Unnatural Greenies: The Two Faces of Radical Environmentalism

by DEVIN NUNES

The Natural Resources Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club and others tell us that the reason the San Joaquin Valley needs to be transformed into a desert is because the Delta pumps are destroying the salmon population and the water is desperately needed to save the Delta ecosystem.

To this end, environmental radicals, operating in the name of Gaia, Mother Earth, the wiccan religion and a host of other cult-like organizations, have litigated, legislated and extorted away the water needed for San Joaquin Valley communities.

Yet despite their ability to command the agenda of our government through powerful alliances in Congress, none of the endangered fish have shown signs of recovery. Actually, more species are in danger today than when the water diversions started, according to the EPA.

So what do you do if you are a green radical whose agenda is losing credibility? Apparently you start attacking sea lions. Within the last few days, we have again witnessed the ludicrous nature of the extreme environmental movement.

On March 8, wildlife officials off the coast of Oregon were dropping explosives into the water and shooting sea lions because they were eating too much salmon. Read the article here.

A few days later, marine mammal experts were struggling to save starving sea lion pups washing up on beaches. We are told that the pups, which are suffering from extreme malnutrition, are being saved because they are the victims of a warming ocean (global warming no doubt). Read the article here.

Was it really El Nino that orphaned and starved sea lion pups near Los Angeles? Or could the pups have lost their parents to crazed wildlife officials armed with clubs, explosives and shot guns?

Perhaps Congress should form an investigative committee. At the very least, during this time of economic crisis, we should know why money is being spent to kill sea lions in Oregon while rescuing their pups in California.

Sea lions killed for eating too many salmon

by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. — Wildlife officials have tried everything to keep sea lions from eating endangered salmon, dropping bombs that explode under water and firing rubber bullets and bean bags from shotguns and boats. Now they are resorting to issuing death sentences to the most chronic offenders.

A California sea lion last week became the first salmon predator to be euthanized this year under a program that has been denounced by those who say there are far greater dangers to salmon — including the series of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia.

This is the second year of the program, which is administered by wildlife officials in Oregon and Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Last year, 11 sea lions were euthanized. Another four were transferred to zoos or aquariums.
The sea lions represent a massive headache each year as chinook salmon begin arriving at the Bonneville Dam east of Portland, congregating in large numbers as they return from the ocean. Sea lions have become keenly aware that the dam is a great spot to feast on salmon, easy pickings as they wait to go up the dam's fish ladders.

"They learn. They come up here and know it's a good place to eat, and sooner or later the salmon are going to arrive," said Robert Stansell, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Officials are tracking 63 additional sea lions listed as repeat offenders. They are identified by scars or by numbers that were branded on them by researchers.

"To get on that list, we have to have observed them as distinct individuals," said Jessica Sall, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. "They are not responding to hazing, and they're eating chinook salmon."

Sea lions have gobbled salmon forever. But their numbers have soared in recent years, as has the number of those cruising upriver to dine on salmon at Bonneville Dam. Frustrations peaked, especially among fishermen who have watched sea lions snatch salmon right out of their gill nets.

The Bonneville crowd of hefty mammals — they can reach more than 600 pounds and eight feet in length — have become the enemy of commercial and sport fisherman, who are allowed to catch and keep hatchery-raised fish, and a concern for conservationists trying to restore migratory runs, since sea lions don't distinguish between hatchery and wild fish.

At least three of the upper Columbia River spring salmon runs that pass through the dam are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, most significantly the spring chinook salmon run.
The sea lions' growing numbers forced state, federal and tribal agencies to intensify efforts to protect the region's multibillion-dollar salmon recovery program.

The sea lions are protected by a 1972 federal law, but an amendment leaves open the possibility that some can be captured or killed if the states request it. Oregon and Washington did in 2006 with the support of Indian tribes and sport and commercial fishing groups.

Two years ago, the National Marine Fisheries Service authorized Oregon and Washington officials to first attempt to catch the sea lions that arrive at the base of Bonneville Dam and hold them 48 hours to see whether an aquarium, zoo or similar facility will take them.

