“We find it amazing that Sutton, who has admitted that he has a conflict of interest, believes he can continue to sit on the Commission and make decisions which benefit his employer,” said Harold Davis, Central Coast Fisheries Conservation Coalition (CCFCC) Director, “given that Gustafson found it necessary to resign from the Commission with ‘no past, present or currently foreseen’ future conflicts.” 

Photo of Michael Sutton courtesy of California Fish and Game Commission 

sutton4.jpg

Fishermen, Congressional Leaders to Rally at Salmon Summit 

by Dan Bacher 

Fishermen and Congressional leaders will rally to demand action to rebuild the West’s iconic salmon industry at the First Annual Salmon Summit on Thursday, April 1, from 10 am – 2 pm at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. 

The summit will feature a hearing about the devastating costs of the closure of the last two salmon fishing seasons, spurred by record water exports from the California Delta, on families along 1,000 miles of America’s coast. It will provide a forum to discuss long-term solutions to better manage the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, the backbone of fishing for Chinook salmon in California and Oregon. 

“This is the best opportunity in years for salmon fishermen and other supporters to join in a unified statement that we support salmon, salmon fishing and the water and habitat needs that will allow the stocks to rebuild,” said Dick Pool, administrator of Water for Fish. “This is our opportunity to demonstrate that salmon have a huge constituency in California and that we are not going to stand by while others take the water salmon need for their own profits.” 

The event will include a free seafood reception hosted by Scoma’s, Hayes Street Grill, Fish, Foreign Cinema, and Monterey Fish Market. 

Congressmen George Miller (D-Concord), Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and other state and federal officials will speak about what must be done to restore salmon. Recreational and commercial salmon fishermen from California and Oregon will tell their personal stories about how the decimation of the Sacramento’s salmon has hurt them and their communities. 

Business owners from both states will speak of their losses and those of neighboring businesses caused by the record low salmon numbers of the last several years. Representatives of local governments from Morro Bay to Newport, Oregon will report how the loss of salmon has devastated their communities. Representatives of sport fishing interests and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) will round out those to testify. 

Participants in the summit will discuss how future salmon fishing season closures can be avoided by urging Congress to recognize that salmon fisheries are economically vital to the West Coast. By upholding the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Central Valley Project Improvement Act and other laws that prevent excessive Delta water pumping from killing salmon, we can ensure that salmon have needed flows to survive and thrive. 

The summit comes at a critical time for Central Valley salmon populations. The Sacramento River fall Chinook run, the driver of West Coast salmon fisheries, collapsed from nearly 800,000 in 2002 to only 39,530 in 2009. The 2009 run was less than one third of the 122,196 fish that federal biologists had forecasted. 

Federally protected runs of winter and spring run chinook declined to less than 5,000 individuals each in 2009. The endangered winter Chinook salmon return in 2009 was estimated to be 4,483 adults and 54 jacks, while the spring Chinook run in 2009 totaled 4,506 fish. 

Although ocean conditions have played a role in the collapse of all three salmon populations, no factor has figured more prominently in the population crash than massive water exports from the California Delta to corporate agribusiness and southern California. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on Friday, March 17 released a peer-review report that validates recent federal “biological opinions” and federal actions, particularly seasonal reductions in water pumping, to protect endangered Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, Delta smelt and green sturgeon in the Bay-Delta Estuary. 

“We want to prevent another catastrophic salmon fishing closure like the one we endured over the last two years,” emphasized Pool. “We want robust salmon stocks that will support full sport and commercial salmon seasons. Salmon-dependent communities, jobs and families are at stake in the tug of war for California water, along with our priceless fishing heritage.” 

Rather than upholding existing laws that protect salmon and Delta fish, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator Diane Feinstein and corporate agribusiness are relentlessly pushing for the construction of a peripheral canal and the passage of a water bond that will likely lead to the extinction of Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations. Everybody who cares about the future of salmon and the people and businesses that depend upon them must work to stop the water grab by corporate agribusiness and southern California! 

“We need to defeat the peripheral canal, keep water a public resource, fix aging Delta levees and keep clean and cool water in our rivers for the fish,” summed up Mike Hudson, executive director of SalmonAid (http://www.salmonaid.org). 

