<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><BR>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT size=2 face=Tahoma>----- Forwarded Message ----<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> Peter Drekmeier <Peter@Tuolumne.org><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Peter Drekmeier <Peter@Tuolumne.org><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Tue, March 26, 2013 10:50:40 AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Bay Delta Plan Update<BR></FONT><BR>Friends,
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Last week's State Water Board hearing on the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan was very disappointing. We were told public comment would be in the morning, so I and others arrived an hour early to submit speaker cards to make sure we would get a chance to speak. But then the chair filled the morning with various panels and such, and to cap it off, he called up the people who had been bussed in from the Central Valley by the Modesto, Turlock and Merced Irrigation Districts first so that they could speak and then get home to their families. I, and many others, had to leave before we could comment. It was a very unfair process!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Fortunately, there's still time to weigh in on the Plan. Written comments are due by noon on Friday, and it would be great if you could send a letter or email to the Board and make your voice heard. The details are below.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Also, if you haven't already checked out our brief Youtube slideshow, you can do so at <A href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHsXy7WHOw8&feature=youtu.be" rel=nofollow target=_blank>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHsXy7WHOw8&feature=youtu.be</A></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Thanks for your support!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>-Peter</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px">
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN>About the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan<BR><BR></SPAN></B>The California Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) is currently updating The Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan to meet the co-equal goals of ecosystem protection and maintaining a reliable water supply. Phase I was initiated in 2009 to update flow objectives for the San Joaquin River and its major tributaries to protect fish and wildlife, and to update salinity objectives to protect agriculture in the southern Delta.</P></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px">
<P class=MsoNormal align=left>In 2010 the State Water Board issued a report titled <I>Development of Flow Criteria for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Ecosystem</I> that determined that approximately 60% of unimpaired flow between February and June would be fully protective of fish and wildlife in the lower San Joaquin River and its three major tributaries.<SPAN> <BR></SPAN></P></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px">
<P style="DISPLAY: inline" class=MsoNormal align=left>At the end of 2012, the Water Board released a draft environmental impact document for Phase I of the Plan that analyzed a range of unimpaired flows </P></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px">
<P style="DISPLAY: inline" class=MsoNormal align=left>(what would occur if there were no storage or diversion of water upstream) </P></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px">
<P style="DISPLAY: inline" class=MsoNormal align=left>in the San Joaquin River and its tributaries from 20% to 60%. Disturbingly, the Water Board is proposing requiring only 35% of unimpaired flows for the Merced, Tuolumne and Stanislaus Rivers from February through June, and no additional flows in the July through January season.</P></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px">
<P class=MsoNormal align=left><B><SPAN>Submit Written Comments<BR></SPAN></B>By noon on March 29, 2013<BR><BR>Include in the subject line: “Comment Letter – Bay Delta Plan SED”<BR><BR>Jeanine Townsend<BR>Clerk of the Board<BR>State Water Resources Control Board<BR>P.O. Box 100<BR>Sacramento, CA 95814-0100<BR>FAX TO: (916) 341-5620<BR>EMAIL TO: <A style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; COLOR: rgb(153,102,51); TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="mailto:commentletters@waterboards.ca.gov" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:commentletters@waterboards.ca.gov">commentletters@waterboards.ca.gov</A><BR><BR><B><SPAN>Key Points you can mention in your letter<BR></SPAN></B></P></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; DISPLAY: inline; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; FLOAT: none; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0);
FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px"></SPAN>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst align=left>- At least half of the San Joaquin River’s natural flow should reach the Delta during the first six months of each year. Flows in the summer and fall should be sufficient to maintain fish and wildlife, water quality and recreational opportunities.</P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle align=left>- Low river flows impede fish passage, concentrate pollutants, raise water temperatures, decrease dissolved oxygen, and eliminate migratory clues.</P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle align=left>- Historically, populations of spawning salmon may have exceeded 400,000 fish in the San Joaquin River Basin, but in many recent years that figure has plummeted to just a few thousand fish.</P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle align=left>- Salmon are a keystone species, providing food for other animals and transporting nutrients from the ocean to upland habitats. <SPAN>More than 100 species depend on salmon.</SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle align=left>- The commercial salmon fishery in California is on the brink. The salmon population was so low in 2008 and 2009 that the commercial fishing season had to be cancelled.</P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle align=left>- The Bay-Delta forms the West Coast’s largest estuary, providing habitat for more than 500 species of wildlife. It serves as a major stopover for the Pacific Flyway and as a migration path for salmon, steelhead and sturgeon traveling to and from their home streams to the Pacific Ocean.</P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle align=left>- Up to 6.8 million acre-feet (2.2 trillion gallons) of water per year are pumped from the southern Delta for agriculture and urban uses.</P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast align=left>- Through better management of snowmelt, water efficient irrigation practices, and replacing lower-value, water-intensive crops with higher-value, water-efficient crops, we could grow more food with less water.</P>
<DIV><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=Apple-style-span><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=Apple-style-span>
<DIV>-----------------------------</DIV>
<DIV>Peter Drekmeier</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">Bay Area Program Director</DIV></SPAN></SPAN>Tuolumne River Trust<SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=Apple-style-span><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=Apple-style-span><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px"
class=Apple-style-span>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">111 New Montgomery, #205</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">San Francisco, CA 94105</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px">(415) 882-7252 x 302</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><A href="mailto:peter@tuolumne.org" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:peter@tuolumne.org">peter@tuolumne.org</A></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><A href="http://www.tuolumne.org/bayarea" rel=nofollow target=_blank>http://www.tuolumne.org/bayarea</A></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px"><A style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://www.facebook.com/TuolumneRiverTrust" rel=nofollow target=_blank><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none"></SPAN></A><A style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="http://www.facebook.com/TuolumneRiverTrust" rel=nofollow target=_blank><BR class=Apple-interchange-newline></A></DIV></SPAN><BR class=Apple-interchange-newline><IMG id=bfc34c93-7a1f-4be0-878a-eef740838a8f src="cid:1.2838238818@web181303.mail.ne1.yahoo.com" width=33 height=33></SPAN></SPAN></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=Apple-style-span><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; WIDOWS: 2; TEXT-TRANSFORM: none; FONT-VARIANT: normal; FONT-STYLE: normal; TEXT-INDENT: 0px; LETTER-SPACING: normal; BORDER-COLLAPSE: separate; WHITE-SPACE: normal; ORPHANS: 2; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-WEIGHT: normal; WORD-SPACING: 0px" class=Apple-style-span><BR></SPAN></SPAN></DIV></DIV></DIV></div></body></html>