This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

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wayneg
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This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by wayneg »

Federal bill will eradicate striped bass, other non-native fish in Bay-Delta
by: Dan Bacher
Thu Sep 17, 2015 at 17:27:06 PM PDT

Federal bill S. 1894, introduced by Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, would mandate the eradication of all non-native fish, including striped bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, catfish and other species, from the Bay-Delta Estuary, while failing to deal with the fundamental problems that have been so destructive to the estuary and our native fishes. Here is the press release from the Allied Fishing Groups:

striper.jpg
Bass Scoop
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by Bass Scoop »

It's time to get involved guys before it's s too late!!!! Read what's in this bill!! It ought to make you SICK!! It better make you MAD!! It better make you want to get involved. THE CLOCK IS TICKING!!! The sun is going down on our beautiful Delta. There is NO coming back from THIS'!! This will start with the Delta, and like a disease, will spread to every body of water in California. NO, it is NOT TOO LATE to get involved. Public awareness/VOTES CAN trump CORPORATE GREED!!!
george
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by george »

We have to contact our congressional rep; Jerry McNerney 202-225-1947 and let him know what our stance is also. Finestein and Boxer wrote this bill so they are probably not going to be very receptive in listening to any argument against it. I have left a message for Jeff Denham and Rep McNerney to get them involved in our stance.
How many folks can we get together to meet with these folks in Sacramento or better yet lets say Oakley and let them know our thoughts and our argument this bill.
I will try and see if one of my contacts can get to Finestine or Boxer to see if we can get them to attend.
Can we get a venue in Stockton, Antioch or Oakley?

George Azevedo
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by reddog »

I need an outlet to review this information regarding the studies done with regard to the affect ,or lack thereof, of game fish on the salmon and steelhead populations. I agree that there is no major contribution by these species feeding and that the REAL issue is mismanagement by our govt. systems, however if you are going to send a bunch of fisherman and boaters out to write there congressmen and women you need to be sure that they are armed with all the facts and the layout of the events. I totally understand that it is not feasible to post all this information here but if there were links or guides as to where to find the information so that the people could understand how this has all played out it would greatly assist in comprehension of the real issues. You are 100% right that votes can change the way this is designed but without understanding there will be answers given by all those who have nothing to do but prepare an argument for their stance. This is how the wool has been pulled over the eyes of the people for years, most are to busy to read all the literature or they feel they can't make a real difference.
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by george »

I just got a text back from Congressmen Jeff Denham and he is calling me at 7am tomorrow morning. My plan is to try and get him to look into this bill and become as familiar with it as possible as well as meet with as many of us(When he is in central Cal) as we can get together to hear our concerns and arguments against this bill.

I have been reading the bill and trying to verse myself on what it really says as well as I am looking into as many articles as possible to get more educated on the so called non native species and why they are present and how they got into our delta and river system; I believe like most of us the economic factors that these species bring to the California delta out weigh any and all so called environmental issues, we just need to get our representatives to understand and believe this also.

My thoughts are that we need to have a few voting members on our side that are well read and understand S1894 so they can try and put up an argument and vote against this bill.

George
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by george »

I have read articles from the CA.Gov.Department of water resources which give some study results of invasive species and grasses in the Cal delta systems. I tried to attach links but just go to Ca.Gov.DWR.environment and see these articles. Does anyone know Professor Sih from UC Davis?

Conrad, J.L., K.L. Weinersmith, M. J. Young, D.de Carion, P. Crain, E. L. Hestir, M. J. Santos, S.L. Ustin, P. B. Moyle, and A. Sih 2010. Rising abundance of largemouth bass in the littoral zone of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: the role of Egeria densa (PDF, 1.40 MB). Interagency Ecological Program 2010 Workshop, California State University, Sacramento, May, 2010.Vella, M., C. Nelson, and J.L. Conrad. 2010.

Patterns in largemouth bass diet composition in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (PDF, 1.20 MB). DWR Environmental Scientist Workshop, Sacramento, CA. September 2010.http://link.springer.com/article/10.100 ... 013-0125-7.

