Officials called to conference on Calif. drought

[September 30, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration, attempting to show it's helping California with its water crisis, has summoned state officials and interest groups to a conference on how to deal with a shortage that's causing high unemployment and economic distress in the state's farm belt.

Precipitation rates over the past three years in California have ranged from 63 percent to 78 percent of the state's average. Compounding the problem, restrictions on water delivery were put in place to protect a native fish. The two factors have led farmers to idle more than a quarter-million acres and put thousands out of work.

The Interior Department says the drought is responsible for roughly three-quarters of the water shortage. Still, some lawmakers from the Central Valley are placing much of the blame on the federal government. That message has gained traction, particularly among conservatives who have equated the water restrictions to prioritizing animals above people.

Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, whose family has farmed in the San Joaquin Valley for three generations, said previous droughts have never led to the kind of water shortages that farmers are experiencing.

Nunes and Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., have failed to persuade lawmakers to pull back on two of the government's comprehensive plans -- called "biological opinions" -- for balancing water use and protection of endangered species. One reduces water flows to the San Joaquin Valley for the protection of a native fish species called the delta smelt, and the other possibly reduces water flows still more to protect salmon and other fish.

Failure to waive the biological opinions will be placed on the Obama administration and the state's Democratic leaders in Congress, Nunes said.

The congressman's threat may not have won over Congress, but it plays well in the conservative valley. Consider Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's comments on the issue at this past weekend's state Republican convention: "We have federal judges now protecting the salmon, protecting the smelt, we have the federal judges protecting all the species, and I say to myself, 'Where are the federal judges protecting all the farmers?'"

Nunes said he didn't expect much to result from the conference scheduled for Wednesday.

"They'll pretend they're doing something when all they're really doing is stalling," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Interior Department said the Obama administration has invested more than $400 million in improving the state's water infrastructure. She said the Obama administration was re-engaging as a full partner in California's water future after eight years of neglect.

"Secretary (Ken) Salazar knows that to get anything done on water issues, you have to pull people together and find solutions that will make a difference on the ground," said spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff.

Farm interests won't be the only ones seeking more water. Salmon fishermen say too much water has been diverted toward agricultural uses over the years, devastating that state's salmon fishing industry. Commercial salmon fishing off the state's coastline was banned for the second consecutive year in 2009 and recreational fishing was severely curtailed as well.

[Associated Press; By KEVIN FREKING]

Associated Press writer Juliet Williams contributed to this report.

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