FRUITION...

◼ Feds Finally Assert Humboldt’s Right to Trinity River Water Under 1955 Agreement - Ryan Burns/LoCo
◼ Interior opinion upholds Humboldt’s right to promised Trinity water - Times-Standard
◼ Yes, That's Humboldt County's Water - GRANT SCOTT-GOFORTH/North Coast Journal JAN 2, 2015

Four years after a request from the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, the federal government has decided, per a solicitor's review, that the county does indeed have the right to an annual 50,000 acre-feet of water it was promised back when the Trinity River was dammed....

From the comments: Robert Ulibarri says: How about after twelve years after a request from the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Supervisor Kirk was actually against pursuing this effort. Jill Duffy actually formed the alliance with Hoopa because the Sups did not wish to expend attorney funds in this matter. Yes, four years ago the Sups submitted a resolution, but this issue dates back to 1954.

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A LITTLE BACKGROUND (2004):

FIGHTING FOR SALMON: Supervisor Jill Geist's quixotic crusade to re-activate a 45-year-old county contract with the Department of the Interior took another step forward on Tuesday, after the Board of Supervisors voted to send a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton demanding that she release from reservoirs near Weaverville 50,000 acre-feet of Trinity River water. In 1959, the county signed a contract with the federal government that awarded the county that amount of water from the Trinity Reservoir for "beneficial use" of Humboldt County residents, but the water has never been delivered. Today, the county hopes to use the water to protect salmon in the Klamath/Trinity watershed. The county sent a similar letter to the federal government last year but got no response. Geist is writing an op-ed piece on the subject for the Sacramento Bee. ◼ April 8, 2004 North Coast Journal
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And - Arcata, Eureka, Fortuna, Siskiyou, Del Norte, Mendocino, and Trinity counties, and all sorts of organizations sent letters of support. Humboldt Bay Harbor District, Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, McKinleyville Community Services District, Klamath Water Users Association, Pacific Coast Fisherman's Federation Association... others.... Feinstein, Boxer, Thompson, Chesbro, Berg.... ◼ http://tinyurl.com/nz86ugy March 2003, ◼ http://tinyurl.com/nj5nzrj - March 2005

REPERCUSSIONS

◼ Study Finds Medical Pot Farms Draining Streams Dry - AP VIA DAILY BEAST

Some drought-stricken rivers and streams in Northern California's coastal forests are being polluted and sucked dry by water-guzzling medical marijuana farms, wildlife officials say ...

"People are coming in, denuding the hillsides, damming the creeks and mixing in fertilizers that are not allowed in the U.S. into our watersheds," said Denise Rushing, a Lake County supervisor who supports an ordinance essentially banning outdoor grows in populated areas.

"When rains come, it flows downstream into the lake and our water supply," she said.

Many affected waterways also contain endangered salmon, steelhead and other creatures protected by state and federal law.

Wildlife biologists noticed streams running dry more often over the 18 years since the state passed Proposition 215, but weren't sure why.

"We knew people were diverting water for marijuana operations, but we wanted to know exactly how much," said Scott Bauer, the department biologist who studied the pot farms' effects on four watersheds. "We didn't know they could consume all the water in a stream."

So Bauer turned to Google mapping technology and satellite data to find out where the many gardens are, and how many plants each contained.

His study estimates that about 30,000 pot plants were being grown in each river system — and he estimates that each plant uses about six gallons per day over marijuana's 150-day growing season....
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Cue Humboldt Watershed Council suit.... crickets? CRICKETS.