Otherwise, they could be euthanized, along with those that avoid trapping. Only California sea lions can be destroyed. Stellar sea lions cannot be killed because they are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Supporters say the program works. The numbers of sea lions at the dam have dropped, although the 4,489 salmon they ate last year was the highest since tracking began in 2002.

Critics, led by the Humane Society of the United States, say that a far greater danger to salmon are hydroelectric dams on the Columbia, which are an obstacle to salmon both as they head out to sea and when they return from the ocean to spawn.

The Humane Society also says fishermen catch three times as many salmon as sea lions eat.
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission this year has begun tracking the sea lions' movements with acoustic transmitters and cameras placed along the river. Instead of just reacting to the sea lions, the data might help authorities plan a more successful campaign, a fisheries scientist says.

"All of the counts that you hear, all of the impact on salmon, is based on what they can see from the dam," said Doug Hatch, of the inter-tribal commission. "That doesn't account for the whole 150 river miles below the dam."

The frustration comes as experts predict the largest spring chinook run since 1938. Thanks to good ocean conditions for young salmon, an expected 470,000 fish will head up the Columbia River, compared to 169,300 in 2009.

The primary weapon against the sea lions still remains hazing, but even that has limitations.

"The problem is, as soon as the boats go around the corner, they're right back," Stansell said. "Some of the animals that have been there a long time don't even move when they get hit in the back with a rubber bullet. They just keep eating their fish."

Dust Bowl Democrats

by DEVIN NUNES

As you will recall, on February 11th the Dust Bowl Democrats public relations machine touted a new water amendment that would mandate 40% of normal deliveries to our region. Despite the fact that nobody was allowed to read the proposal, valley newspapers, Democrats and farm groups naively rallied to support it.

I have been heavily criticized for suggesting valley residents read and understand the Democrats’ proposal prior to endorsing it— particularly since many of our region’s “leaders” did not do so themselves. For my part, I was not willing to jump onto the Dust Bowl bandwagon for the sake of political expedience, good press or some misguided notion of bi-partisanship.

According to the authors of the plan, we would see action as part of a new jobs package. However, when the Senate passed its jobs bill earlier this week, no California water language was included. Instead, a meeting was held between Obama officials and Congressional Democrats, which resulted in a “promise” of more water. Sound familiar?

This miraculous change of heart on the part of Obama Administration is an acknowledgement that there is water available for valley farmers—even under the draconian Delta smelt biological opinion. This concession is an indictment of the Administration’s 2009 actions that resulted in food lines and economic devastation in communities throughout the San Joaquin valley.

I have been asked, “What does this change mean in real terms?” My answer is that thanks to the hard work of Congressional leaders, the federal government is now poised to provide a 5% water allocation to the San Joaquin Valley. That’s right, 5%. “We have come a long way,” says Senator Feinstein, because Obama Administration officials have promised to search high and low for more water.

San Joaquin Valley residents are again being sold short by Dust Bowl Democrats. This year, we have over 120% of average snowpack and some dams are preparing to spill water that cannot be stored. With these facts, will the Dust Bowl Democrats continue to blame drought as the cause of our problem? Or will they acknowledge that the government, working on behalf of radical environmentalists, caused the crisis? It is time to end San Joaquin valley water shortages. The quickest way to do this is to pass the Turn on the Pumps Act, just like Congress did for New Mexico in 2003.

In closing, I want to point out that I am not alone in my skepticism of the latest Obama Administration promises. One valley Democrat’s reaction was the statement “trust but verify.” Just as Reagan could not accept Soviet arms reduction promises without independent verification of actual disarmament activity, we cannot accept Obama Administration promises that “help is on the way” without proof through their actions.

The California Water Reliability Act

by DEVIN NUNES

Earlier today, I unveiled a new legislative package that will provide long-term water security to the people of California. The bill, titled the California Water Reliability Act, would immediately restore the flow of water to dry San Joaquin Valley communities. At the same time, it will provide the infrastructure needed to deliver long-term water reliability for rural, urban, and environmental purposes.

We need a sensible approach to water policy in California. Infrastructure built in the middle of the last century cannot meet our long-term needs – particularly when radicals in the environmental movement are demanding ever increasing amounts of water for their own misguided purposes.

