Articles
Is breaching the dams in the Pacific Northwest a good idea?
Author: Damien M. Schiff So argues author Paul VanDevelder this week in the Los Angeles Times. Van Develder refers to Judge James Redden's recent letter to the federal defendants in National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service (noted on this blog) that, if renewed federal efforts to restore depleted ...
Articles
Reality check needed for Endangered Species Act
Author: Brandon Middleton The story here in California is sad but easy to understand: the Endangered Species Act is being used to fundamentally alter California's water delivery systems. State and federal projects that were designed to transfer water to the San Joaquin Valley are subject to myriad environmental restrictions. More water for fish ...
Articles
Sea Lion v. Salmon?
Author: Damien M. Schiff The AP has this story today about the ongoing euthanizing of California sea lions (protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act but not the Endangered Species Act) who apparently have been eating too many ESA-protected salmon. The Humane Society is reported as opposing the killings on the grounds that, ins ...
Articles
The fight for water continues
Author: Brandon Middleton It's not a great time right now for farmers and water users throughout the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. Despite significant precipitation over the past several months, the federal government is currently preventing a vast amount of water from flowing to where it's most needed. Instead of certain deli ...
Articles
Tide turns for victims of regulatory drought : government errors continue to mount; PLF appeals delta smelt regulations to 9th Circuit
Author: Brandon Middleton The last couple of weeks has seen good news for Californians who have lost water and jobs as a result of the Endangered Species Act. But leave it to environmental groups to express dismay over Judge Wanger's decision to give humans a voice in the regulatory process: "The last time around, he … ...
Articles
Is anyone else tired of the word 'conservation'?
Author: Brandon Middleton I know I am. It seems you can't go a day without being reminded of the need for water conservation in California. Glendale Water & Power, for example, has emphasized conservation since 2008 and "will continue to step up its water conservation message again this summer." In a recent San Francisco Chronicle ...
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Batten down the outhouse! Here comes a flood of regulation.
Author: Brian T. Hodges Why are the feds trying to convince Washington’s cities and counties to adopt new development regulations that could limit a landowner’s right to have an outhouse, trailer, or even mow his lawn? It’s because 6 years ago, in National Wildlife Federation v. FEMA, 345 F. Supp. 2d 1151 (W. Dist. Wa ...
Articles
Despite the wet weather, California's regulatory drought continues
Author: Brandon Middleton After years of less than normal precipitation, California is perhaps on its way to a wet water year. The recent rain throughout the state has led many to believe that the state is no longer in a drought. But while drought conditions may have eased in terms of greater precipitation, California's regulatory ...
Articles
Is this the denouement of the salmon wars?
Author: Damien M. Schiff On Monday, oral argument was heard in National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service, a decade-long lawsuit brought by environmentalists challenging the federal hydropower projects in the Pacific Northwest. The case boils down to whether the feds can come up with a plan to operate the dams i ...