Understanding the role of largemouth bass as top predators in the littoral zone Patterns in largemouth bass diet composition in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Sih 2010.

Rising abundance of largemouth bass in the littoral zone of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta: the role of Egeria densa.

From what I am finding it looks like the decline of the salmon numbers is as much associated with the drawing of 4.3 million acre feet of water starting in 1970 and hitting a high of 6.3 million acre feet in 2008. The salmon populations really started falling off after the aqua-duct was built and opened.

George
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hydro
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by hydro »

All of these native and non-native species co-existed and flourished for about 100 years prior to the Central Valley Project being built and the beginning of Delta water exports south .
There were originally protections for the Delta ecosystem for the water quality and fish and wildlife living there guarding against removing too much water . The Delta Smelt was selected as a barometer species to gauge the health of the ecosystem as it was viewed as the most fragile species and the first to suffer the effects of removing too much water . In the wording of the legislation creating the Central Valley Project it stated that only surplus water would be sent south and in dry years and anytime water removal would impact the Delta Ecosystem pumping would be curtailed /stopped . Over time supposedly "Green " State lawmakers have found ways to get around these original guaranteed protections to satisfy Agribusiness lobbyists and their thirst for cheap taxpayer subsidized water .
(they pay less than it costs to deliver the water to them with Californians footing the bill)
Now these lawmakers are trying to scapegoat non-native species as the cause of the decline of the smelt and salmon populations in the Delta . The true cause in the reduction of salmon numbers is over harvesting by international fishing fleets out in the ocean, decline in the water quality in the Delta , and the over pumping of water out of the Delta that pulls salmon fry into the pump stations as the make their way through the Delta and out to the SF bay .
Now that State legislators have destroyed the water quality in the Delta making too poor to send south they want to build tunnels far upstream diverting fresh water out of the river before it reaches the Delta claiming this will fix the Delta . In reality this will lead to an increase in salt water intrusion inland destroying the Delta forever.
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by mark poulson »

hydro wrote:All of these native and non-native species co-existed and flourished for about 100 years prior to the Central Valley Project being built and the beginning of Delta water exports south .
There were originally protections for the Delta ecosystem for the water quality and fish and wildlife living there guarding against removing too much water . The Delta Smelt was selected as a barometer species to gauge the health of the ecosystem as it was viewed as the most fragile species and the first to suffer the effects of removing too much water . In the wording of the legislation creating the Central Valley Project it stated that only surplus water would be sent south and in dry years and anytime water removal would impact the Delta Ecosystem pumping would be curtailed /stopped . Over time supposedly "Green " State lawmakers have found ways to get around these original guaranteed protections to satisfy Agribusiness lobbyists and their thirst for cheap taxpayer subsidized water .
(they pay less than it costs to deliver the water to them with Californians footing the bill)
Now these lawmakers are trying to scapegoat non-native species as the cause of the decline of the smelt and salmon populations in the Delta . The true cause in the reduction of salmon numbers is over harvesting by international fishing fleets out in the ocean, decline in the water quality in the Delta , and the over pumping of water out of the Delta that pulls salmon fry into the pump stations as the make their way through the Delta and out to the SF bay .
Now that State legislators have destroyed the water quality in the Delta making too poor to send south they want to build tunnels far upstream diverting fresh water out of the river before it reaches the Delta claiming this will fix the Delta . In reality this will lead to an increase in salt water intrusion inland destroying the Delta forever.
This is spot on!
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mark poulson
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by mark poulson »

George said it all right here:

"From what I am finding it looks like the decline of the salmon numbers is as much associated with the drawing of 4.3 million acre feet of water starting in 1970 and hitting a high of 6.3 million acre feet in 2008. The salmon populations really started falling off after the aqua-duct was built and opened."

Trying to do a quick fix during a drought to placate contributers, instead of asking the fisheries biologists at DFW what is the cause of the problems, namely low water flow, and the best long term solution, is just political pandering.
I'm a life long liberal, but Feinstein and Boxer are wrong this time.

