Nadananda in DC

Eel River Advocate Pushes Message in D.C.

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The director of a local river protection advocacy group was in Washington, D.C. last week to push for enhanced protection of the Eel River and other watersheds.

Nadananda, director of the Garberville-based Friends of the Eel River, joined 130 other watershed advocates at Capital Hill to inform legislators of the effects of national policies on local waterways. It��s an annual event organized by the American Rivers non-profit group, and Nadananda was there to alert aides of Congressman Mike Thompson and Senator Dianne Feinstein about the impacts of Eel River water diversion.

�ݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬ� "The Eel River is so important to our community that we've got to take every opportunity we can to speak out for it,�� she said in a press release. ��The chance to make that case in Washington, D.C. was just too good to pass up."

�ݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬ� Thompson��s and Feinstein��s staff was ��extremely interested�� in what she had to say about safeguarding the Eel, wetlands and streams, she reported. Senate Bill 1472, the North Bay Water Reuse Program Act of 2007, which Thompson introduced in Congress and Feinstein is sponsoring in the Senate, was one law Nadananda discussed. She said the bill has problems due to ��not being vetted locally�� and its emphasis on Napa Valley groundwater repletion through Eel River diversion.

�ݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬ� Another topic of discussion was the environmental impact of what the press release described as ��massive marijuana plantations operated by the armed and dangerous Mexican cartels.�� Federal agents have briefed legislators on the situation, testifying that Mexican traffickers are increasingly using Northern California as a staging ground for marijuana production. Nadananda said she talked to the legislative staff members about proposals to control the situation in Mendocino National Forest through military sweeps.

�ݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬ� ��This is problematic to say the least, given past experiences with this kind of action in both Mendocino and Humboldt counties,�� she continued. ��But then the question arises, ��What to do about the increasing anger voiced by locals impacted by this out of hand situation, threatening to take matters into their own hands if the government does not do something right away.��

�ݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬݬ� The advocacy event put local concerns on Washington��s radar. ��Senators and Members of Congress got the message loud and clear that people back home care about their rivers, and want to see real progress in protecting them,�� said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers.��