Posted by Mike McKenzie on 3/4/2009, 11:59 am
67.187.144.213
NEW BILL TACKLES DELTA SMELT PREDATOR
Assemblywoman Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield, introduced a bill Friday to address the declining endangered Delta smelt population, which has led to a court-ordered reduction in water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
AB 1253 would lift gaming restrictions on the striped bass, a non-native species of fish that prays on the smelt, as well as the endangered Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.
Fuller acknowledged the bill won't solve the state's water problems on its own but said it is a step that could be taken with little or no cost.
"This bill is just trying to strike a balance," Fuller said in a press release. "The state's water system is failing and we are taking all these steps to alleviate the impact on endangered fish, which has a major effect on people up and down the state that don't have enough water."
The bill is sponsored by the Modesto Irrigation District and also supported by the Kern County Water Agency.
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