I just emailed Feinstein, and told her so.
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george
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by george »

Did you know that Almond trees were brought to California by Franciscan Padres in the late 1700's; so this would make them a Non-Native species! Pastacio trees were brought to the US and California from Asia and test planted in the 1940's; again a Non-Native species, and with good test results the Pastacio industry developed and bloomed in California due to an embargo of importing the nuts from Iran in the late 70's early 80's, the California Pastacios account for most of the imported nuts to Iran which is a most of Californias production.

Fact: California grows nearly 100 percent of the worlds Almonds and forty percent of the worlds Pastacios. This industry is using 80% of the water that is used for agricultural purposes in California.
Now, California growers export 75 % of this product to other countries; these are numbers directly from the federal farm reports; 2013. Almond and Pastacio production in California has quadrupled in the last twenty years.

So bottom line is that we are selling/exporting over 50% of our California ag water to other countries in the form of nuts and farm products with the same folks making huge profits from these sales that are complaining that they are not getting enough water to irrigate their crops.

If we are going after Non Native species as a whole in bill S1894 that are affecting the delta system then we need to cut back on the amount of trees that are presently growing, the amount of ag products we are exporting to other countries as well as the amount of new plants and re-plants of nut trees in California.

With that being said just how much water have these same groups sold for a profit to other users down the line, if they had kept that water instead of selling it for a profit would they still have a shortage in the central valley?

California's politicians and corporate farms have a much greater shortage of values and morality toward our lands and water resorces then we have a water shortage!

George
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by mark poulson »

george wrote:Did you know that Almond trees were brought to California by Franciscan Padres in the late 1700's; so this would make them a Non-Native species! Pastacio trees were brought to the US and California from Asia and test planted in the 1940's; again a Non-Native species, and with good test results the Pastacio industry developed and bloomed in California due to an embargo of importing the nuts from Iran in the late 70's early 80's, the California Pastacios account for most of the imported nuts to Iran which is a most of Californias production.

Fact: California grows nearly 100 percent of the worlds Almonds and forty percent of the worlds Pastacios. This industry is using 80% of the water that is used for agricultural purposes in California.
Now, California growers export 75 % of this product to other countries; these are numbers directly from the federal farm reports; 2013. Almond and Pastacio production in California has quadrupled in the last twenty years.

So bottom line is that we are selling/exporting over 50% of our California ag water to other countries in the form of nuts and farm products with the same folks making huge profits from these sales that are complaining that they are not getting enough water to irrigate their crops.

If we are going after Non Native species as a whole in bill S1894 that are affecting the delta system then we need to cut back on the amount of trees that are presently growing, the amount of ag products we are exporting to other countries as well as the amount of new plants and re-plants of nut trees in California.

With that being said just how much water have these same groups sold for a profit to other users down the line, if they had kept that water instead of selling it for a profit would they still have a shortage in the central valley?

California's politicians and corporate farms have a much greater shortage of values and morality toward our lands and water resorces then we have a water shortage!

George
As the Pope would say, "Amen!"
I hope you passed this on to Feinstein and Boxer.
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gabuelhaj
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by gabuelhaj »

Here's a link to a Fly fishing group with information for your letters to be mailed:

http://www.danblanton.com/viewmessage.php?id=197801

Good luck!
Glenn Abuelhaj
Jim Miller
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by Jim Miller »

I retired in Happy Valley, OR approximately 11 years ago from Redding, CA. after nearly 40 years living most of my adult life in or near Shasta County, enjoying bass fishing recreationally as well as at tournament levels, most everywhere in California, inclusive of the CA Delta. Approx. three years back, there came a time with OREGON legislators, with apparently a lot of time on their hands in Oregon, to propose that freshwater bass were a threat to salmon runs in this state. They lobbied to place a NO LIMIT catch on all small mouth and bass species in general, in Oregon. Sure we bass anglers fought this near idiotic proposal. Long story short, they (the political machine) won and today exists a NO LIMIT law on the books for bass. Understand that hit the hardest was the Columbia River system, probably the most under fished trophy bass waters in the nation. Sad to say that enough voices were not heard early enough from we bass anglers and we LOST the fight for protection to our bass fishery. I only make a voice here to make CA bass anglers aware that your neighboring state to the North, Oregon, lost a battle, quite similar to yours (CA) today. that CA can in fact lose also, PLEASE take this matter quite seriously, EARLY enough to avoid this serious attempt to lose bass fishing as you know it today and in the future! Thank you! Jim M.
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by bigstick »

