5-1-09

 
5-1-09
Merced Sun-Star
Army Corps of Engineers approves UC Merced expansion plan
Permit allows growth onto some vernal pool habitat at site...JONAH OWEN LAMB
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/821886.html
UC Merced has been given the green light to begin its expansion.
The go-ahead came after years of environmental wrangling and consultation over the campus' impact on endangered species in the area.
After almost eight years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved on Wednesday UC Merced's application to fill in wetlands protected by the Clean Water Act, a critical step required before any expansion of the campus could begin.
UC Merced's OK'd expansion plan will span more than 1,000 acres of open land, enabling the university's student body to grow from its current count of 2,718 to an eventual 25,000 by 2035, according to documents filed with the Corps of Engineers. The agency has regulatory oversight of the project because of federally protected wetlands on it.
The permit's acceptance came after long consultation among the university and state and federal bodies. The result led to shrinking the university project's footprint so that only 85 acres of protected wetlands will be built on instead of 121 acres, according to filings.
"It's a balance between providing them the best facility with the least environmental impact," said John Prettyman, a Corps of Engineers spokesman, about the project.
For university representatives the news was the fulfillment of years working toward the goal of growing in both size and status.
"Receipt of this important permit is a critical step forward in the process of establishing a major 21st century research university right here in the San Joaquin Valley where the needs and opportunities are enormous," said UC Merced Chancellor Steve Kang in a statement.
The university's initial application to the Corps, filed in 2002, had been revised to take into consideration environmental concerns by reducing the footprint of the campus away from threatened wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act.
But according to the Corps, nine threatened or endangered species will still be affected by the plan, including the vernal pool fairy shrimp, Colusa grass, the San Joaquin kit fox and the California Tiger salamander, among others. The project area also includes more than 15 acres of vernal pools, a rare habitat.
"This is one of the last contiguous large vernal pool habitats left in California," said Nancy Haley, who oversaw the UC's expansion project for the Corps.
The environmental effects from the plan meant that the university had to undertake mitigation measures to offset those effects.
The proposed development of 1,544 acres south of the current 195-acre campus was the "least environmentally damaging practicable alternative," noted Haley. In fact, by law that was the only alternative the Corps was permitted to accept, she said.
Haley, who is the chief of the Army Corps' Northern California regulatory division, has been working for the Corps of Engineers since 1990. She said she has never denied a permit. "Nationally, we deny less than one percent of all the permits that are applied for," she said.
To offset the destruction of the 85 acres of wetlands, the university will set aside 2,318 acres of wetlands in Merced for permanent preservation. In addition, the university has set aside 26,000 acres of grasslands in the county with help from the state, according to Janet Young, the university's associate chancellor.
While the permit will give the go-ahead for part of UC Merced's Long Term Development Plan, which includes the campus and campus community expansion, more than 1,000 acres of privately held property south of the current campus has yet to complete its environmental permitting, said Patti Waid Istas, a spokeswoman for the university.
The university's first step in expansion will be the construction of a solar panel array south of the current campus within a few months, said Young. It hopes to do further expansion work within the year.
Cost of UC Merced graduation soars to $700,000...SCOTT JASON
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/821888.html
UC Merced's commencement budget has ballooned from $100,000 to $700,000 after first lady Michelle Obama accepted the invitation to give the keynote address.
Campus leaders, busy simply planning the large-scale event that's only 15 days away, have yet to secure all funding streams, spokeswoman Tonya Luiz said Thursday.
The budget estimate represents the most costly situation, and organizers are pursuing ways to defray the bill.
"We have her first public address," Luiz said. "It's our obligation to make Merced look good."
Campus planners are trying to be as careful with cash and hope the bills won't be as high as projected. Nevertheless, they want the university to shine May 16 when Obama steps to the lectern to inspire the graduating class.
The city's downtown festival will cost about $30,000, which leaders believe will entirely be covered by sponsorships.
AT&T, the Educational Employees Credit Union and Kaiser Permanente have collectively committed to donate $80,000 to the university's ceremony, Luiz said. Even though it's Obama's first major speech since the election, lining up financial support from major companies has proved tough.
"It's the end of the fiscal year. There's not a whole lot of extra money in their budgets," she said.
Sponsors will get their logos on the JumboTrons and on the gift bags given to graduates. However, there won't be any one-on-one time with the first lady, she said.