Pool urges you to let him know if you can participate in the summit so organizers can plan for the event. Log onto http://www.Water4Fish.org/salmonsummit and fill out the card. You can indicate if you wish to speak in the public session or you can also sign up at the door. 

Event sponsors include the Coastside Fishing Club, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), Earthjustice, Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association, NorCal Federation of Fly Fishers, Northern California Guides Association, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), SalmonAid, Salmon Water Now, Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen’s Association, The Fish Sniffer magazine (http://www.fishsniffer.com), USAfishing.com, Water4Fish, Monterey Fish Market, The Fish Restaurant, Scoma’s, Hayes Street Grill and Foreign Cinema Restaurant. 

For updates on the summit and videos about the campaign to restore salmon and the Delta, please visit: http://www.salmonwaternow.org. You can watch Salmon Water Now’s newest video, “California’s Delta Challenge: The Heart of the Problem,” on Vimeo or YouTube: 
YouTube – Part 1 of 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kYsTrYm7_c&fmt=18 
YouTube – Part 2 of 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4upkWLfkMgA&fmt=18 
Vimeo: http://www.vimeo.com/9861205 

Salmon Summit Schedule: 

10:00am – 11:00 am fishermen rally and gathering 
11:00am – 11:30 am congressional remarks 
11:30am – 12:30 pm expert panels and seafood industry testimony 
12:30pm – 1:00 pm public comment 
1:00pm – 1:30 pm media availability with members of Congress and salmon fishermen 
1:00pm – 2:00 pm seafood reception 

Visuals: A 22-foot blow up salmon, salmon fishing boats on the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and fishermen with signs and banners and B-roll will be available 

Directions: Golden Gate Room at Fort Mason Center. Enter at the intersections of Buchanan St. and Marina Blvd. The Fort Mason Conference Center is along the water in San Francisco’s Marina District, immediately east of the marina docks at Gas House Cove and adjacent to and just before Greens Restaurant (See Building A in attached map). Free public parking is available in the area or you can pay fee at Fort Mason. News media will receive a media pass to park for free near Building A. 

Contact: For background information or to arrange advance interviews with salmon fishermen or others, please contact: Jennifer Witherspoon, 415-293-6067; jwitherspoon [at] edf.org

First Annual Salmon Summit to be held in San Francisco

March 22, 2010 — Salmon Supporters, we need to rally.  On April 1st an event will take place that may be your best chance ever to fish for salmon again.  Several congressional and state political leaders will assemble in San Francisco to attend the first ever California “Salmon Summit”.  The event will focus on the devastating cost of the recent salmon fishing closures that are impacting fishermen, fishing businesses restaurants and hundreds of communities along the coast and in the valley.  Congressmen George Miller and Mike Thompson will lead the program.
 
This is the best opportunity in years for salmon fishermen and other supporters to join in a unified statement that we support salmon, salmon fishing and the water and habitat needs that will allow the stocks to rebuild.  This is our opportunity to demonstrate that salmon have a huge constituency in California and that we are not going to stand by while others take the water salmon need for their own profits.  To do this, we need a large crowd of vocal supporters with signs and banners and willing to speak up for what they believe in.
 
Make your plans now.  The event will take place on Thursday April 1st at Fort Mason in San Francisco from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  Following the program, some of the top seafood restaurants in the Bay Area will host a free seafood reception for everyone attending.  The Fort Mason Conference Center is located at the intersection of Buchanan Street and Marina Blvd. West of Fishermen’s Wharf.  Free parking is available in the area or you can pay the Fort Mason.
 
We want to prevent another catastrophic salmon fishing closure like the last two years.  We want robust salmon stocks that will support full sport and commercial salmon seasons.  Salmon-dependent communities, jobs and families are at stake in the tug of war for California water, along with our priceless fishing heritage.
 
Show up and make a statement.  Show our leaders that salmon are important in both California and Oregon and deserve a fair share of California water.  Let’s stop the water grab.
 
Please let us know if you can participate so we can plan.  Log intowww.Water4Fish.org/salmonsummit  and fill out the card.  You can indicate if you wish to speak in the public session.  You can also sign up at the door if you wish.
 