How many of you guys that replied to this post have actually taken action? Get involved and email Boxer and Feinstien today!
mark poulson
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by mark poulson »

I'm a new comer to the Delta, having moved up here from SoCal this July, and most of my friends still live down there.
This is what I posted on my Facebook page:

I am hoping you'll read all of this, because it is important to all of California, both North and South. It is kind of a long read, but worth reading, if you want to understand the true impact of the drought, and the politics and economics involved.
The Sacramento Delta and our SoCal water supply are threatened by invasive species, but not the ones Senators Feinstein and Boxer are trying to eradicate with their Senate bill 1894.
Their bill is supposed to protect native salmon by eradicating non-native fish species, specifically stripped and largemouth bass in the Sacramento Delta.
If it passes, a lot of tax dollars will be spent, and wasted, trying to kill off specific fish species in a huge ecosystem. If you ask fisheries biologists, they'll tell you it is not possible.
To quote Michael Crichton, "Live will find a way". Millions have been spent in other water systems, trying to do this, and it has never worked.
But the two non-native species which really threaten salmon, through their water-intensive cultivation, are walnut and pistacio trees. The San Joaquin Valley farmers who grow them, and dominate the world markets, use 80% of the water that comes south through the CA Aqueduct system to grow them, for export!
Here's what another person wrote about it, and it's all true:
"From what I am finding it looks like the decline of the salmon numbers is as much associated with the drawing of 4.3 million acre feet of water starting in 1970 and hitting a high of 6.3 million acre feet in 2008. The salmon populations really started falling off after the aqua-duct was built and opened.
Did you know that Almond trees were brought to California by Franciscan Padres in the late 1700's; so this would make them a Non-Native species! Pistachio trees were brought to the US and California from Asia and test planted in the 1940's; again a Non-Native species, and with good test results the Pistachio industry developed and bloomed in California due to an embargo of importing the nuts from Iran in the late 70's early 80's, the California Pistachios account for most of the imported nuts to Iran which is a most of California's production.
Fact: California grows nearly 100 percent of the worlds Almonds and forty percent of the worlds Pistachios. This industry is using 80% of the water that is used for agricultural purposes in California.
Now, California growers export 75 % of this product to other countries; these are numbers directly from the federal farm reports; 2013. Almond and Pistachio production in California has quadrupled in the last twenty years.
So bottom line is that we are selling/exporting over 50% of our California ag water to other countries in the form of nuts and farm products with the same folks making huge profits from these sales that are complaining that they are not getting enough water to irrigate their crops.
If we are going after Non Native species as a whole in bill S 1894 that are affecting the delta system then we need to cut back on the amount of trees that are presently growing, the amount of ag products we are exporting to other countries as well as the amount of new plants and re-plants of nut trees in California.
With that being said just how much water have these same groups sold for a profit to other users down the line, if they had kept that water instead of selling it for a profit would they still have a shortage in the central valley?
California's politicians and corporate farms have a much greater shortage of values and morality toward our lands and water resources then we have a water shortage! "
Another wrote:
"All of these native and non-native species co-existed and flourished for about 100 years prior to the Central Valley Project being built and the beginning of Delta water exports south .
There were originally protections for the Delta ecosystem for the water quality and fish and wildlife living there guarding against removing too much water . The Delta Smelt was selected as a barometer species to gauge the health of the ecosystem as it was viewed as the most fragile species and the first to suffer the effects of removing too much water . In the wording of the legislation creating the Central Valley Project it stated that only surplus water would be sent south and in dry years and anytime water removal would impact the Delta Ecosystem pumping would be curtailed /stopped . Over time supposedly "Green " State lawmakers have found ways to get around these original guaranteed protections to satisfy Agribusiness lobbyists and their thirst for cheap taxpayer subsidized water .
(they pay less than it costs to deliver the water to them with Californians footing the bill)
Now these lawmakers are trying to scapegoat non-native species as the cause of the decline of the smelt and salmon populations in the Delta . The true cause in the reduction of salmon numbers is over harvesting by international fishing fleets out in the ocean, decline in the water quality in the Delta , and the over pumping of water out of the Delta that pulls salmon fry into the pump stations as the make their way through the Delta and out to the SF bay .
Now that State legislators have destroyed the water quality in the Delta making too poor to send south they want to build tunnels far upstream diverting fresh water out of the river before it reaches the Delta claiming this will fix the Delta . In reality this will lead to an increase in salt water intrusion inland destroying the Delta forever."
If you want more information, here's a good link to the back story of how the San Joaquin Valley farmers came to control so much of our State's water:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... ought.html

