Cartoon reprinted reprinted with permission from the Sacramento Bee. Originally published June 28, 2017.
Like fish, the different human professions involved in the Delta have different habitat preferences:
Lawyers: high turbidity and fear, complex egosystems, either high and cynical levels of expectation, abundant funds
Engineers: high clarity, data-rich nutrient sources, high expectation concentrations, abundant funds
Biologists: thrives on uncertainty and inconclusiveness, extreme biodiversity, highly dynamic ecosystems with complex structure, abundant funds
Spin-specialists: high turbidity, abundance of predators, corrosive water quality, data-free environment, abundant funds
Agency managers: seeks abundant refuge structure, low expectation concentrations, abundant funds
Academics: anywhere where more research is needed (everywhere with any funds).
None of these species is endangered. They all thrive in the Delta, and seem to grow in population with declines in fish populations and Delta flows.
Cute cartoon! Fix Clifton Court forebay’s fish deathtrap will keep fish in the Delta and allow for safe export of water. Replace 1.5 miles of levee with fish screens which will eliminate fish deaths and allow for the elimination of 2 fish capture and relocation facilities. Win Win for all.
Pingback: California Water News for August 21, 2017
I’m a retired biologist, and glad I had a working wife, because the funds are far from abundant. I attended Bay-Delta hearings while working at the Water board, and listened to the testimony that clearly showed public trust resources were being degraded by the water diversions, and toxic drainage from the agricultural tailwater was further degrading the Delta, wit the water developers and water buyers took a break from those hearings, went off to Monterey, came up with the Monterey Accord and agreed to keep on doing more of the same.