Event Sponsors:  Coastside Fishing Club, CSPA, Earthjustice, Golden Gate Fishermen’s Assn.  NorCal Federation of Fly Fishers,  Northern California Guides Association,  Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, PCFFA,  SalmonAid, Salmon Water Now,  Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen’s Association,  The Fish Sniffer, USAfishing.com,  Water4Fish,  Monterey Fish Market, The Fish Restaurant, Scoma’s,  Hayes Street Grill,  Foreign Cinema Restaurant.

by Dan Bacher 

The issue of tribal rights and uses of ocean resources is now coming to a head in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s fast track Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process. 

The MLPA initiative, after being suspended for lack of funding, was reinitated with private funding by the Resource Legacy Fund Foundation in 2004. MLPA officials until recently refused to address and respect traditional cultural subsistence, ceremonial and other customary uses of marine resources by California Indian Tribes. 

The Schwarzenegger administration has already imposed no-take reserves in the North Central Coast and Central Coast regions without proper consultation with Indian Tribes living in both regions. For example, the California Fish and Game Commission on August 5, 2009 voted for a marine reserve package that will ban the Kashia Pomo Tribe and others from harvesting abalone, mussels and seaweed off Stewarts Point as they have done for centuries. 

Fortunately, 25 tribes on the North Coast have united to address the Schwarzenegger administration’s failure to respect tribal uses under the MLPA Initiative. On March 18, the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council presented the Blue Ribbon Task Force for the North Coast Region with a strongly-worded statement on tribal use policy. 

According to the Council, the need for the development of a tribal use policy by the MLPA Initiative “arises from the regrettable fact that the Marine Life Protection Act neglected to explicitly address Tribal rights and interests. We are confident, however, that a policy can be devised that avoids interference with long-established Tribal traditional cultural subsistence uses, and at the same time stays within the legal parameters of the Act and other provisions of State and federal law.” 

“Tribal uses cannot be ignored in these early stages of MPA development; otherwise, subsequent revisions to the MPAs will be much more difficult and problematic,” the tribes emphasized. “If such revisions cannot be or are not made, the Initiative will have failed in its goal to respond favorably to the concerns of sovereign Indian Tribes.” 

The statement warned the officials to “not proceed further” in the process until tribal uses of ocean resources were first addressed. 

The Blue Ribbon Task Force responded to the tribal memo by saying, “In developing MPA proposals, the NCRSG (North Coast Regional Stakeholders Group) should strive to accommodate noncommercial, traditional subsistence, religious, cultural and other customary tribal gathering uses, by identifying such gathering uses as permitted in MPAs, understanding that some traditional gathering uses may render an MPA as requiring a specific classification as a state marine conservation area or state marine park and potentially with a level of protection that is different from a state marine reserve.” 

The task force also recommended that: 

• “NCRSG members should work with one another and members of California tribes and tribal communities to understand traditional tribal gathering areas, including high-priority areas, and use this information in developing MPA proposals.” 

• “NCRSG members should recommend potential co-management opportunities or approaches that can be recommended to the State of California.” 

• “NCRSG members should recommend mechanisms for characterizing traditional gathering uses in a respectful manner, so that MLPA Initiative staff and the BRTF can understand how best to classify any MPA that may be coexistent with traditional tribal gathering areas.” 

However, MLPA Initiative Executive Director Ken Wiseman, in a letter to BRTF Chair Cindy Gustafson on March 17, claimed that Fish and Game Commission and DFG lawyers advised the Commission staff to not grant “exemption to any party,” including tribes, from the MLPA. 

“In our continuing discussions with the California Fish and Game Commission and California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) legal staff, all advise that (1) the commission needs to continue its legal obligation of not granting exemption to any party from the MLPA, (2) the commission does not have the legal authority to grant an exclusive use for tribes or tribal communities without legislation, and (3) both the commission and DFG should continue discussions with the tribes and tribal communities,” the letter stated. 

Wiseman said he has requested that “formal legal written advice” from DFG be delivered to the BRTF “as soon as possible.”

It will be interesting to see how the MLPA officials deal with this long-neglected issue of tribal uses of ocean resources in upcoming meetings of the MLPA task force and stakeholders group. Hopefully, the Schwarzenegger administration will be forced not just to address tribal issues on the North Coast from Point Arena to the California-Oregon border, but to reopen the MLPA Central Coast, South Coast and Central Coast processes, since the designated marine reserves were developed without proper consultation of California Indian Tribes. 