The top cost is an estimated $300,000 for an audio/visual firm to broadcast the event on site and provide a live feed for media outlets.
"If the entire world has its eye on UC Merced, we want to make sure (the signal is) crystal clear and not crashing," Luiz added.
One hope is that a major television network will offer to handle that task.
University officials may approach the UC Office of the President to see if it's willing to help foot the bill.
Campus officials have been hammering out the logistics for their special guest. They ordered six 10-stall restroom trailers, which will probably cost about $15,000.
Security, which likely will be handled by officers from within the University of California system, is projected to be $90,000. Metal detectors, if needed, could cost up to $5,000.
While students' friends and family watch Obama, many local residents are expected to be downtown for the city's first Cap & Town festival. Televisions will be tuned to the speech.
The event was a long-term goal that got fast-tracked when Obama announced her visit.
The Bob Hart Square festival has a $30,000 budget, city spokesman Mike Conway said.
Merced leaders have already received commitments from two local banks to pay for the Cap & Town festival downtown.
Rabobank will donate $10,000 to the event. Westamerica will give $5,000 and send some of its employees as volunteers.
EMS.NET of Livermore has donated $5,000 in telecommunications equipment to get the live television feed downtown.
Sponsors will display their logos on banners and fliers. Top-tier sponsors will be recognized at a City Council meeting, Conway said.
Other businesses approached haven't yet made a decision, he said. The city is prepared to tap the Downtown Improvement District, a fund of special taxes downtown shops pay on their business license, if the event goes over budget.
No general fund money will go toward the festival, he noted. There'll be minimal overtime because anyone working on Saturday will take a different day off. The only exception may be public works employees who have to pick up trash after the celebration.
With the university's expansion plans given the green light, Luiz said it's likely a road along the commencement site will be paved. "We're looking at making long-term investments to the campus," she said. "All eyes are on Merced right now."
Loose Lips: Call it the 'Spinal Tap' defense
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/821913.html
Keith G. Wagner, attorney for the anti-Wal-Mart distribution center folks, dashed off a handful of cases he's fought since earning his law degree in 2000, part of his speech at a recent meeting of the group Merced Alliance for Responsible Growth.
There was trouble in Paradise when Wal-Mart wanted to build a supercenter in the town's gateway. OK, that was the only pun he cracked.
But he said he was also involved in battles in Concord and Stockton.
Sure, he may take on the world's largest retailer, but he left out the real behemoth he took on. The real juggernaut that ruins people's lives.
Yes. The DMV.
Lips did a little sleuthing that we like to call a Google search and learned Wagner traded blows in 2007 with everyone's favorite government agency -- after the IRS, of course.
Wagner's Toyota hybrid (what else would an environmental attorney drive?) sported a license plate that read "UP 2 11."
Seems some motorist decided it meant "go to hell" and ratted the pony-tailed driver to the state, which asked that he return the offensive plate.
Wagner sent back a 27-page retort, explaining that it's a reference to the mockumentary film, "This Is Spinal Tap."
One of the rock band's guitarists boasts that the knobs on one of his amps go to 11. The filmmaker asks why they don't just make 10 louder.
The guitarist pauses and seems to ponder the question and replies, "These go to 11."
Besides a two-page explanation with a hint of snark, Wagner included a transcript from the movie and photocopies of "Bible Numerics" to prove that "11" isn't somehow Satanic.
Lips put in a couple phone calls to Wagner to find out if he succeeded in defeating the jolly red-tape giant. We never heard back. If he did whip the DMV, Wal-Mart should be scared, very scared.
Modesto Bee
Study: Grazing threatens wildlife habitat in West...SCOTT SONNER, Associated Press Writer
http://www.modbee.com/state/v-print/story/686045.html
RENO, Nev. -- Conservationists say in a new report that livestock grazing poses a threat to a wide variety of fish and wildlife across more than three-fourths of their dwindling habitat on federal land in the West.
That includes practically all of the remaining habitat of the Greater sage grouse, a hen-sized game bird the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering adding to the list of threatened or endangered species in 11 Western states from California to Wyoming, according to the report by WildEarth Guardians, which wants the bird protected.
Using satellite mapping and federal records, the environmental group last year began a study matching wildlife habitat and U.S. grazing allotments across more than 260 million acres of federal land in the West.
