Posted on 09/19/2002 6:47:29 AM PDT by CedarDave
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- There is new life for the silvery minnow.
United States District Judge James Parker ruled Wednesday night water should continue to flow in the Rio Grande at 50 cubic feet per second to San Acacia, where the largest population of the minnow lives.
Environmentalists had asked the judge to order water released from Heron Lake to keep the Rio Grande from going dry and possibly killing the endangered minnows.
The ruling angered Mayor Martin Chavez, who said it will take drinking water away from Albuquerque residents.
The mayor said the city plans to appeal.
Thursday, September 19, 2002Water for Minnows Ordered Released
By Tania Soussan Journal Staff Writer
Chief U.S. District Judge James A. Parker on Wednesday ordered federal water managers to keep the Rio Grande flowing for the endangered silvery minnow.
Parker said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation must maintain a continuous water flow through Albuquerque and provide a minimum flow below the San Acacia Diversion Dam.
This summer's drought has so strained water supplies that the bureau had expected to run out of water for the minnow by late next week, eventually drying up the Rio Grande as far north as Algodones.
Now, Parker's ruling will prevent dozens of miles of river from drying up and could save the silvery minnow from extinction in the wild.
Parker ordered the bureau to take the water from Heron Reservoir. That will probably mean reduced supplies next year for the city of Albuquerque, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and other users.
Parker said a Fish and Wildlife Service decision last week that there was no reasonable way to avoid jeopardizing the minnow was "arbitrary and capricious."
Earlier Wednesday, Parker had suggested that the bureau could release water from Heron Reservoir now and make up the deficit by reducing deliveries to cities and irrigators next year.
"You have the authority and discretion to release less then the full contracted amount," Parker said.
But bureau Area Manager Ken Maxey had said he would not release any of that water unless ordered to do so by the court.
That's what happened late Wednesday.
Maxey said he had hoped he could strike a deal with San Juan-Chama Project contractors on a "willing-buyer, willing-seller basis rather than telling them I am going to short them."
Parker said in his ruling after a daylong hearing that the bureau should compensate water contractors who do not get full deliveries next year.
This week's hearing came about because environmentalists asked Parker to order the bureau to release water from Heron Reservoir for the minnow.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said last week it would be better to save the water in Heron for future minnow needs, such as triggering a spring spawn, but Parker said that would be the wrong decision.
This was the first time a judge has been faced with this type of case, said U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney Andrew Smith.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said in a biology-based decision last week there is no "reasonable and prudent" alternative to avoid jeopardizing the continued existence of silvery minnow in the river.
That has happened before, but only in cases where a project such as a timber sale could be halted to avoid harming the species.
"We're in uncharted territory here," said Dale Hall, regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service in the Southwest. "Obviously to us, this is a scary situation for the survival and recovery of the species."
Environmentalists said the water is needed now or there might not be enough minnows in the wild to save the species next year.
They said the water should come from a pool of about 168,000 acre-feet in Heron Reservoir that is used as a drought reserve for the San Juan-Chama Project.
It will take about 30,000 acre-feet of water or more to do what Parker ordered Wednesday.Copyright 2002 Albuquerque Journal
Thursday, September 19, 2002Most Want Species Saved
By Tania Soussan Journal Staff Writer
A slim majority of New Mexico voters support the Endangered Species Act, but two-thirds think it goes too far in cases like the battle over the Rio Grande silvery minnow, a Journal poll has found.
Even more voters support changing federal environmental regulations to speed up forest-thinning projects to reduce the threat of wildfires.
The controversial 1973 Endangered Species Act, which protects rare animals and plants from extinction, was supported by 53 percent of registered New Mexico voters polled Sept. 8-13. Twenty-nine percent opposed the law, while 10 percent had mixed feelings and 8 percent were undecided or would not voice an opinion.
In a separate question, voters were asked how they feel about the law in the context of recent developments in drought-ridden New Mexico — such as the effort to protect the minnow in the shrinking Rio Grande.
Sixty-six percent said the law goes too far. Only 15 percent said it is working as it should, while 6 percent said it does not go far enough and 13 percent were undecided or declined to comment.
"People are generally supportive of the Endangered Species Act, but they are skeptical of some of its applications," said Brian Sanderoff, president of Research and Polling Inc., which conducted the poll.
