California Water Wars : Millions Wasted on Worthless Fish. Jobs, Businesses Destroyed

In the 1960s the Vintners of Napa Valley teamed up with the burgeoning population of radical environmentalists in an attempt to prevent the urbanization of their valley. Back then, the number of wineries was much fewer than it is today, and the vineyards were considerable smaller. Of course, that was the biggest mistake the wine-makers made – getting into bed with the Che Guevara t-shirt-wearing unwashed ones.

But in just a few short years, the enviros turned against their vino-making buddies, accusing them of causing soil erosion and run-off pollution of the waterways.

Today, the environmental extremist contingent are attempting to destroy vineyards, farms, and anybody else who dares to use water, in order to save a completely useless, unimportant, short-lived, almost extinct little tiddler of a fish called the Delta Smelt. It is, of course, listed under the ubiquitous Endangered Species Act. (There are several other useless fish species involved also, naturally, including the Lamprey – a hideous giant worm with teeth which NEEDS to be extinct, in my opinion!)

 

Delta Smelt

 

During their March, 2015 survey, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife found only a single Delta Smelt.

To put this in perspective, the water system where the Delta Smelt live – the Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley River Delta – provides water for 20 million people. Vineyards and farms are having their essential water supplies diverted from them in order to service the fish.

Harry Cline of the Farm Press Blog lamented that the state and federal water projects (such as the campaign to save the Delta Smelt,) had wasted 800,000 acre-feet of water in 2013. “That is enough to produce crops on 200,000 acres, or 10 million tons of tomatoes, 200,000 million boxes of lettuce, 20 million tons of grapes.”

And sustain ONE USELESS FISH, apparently.

Now, fearing their extinction, UC Davis has started a fish breeding program at a US Fish & Wildlife Service hatchery near the Shasta Dam in Northern California.

 

 

Here at this state-of-the-art facility, the spoiled brat small-fry has temperature-controlled water which is specially filtered and sanitized for them, and is fed six times a day with specially made feed. The population is thriving in captivity. The fish eggs are even artificially inseminated and DNA sequencing is carried out to ensure gene pool diversity. Fish Eugenics!

This little fishy harem costs the taxpayer $2.5 MILLION a year.

All this for a fish that makes absolutely no contribution to the Enviros' precious eco-system. And the whole thing is futile – the captivity-raised Smelt will be even bigger pansies, even less-able to survive than their wild counterparts. This is truly a ridiculous, frivolous, waste of money.

In Sonoma County the vineyards are now being branded as the villains of the piece for using water to mist their vines in the winter, thus protecting them from frost damage. The Enviro contingent insist that this is a fish-killing action that sucks rivers and creeks dry.

But ask Eric Stadnik, owner of Green Pastures Valley and he will tell you like it is – “The small farmer is the endangered species here.” He is living in fear of bankruptcy, afraid he will lose his crops, or worse, his entire livelihood.

 

Let this serve as a warning to EVERYBODY who is supporting one enviro group or another – they WILL turn against you once they're done using you to further their agenda. They've done it to the vineyards, they've done it to the farmers, they're even aggressing against their long-time co-conspirators, the sport-fishermen.

They were warned, but they took no heed. And we really hate to say told you so.

The best thing you can do for yourself and your own prosperity is make sure you know WHO, exactly, you are collaborating with, or donating your hard-earned cash to. Check them out first, look into where they take money from, know who is behind the benignly-named foundations and trusts they suck funding from.

You might just be paying them to stab you in the back.

SOURCES :

California Drought : Delta Smelt Survey Finds a Single Fish, Heightening Debate Over Water Supply by Lisa M. Krieger [2015]
http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_27918392/california-drought-delta-smelt-survey-tallies-one-fish

Wine Vs. Salmon : Water Wars Hit Sonoma County by Jacoba Charles [2011]

https://www.baycitizen.org/news/water/wine-vs-salmon-water-wars-hit-sonoma/

Delta Smelt Photograph by Peter Johnson [US Fish & Wildlife Service]

http://www.FWS.gov

Thirsty in California – Cartoon by A.F. Branco
http://comicallyincorrect.com/2014/02/18/thirsty-in-california/

Congress Created Dust Bowl Photograph

http://dirtythirdstreets.com/wherever/stop-the-congress-created-dust-bowl/