The bottom line is they are exporting our water for their own profits, and we are subsidizing them to do it. And no thumb-in-the-dyke solution that doesn't address this hole in our State's water system is doomed to fail.

How Growers Gamed California’s Drought
Consuming 80 percent of California’s developed water but accounting for only 2 percent of the state’s GDP, agriculture thrives while everyone else is parched.
THEDAILYBEAST.COM
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chf8500
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by chf8500 »

Don't get to the delta often but what a great place to fish, that being said, between the two tree huggers, boxer and foolstien, who else needs to feel our wrath, if they get away with this I can see a down hill slide on a bunch of pristine lakes where non "non native fish have been placed" One would think the Ca. DFG might have at least some say in what goes on in their world.
Any day on the lake is a great day
rich mendoza
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by rich mendoza »

This native non native stuff is a buncha b.s.. Once the first fish introduced spawn the second gen is now native to the water system ( born and raised) . Bet if the fish voted democrat they would welcome them with open arms and drivers licenses!
Last edited by rich mendoza on Mon Sep 28, 2015 8:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Oldschool
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by Oldschool »

We are very fortunate to live in California, sadly our state officials don't share our love of bass fishing or fishing and hunting in general. Making political decision based on personal interest is common, however making up scientific data to support a political agenda is the problem we all face today.
If you look up mega droughts in California since AD 1 we have more dry periods than wet periods and our population, just the past 30 years, has nearly doubled. What is scary are mega droughts that last over 200 years, we had 2 mega droughts approximately AD 850 to AD 1100 and AD 1150 to AD 1300 time periods with zero or no rain followed by a few wetter than normal years since then.
From modern times the 1800's to present time it has been drier over all than normal, with some high participation years mixed in. When you look at the data and realize the last century was wetter than normal. The scientific data indicates we may have developed our population and water storage systems in California during a wet period and now may be starting into a possible mega drought period.
Enjoy what you have and fight for developing new sources of water that doesn't rely on rain or snow fall.
What these studies prove is California droughts are not man made events, can't blame anyone!
We need more big reserviors to store water and lots of coastal desalination plants to produce more water. We don't need to blame non native fish that provide food, recreation, employment and taxes.
Tom
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by mark poulson »

But, but, but Tom....what will we do if we can't blame somebody? It must be the Commies, yeah, that's the ticket! They have installed an invisible shield over California, forcing the rain to fall somewhere else. Damn Putin's eyes!!!
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Oldschool
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by Oldschool »

mark poulson wrote:But, but, but Tom....what will we do if we can't blame somebody? It must be the Commies, yeah, that's the ticket! They have installed an invisible shield over California, forcing the rain to fall somewhere else. Damn Putin's eyes!!!
Mark, sounds like you are enjoying the Delta!
Gotta finger someone, who's better than the tax payers!
Send water some our way. Welch's restaurant in Biship had a sign over the toilet "flush twice LA needs the water"! Today the Owens River maintains a flow of water into the Mojove desert to recreate a environment that never existed...politics!
Staring to get few DD's the past few weeks!
Tom
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by blkdog812 »

sent my opposition to bill bet $10.00 they don't respond
Never argue with an idiot; He'll beat you to death with stupidity.
I AM NOT SAYING THERE SHOULD BE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR STUPIDITY,
BUT, WHY DON'T WE JUST TAKE THE SAFETY LABELS OFF OF EVERYTHING
AND LET THE PROBLEM SOLVE ITSELF?"
mark poulson
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by mark poulson »

