94516
http://www.alamedacreek.org
“Protecting
and restoring the natural ecosystems of the Alameda Creek
watershed”
go back home 