"The results confirm - in graphic form - previous research finding that incessant, ubiquitous public lands grazing has contributed to the decline of native wildlife," concludes the report entitled "Western Wildlife Under Hoof." The report is scheduled to be released Friday.
The group said continued grazing in ever-shrinking habitat hampers the recovery of fish and wildlife and in some cases threatens them with extinction.
Cattle and sheep trample vegetation, damage soil, spread invasive weeds, spoil water and deprive native wildlife of forage, the report said. It notes that then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said in 2005 that livestock grazing "is the most damaging use of public land."
Mark Salvo, WildEarth Guardians' grazing program specialist and author of the report, said the new data suggests livestock have "done more damage to the Earth than the chain saw and bulldozer combined."
Jeff Eisenberg, director of federal lands for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, criticized the findings as part of an effort to shut down grazing on federal lands.
"There's a number of environmental groups that have decided the best way to spend their time and the money of their funders is to eliminate the families and communities that have made the West what it is today," he told AP in an e-mail. "These groups don't deserve a dignified response."
Don Kirby, president of the Society for Range Management and director of North Dakota State University's School of Natural Resource Sciences, said livestock grazing is an important part of a "landscape management toolbox" that can be used to reduce wildfires and improve wildlife habitat.
"Western rangelands and the wildlife species that live there have coexisted with grazing by large herbivores for tens of thousands of years," Kirby said.
The report found livestock grazing is permitted on 91 percent of the Greater sage grouse's habitat and that grazing operations are active on 72 percent of the habitat. Grazing is active on 55 percent of the federal range of the Gunnison sage grouse and is permitted on 84 percent of it.
Likewise, grazing is permitted on about 80 percent of public land in the historic range of several cutthroat trout species, including 88 percent of the Lahontan and 76 percent of the Bonneville.
It's also permitted on about 75 percent of the federal habitat of four species of prairie dogs.
"The species included in our report are representative of the hundreds of wildlife species that are threatened by public lands grazing," said Salvo, whose group has offices in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
Other species examined included:
- Mexican spotted owl, 68 percent permitted, 67 percent active
- Mexican gray wolf, 82 percent permitted, 82 percent active
- Chiricahua leopard frog, 82 percent permitted, 75 percent active
- Sonoran desert tortoise, 53 percent permitted, 47 percent active
The bulk of the federal land studied is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, which issued grazing permits and leases to 15,799 ranchers and other operators covering 128 million acres of U.S. land in 2006.
BLM spokesman Jeff Krauss said the agency has not fully reviewed the report but maintains "well-managed grazing provides numerous ecological and environmental benefits."
Among other things, WildEarth Guardians recommends buying out permits from ranchers and others willing to remove their livestock from grazing land.
"There is a greater economic value in non-consumptive uses of public land - hunting, fishing, birdwatching, hiking, camping - than livestock grazing," the report said.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife shares concerns about dwindling wildlife populations but believes there is a place for grazing on public land, spokesman Chris Healy said.
If ranchers end up selling their land, it could be subdivided and lead to development even more problematic for wildlife, he said.
"It behooves us to get everybody who uses the land to be part of the solution and that's what we've been trying to do with the sage grouse. If one sector or user of the land feels like they are being ganged up on, the odds of coming up with a solution that will work are not good," he said.
Sacramento Bee
Jeffrey Michael: Water won't wash away Valley's recession...Jeffrey Michael
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/1825084.html
What is causing unemployment in the San Joaquin Valley? According to water contractors and their political supporters, a "regulatory drought" has eliminated water-dependent farm jobs, and they point to high unemployment rates in farming communities as proof. Their solution is to suspend the Endangered Species Act and build a multibillion-dollar peripheral canal around the Delta.
However, the facts don't support the water contractors' view. The latest payroll data through March finds that farm jobs have grown faster than any other sector of the economy in the past 12 months, even outpacing health care. In fact, farm jobs have been growing throughout the three-year drought. Compared with 2006, farm jobs have increased 5 percent in California, while private nonfarm jobs have decreased 5 percent.
The same is true in Fresno County, home to communities such as Mendota that have been the focus of water exporters' news releases.
In Fresno County,farm payrolls increased 3.2 percent in the past 12 months,compared with a 3.4 percent decrease in private, nonfarm payrolls.
