Thursday October 3, 2024
Los Angeles Times —
State and federal officials have decided to curtail additional water flows intended to support endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta this fall — a controversial step that is being praised by major California water districts but condemned by environmental groups as a significant weakening of protections for imperiled fish.
The debate centers on a measure that calls for prioritizing additional flows for endangered delta smelt, a species that has suffered major declines and is thought to be nearing extinction in the wild. The step of releasing a pulse of water through the delta in September and October is typically triggered when the state experiences relatively wet conditions, as it has during the last two years.
A coalition of environmental and fishing groups said these flows — called “Fall X2” water releases — are vital for delta smelt, and that the decision by state and federal officials to suspend the measure this year poses an added threat for the fish.
“At this time next year, we may be looking at the extinction of a fish species that was once incredibly abundant,” said Gary Bobker, senior policy director for the group Friends of the River. “And it will have been completely preventable.”