Free Republic

Politics: The water spigots are back on, at least temporarily, in California's Central Valley. Turned off to protect a tiny fish, they happen to be in the districts of two congressmen "undecided" on health care reform. One could chalk it up to good fortune or just good constituent service. But in the middle of a contentious health care debate marked by Cornhusker Kickbacks and Louisiana Purchases, we may be forgiven if we find an announcement by the Department of the Interior regarding California's water supply a tad too coincidental. On Tuesday, the Department of the Interior announced it was increasing...

California: While Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger worries about rising seas, his state sinks below the waves. Don't mess with Texas, they say. But California and the nation could follow its lead. Last Wednesday, Gov. Schwarzenegger released a new report based on research compiled by the California Energy Commission claiming that by 2100 San Francisco Bay would be more bay than San Francisco, with Fisherman's Wharf and Treasure Island under the rising waters of climate change. His show-and-tell, which included a new Google Earth application the commission spent $150,000 to help develop, goes a long way toward explaining the once-Golden State's slide...

Environmentalism: Sen. Dianne Feinstein votes to deny water to California's drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley. Farmers, families and food are being held hostage to an endangered fish called the delta smelt. (snip) The Senate rejected the amendment by a largely party-line 61-36 margin, with Feinstein opposing the restoration of water deliveries to farmers. The California senator claimed she was blindsided by the amendment to the bill she was managing in the Senate, bizarrely comparing the move to a "Pearl Harbor." "No one from California has called, written or indicated they wanted this on the calendar," Feinstein protested.

Delta smelts: Preferred over humans. Environmentalism: Sen. Dianne Feinstein votes to deny water to California's drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley. Farmers, families and food are being held hostage to an endangered fish called the delta smelt.There was a time when the San Joaquin Valley was the most productive agricultural region in the world. It was a large part of what made the Golden State golden.Now it's a place where farmers no longer farm, but instead line up at food banks to feed the families of those who once fed the rest of the country and a good chunk of the...

The longfin smelt today was declared a threatened species in California, officially adding another imperiled fish to the long list of problems affecting the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The California Fish and Game Commission in March declared there was enough evidence to protect the longfin under the state Endangered Species Act. That kicked off a review period, which concluded today with a formal vote by the commission to list the fish as threatened. "It disappoints me for the conflict that it will create," Commissioner Daniel Richards said after the unanimous vote in Woodland. "It speaks to the failure of our state...

Federal authorities will consider whether to designate another delta fish for protection under the Endangered Species Act after a sharp population decline last year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday it will review the status of the longfin smelt to determine whether it is a threatened or endangered species. The 4 inch-long fish is native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Last year it registered its lowest population count in four decades of monitoring. Environmental groups had requested a review in August. The longfin's cousin, the Delta smelt, has been listed as a threatened species since 1993.