Since the drought began three years ago, Fresno County farm payrolls have increased by 12 percent, while nonfarm employment has crashed, led by a loss of more than 7,000 construction jobs.
In light of these statistics, how can water exporters, politicians and others claim that rising unemployment in the Valley is a result of water shortages for farms rather than the broader recession? The foreclosure crisis is at the heart of the recession, and the Central Valley has the highest foreclosure rates in the United States.
Homebuilding has shut down, and service sectors have cratered, costing many former farmworkers their higher paying, nonseasonal jobs.
Water contractors point to 40 percent unemployment in Mendota as evidence of the water crisis. These unemployment estimates for towns aren't a current survey, but are crude extrapolations from the 2000 Census, the last time any real data were compiled for these areas.
The 2000 census gives a good picture of the prosperity that increased water pumping would bring to Mendota's hard-working residents. Delta water exports were above average in 2000, and local farm employment was at a nine-year peak. Despite this, the 2000 census found unemployment in Mendota exceeded 32 percent, highest of the state's 494 towns.
Per-capita income was below $8,000, the lowest level in the state, nearly 20 percent lower than Mexico and many developing nations in Africa, Eastern Europe and South America. Not surprisingly, water contractors don't issue news releases about unemployment when they have water.
In fact, growers have been complaining about shortages in recent years, even as Mendota's unemployment estimate was 25 to 30 percent.
There will be substantially fewer seasonal farm jobs this year as thousands of acres are idled, and this will further increase the pain of the recession in farming areas south of the Delta water pumps. As these impacts appear, it is important to consider them over the entire three-year span of the drought, rather than treat agriculture's recent unsustainable peak as normal.
In the early years of the drought,agriculture expanded in response to a commodity bubble that more than doubled crop prices, farm profits, and farmland values in a span of a few years. Much of the increase is attributed to permanent crops in desert regions with interruptible junior water rights. Between 2006 and 2008, more than 50,000 acres of new almond orchards were planted, mostly south of the Delta pumps, while a nut glut led to a price collapse for all growers. Similarly, California's enormous dairy industry expanded rapidly, and now taxpayers are spending millions to buy surplus milk and prop up prices in an oversupplied market.
Taxpayers are the forgotten stakeholders in the various Delta planning processes. With no one protecting taxpayer interests, it's no surprise that Delta Vision recommended the most costly options to the governor. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan does not plan to make a cost estimate of their plan until after it is complete.
Recent state tax increases are hurting families, businesses and private sector job creation, while California has the lowest bond rating of any state. Water contractors think the state should borrow billions for their cause, crowding out investments in education, energy, transportation and other critical areas that will support the high-paying jobs of the future.
Their plan would also have adverse impacts on Delta agriculture, recreation and tourism, commercial fishing and the jobs supported by these industries.
Delta Vision, water contractors and now the Bay Delta Conservation Plan are primarily making economic arguments for their plans. While spending millions on engineering studies and public relations, the state is not sponsoring any serious research to comprehensively evaluate economic effects of the water plan.
California's overburdened taxpayers deserve better.
No eagle eye needed to spy Swainson's hawks in Natomas...Niesha Lofing
http://www.sacbee.com/latest/v-print/story/1826551.html
A local research project's Web cam is allowing birders and curious types to watch an active Swainson's hawk nest in Natomas, no binoculars needed.
The NestCam is part of a research project on the hawk's reproductive ecology and is one of several studies being conducted by members of the Swainson's hawk Technical Advisory Committee of California.
To view the NestCam, go to www.dca.ca.gov/stream/hawks.
Michael Bradbury, an environmental scientist with the state Department of Water Resources who is leading the project, wrote in an e-mail that the Swainson's hawk seen in the Web cam returned from their wintering grounds to Natomas at the end of March.
The female hawk is the darker of the two and the male can be identified by the large white patch on his face, chin and throat, said Bradbury, who is a specialist in ornithology.
The female, who has almost no white on her head, also is larger than the male.
Since returning to the region, the hawks have been constructing the nest, mating and defending their territory from other Swainson's hawks, competitors such as owls and other hawks and hostile birds, such as crows.
The female began laying eggs in late April and will lay or has laid up to four eggs, with each egg coming about two days apart, Bradbury said.