The ignoring of tribal rights under the MLPA Initiative points to a larger problem: the refusal of the state of California to engage with the tribes as sovereign nations in government to government relations on water and other environmental issues. The refusal of the Schwarzenegger administration to respect tribal rights and interests was evidenced when the administration in 2005 appointed a stakeholders group for the Delta Vision process that completely excluded tribes, as well as recreational anglers. It was only after fishing, tribal and environmental groups protested about this injustice that one tribal member, Gary Mucahy of the Winnemen Wintu Tribe, was appointed to the stakeholders group. 

The MLPA Central Coast process completely left tribal representatives off the stakeholders group, while the North Central process proceeded forward with minimal tribal representation. It was only in the North Coast process stakeholders group, under strong pressure from North Coast tribes, that the Schwarzenegger adminstration allowed the tribes to have a substantial presence. 

There are eight tribal representative on the North Coast MLPA stakeholders group, including Russ Crabtree, Tribal Administrator, Smith River Rancheria; Jacque Hostler, Chief Executive Officer and Transportation & Land-Use Director, Trinidad Rancheria; Megan Rocha, Assistant Self Governance Officer, Yurok Tribe; Atta Stevenson, Acting President, Inter-Tribal Council of California and member, Laytonville Rancheria; Reweti Wiki, Tribal Administrator, Elk Valley Rancheria, Benjamin Henthorne, Environmental Coordinator, Hopland Band of Pomo Indians, and Valerie Stanley, member, Noyo Indian Community. 

The Marine Life Protection Act passed through the Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Gray Davis in 1999. The MLPA under Schwarzenegger has become a grotesque parody of what the law originally intended to do – protect California ocean waters and marine life. Instead, the process has become infested with conflicts of interests, mission creep, and corruption of the democratic process, as well as ignoring tribal rights and interests. 

For more information about the MLPA and upcoming meetings, go to: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa. 

To read the memo from the Blue Ribbon Task Force, the letter by Ken Wiseman, MLPA executive director, see the briefing document T.1 at: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/meeting_032410.asp.

Photo of Mark Franco, headman, and Caleen Sisk-Franco, chief of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, courtesy of Indigenius Media.

mark_and_caleen_photo.jpg

Winnemem Wintu Leaders in New Zealand to Call McCloud Salmon Home 

by Dan Bacher 

Two dozen members of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe are now on a spiritual mission in New Zealand to ask Chinook salmon native to the McCloud River, a tributary of the Sacramento River, to return home to northern California. 

Tribal representatives will gather on the banks of the Rakaia River, in Canterbury, on Sunday, March 28 to apologize to the winter run Chinook salmon – a species that was introduced to the river over 100 years ago. The winter Chinook is also known as “quinnat” in New Zealand. 

At the culmination of a four-day ceremony, tribal members will perform the “nur chonas winyupus” or middle water salmon dance, according to a news release from Tourism New Zealand. 

In California, the winter run is a listed as an endangered species under state and federal law. Only 4,483 adult winter Chinook returned to spawn in the Sacramento River below Shasta Dam in 2009, down from approximately 120,000 fish in 1969. 

The decline has been caused by an array of factors, including massive water exports from the California Delta, unscreened diversions, water pollution and the failure of the state and federal governments to provide fish passage to the fish’s original spawning grounds in the McCloud River above Shasta Dam. 

The tribal group – who are collaborating with New Zealand Māori leaders of the South Island Ngai Tahu tribe to organise the ceremony – was welcomed to New Zealand yesterday with a traditional Māori powhiri, the release stated. 

Caleen Sisk-Franco, Winnemem Wintu Chief, says the tribe came to New Zealand on a vision quest based on a higher spiritual calling. “The spirits came into the fire area here and they said ‘you’ve got to get it done’.” 

The construction of Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River stopped the salmon from ascending the McCloud as they did for thousands and thousands of years, breaking a sacred covenant that the tribe had with the fish, according to the Winnemem. The tribe says that New Zealand salmon are descended from eggs taken from the McCloud and they are hoping to reintroduce eggs from this original stock back into their homeland. 

