Monthly Archives: April 2009

Another take

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 30, 2009 | Comments closed
Fishermen declared victory when an Assembly committee gutted a bill Tuesday that would have removed protections for striped bass as a game fish. The Modesto Irrigation District, which co-sponsors AB 1253, has a decidedly different take. The committee’s decision to move the bill forward – scrapping any reference to stripers but inserting language that would require study of [...]
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Do you trust him?

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 28, 2009 | Comments closed
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says a canal to convey water around the Delta rather than through it is critically needed. Trouble is, folks just don’t trust the governor on water issues. A survey by the Association of California Water Agencies — which also supports a canal — found that 17 percent of respondents consider the governor to be [...]
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Did you know…

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 25, 2009 | Comments closed
… that it’s legal in California to shoot bullfrogs with a bow and arrow? With some restrictions, you can also test your skill on the following fish species: carp, goldfish, western sucker, Sacramento blackfish, hardhead, Sacramento pike minnow and lamprey. This interesting insight has been brought to you by the state Department of Fish and Game’s weekly Q&A feature. [...]
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Fishermen casting light on bill

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 24, 2009 | Comments closed
Delta fishermen are mobilizing for next Tuesday’s committee hearing on AB 1253, a bill by a Bakersfield assemblywoman that would delist the striped bass as a game fish and, fishermen contend, eliminate them from the estuary. The claim is that nonnative stripers eat threatened and endangered Delta smelt and salmon, though it’s disputed whether that predation is a [...]
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Fish vs. farmers? Not exactly….

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 24, 2009 | Comments closed
It’s at best misleading to say that the Endangered Species Act and its protections for Delta smelt are the primary cause for low water deliveries to farms and cities south of the Delta this year. While rallyers at last Friday’s March for Water at San Luis Reservoir repeatedly cried, “Turn on the pumps! Turn on the [...]
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Ewwwww

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 23, 2009 | Comments closed
The state Department of Pesticide Regulation released a list of “Top Pesticide Blunders,” and some of them are downright nauseating. Thankfully, no incident from San Joaquin County is on the list. If nothing else, however, this should illustrate how pesticides are best avoided unless there is no other choice. DPR reports: In Butte County, a man used [...]
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Earth Day oxymoron:

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 22, 2009 | Comments closed
Green cruise ships. Cluttering up my inbox this morning is some PR from the Cruise Lines International Association. Sound like a bit of Earth Day greenwashing? Read on: CRUISE LINES COMMEMORATE EARTH DAY FORT LAUDERDALE, April 22, 2009 – Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) President and CEO Terry Dale today marked Earth Day 2009 by taking note of the industry’s [...]
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Nunes v Schwarzenegger

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 18, 2009 | Comments closed
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a crowd of farmers and laborers at a rally today that a canal should be built around the Delta to reroute water from the Sacramento River to San Joaquin Valley farms. That wasn’t enough for U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, who a few hours later called for Schwarzenegger to resign because the [...]
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Care to interpret?

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 16, 2009 | Comments closed
I was not present for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s visit to the Delta yesterday, but according to Fish Sniffer’s Dan Bacher, a reporter afterward asked Salazar about his position on a peripheral canal. The secretary’s response, as quoted by Bacher: “You know, the reality of it is that there is a set of issues here that we need [...]
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Presidential lichen

By Alex Breitler | Published: April 16, 2009 | Comments closed
This interesting tidbit from the University of California, Riverside: A researcher at UC Riverside has discovered a new species of lichen – a plant-like growth that looks like moss or a dry leaf – and named it after President Barack Obama. “I discovered the new species in 2007 while doing a survey for lichen diversity on Santa [...]
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