The eggs will hatch in about four weeks, if successful.
The female is primarily responsible for incubating the eggs, but the male will take over for short periods after bringing food back for the female.
"She usually leaves the nest to eat, and to stretch her wings," Bradbury wrote.
After the young hatch, the female will serve as the primary caregiver, and in about six weeks, the young will have grown to the size and weight of the adults and will be ready to fly.
The project is supported through several state agencies. The state Department of Water Resources provided funding for the Web cam system, the state Department of Consumer Affairs provided IT and logistic support, and the Department of Fish and Game provided funding, permits, approvals and help, Bradbury said.
San Francisco Chronicle
Low snow, reservoir levels force rationing...Kelly Zito
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/01/MNDM17CBMV.DTL&type=printable
April's warm, dry weather melted the Sierra Nevada snowpack to two-thirds of normal, according to the last measure of the season Thursday, as agencies serving cities and farms across California prepare to cut water use this summer.
State officials say this is shaping up to be the 10th-driest three-year period on record, based on the amount of meltwater expected to run from the mountains and into streams and reservoirs this spring.
A month ago, snowpack was 80 percent of normal. Now it is 66 percent, compared with 72 percent at this time last year.
"Normally, we would have kept more of (the snowpack), but April was sunny and windy, and so a lot of it melted into the ground," said Elissa Lynn, chief meteorologist with the state Department of Water Resources, which conducts the winter snow surveys. "We have the snowpack we're going to have."
The precipitation that is forecast this weekend isn't expected to add much to snow levels and reservoir levels hammered by three dry years in a row. Storage in Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville, two of the largest reservoirs in the state, are at 76 percent and 70 percent of normal, respectively.
While those figures don't appear staggeringly low, such reservoirs are required to release certain amounts of water for flood control, recreation, power generation and fish-spawning - uses that don't always coincide with peak water urban and agricultural demand.
The water network is further impacted by federal orders to limit pumping through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to protect the endangered delta smelt. The delta funnels water to about 25 million Californians.
As a result, water agencies that rely heavily on the state and federal systems are taking steps to protect dwindling supplies. Almost 30 water districts around the state have enacted some form of mandatory rationing, up from just over 20 last week, Lynn said.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District and city of Antioch are instituting 15 percent reductions. Agencies serving cities from Calistoga to Livermore are urging customers to curb water consumption by 10 or 15 percent, while others are restricting certain uses, such as landscape irrigation or car-washing.
Central Valley farmers face even deeper cutbacks. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the system that delivers water to most of the agriculture industry, recently said farmers south of the delta would receive about 10 percent of their normal supply. Earlier this year, the bureau said farmers would receive no water at all.
The state's water agency expects California to lose about 20,000 agriculture jobs and as much as $644 million as a result of the drought - figures that spurred thousands of farmworkers to take part in a four-day march last month to draw attention to the impacts of the water crisis on the Central Valley.
For its part, the state has launched a $4 million "Save Our Water" public education campaign aimed at helping people gauge their water consumption and improve indoor and outdoor water efficiency.
Many experts agree that widespread use of drought-resistant landscaping and less-thirsty appliances is long overdue and offers the best chance of preserving a resource that will grow less plentiful as the population expands and climate change brings longer dry spells.
With cities, farmers and advocates for the environment increasingly vying for that resource, behaviors will probably change even more in the years ahead, according to Spreck Rosenkrans, an analyst at Environmental Defense Fund.
"California will be forced to make difficult choices between our natural environment and significant investments in water use efficiencies in our farms and cities," Rosenkrans said. "If the drought continues, we'll be forced to make those kinds of decisions sooner rather than later."
Summer of conservation
Some of the Bay Area agencies taking steps to promote water conservation this summer:
San Francisco: 10 percent voluntary reduction
Santa Rosa: 15 percent voluntary reduction
North Marin, Novato: 15 percent voluntary cut
Zone 7, eastern Alameda County: 10 percent voluntary cut
Santa Clara Valley Water District: 15 percent cut
Antioch: Mandatory cuts of 15 percent for homes, businesses and farms, and 5 percent for industry
Source: Association of California Water Agencies
U.S. extends disaster order for chinook salmon...Peter Fimrite
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/01/BAIN17CH7K.DTL&type=printable
The paltry number of chinook salmon in the ocean and rivers in California and Oregon this year prompted U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Thursday to extend the declaration of a fishery disaster for a second year.
