California Endangered Species: People or Animals

by Stephen Frank

The Delta Smelt is NOT the problem. The use of the Delta Smelt as the excuse to cut off water to people and farms is the problem. This is not about savings species—it is about pushing jobs and families out of the State.

“The San Francisco Chronicle ran a column claiming the Delta Smelt problems are not the fault of over pumping of water. “Moreover, no study has shown a definitive link between the pumps and smelt viability. As a federal judge overseeing litigation concerning the delta smelt has noted, there is no one cause for the smelt’s decline. And yet, as a 2008 CALFED report indicates, the pumps are “blamed for many of the delta’s ills,” despite their being “no conclusive evidence that export pumping has caused population declines” of delta fish species.”

Thanks to the smelt and other fish, millions of acres of feet of water is forced to be flowed out to the ocean. An acre foot of water provides enough water for a family of 3-4 for a year—so you see how this harms us. As you pay your water bill this summer remember this article and remember, it wasn’t the drought, it was government that forced you to choose between vacations or food and paying for water.