The minnow, for one thing, might not be the most charming of animals. "Furry and feathered creatures" tend to be more popular, Sanderoff said.
Another issue is the threat that water relied upon by city residents and farmers along the Rio Grande could be appropriated for minnow protection this fall.
Debate on how to protect the minnow during the current drought was in the news while the Journal poll was being conducted last week.
Voters are polarized
Environmentalists say the tiny fish is in danger of going extinct in the wild, but cities like Albuquerque and Santa Fe disagree and have opposed the release of more water for the tiny fish.
The question was: "Thinking of recent developments in New Mexico involving the Endangered Species Act, such as efforts to protect the Rio Grande silvery minnow, do you think the act goes too far, does not go far enough or is working as it should?"
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez and Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., have recently said that the Endangered Species Act goes too far.
All of these developments have probably raised public awareness and probably have increased the polarization of voters, Sanderoff said.
Age seemed to be the biggest factor in who supported the act and who opposed it, Sanderoff said.
"As age increased, the likelihood to support the Endangered Species Act declined," he said of the poll results.
The Endangered Species Act, in general, was supported by 87 percent of voters between 18 and 34, 66 percent of voters between 35 and 49, half of voters between 50 and 64 and only 28 percent of voters 65 and older.
At the same time, "A plurality of young people and a vast majority of seniors think the act goes too far," he said.
Among the 18- to 34-year-olds polled, the largest group — 44 percent — said the Endangered Species Act goes too far, while 17 percent said it does not go far enough.
Support high in north
General support for the Endangered Species Act was highest in north-central New Mexico, with 63 percent of those polled saying they support it.
Otherwise, 71 percent of the men polled, and 74 percent of Republicans, said the act goes too far.
On forest thinning, Domenici and other lawmakers have proposed easing environmental reviews and restrictions that can delay projects aimed at removing trees from heavy stands around communities.
Some environmentalists worry that the proposed changes could pave the way for the return of large timber harvesting in national forests.
Voters were asked: "In an effort to reduce the threat of wildfires, some people want to change federal environmental laws and regulations to speed up forest-thinning projects. Do you support or oppose such a change?"
Seventy-five percent said they would support a change while 17 percent said they opposed altering the federal environmental rules. Another 8 percent were undecided or would not state their opinion.
"People are willing to change the law to thin the forest," Sanderoff said.
Support for altering the environmental rules to speed up thinning was highest in the southern part of the state, which includes the forest communities of Cloudcroft, Ruidoso and Silver City.
All of those areas included heavily forested areas and have had severe fire problems in recent years.
The random telephone survey of 400 registered voters statewide has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. The poll was conducted Sept. 8 through Sept. 13, although no polling was done on Sept. 11.Copyright 2002 Albuquerque Journal
Well of course fish bait is endangered! Endangered of being eaten without a bite on your line that is! I agree with the mayor; lunacy.
The lunatics are in charge of the environment~!!
This should be an interesting political battle. I'm sure Albuquerque is a liberal, alqaedacrat hotbed and we'll soon see whether they would rather die of thirst or finally dispose of the green jihadist agenda.
It's about time the two are put in the same pen to fight it out.
Can someone please tell me why a judge would have jurisdiction over New Mexico lakes? I certainly hope the resident plan on defying the order.
Now lets see what happens when the question is asked properly:
Sixty-six percent said the law goes too far.
Now we all know what garbage polls are, particularly when they are couched in touchy-feely terms of saving the planet. But when the rubber hits the road it's a whole different story.
Thanks for posting this CD.
As one gets older, one also tends to get wiser and see things in perspective. These numbers reflect that dictum.
Probably the "oldsters" 28% is reflective of base support for Environmentalist nonsense. That is still a frightenenly high figure. The "youngsters" 87% is reflective of the marvelous job of environmental indoctrination going on in the public schools, which is changing society from the ground up.
This should send chills up the spines of Americans concerned about the future of the American freedoms, rather than the Radical Environmentalist Agenda.
Not if the water temperature is turned up slowly and incrementally to a boil...
Con artists succeed because human nature goes immediately into denial and embarrassed silence, the minute the first faint realization of harsh reality occurs that they've been had!!!
I clung to your hope expressed above and got voted off the island. The Clintonian Collaborationists clouded the voters minds with clever doubt implants and fear campaigns.
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