A plan to divert water to farmers in California, released at the end of October, would allow for the annihilation of winter-run Chinook Salmon.
"Eight-hundred pages into the text of a lengthy new report, federal biologists have quietly granted government water managers permission to nearly exterminate an endangered run of Sacramento River salmon so they can send more water south from the river's delta to farmers in the arid San Joaquin Valley," reports Alastair Bland.
The new report was generating conflict well before its release at the end of October, after the Trump administration removed dissenting National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologists from a position to obstruct the report.
The report is an analysis of the Trump administration's new water storage and delivery plan, which was actually released in January. "That plan proposes to increase water withdrawals from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta by roughly 10 percent, often during critical migration periods for fish like chinook salmon and Delta smelt," according to Bland.
The new controversy inspired by the plan originates from page 801 of the National Marine Fisheries Service report, which allows for the annihilation of the winter run Chinook for three consecutive years. "Because most Chinook salmon spawn and naturally die at three years of age, annihilation of all newborns in three consecutive years would effectively wipe out the species," explains Bland.
FULL STORY: Trump Administration Plan Allows Delta Water Managers to Kill Off Winter-Run Chinook Salmon
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.