From the Folsom Telegraph 6/7/05

Letters

Grab for land hurting environment


By: Steve Bruzzone Vacaville
Tuesday, June 7, 2005 5:00 PM PDT



Modoc County's South fork of the Pit River, a popular recreational site located in National Forest is endangered due to California's grab for land and accompanying water rights. Large corporations replacing small ranchers, including Alturas Ranches, owned by multimillionaire Silicon Valley land developer Barry Swenson, members of his family, various partners of his and his Green Valley Corporation have gobbled up the land and water rights and now hold an approximate 60 percent control of the water rights of the river and control of the SFID, a public utility company.

This year, the SFID drained the river during its annual seasonal diversion, claiming rights under a 1934 water right, which is in violation of current California Public Trust laws requiring operators of dams to maintain healthy fish habitats. Fish disappeared and all that remained were cloudy pools of water and layers of mud.

They propose installation of a small hydroelectric plant on public land taking 100 cfs from the flow year around justifying the need to pay irrigation costs of $1.53 per acre a year for water and maintenance. The proposed flows are only two cfs higher than the ones, which result in destroyed habitat.

Just when is enough enough?