The effects of California’s endless drought are well known. However, little attention has been paid to the aspect of the relationship with environmental law.
Last year was the second driest year on record, and all 58 California counties were under a drought emergency declaration, according to the official California drought website. This map shows that much of California is suffering from moderate to extreme drought.
The effects of water scarcity will ultimately affect everyone in California, according to California Water Watch, which tracks the state of California’s water situation. Over the next 20 years, California could lose “10% of its water supply” due to a warming climate.
Cutoffs have different effects on farmers depending on their water rights, but both state and federal cuts clearly have a greater impact.
Some, led by farmers, argue that certain environmental laws, the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), are actually making the drought worse.
Environmentalists and conservationists have argued that protecting the species would not harm agriculture, leading to a heated debate.
It is clear that the water supply to farmers has decreased dramatically. For example, as stated in the March 2022 announcement, farmers in California had little or no water allotted by the federal government. Cutoffs have different effects on farmers depending on their water rights, but both state and federal cuts clearly have a greater impact.
CESA is an environmental law enacted in 1970 that “protects and protects endangered species of plants and animals,” says the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. About 250 species are protected from being imported, exported, killed, owned, purchased, or sold in California without the proper permits.
Agriculture advocates say both state and federal governments are protecting species at the expense of people’s food.
CESA was abolished and replaced by an updated form in 1984 and amended again in 1997.
The federal version of CESA is the ESA administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service. The ESA works with states to protect endangered plants and animals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said.
Agriculture advocates say both state and federal governments are protecting species at the expense of people’s food. They argue that the law will exacerbate droughts by diverting water from farms, exacerbating the water supply struggles they already face.
This is not a new complaint.
“Agriculture and farming are rapidly becoming an endangered species,” said Mario Santoyo, then assistant general manager of the Furianto Water Authority, in 2010 at Dairy, a company that serves U.S. dairy farmers. As stated in an article by Katherine Merlo of Hard Management. To build a more efficient and profitable dairy business. It is owned by Farm Journal, an agricultural organization that reports on farmers, producers and his chain of supply for agricultural products.
By one estimate, it takes about 142 million gallons of water per day to service California cows.
Beth Pratt’s blog defends the ESA, opposes attempts to void it, and mentions protecting the state’s environmental values.
Other upset members of the farming industry said their farm was operating only 5,000 acres, compared to the usual 13,000. It points to wildlife conservation efforts that allow massive amounts of water to flow into the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
NPR’s Kirk Siegler also wrote in 2015 about the plight facing Central Valley farmers. They ensure that the law will be changed to reduce the negative impact on farmers caught in the “government-induced man-made drought.”
But Beth Pratt of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Blog says that while wildlife is also suffering from drought, farmers are hurting and trying to blame wildlife conservation for water shortages. In the blog she defends the ESA and opposes attempts to void it, citing protection of the state’s environmental values.
The NWF blog discusses and advocates for the conservation of “Wildlife Habitats and Populations” and the protection of the environment.
“I don’t think there were any extinct species on the (endangered) list.” — Ron Stork,
Environmentalists argue that CESA and ESA were successful and that their impact on water will not be as dramatic as their opponents say.
Ron Stork, Senior Policy Advocate for Friends of the River (FOR), a nonprofit advocacy group founded in 1973, said: The California condor, a symbol of Japan, has experienced significant recovery and habitat expansion since its listing.
Stork joined FOR in 1987 as Associate Director of Conservation and is a national expert in “flood management, federal water resources development, hydropower reform, and natural and scenic rivers.” Stork is a member of the Governor’s Flood Management Task Force, among other roles.
Now the red-legged frog is “thriving again,” says the nonprofit Water Education Foundation.
However, Stork acknowledges that CESA and ESA are not perfect.
“Many species, perhaps most of them, have not shown any measurable recovery.” The stork said that while these species continue to survive under the law, numbers are struggling to make a significant recovery. He continued to explain that he was
Friends of the River (FOR) is “dedicated to the protection and restoration of California’s rivers, streams, and their watersheds, and a leading advocate for conservation and combating climate change.
CESA has made significant progress, saving species such as the California red-legged frog that were endangered under the law. Now the frogs are “thriving again,” says the nonprofit Water Education Foundation. The frog was reintroduced to Yosemite Valley for the first time in his 50 years and, as of 2019, is breeding again.
It has proven its success so far, and more than 227 would have been extinct had it not been for the federal ESA to pass, the Center for Biodiversity says. This act is more than 99% successful for him.
“This law represents a 90 percent recovery rate for more than 100 species across the United States,” it said.
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Editor’s Note: Liam Gravvat is an intern at Capitol Weekly in Sacramento..
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