Articles

Real failure : Obama administration refuses to admit that the ESA is hurting the Central Valley

September 23, 2009 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton The Obama administration has previously had trouble admitting that the Endangered Species act has prevented water from flowing to the Central Valley. The last week has seen this disturbing trend continue. The Interior Department's Sept. 17 "Reality Check" merely states that "the temporary restrictions th ...

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The Endangered Species Act and the importance of Sean Hannity

October 07, 2009 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton Judging by the reaction of some environmentalists, you might think that Sean Hannity's visit to the Central Valley last month was the beginning of the end. According to Patriot Daily, Hannity's appearance was simply an attempt to "scare and divide Americans." To Dan Bacher (via Aquafornia), the thousands ...

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Our federal government : quick to regulate, slow to liberate

October 11, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brandon Middleton You may recall that Pacific Legal Foundation recently filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, asking the agency to remove the valley elderberry longhorn beetle from the list of federally-protected species under the Endangered Species Act.   The basis for PLF's petition was the Service' ...

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The people win, junk science loses

December 14, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author:  Damien M. Schiff Below is PLF's press release applauding Judge Wanger's favorable ruling today in The Consolidated Delta Smelt Cases. … ...

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Zingers from Judge Wanger

December 20, 2010 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author:  Damien M. Schiff Last week, Judge Oliver Wanger of the Eastern District of Sacramento overturned the Delta Smelt biological opinion imposing severe water cutbacks on Central Valley farms and towns.  The opinion is filled with sharply worded rebukes of the Service's errors.  In this post, we catalogue those zingers, wi ...

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"Time For Congress to Listen And Act?" Let's hope, for the farmers' sake, they mean it

April 09, 2011 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author:  Anne Hayes On Monday, the House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water and Power will be holding a field hearing in Fresno, California titled "Creating Jobs by Overcoming Man-Made Drought:  Time for Congress to Listen and Act."  The hearing will be held at the Fresno City Council Chambers from 10:00 a ...

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One step forward, two steps back for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

January 04, 2012 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

The story of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the valley elderberry longhorn beetle is a frustrating one, demonstrating the absurd realities of federal environmental regulation and putting to rest the notion that the Endangered Species Act is a flawless statute. The valley elderberry longhorn beetle should be an ESA success story.  In 1980, ...

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Why do they celebrate when they take our property rights away?

July 05, 2012 | By JONATHAN WILLIAMS

Last Friday I attended a meeting of the Central Valley Flood Protection Board.  The Board unanimously approved a plan that has received both national and local coverage.  The plan will dramatically reshape property rights in California’s Central Valley. In 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 5.  The bill expanded the Central V ...

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PLF's message to water rally : TVA v Hill's days are numbered

October 05, 2015 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Last Friday I spoke at the Take Back Our Water rally in Mendota, California. The theme of almost every speaker on the dais was that the use of the Endangered Species Act to cut off water to Central Valley farms was an act of government that subordinated the good of thousands of individuals, families, and … ...