Oldschool wrote:
mark poulson wrote:But, but, but Tom....what will we do if we can't blame somebody? It must be the Commies, yeah, that's the ticket! They have installed an invisible shield over California, forcing the rain to fall somewhere else. Damn Putin's eyes!!!
Mark, sounds like you are enjoying the Delta!
Gotta finger someone, who's better than the tax payers!
Send water some our way. Welch's restaurant in Biship had a sign over the toilet "flush twice LA needs the water"! Today the Owens River maintains a flow of water into the Mojove desert to recreate a environment that never existed...politics!
Staring to get few DD's the past few weeks!
Tom
It's great!
My first trip out I limited, with a 3 and a 5 punching. Probably a dozen keepers in all.
When told my youngest, my 20 year old daughter who was staying with me before classes started at San Jose State, she said, "Gee, dad, it must be easy fishing if you limited your first time out".
She has gone from my will to my won't, as in "won't get squat"! Hahaha
DD's. That's good news!

The Owens Valley was once so lush that, according to agricultural officials, it could feed the country.
DWP put a stop to that.
Even as late as the 50's and early 60's, logging of the forests up there was a major industry, and source of lumber for the Southland.
I remember when it was hard to find dry land to walk on around Bishop, because there was so much water, and the snowdrifts on the sides of 395 were 10' high in the winter.
The climate has changed, and if we don't face that fact and deal with it long term, as you suggested, our State will be doomed to squabble over water forever, while politicians point fingers, and, meanwhile, our economy dies of thirst.
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obsessed fisherman
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by obsessed fisherman »

I will write Boxer and Feinstein - AGAIN. It's just so frustrating when we continue to have to write our senators, who are the authors of the bad legislation! What a scam our whole system has become. These two put together can't run a hot dog stand, but when elections come around there is no opposition! Can we just make it official, we have a Banana republic as it's certainly not a democratic republic.
mark poulson
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by mark poulson »

obsessed fisherman wrote:I will write Boxer and Feinstein - AGAIN. It's just so frustrating when we continue to have to write our senators, who are the authors of the bad legislation! What a scam our whole system has become. These two put together can't run a hot dog stand, but when elections come around there is no opposition! Can we just make it official, we have a Banana republic as it's certainly not a democratic republic.
I don't know if I would call it a banana republic, but we do have a political system that is controlled by the highest bidder!
It's a damn shame!
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george
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by george »

I got off the phone with Jeff Denham late last night, he is in session with the US Senate but made me a promise that he would come out when his session ends and meet with us to hear our thoughts on bill S1894. We just need to put a venue together for him to speak and all of us need to show up with four of five fellow anglers, hunters or people who care about the delta situation and show him that we are more then a just a hand full of folks against this bill.

I promised him that we were not going to bash him;(he at least has the balls to come to us face to face) but we wanted to see and hear a real representative of our districts in person and know first hand that someone is actually listening to our thoughts, ideas and arguments on the situation.
If anyone can reach Kent Brown and see if we can somehow get Ultimate Bass Radio involved as well as we need to get everyone who has a stake in the fishing industry on the west coast to be there to represent.

Dana from Senator Denhams office will be calling me with a few dates and I will post them as soon as I get them to see which one works best for the majority, this will be done a few weeks ahead of time so we all can plan to be there, I am shooting for early November.

Would like to find a indoor venue around Stockton or Manteca that can hold at the least a couple hundred folks if anyone has an idea!

This bill S1894 is going to the senate floor this week Oct 8th at 9:30am ET for overview but will not be voted on until later on so we still have a chance to put our two cents in!

Thanks,

George
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mark poulson
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by mark poulson »

Thanks George. Keep us posted.
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george
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by george »

Just sent out emails and made phone calls to Pure Fishing as well as the Jarden Group to see if we can get support for our opposition of bill S1894 and the Delta Water Project, these are the parent companies of a huge number of fishing and outdoor companies that we all use and are sponsored by.
If any of you guys have contacts or sponsorship with any of their associate companies please send info my way and I will contact them about how they can help out our cause, you can contact them also and let them know we need help with this and give them my information.

