Posted on 12/15/2010 7:01:27 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
A federal judge Tuesday threw out much-disputed delta smelt protections that have cut water shipments to Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, finding that federal biologists failed to justify aspects of the restrictions.
But the ruling in a long-running legal battle was not a clear-cut victory for water contractors, who lost some of their fundamental arguments against the pumping reductions.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger means that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will for the second time have to rewrite the endangered species document that regulates operation of the huge state and federal pumps that send water south from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Whether the pumping limits will be relaxed in the meantime will not be decided until more court hearings are held early next year.
Both sides in the case saw reason for hope in Wanger's complex 225-page ruling.
Wanger concluded that fish and wildlife's rationale for several of the key pumping limits was flawed, rendering its 2008 biological opinion for smelt arbitrary and capricious. But he also found support for the agency's determination that the pumping operations "are likely to jeopardize the continued existence" of the smelt, a once-abundant native of the delta driven to the edge of extinction.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
He who smelt it, dealt it.
So without electricity and these pumps would people even be able to survive in southern ca?
Smelt, used to catch them in seining nets and fill 5 gallon buckets, spend hours cleaning them and drinking beer, preping for deep frying fish fries. Of course this was in Wisconsin.
Alewives?
Personally I think this is more about the 70's argument about flushing the pollution out of the SF bay. I think the smelt argument is just a means to fulfill that liberal dream. After all those liberals deserve a clean bay, right?
(but we do get all the SF smog as it flows down the valley, then the Air pollution people blame us for it as it pools at the valley end.)
1. The smelt were picked by fish and game and their enviro bs buddies to become totem icons that supposedly needed protection. As usual with liberals, there was no real science. The farmers and merchants in the politically conservative areas south of Sacramento became economic targets of the Ob0z0 thugs and their enviro thugs in Sacramento. The Shad become the tool and weapon for the left wing thugs and their enviral hitmen.
2. California goes through wet and dry cycles. We are in a current wet cycle, and the dam operators have to release billions of gallons of water to prevent flooding and maybe bursting the dams.
Below is a chart of flows of the American River in the Sacramento Area. Flows are running 10X or more than the 54 year average. Parking lots in some areas are being threatened by the high water.
We eat smelt guts, feathers and all here in Humbug county...
You don’t eat a smelt, you fry up a bucket of them and then dig in...good eating, easy to gut...the smaller ones you can even eat the tail....
We take the feathers off as they stick in your teeth, only eat the head off the first one out of the net for good luck.
The first article up was an LA Times bloviation.
The author had 4 reasons; to summarize:
1. It's the law. The Endangered Species Act is a really good law.
2. The goal of the Endangered Species Act is not just to
protect single species but also the ecosystems on which
they depend.
3. It's a really cool fish because it can swim in the
mixture of fresh and salt water. Not many fish can
do that.
4. Finally, the Torah says that if you save an individual,
you save an entire universe.
So, save this fish and save the universe
Excellent news.
Yet another rogue government agency tyranizes the public illegally in violation of the US constitution. News at 11:00.
I can only wish the coming GOP majority would do something about these tyranical agencies. All of them should have their funding cut 50%, leaving them with only enough money to fund their highest priorities. At least that would reign in the scale of their dictatorial power grabs.
These agencies should all be bare bones with just enough money and staff to do the utmost important items, and no more.
I guess if I was hungry enough. Rule of thumb: it should be larger an anchovy.
We use to throw out the larger smelt, like them small, but bigger than a minnow LOL...Larger smelt were like gutting a small perch, yukky....I was quite young when dad first took me smelt dipping off of lake Huron. Nighttime with a flash light looking for the small streams off the lake. It was a thrill for a little girl, I was the youngest and he didn’t treat me any different than he would a son..My brother was 10 years older than me and not much for outdoor stuff. Although he did get a young deer at 16. Never went hunting again...
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