The tribe’s journey received national and international attention on March 21 when the New York Times published an outstanding article written by Jesse McKinley about the tribe’s trip (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/us/21tribes.html?ref=us). 

“The Francos say they intend to ask local fish and game officials if they can bring back some of New Zealand’s salmon eggs — once of California stock — back to the McCloud. ‘We have to do more than pray,’ Ms. Callen Sisk-Franco said. “We have to follow through,’” according to McKinley. 

Representatives of the Winnemem scraped together the $60,000 needed for the trip by selling trinkets, soliciting help from wealthier tribes, and through Facebook. For the riverside ceremony, the delegation has brought ceremonial regalia including eagle headgear, a container of sacred water, weapons and a ceremonial drum. 

Mark Franco, Winnemem Wintu headman, announced the tribe’s plans to go to New Zealand during his keynote speech at the Organic Capital Celebration of Sustainability, sponsored by Organic Sacramento and Friends of the River, in Sacramento on December 9 (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/12/18/18633047.php). He received an award, on behalf of the tribe, for the tribe’s many efforts to stop the raising of Shasta Dam, to restore the Delta and bring salmon back to the McCloud River above Shasta Dam. 

The tribe’s journey comes at crucial time for Central Valley salmon populations. The Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon run, the driver of West Coast salmon fisheries, collapsed from nearly 800,000 fish in 2002, to only 39,500 fish in fall 2009. Endangered winter run and spring run chinook run chinook runs have also crashed, due to massive water exports from the California Delta to corporate agribusiness and southern California, declining water quality and other factors. 

Ironically, while salmon populations have declined dramatically in their native California waters, they now thrive in New Zealand rivers and coastal waters. The salmon was introduced into New Zealand waters between 1901 and 1907. The salmon has established spawning runs in the Rangitata, Opihi, Ashburton, Rakaia, Waimakariri, Hurunui and Waiau rivers in Aotearoa, New Zealand. 

I strongly urge you to contribute to the tribe’s battle to restore McCloud River salmon and their many other efforts on behalf of environmental justice, go to:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Redding/Winnemem-Wintu-Tribe/96167065518. All recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, conservationists, tribal members and environmental justice advocates should support the Winnemem Wintu in their campaign to bring the salmon home, defend sacred sites and regain federal recognition.

Good Morning

I am outraged that the Hudson Riverkeeper is honoring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the worst Governor for fish and the environment in California history, for his “environmental advocacy” at the “Riverkeeper’s Annual Fishermen’s Ball” on April 14.

I have been a member of the Klamath Riverkeeper since the organization started and was a strong, outspoken supporter of the DeltaKeeper organization throughout its existence. I am appalled by this move by the Hudson Riverkeeper to honor a guy that makes former California Governors Gray Davis and Pete Wilson look like veritable John Muirs in comparison.

More than any journalist in the country, I have documented in article after article Schwarzenegger’s crimes against fish and the environment when most corporate media sources and some “environmental” NGOs have greenwashed the Governor’s record. The Riverkeeper must be condemned for honoring the guy who has presided over the unprecedented collapse of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, striped bass, green sturgeon and other California fish populations.

How can the Hudson Riverkeeper possibly honor the Governor who continually campaigns for the construction of a peripheral canal and more dams, who has constantly slashed the budget for Department of Fish and Game biologists and game wardens, who has attacked Endangered Species Act protections for Delta smelt and Central Valley salmon and who has eviscerated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)?

“Riverkeeper is honoring the guy for his ‘environmental stewardship’ who said on the Sean Hannity’ show ‘we gotta stop putting the interest of the salmon and the smelt above the interests of the people’- at a ‘fishermen’s ball’ no less!” said Mike Hudson, executive director of SalmonAid (http://www.salmonaid.org). “These guys must be out of their minds!”  

I don’t know of any fishermen – recreational, commercial or tribal – in California who support the Schwarzenegger regime’s war on fish and the environment. I urge you to withdraw your invitation to Schwarzenegger to be “honored” at your event.

You should then apologize to the recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, California Indian Tribes, Delta farmers, conservationists and environmental justice advocates who have suffered from Schwarzenegger’s continuous attacks on fish, fishermen and the environment!