George Azevedo
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Morgan
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by Morgan »

Also bill HR 2898 by Representative Valedao of Hanford that trying to slip by unnoticed
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george
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Re: This is Huge Guys !!!!!!

Post by george »

OK, you guys read the last two paragraphs of this portion of bill 1894, We have to get a signature petition together to show that we are opposing this and we have numbers behind us. I will talk to Wayne at Western Bass today to see if we can get a signature page/petition to stike this part of the bill.

George Azevedo


Full Summary:

Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015

TITLE I--ADJUSTING DELTA SMELT MANAGEMENT BASED ON INCREASED REAL-TIME MONITORING AND UPDATED SCIENCE

(Sec. 102) Establishes procedures to adjust Delta smelt management measures set forth in the smelt biological opinion for the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP) in California issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on December 15, 2008.

Defines: (1) "Delta" as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Suisun Marsh, and (2) "Delta smelt" as fish species with the scientific name Hypomesus transpacificus.

Requires the USFWS, by October 1, 2016, and at least every five years thereafter, to cooperate with federal, California, and local agencies to use updated scientific and commercial data to modify the calculation of incidental take levels for adult and larval/juvenile Delta smelt in the smelt biological opinion.

Requires the modified incidental take level to be set as the 80% upper prediction interval derived from simulated salvage rates since at least 1993, based on factors including prespawning adult Delta smelt indexes and the flow of the Old and Middle River (OMR) during the adult salvage period, unless the USFWS determines that certain requirements are not appropriate.

(Sec. 103) Directs the USFWS to implement and make appropriate amendments to the reasonable and prudent alternative described in the USFWS's smelt biological opinion. Requires Interior to make all significant decisions in writing under the smelt opinion and any successor opinions affecting the CVP or the SWP.

Requires Interior to determine annually: (1) the extent that adult Delta smelt are distributed in relation to certain levels of turbidity or other environmental factors that may influence the salvage rate, and (2) how the CVP and SWP may be operated to minimize salvage while maximizing export pumping rates without causing a significant negative impact on the long-term survival of Delta smelt.

Defines "negative impact on the long-term survival" as an appreciable reduction in the likelihood of the survival of a listed species in the wild by reducing the reproduction, numbers, or distribution of that species.

Requires Interior, if suspended sediment loads from the Sacramento River appear likely to raise turbidity levels in specified areas during each period from December through March, to conduct daily monitoring to determine how increased trawling can inform real-time CVP and SWP operations.

Directs Interior, by January 1, 2016, and at least every five years thereafter, in collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR), public water agencies, and other interested entities, to implement new targeted sampling and monitoring specifically designed to understand Delta smelt abundance, distribution, and habitats during all life stages.

Requires Interior, in implementing provisions of the smelt biological opinion pertaining to reverse flow in the OMR, to maximize CVP and SWP water supplies by managing export pumping rates to a reverse flow rate of -5,000 cubic feet per second, unless Interior provides documentation concluding that a less negative OMR flow rate is necessary to avoid a negative impact on the long-term survival of Delta smelt. Directs Interior to manage a more negative OMR flow rate if it can be established without an imminent negative impact.

Requires the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the USFWS, by December 1, 2015, to execute a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to ensure that the smelt biological opinion is implemented in a manner that maximizes water supply while complying with applicable laws and regulations. Provides a framework under which reinitiation of consultation is unnecessary if any changes that the MOU makes to the biological opinion will not have a significant negative impact on the long-term survival on listed species and would not be a major change to implementation of the biological opinion. Prohibits procedural changes that do not create a significant negative impact on long-term survival from altering application of the take permitted by the incidental take statement in the biological opinion.

Directs Interior, for purposes of increasing CVP and SWP water supplies, to revise the method of calculating reverse flow in the OMR for implementation of the reasonable and prudent alternatives in the USFWS's smelt biological opinion, the salmonid biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on June 4, 2009, and any succeeding opinion.

