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Delta's health explored
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| Published in the Stockton Record on 08/24/05 |
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Delta's health explored
Hank Shaw - Capitol Bureau Chief Published Wednesday, Aug 24, 2005 SACRAMENTO -- Lawmakers are worrying about a decline of a fish scientists say is a bellwether for the entire Delta ecosystem and say they will hold the state agencies charged with protecting the West's largest estuary accountable. An Assembly committee last week held a hearing on the Delta smelt, tiny, indigenous fish whose populations have nose-dived recently. On Tuesday, the Senate Natural Resources Committee debated the problem as well. Billions of taxpayer dollars have been poured into state and federal agencies to restore the Delta's environment and preserve its water quality, so the crash of the smelt -- one of the foundations of the region's food web -- throws into question how well that money was spent. Scientists say if the smelt die off, it could herald a wholesale environmental disaster for the Delta: More than 80 percent of California's commercial fisheries begin in the sprawling region west of Stockton, and 23 million Californians drink Delta water. The Delta is degraded by restricted water flows in the summer from upstream dams, pesticide runoff, other pollution and invasive species eager to displace indigenous plants and animals. Two fish in particular are affecting Delta smelt: largemouth bass and a doppelganger smelt called the wakasagi. The bass eat the smelt -- bass populations are soaring -- and the wakasagi are taking the smelt's habitat and interbreeding with them, which is blurring the genetic line between the native fish and their Japanese cousins. Add to this the pressure of increasing water exports from the Delta to Southern California, and the entire ecosystem has been imperiled, scientists say. Some say it may be beyond saving. State Sen. Michael Machado, a Linden Democrat, held Tuesday's hearing to see if the state agencies responsible for protecting the threatened smelt have followed the law. 
When a private or public entity harms a threatened or endangered species, such as sucking them through pumps, it must acquire a permit to do so and attempt to mitigate the damage done. Machado said he found no evidence that the Department of Fish and Game requires permits, nor could Greg Hurner, DFG's deputy director, produce evidence at the hearing. Hurner said evidence exists, however, which frustrated Machado, who asked for documents some weeks ago. "It is apparent that the transparency is not there," Machado said. Lester Snow, State Department of Water Resources chief, said his department is working with DFG and other state agencies to find out why the smelt's populations are crashing. Snow also noted that earlier this year, the giant pumps at the Delta's southern end restricted their input by 75 percent when scientists found smelt swimming nearby. Some scientists wanted to restrict pumping even further but were overruled. "It occurs to me that no good deed goes uncriticized," Snow said. "Our pumping was significantly reduced." David Nesmith of the Environmental Water Caucus said it may not have been enough. He noted that water exports from the Delta hit record levels in three of the past five years, a period coinciding with the smelt's decline. "The fish need water," Nesmith said. Machado said he intends to hold another hearing on the matter either later this week or next. If the agencies aren't upholding the law, the Legislature could tighten the rules. It also has the power to determine those agencies' budgets. Contact Capitol Bureau Chief Hank Shaw at 916 441-4078 or sacto@recordnet.com PUMPING SMELT The two giant water pumps in the south Delta supply water for millions of Southern Californians and farms in the southern San Joaquin Valley. But the pumps also kill fish. Environmentalists and some scientists worry the pumps are killing too many Delta smelt, a threatened species widely viewed as the key indicator of the entire region's environmental health. Recent increases in pumping have coincided with a crash in the smelt population, but scientists aren't sure if the increases are the major cause of the little fish's decline. |
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