California Agriculture Cashing In at Record Breaking Highs
By Patrick Porgans
The Golden State’s agricultural earnings have reached historic highs during the so-called three-year drought.
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, (USDA), California’s cash receipts from crop and livestock sales, in billions of dollars, are as follows: 2009- $34.841; 2008- $38.407; 2007- $36.386; 2006- $31.426; 2005 – $32.4; 2004- $30.939; 2003- $28.232; 2002- $26.544; 2000 – $26.206; and 2000- $25.185.
Help Support Important Local Reporting, Subscribe Today http://theava.com/ From WILL PARRISH Laytonville “We have chosen as our first topic of discussion the reality of the business — cash. Everything we do eventually finds its way back to this common denominator. That is, cash in and cash out. … At Duckhorn Vineyards, we earn approximately 24% cash … Read more
Help Support Important Local Reporting, Subscribe Today http://theava.com/ From WILL PARRISH Laytonville The North Coast wine industry is a sprawling, multi-billion dollar enterprise. It encompasses hundreds of thousands of acres of prime agricultural land in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin, Lake, and Solano counties; commands millions of acre feet of the area’s ever-more scarce water resources; and … Read more
Washington’s Elwha River is on the path to restoration Contacts: Amy Kober, 206-898-3864 August 26, 2010 Seattle – The effort to restore a free-flowing Elwha River will reach a critical milestone today, as the National Park Service awards the contract for construction work to remove two outdated dams. Deconstruction will begin in 2011. Brett Swift, … Read more
By Elanor Starmer
Food&Water Watch
The legislature reconvened on Monday with a hefty set of tasks ahead of it. Passing a budget will clearly be the most painful, but let’s not underestimate the intensity of the battle over the fate of Proposition 18, the massive water bond currently on this November’s ballot. The legislature’s decision – widely believed to be forthcoming before August 20th – on whether to postpone, scrap or leave untouched this controversial measure is actually a referendum on who should control water in California. Legislators have an opportunity to weigh in in favor of the public by voting to permanently remove the bond from the ballot.
SAUSALITO, CA July19, 2010 – The Eel River Prayer Ceremony and Summit, a historic 2-day event was held on the banks of the Eel River near Willits, California on July 17-18. “We will not sit idly by”, was the central message of the event, hosted by the Round Valley Tribes of Covelo and Friends of the Eel River (FOER), which drew concerned Eel River supporters from San Francisco to the Oregon border, including biologists, hydrologists, fishermen and leading environmental groups. It was the first time in 100 years, since traditional spiritual ceremonies were banned among tribal governments, where members of the Round Valley Tribes of Covelo; and their spiritual leaders and tribal dancers, guided a sacred prayer ceremony for the relief of the long-suffering Eel River.
SAUSALITO, CA May 4, 2010 – Friends of the Eel River (FOER) announced today that the State of California Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), rejected the organizations petition to increase water flows on the Eel River — water that is critical for the survival of state and federally listed endangered salmon, on what was once the third largest salmon and steelhead producing river in the State of California.
SCIENTISTS CONFIRM MISMANAGEMENT BY PG&E IS KILLING TWO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RIVERS AND DEGRADING SALMON HABITAT
SAUSALITO, CA March, 1, 2010 — Today the Friends of the Eel River (FOER) brought legal action before the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board), in an attempt to stop Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), from destroying two northern California rivers essential to the restoration of California’s once-vibrant billion dollar salmon industry.
The FOER legal action challenges the diversion of almost all of the flow of the Eel River to PG&E’s Potter Valley hydroelectric project (PVP), consisting of two dams and a diversion tunnel. During the dry season, almost 98% of the Eel River flows are diverted into the Russian River. “The State Board has an obligation to ensure that PG&E’s use of water is reasonable and does not harm public trust resources in the Eel River,” noted environmental attorney Ellison Folk, with the law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger. PG&E’s Potter Valley Project, however, is damaging the public trust resources by threatening the survival of the remaining populations of the state and federally listed endangered salmon and steelhead, in exchange for a negligible amount of energy it produces.
December 2009 Dear Friends, This letter is to all the members and residents of the Eel River watershed. After 15 years in Garberville, Friends of the Eel River has decided to move our office to Marin County and to rearrange our staffing. FOER continues to vigorously press ahead to restore the Eel River’s fish and … Read more
March 17 2009 Hon. Kimberly D. Bose Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E. Washington, DC 20426 Re: Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project No. 77-212: Comments on Draft Environmental Assessment for Application of Amendment of License for Diversion of Water at Lake Pillsbury (Potter Valley Project) Dear Secretary Bose: Friends of the Eel River … Read more