Back Off!

The Republican-led House of Representatives has put forth a bill, H.R.1, a continuing budget resolution to keep the government functioning through September 30th. The bill, if passed as is, could mean the beginning of the end of endangered runs of wild salmon. It could also be seen as the beginnings to undo the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973.

In essence, riders attached to this appropriation bill would end funding for protection of salmon. Specifically it says: "None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement...Reasonable and Prudent Action ...described in the biological opinion for the operations of the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service and dated June 4, 2009."

It also calls for the end of funding water flows that are part of the San Joaquin river restoration project. Those flows started in late 2009 after a twenty-year court battle to restore the salmon runs wiped out by the building of Friant dam.

The riders placed on this bill are there under the guise of saving taxpayer dollars in order to address the country's economic crisis. But in reality, it is designed to benefit the wealthiest and biggest industrial agriculture concerns in the Westlands Water District and beyond.

They are called "riders" but one could also characterize it as "earmark" worth millions of dollars. The language does little to solve the federal deficit while providing a way around the law to a few federal contractors. It undermines trust and agreements made to resolve water supply issues that have been at the heart of California's difficult and often nasty water policy debates.

If passed, State and federal contractors subject to state laws will need to follow the law. It will further damage the economic well being of the state and the Delta while providing benefits to just a few who already receive enormous federal payments and subsidies. And for the efforts to pull salmon from the edge of extinction, it would prove to be a setback from which recovery would be in doubt.

Salmon Water Now, and others involved in the struggle to turn around the collapse of salmon, is saying to those in Congress who want those riders passed to back off.

"Back Off!" is Salmon Water Now's response to any attempt to diminish or undo the Endangered Species Act. We strongly urge viewers to share the video with family, friends, and co-workers and tell their elected members of Congress and President Obama that these riders need to be removed from H.R.1.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• salmon
• California water crisis
• fishermen
• farmers
• Hannity Feinstein
• environment
• agriculture
• drought
• water
• Westlands Water District
• Salmon Water Now
• Delta
• Jerry Brown
• Endangered Species Act

[gregjalbert]

People could help a lot by going vegetarian instead of being selfish. It takes a lot more water to raise and process cattle. And agriculture could focus on better use of water and not cash. Think ahead. Preserve biodiversity for future generations. It's the right thing to do.

[Maenad67]

The corporate sociopaths and their greedy shareholders are using a manufactured criminal fraud of an economic crisis to destroy working people's dreams of useful employment, robbing seniors of their social security, putting affordable health care out of our reach, destroying our retirement plans, environmental & consumer protections, everything. When will we unite and go all Cairo on them? We all have a cause we're mad as hell about, once we realize it's the same enemy we will force change.