Finally, when Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. or other members of the Riverkeeper board go to California next time, you should meet with fishermen and other fish restoration advocates to find out the truth about what Schwarzenegger’s “environmental advocacy” has done to Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations and fishing communities throughout the state.

I am an investigative journalist specializing in water and fishery issues. I am editor of the Fish Sniffer magazine, www.fishsniffer.com, and a contributor to counterpunch.org, truthout.org, alternet.org, the Sacramento News and Review and numerous other print and on-line publications.

I am a dedicated environmentalist who is on the advisory councils of the Save the American River Association and Restore the Delta. I am a board member of www.water4fish.org and the Upper American River Foundation. I am a member of the Mother Lode Chapter of the Sierra Club, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and Friends of the River.

I have for years admired the hard work that the Hudson Riverkeeper has engaged in to restore the river and its fisheries. How can you possibly honor a Governor that has done everything he can to destroy California’s rivers and drive their fish populations towards extinction?

Thanks

Dan Bacher

Northern California Angler Publications, PO Box 776, Colfax, CA. 95713-0776, 916-685-2245, email: danielbacher@fishsniffer.com 

by Dan Bacher 

Arnold Schwarzenegger, true to his record as the worst Governor in California history for fish and the environment, has appointed four backers of the peripheral canal/tunnel to the Delta Stewardship Council that will oversee the implementation of the water package that was rammed through the Legislature by Schwarzenegger and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) last November. 

Schwarzenegger on March 19 appointed Francis Randall “Randy” Fiorini, a Turlock agribusiness owner, Philip Isenberg, a veteran political hack and lobbyist for the Irvine Water District, Henry “Hank” Nordhoff, a bio-tech corporate executive, and Richard Roos-Collins, director of legal services for the Natural Heritage Institute, to the “distinguished” seven-member panel. 

“The Delta Stewardship Council was established as part of last year’s groundbreaking legislation to reform, restore and rebuild California’s vital water system,” Schwarzenegger claimed. “This council will work collaboratively to develop a plan to achieve the co-equal goals of restoring the Delta ecosystem and ensuring water supply reliability.” 

What Schwarzenegger failed to mention was that these “co-equal goals of restoring the Delta ecosystem and ensuring water supply reliability” are the same ones that led the Cal-Fed program down the path of disaster while hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted on bogus “restoration” programs that did nothing to stop the decline of Central Valley salmon and steelhead and Delta smelt. 

Schwarzenegger gushed, “Each of these individuals possesses the qualities, experiences and unique perspectives that are necessary to help the council meet these goals and implement the most comprehensive effort in decades to save and restore California’s Delta and secure our water supply for the future.” 

The only truth in this statement is that you can be sure that the corporate players and political hacks whom Schwarzenegger has appointed to the Council will do everything they can to secure their “water supply for the future” while driving Central Valley and other fish species over the abyss of extinction. 

The Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon population has declined from nearly 800,000 fish in 2002 to only 39,500 fish in fall 2009, while Delta smelt, longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad have declined to record low population levels in recent years. Massive water exports to corporate agribusiness in the San Joaquin Valley and southern California water agencies have played the key role in the collapse of all of these once abundant fish species. 

Of course, Schwarzenegger didn’t appoint any Delta residents, fishermen, Indian tribal members, independent scientists or any of those who want to restore the Delta and its imperiled fisheries. By appointing a San Joaquin Valley agribusiness owner, a lobbyist for the Irvine Water District, a bio-tech corporation executive and a lawyer for a corporate “environmental” NGO, Schwarzenegger is ensuring that the peripheral canal will be built and the interests of corporate agribusiness, the biotech industry and southern California water companies are served to the detriment of the Delta, its fish and its people. 

Schwarzenegger’s Legacy of Corruption 

The latest appointments are just more examples of the corruption and conflicts of interest that have resulted in Schwarzenegger receiving a 71 percent unfavorable rating by a recent field poll of California residents. 

On March 21, Matt Weiser of the Sacramento Bee disclosed how “the leader of the state’s largest water pollution regulator is married to a lobbyist for agencies it regulates, a potential conflict of interest she did not disclose publicly until an ethics complaint was brought against her ((http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/21/2622315/water-pollution-regulator-failed.html). 

