Posted on 10/26/2001 1:15:31 AM PDT by marsh2
To: The Governor State of California, California Fish & Game Commission, Dept. of Fish and Game, Dept. of Water Resources
WHEREAS agriculture is the at core of America's stability and wealth, and at the heart of Western cultural history and tradition; and
WHEREAS agriculture produces food and fiber for America by growing crops and livestock - living things that require water for life; and
WHEREAS in recognition of the importance of agriculture, it has long been the declared law and the policy of this State (Water Code Section 106) that the use of appropriated water for domestic purposes is the highest use of water and that the next highest is for irrigation; and
WHEREAS riparian water rights are part and parcel with the land, and water use rights appropriated and vested prior to the year 1914 are recognized as valuable private property; and
WHEREAS the California Endangered Species Act applies only to species or subspecies that are "native" to California, while coho salmon north of San Francisco, (in particular Siskiyou County,) is a product of decades of interbreeding and out-planting programs utilizing non-indigenous, out-of-state stocks; and
WHEREAS a decision to list coho salmon north of San Francisco as an endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act would result in an immediate prohibition from many traditional and customary methods of irrigation and stock water diversion; and
WHEREAS a decision to list coho salmon as endangered is likely to result in an assertion of minimum instream flows as superior to and in detriment of agricultural water use rights, resulting in a disenfranchisement of farmers and ranchers from their valuable property without the payment of just compensation;
NOW, THEREFORE, We the undersigned do hereby declare our opposition to the proposed listing of coho salmon north of San Francisco as an endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act. We declare our firm opposition to any governmental action that would "take" our valuable water use rights and the value of their current priority of use without just and prompt compensation. We declare our opposition to any unfunded prohibitions upon customary and historic methods of diversion and any new requirements for expensive and lengthy permit processes.
We do declare our continued support of balanced, reasonable, afordable, voluntary and incentive-based approaches to conservation of water resources and habitat enhancement for coho and other aquatic species.
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