Locke announced that he would release $53.1 million in disaster funds to aid fishing communities suffering from the collapse of the Sacramento River fishery. The fall run of chinook in the Sacramento was once so abundant that it supported commercial salmon fishermen all along the West Coast.
The lack of fish forced the Pacific Fishery Management Council in April to recommend a salmon fishing ban off the coast of California to a point just south of Cape Falcon, Ore.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will finalize the management council's recommendation today, halting all commercial fishing of chinook salmon in the ocean off the two states. Some coho salmon fishing will be allowed off Oregon.
"The extension of the disaster declaration will ensure that aid will be available to affected fisherman and their families to help offset the economic impact of the closure of the commercial fisheries," Locke said. "These funds can also aid fishing-related businesses, such as ice and bait suppliers, who may struggle with the financial effects of the closure."
The money comes from a $170 million congressional pot established last year to help the fishing industry. California will get $46.4 million and $6.7 million will go to Oregon. The decision came after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Oregon Gov. Theodore Kulongoski asked Locke for additional aid.
"California's salmon are not only a vital part of our state's overall economy, they directly affect the livelihoods of thousands of California fisherman and their families," said Schwarzenegger, who has declared a state of emergency. "I will continue to work with Secretary Locke and the rest of the Obama administration to help those impacted by the closure."
The collapse has been blamed on a host of factors, including diversions of river water for farming, pollution, too many weak hatchery fish and climatic conditions that have reduced the amount of salmon food in the ocean.
Commerce Dept. releases $53M for salmon disaster...MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/30/national/w161701D94.DTL&type=printable
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Commerce Department released $53 million to Oregon and California on Thursday to help West Coast salmon fishermen after the third fishery failure in four years.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke declared the latest disaster in a letter to the governors of the two states. He cited continued low number of fish returning to the Sacramento River in California. The river is the second largest producer of salmon on the West Coast.
Locke released $53.1 million in unspent money from a fishery disaster declared last year. A total of $46.4 million will go to California and $6.7 million to Oregon.
Locke's decision opens the way for Congress to allocate more money for salmon fishermen. Congress appropriated $170 million in disaster aid in 2008 and $60 million in 2006.
"The extension of the disaster declaration will ensure that aid will be available to affected fisherman and their families to help offset the economic impact of the closure of the commercial fisheries," Locke said. "These funds can also aid fishing-related businesses, such as ice and bait suppliers, who may struggle with the financial effects of the closure."
Fishing for chinook salmon, also known as king salmon, has been closed for months off California and most of Oregon due to dangerously low returns to the Sacramento.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., hailed the decision, which he said will help keep fishing families afloat in the short term until efforts by the Obama administration to improve fish runs pay off.
"Secretary Locke's timely and appropriate response is a clear indication of how fishing communities in Oregon, Washington and California will benefit from having a commerce secretary from the West Coast who is familiar with their issues," Wyden said. Locke, who took office in March, is a former two-term governor of Washington.
West Coast salmon fishermen have been struggling since the mid-1990s, when cutbacks to protect threatened and endangered species allowed salmon farms to fill markets with low-priced fish.
Fishermen started handling their catch more carefully, offering a premium product, and prices rose until 2006, when the number of fish returning to the Klamath River in Northern California plummeted, prompting the first fishery failure declaration for Oregon and California.
Seasons were generous in 2007, but catches were poor, and in 2008 forecasts up and down the coast were dire, prompting the second fishery failure declaration, this one covering California, Oregon and Washington. Fishermen, tribes and related businesses were eligible for federal money.
This year, the collapse focused on the Sacramento River. Returns to the Columbia River, the region's biggest salmon producer, were on the increase. Coho returns in Oregon and points north were also on the upswing, allowing some commercial and recreational fishing off the coasts of Oregon and Washington.
Inside Bay Area
Sharp debate over Sharp golf course...Elizabeth Pfeffer, San Mateo County Times
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/
ci_12267477
SAN FRANCISCO — Changes are coming to Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica.
On Thursday, the Goverment Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 to recommend legislation to the full board that would turn some or all of the 410-acre park over to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Sharp Park is home to the San Francisco garter snake and California red-legged frog, both endangered species that the city of San Francisco is bound to protect under the Endangered Species Act.