The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating a 51-page complaint filed by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), against Katherine Hart Johns, chair of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. CSPA alleges that she failed to disclose, as mandated by the Political Reform Act, that her spouse was a registered lobbyist receiving substantial income from entities regulated under the Porter-Cologne and the federal Clean Water Act .

“Ms. Hart Johns’ blatant conflict of interest provides insight into how the Regional Board, over the last few years, has gone from protecting water quality to protecting polluters from laws enacted to protect water quality,” said Bill Jennings, CSPA executive director. “The Schwarzenegger administration’s approach to protecting water quality can best be described as appointing foxes to guard the chickens.” 

Fishing and environmental groups have also blasted Schwarzenegger for appointing to the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Blue Ribbon Task force officials from the oil, real estate and marina development industries who have a vested interest in the how marine reserves are designated and implemented. It is no coincidence that Katherine Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association, is chair of the task force for the South Coast and serves on the North Coast panel at a time when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the oil industry want to install more oil rigs off the California coast. 

On the same day that Schwarzenegger named his four council members, Senator Steinberg nominated former State Senator Patrick Johnston of Stockton to the council. Outdoing Assembly Speaker Karen Bass appointed Gloria Gray, a former hospital administrator who sits on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, to the panel earlier this month. Finally, Don Nottoli, a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, is automatically on the committee as head of the Delta Protection Commission. 

Since this panel has only seven members, the four members appointed by Schwarzenegger will have the majority vote and will be able to bring to fruition the Governor’s agenda of building a peripheral canal and new dams unless those that care about California’s fish populations and the communities that depend upon them rise up in a massive show of resistance! 

Shame On the Riverkeeper for Greenwashing Schwarzenegger’s War on Fish! 

As Schwarzenegger continues to appoint tainted officials to state boards and councils that will further his war on salmon and salmon fishermen, the Hudson Riverkeeper will “honor” Schwarzenegger for his “environmental advocacy” at the “Riverkeeper’s Annual Fishermen’s Ball” on April 14 in New York City. 

How can the Riverkeeper possibly honor the Governor who continually campaigns for the construction of a peripheral canal and more dams, who has constantly slashed the budget for Department of Fish and Game biologists and game wardens, who has attacked Endangered Species Act protections for Delta smelt and Central Valley salmon and who has eviscerated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)? 

If the Riverkeeper leadership has any integrity, they should withdraw their invitation to Schwarzenegger to be “honored” at their event. They should then apologize to the recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, California Indian Tribes, Delta farmers, conservationists and environmental justice advocates who have suffered from Schwarzenegger’s continuous attacks on fish, fishermen and the environment. 

Finally, when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vice Chair and Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Riverkeeper and Chairman of the Waterkeeper Alliance, goes to California next time he should meet with fishermen and other fish restoration advocates to find out the truth about what Schwarzenegger’s “environmental advocacy” has done to Central Valley salmon and Delta fish populations and fishing communities throughout the state. 

I urge you to write, call and email the Riverkeeper to let you know them how you feel about the Riverkeeper’s honoring of the “Fish Terminator” at: 828 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591, Phone: 800-21-RIVER, Email: info [at] riverkeeper.org. 

Here’s the link and announcement of the event honoring the “Fish Terminator”: 

http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/events/rvk-events/the-fishermens-ball/ 

Below is the press release from the Governor’s Office: 

For Immediate Release: 
Friday, March 19, 2010 
Contact: Aaron McLear, Mike Naple, 916-445-4571 

Governor Schwarzenegger Appoints Four Members to Delta Stewardship Council 

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointments of Francis Randall “Randy” Fiorini, Philip Isenberg, Henry “Hank” Nordhoff and Richard Roos-Collins to the Delta Stewardship Council. 

“The Delta Stewardship Council was established as part of last year’s groundbreaking legislation to reform, restore and rebuild California’s vital water system. This council will work collaboratively to develop a plan to achieve the co-equal goals of restoring the Delta ecosystem and ensuring water supply reliability,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Each of these individuals possesses the qualities, experiences and unique perspectives that are necessary to help the council meet these goals and implement the most comprehensive effort in decades to save and restore California’s Delta and secure our water supply for the future.” 