TITLE II--ENSURING SALMONID MANAGEMENT IS RESPONSIVE TO NEW SCIENCE

(Sec. 202) Establishes a process for Reclamation and the Assistant Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries, also known as the NMFS) to provide for implementation of the reasonable and prudent alternative described in the NMFS's salmonid biological opinion to be adjusted as new scientific and commercial data is developed.

Requires Interior and the Department of Commerce, by December 31, 2016, and at least annually thereafter, to direct Reclamation and the Assistant Administrator to implement certain recommended adjustments to project operations (pertaining to negative OMR flows, timing and triggers for pumping restrictions, and inflow to export ratios) that, in the exercise of the adaptive management provisions of the salmonid biological opinion, will reduce water supply impacts of the salmonid biological opinion on the CVP and the SWP. Requires implementation of adjustments for which: (1) the net effect on listed salmonid species and Delta smelt is equivalent to those of the underlying project operational parameters in the salmonid biological opinion, and (2) the effects of the adjustment can be expected to fall within incidental take authorizations.

Directs Reclamation and the Assistant Administrator to evaluate potential species survival improvements likely to result from other measures that, if implemented, would offset adverse effects.

Requires survival estimates to be based on: (1) quantitative estimates, or (2) qualitative terms if scientific information is lacking for quantitative estimates.

Requires the Assistant Administrator to compare existing measures to increase through-Delta survival of salmonid through restrictions on export pumping rates to possible alternative management measures to increase salmonid survival through: (1) physical habitat restoration improvements, (2) predation control programs, (3) installation of temporary barriers or management of Cross Channel Gates operations, (4) salvaging near Clifton Court Forebay, or (5) conservation hatchery programs. Directs Reclamation to implement such an alternative measure in order to increase export rates if the Assistant Administrator determines that: (1) the alternative measure is technically feasible and within federal jurisdiction, or (2) California or a local agency has certified that it has the authority and capability to implement the alternative measure.

Directs the Assistant Administrator and Reclamation to consider requiring the Assistant Administrator to show that the implementation of certain conservation measures is necessary to avoid a significant negative impact on salmonid species before the measures are imposed in any specific instance.

Requires the Assistant Administrator, the USFWS, and Reclamation to establish operational criteria to coordinate management of OMR flows under the smelt and salmonid biological opinions to provide additional water supplies. Directs the Assistant Administrator and Reclamation to document the effects of any adaptive management decisions that prioritize the maintenance of one species at the expense of the other.

Prohibits the Assistant Administrator and Reclamation from limiting OMR reverse flow to -5,000 cubic feet per second unless current monitoring data indicates that such a limitation is reasonably required to avoid a significant negative impact on the long-term survival of a listed salmonid species.

Directs Commerce, if quantitative estimates of through-Delta survival established to adjust the salmonid biological opinion's pumping restrictions exceed the through-Delta survival established for the opinion's reasonable and prudent alternatives, to evaluate and implement the adjusted management measures as a prerequisite to implementing the alternatives contained in the opinion.

(Sec. 203) Directs Commerce and California's Oakdale and South San Joaquin Irrigation Districts (the districts) to conduct a nonnative predator fish removal program to remove nonnative striped bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black bass, and other nonnative predator fish species from the Stanislaus River. Requires the program to quantify the impact of such removal on the populations of juvenile anadromous fish. Requires the districts to be responsible for 100% of the cost of such program. Directs Commerce to post on the NMFS's website a summary of the raw data collected under the program each month. Deems the program to be consistent with the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). Prohibits striped bass from being treated as anadromous fish for purposes of the CVPIA's application to the program.

(Sec. 204) Directs Interior to collaborate with Commerce, the CDFW, and other relevant agencies and interested parties to begin pilot projects to implement the invasive species control program under P.L. 108-361. Requires the projects to: (1) seek to reduce invasive aquatic vegetation, predators, and other competitors that contribute to the decline of native listed pelagic and anadromous species that occupy the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and their tributaries and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta; and (2) remove, reduce, or control the effects of species, including Asiatic clams, silversides, gobies, Brazilian water weed, water hyacinth, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striped bass, crappie, bluegill, white and channel catfish, and brown bullheads.

Terminates such pilot projects seven years after commencement of their implementation.
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