The fate of the park has been a hot-button issue for San Francisco and Pacifica residents alike.
Its 18-hole golf course is regarded as one of the premier affordable greens in Northern California. But golfers' adamancy in retaining the course as it is has been met with fierce opposition by those more concerned for the endangered species that live in the adjacent wetlands.
The ordinance approved on Thursday was brought to committee by San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who said he hoped it would help the city synthesize its information on Sharp Park as it faces another year of budget deficits.
"We need to get a handle on what our relationship with the park should be," Mirkarimi told a room of about 60 people in San Francisco City Hall, most of whom were there to comment on the park.
Another 40 or so people were in an overflow room. Public comment on the matter lasted more than three hours.
The San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which currently oversees Sharp Park, reported on the fiscal and environmental costs of the park and discussed the development plans consultants would draw up if the legislation is approved.
The ordinance essentially calls for the creation of three potential plans of restoration for the park: one that would retain the golf course but make changes mandated under the Environmental Protection Act, a second that would do away with the golf course, and a third option that would be a combination of the first two.
It is rare for a city like San Francisco to own parks outside its border, but a private owner donated the park to San Francisco in 1912.
Pacifica Mayor Julie Lancelle asked the committee for more involvement and transparency in the critical decision-making process.
"This is not a partnership when I'm standing at the podium and given a few minutes," Lancelle said to resounding applause.
Public opinion was varied but divisive. One volunteer for Restore Sharp Park, Alyssa Byrd of Pacifica, was brought to tears by boos from the pro-golf section of the audience following her comments.
While the golfers were the most boisterous group in attendance, many of them delivered a message about valuing recreational spaces for senior citizens. Ron Francis of Pacifica said he took up golfing before retiring a year ago so he would have something to do.
A few speakers said development plans for Sharp Park should entail a compromise.
Tina Heringer, 43, lives in San Francisco but plays golf in Pacifica, where her mother lives.
"I recommend that you grant the garter snake a mulligan, and let the frog play through," she said.
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Davenport cement plant faces new financial pressure with strict environmental regulations...Kurtis Alexander
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_12269359
DAVENPORT -- The Cemex-owned cement plant, already closed temporarily because of the weak economy, will likely face another financial setback in the form of new environmental regulations.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under recently appointed Administrator Lisa Jackson, has proposed strict limits on mercury emissions at cement kilns. According to the EPA, cement production is the fourth largest source of the nation's airborne mercury -- due to the raw materials and fuel required for making cement.
And curbing the pollutant is costly. This is especially true at older cement facilities like the century-old operation in Davenport, which EPA records show is among the country's top 20 mercury-emitting plants.
Cemex officials said Thursday the Davenport facility, which last reported 163 pounds of annual mercury emissions, would likely have to reduce the pollutant's output by 70 percent under the proposed rules.
"We don't know the theoretical costs right now," said Cemex spokeswoman Jennifer Borgen in an e-mail to the Sentinel. "We are first trying to determine what technology exists and if it could even be applied to the plant."
The proposed regulations come as the federal government responds to lawsuits by environmental groups demanding a tougher stand on mercury. The EPA says the rules would reduce mercury emissions 81 percent across the nation's roughly 110 cement plants.
Mercury is a neurotoxin that. when released into the air, eventually settles in water where it contaminates fish. For humans who eat fish, it can cause damage to the nervous system, particularly in pregnant women, children and the elderly.
"It's so toxic in such tiny amounts," said James Pew, attorney for Earthjustice, one of the groups that brought suit against the government. "These regulations would go a long way to cleaning things up. ... I think there probably would be some local effect even on the ocean waters in Monterey Bay."
State regulators, who have long monitored the concentration of mercury in the air, have said the Cemex facility has not exceeded safe levels in Davenport.
The federal regulations, though, would tighten the controls, and not only for mercury, but hydrocarbons, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal, before the terms are finalized.
Industry representatives say the EPA is going too far.
Andy O'Hare, vice president of regulatory affairs for the Portland Cement Association, said the cost of controlling the compounds is prohibitively high. He says the rules would shutter several of the top-polluting plants, forcing Americans to turn to unregulated overseas markets to meet their cement needs.