Fiorini, 56, of Turlock, has been managing partner of Fiorini Ranch since 1975 and managing partner of FarmCo since 2001. Previously, he was president of Fiorini Family Vineyards from 2002 to 2008 and owner of Farm Data from 1984 to 2000. Fiorini is past president and board member of the Association of California Water Agencies, past board president and director of Turlock Irrigation District Division #5, and past president and board member of the California Farm Water Coalition. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in fruit science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $40,669. Fiorini is a Republican. 

Isenberg, 71, of Sacramento, has served as president of Isenberg/O’Haren Government Relations since 2005. From 1977 to 2004, he was counsel for Miller, Owens and Trost, Attorneys at Law. Previously, Isenberg served as a member of the California State Assembly representing the 9th District from 1992 to 1996 and the 10th District from 1982 to 1992. From 1975 to 1982, he was mayor of the city of Sacramento. Isenberg served as chair of the California Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force from 2004 to 2006 and served as chair of the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force from 2007 to 2008. He is also a member of the Sacramento Valley Conservancy Advisory Board. Isenberg earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in social science and government from California State University, Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $40,669. Isenberg is a Democrat. 

Nordhoff, 68, of Del Mar, was president and chief executive officer of Gen-Probe Incorporated from 1994 until his retirement in 2009. Currently, he serves as chairman. From 1992 to 1994, Nordhoff served as president and chief executive officer of TargeTech and, from 1988 to 1992, he was president and chief executive officer of American Biogenetic Sciences. From 1986 to 1988, Nordhoff was vice president of mergers and acquisition for Sterling Drug Company and from 1970 to 1986, he worked for Pfizer Inc. in the U.S., Europe and Asia. His last position at Pfizer was director of licensing and business development. Nordhoff earned a Master of Business Administration degree in international business and finance from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and political economy from Johns Hopkins University. Nordhoff served in the U.S. Navy from 1963 to 1967. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $40,669. Nordhoff is a Republican. 

Roos-Collins, 56, of Berkeley, has been director of legal services for the Natural Heritage Institute Since 1991. Previously, he served as deputy attorney general of the public rights division for the California Department of Justice from 1989 to 1991. From 1986 to 1989, Roos-Collins was attorney-advisor for the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He is co-chair of the Agricultural Water Management Council and a member of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan Steering Committee. Roos-Collins is also director of the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council and founding director of the Hydropower Reform Coalition. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Princeton University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $40,669. Roos-Collins is a Democrat. 

The Delta Stewardship Council was created in SBX7 1 by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), which established the framework to achieve the co-equal goals of providing a more reliable water supply to California and restoring and enhancing the Delta ecosystem. 

As created in the bill, the Delta Stewardship Council consists of seven members, four appointed by the Governor, one appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. The Chairperson of the Delta Protection Commission is a permanent member of the Council. 

The Council is tasked with: 

Developing a Delta Plan to guide state and local actions in the Delta in a manner that furthers the co-equal goals of Delta restoration and water supply reliability; 
Developing performance measures for the assessment and tracking of progress and changes to the health of the Delta ecosystem, fisheries, and water supply reliability; 
Determining if a state or local agency’s project in the Delta is consistent with the Delta Plan and the co-equal goals, and acting as the appellate body in the event of a claim that such a project is inconsistent with the goals; and 
Determining the consistency of the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) with the co-equal goals.

It’s hard to believe, but the Hudson Riverkeeper is honoring Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the “Fish Terminator,” for his “environmental advocacy.” What wacky parallel universe does the “leadership” of the Riverkeeper inhabit? 

Huge Turnout Needed to Stop Big Ag from Killing Delta Fish! 

 ”When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro,” according to the late Hunter S. Thompson. That sums up Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s corrupt Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process. 

Photo: Governor Schwarzenegger, a master corporate greenwasher, on February 24 delivered remarks at an event hosted by Bloom Energy on February in San Jose where he gushed about California’s “leadership” in the clean-tech industry and the “importance of creating green jobs to rebuild our economy.” 

While he constantly appears in shameless photo ops to boast about his “green” credentials, he has presided over the collapse of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and striped bass populations. He relentlessly campaigns for the peripheral canal and more dams as he ramrods his fast-track MLPA greenwashing process over California’s coastal communities. His “green jobs,” peripheral canal and MLPA fiascos are all part of his plan to privatize California’s public trust resources to benefit greedy corporate officials.

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