Letter that follows was issued to precede the second WC establishment meeting, on 8/1, in Ukiah. Meeting #3 was on 8/22, and the interim membership of the WC, now numbering approximately 100, plus interested public, is scheduled to meet on 9/12 at the Vets Auditorium in Cloverdale.
July 28, 1998
Lawrence J. Goldzband, Director
Department of Conservation
801 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Mr. Goldzband:
While we appreciate the efforts of elected officials, the Resources Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to establish a representative Russian River Watershed Council, we the undersigned organizations and individuals believe that the Watershed Council process as currently configured lacks credibility. We believe that the restoration of the two anadromous species of the Russian River watershed will not be adequately addressed unless the council's mission is explicitly complementary to the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and public trust mandates of public agencies participating in the process.
Specifically:
1) To protect and sustain the biological health of the river, as evidenced by the health of the anadromous fishery, must be the mission of the council. In the long run,economic health is dependent on the biological health of the resource. Therefore it should be in the Council's purview to foster a sustainable economy in the watershed that does not detract from the river's long-term health.
2) Representation on the council must reflect the goal of restoring the fishery and other biological values in the watershed. While all interests must be represented, the council should be configured so that established economic interests are not given the power to negate positive efforts to restore the watershed. For example, extractive users of the river are thriving, while the anadromous fishery teeters on extinction.
3) The process will not be credible to the public if extractive practices in the watershed continue to be authorized by public agencies charged to uphold the public trust. Good faith must be proved, and that can only be accomplished if approval of gravel mining, water allocations, timber harvests, agricultural conversions and other activities deleterious to the health of the river and its watershed are suspended until they are subjected to the heightened scrutiny of environmental studies that meet the standards of the Endangered Species Act.
We are concerned that the process chosen to select members of the council is too arbitrary and opens the possibility for political mischief. Such a plan is an abdication of leadership: it has the potential of turning a public policy process into a game of "pack the room" by economic interests. We believe that the council should be made up of individuals chosen by representative organizations, with the focus in membership toward both inclusion and environmental goals.
We are willing to put significant time and energy into a meaningful process which focuses on restoring the fishery. If the Watershed Council becomes simply a process whose subtext is the defense of the status quo, we will not lend our names to establish the Council's credibility.
Sincerely,
FRIENDS OF THE RUSSIAN RIVER: Joan Vilms, President
SONOMA COUNTY CONSERVATION ACTION: Mark Green, Executive
Director
TROUT UNLIMITED: Mike Swaney
RUSSIAN R. WATERSHED PROTECTION COMMITTEE: Brenda Adelman,
Chair
SIERRA CLUB, SONOMA GROUP: Peter Ashcroft, Exec Committee
Chair
HEALDSBURG ALLIANCE OF RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS: Bonnie
Berkeley, Chair
CALTROUT: Michael Bowen, Bay Area Manager
FORESTVILLE CITIZENS FOR SENSIBLE GROWTH: Robert Rawson
RUSSIAN R. ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM: Pamela Netzow, Program
Coordinator
RUSSIAN R. RESIDENTS AGAINST UNSAFE
LOGGING: Jay Halcomb, Chair
SANTA ROSA JC INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION: Jerry
Waxman, Coordinator
Cc: Army Corps of Engineers (Col. Peter T. Grass)
Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors (all)
National Marine Fisheries Service (Patrick Rutten)
Richard Roos-Collins, Esq
Secretary for Resources Douglas P. Wheeler
Senator Mike Thompson
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors (all)
US Fish & Wildlife Service (Mark Littlefield & Mike Aceituno)
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