The Davenport facility is already feeling the crunch of an industry slump. In March, Cemex officials closed the plant with the hope that things would improve and the facility could reopen in six months.
But Borgen said Thursday that the timeline depends on "the economy and the demand."
Many remain skeptical about the plant's future, especially as the cost of environmental controls continues to rise.
Beyond mercury, the facility has dealt with the discovery of cancer-causing chromium 6, which last year brought operations to a standstill and required an expensive cleanup.
Monterey Bay air district officials, who monitor the Davenport plant and rely on its permit fees for their budget, have already begun plotting a contingency plan should the plant should cease operations.
A closure would ripple well beyond the air district and deep into the community. About 130 people are regularly employed at the plant, and the facility has historically been one of the county's biggest taxpayers.
Eric Karo, who works at the plant and is president of one of the unions, says he fully supports environmental upgrades but is frustrated by the prospect that American facilities could give way to less responsible foreign competitors.
"It's really hard for people here," he said.
CNN Money
No bankruptcy help for homeowners
Measure to modify delinquent loans in bankruptcy court fails in Senate. Obama administration loses big stick to prod loan servicers to aid troubled borrowers...Tami Luhby
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/30/news/economy/cramdown/
index.htm?postversion=2009043017
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Obama administration lost a bid to add a powerful weapon in its fight against foreclosure Thursday, after the Senate voted down a proposal to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages.
The defeat left many housing advocates questioning the effectiveness of the president's loan modification plan. The so-called cramdown provision, which would allow judges to reduce mortgage principal, would have put pressure on servicers to modify loans before borrowers file for bankruptcy.
The financial industry lobbied hard against the bill, arguing that letting judges change mortgage contracts would add instability to the market and raise interest rates. Senate Republicans and some moderate Democrats were concerned about the bill's impact and about the growing resentment among homeowners in good standing.
The bill was defeated by a 51-45 vote. The House had passed similar legislation last month.
The vote comes on the day that a new report showed foreclosure starts spiking to a record high in March. Servicers initiated foreclosure proceedings against 290,000 borrowers, according to Hope Now, a coalition of lenders, servicers, investors and housing counselors. That's the highest monthly total since the group began tracking data in mid-2007.
In offering the bill, Sen. Richard Durbin, R-Ill., cited Moody's statistics showing that 8.1 million borrowers are facing foreclosure. The bankruptcy provision could prevent up to 1.7 million of them, he said.
What now?
Bankruptcy reform was a key part of Obama's foreclosure prevention plan, which was introduced in mid-February. It aims to encourage servicers to be more aggressive in modifying loans through a mix of carrots, in the form of incentive payments, and the stick of cramdowns. Servicers have come under fire for not helping enough homeowners through voluntary initiatives.
Now, it remains to be seen how many people will get relief, experts said.
"It won't render the loan modification program useless, but it removed an important ingredient that would have helped realign everybody's interests," Barry Zigas, director of housing policy for the Consumer Federation of America, said of the measure's defeat.
Servicers covering 75% of the nation's mortgages are now participating in the modification program, which calls for banks to lower troubled borrowers' monthly payments to 31% of their pre-tax income. Many major servicers said they have beefed up their loan workout departments to handle more calls.
However, most just started accepting applications, so experts say they won't be able to judge the program until the fall at the earliest. By then, hundreds of thousands of borrowers could lose their homes.
"If it's not working, it's kind of too late then," said Adam Levitin, an associate law professor at Georgetown University. Cramdown was designed as "a backstop to protect homeowners if modifications didn't work. It's supposed to be a safety net to catch homeowners."
The cramdown measure also addressed a major hole in the Obama plan -- helping homeowners who owe far more than their homes are worth. Bankruptcy judges could address this problem by reducing the principal balance on the home, said Bruce Dorpalen, director of housing counseling for Acorn Housing.
More modifications being done
Servicers, however, have been ramping up their modification efforts in recent months. About 134,000 mortgages were adjusted in March, nearly 20,000 more than the average since September, according to Hope Now.
Housing counselors acknowledge that servicers have been more willing to do modify loans by reducing interest rates. The Obama program's incentives -- servicers get $1,000 for each modified loan and more if the borrower doesn't redefault -- will likely encourage bankers to do even more.
"The program will be very effective at keeping people in their homes," said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, a lobbying group. "Their efforts are reaping huge rewards for people."