When the state and federal water projects were built over 40 years ago, more than half of the water was dedicated to satisfying the needs of communities throughout California, including San Joaquin Valley farms. This water made it possible for the largely arid State of California to grow into an economic powerhouse and spurred the development of the world’s most diverse and abundant farming region.

Over time, lawsuits and the actions of liberal lawmakers in Congress have fundamentally changed the operation of California’s water projects by diverting large amounts of fresh water. This is most prominently exposed by the fact that more than 75% of the water that enters the Delta is now being wasted to the ocean in a vain effort to prop-up the faltering Delta ecosystem. The result of these changes is an artificial water shortage; one that I and others have labeled a government-imposed drought. It has also vastly magnified the impact of periodic dry conditions that are part of life in the Golden State.

At some point, families and California communities will have to become the priority of our government again. New dams, new canals, and a renewed commitment to serving the needs of the people are what we require. The California Water Reliability Act will deliver results while others continue to offer lip service.

The bill is both common sense and comprehensive. It will fast-track construction of a Delta bypass, as well as new surface water storage (including Temperance Flat) and a number of water circulation projects. In addition, the plan will rewrite the San Joaquin River Settlement to focus river restoration on a more financially feasible and environmentally sustainable warm water fishery. Finally, it will reform and improve the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to ensure the law attains measureable environmental goals.

We can and will have responsible environmental policies when the California Water Reliability Act becomes law. Radical environmentalists should never have been allowed to decide the terms under which water is allocated. Their record is clear. They take as much as they can get and come back for more. That’s why the San Joaquin River Settlement must be re-written – so that the eastside of the valley isn’t subjected to the same ongoing attack as farmers and communities on the Westside. And that’s why Delta pumping must be restored by Congress until new infrastructure is built to deliver the needed water around the Delta.

For more information on this issue and the California Water Reliability Act, please visit http://www.nunes.house.gov/

Feinstein Water Proposal: Approach With Caution

by DEVIN NUNES

I am sure you have seen press reports over the past two daysthat Senator Feinstein is proposing a New Mexico style fix to our watercrisis.  Please see the Fresno Bee story here for details.

Here's what occurred in New Mexico back in2003.  Radical environmentalists cut-offwater to the citizens of Albuquerque to save the Silvery Minnow (see mytestimony to the House Resources Committee last week here).  Congress, in abipartisan manner, quickly stepped in and provided a two-year fix to thesituation and restored water deliveries.

It must be noted that Senators Feinsteinand Boxer led the charge to defeat a proposal to provide such a fix for ourCentral Valley farmers just last year, despite the fact that theyboth supported the fix for New Mexico in 2003.  However, it wasn’t just theSenators who voted to kill such a proposal; the House Democrats also votedseveral times against a New Mexico style fix last year.

So until we see the proposal in legislative text andunderstand what it does, we should approach it with caution.

Farmers need to be careful and not blindly accept a deal. Don’t be the dog that has been starved and kicked by its owner for years onlyto lick their owners’ hand when a mere morsel is offered under the table. Senator Feinstein says San Joaquin Valley families will get 38-40% of theirwater with this proposal.  Is that a guarantee or a political talking point?

We have been guaranteed a lot from the Obama Administrationand Secretary Salazar over the past year and have gotten nothing in return.  Are they going to publicly support this proposal in writing, or leave uswith empty promises again?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m encouraged that the Democrats arefinally waking up to the problems in the San Joaquin Valley.  Yet, I must ask: What has changed?  Over the past twelve months, the Democrats have flatlyrejected a New Mexico style fix.  Then, suddenly, in an election year, theycome out of the woodwork to help.

So, is this an election year ploy to protect Democrats, orare they actually going to do something to protect the Valley?

They Really Want the Pumps Shut Off

by DEVIN NUNES

Yesterday, the Fish and Wildlife Service filed the required 48 hour notice of implementing the Delta smelt Biological Opinion.  They found two smelt entrained in the pumps which triggers the BiOp.  Therefore, the pumps will basically be shut down Wednesday at 5 pm.

Friday we get a two week TRO on the Killer Whale BiOp (some good news), then they smack us with the other hand and implement the Delta smelt BiOp.  If I was a conspiracy theorist, I would say that they magically found two smelt because a TRO was issued last week.  They really want the pumps shut off.