Wolk Bill Will Provide Ecological Restoration, Recreation Access on North Delta

Lois Wolk's Bill Will Provide Fishing Access, Habitat Restoration On North Delta

By Dan Bacher

Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) has introduced legislation to create a “Delta Ecological Restoration and Recreation Area” that would allow increased angling, hunting and other recreational access, something sorely needed in a state where public access to our natural resources is rapidly dwindling.

Wolk’s legislation, Assembly Bill 2502, was spurred by the testimony of anglers at the Prospect Island Fish Kill Hearing in Rio Vista on December 6. The hearing was convened due to outrage by anglers over the thousands and thousands of stripers and other fish that perished during the Prospect Island Fish Kill that took place last November after the Bureau of Reclamation drained the island – and the failure of the state and federal governments to respond in a timely manner.

In my hearing testimony, I proposed that Wolk author a bill to make the property into the "Prospect Island Public Fishing Access and Wildlife Area" modeled after the Oroville Wildlife Area. I also proposed that the island itself be reflooded to provide fish and wildlife habitat, since this is some of the best habitat on the entire Delta.

Jim Crenshaw, president of the California Sportfishing Alliance (CSPA), also urged the committee to look into ways to return to the original plan to establish a North Delta National Wildlife Refuge. “That would be an important step in restoring some of the fishery losses of the last 50 years,” said Crenshaw.

Wolk has followed through with our suggestions and authored AB 2502, sponsored by Ducks Unlimited. The bill authorizes the Director of State Parks and Recreation to establish an ecological restoration and recreation area in the North Delta and creates an endowment fund to pay for ongoing operation and maintenance.

Wolk is proposing for the state to buy Prospect Island and Little Holland Tract from the federal government and Liberty Island from the Trust for Public Lands and turn them into a state recreation area. She introduced the bill on February 21, 2008 and the legislation is scheduled for a hearing before the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on April 15.

“The Delta has been degrading for decades as a result of urbanization, exporting water, pollution, levee construction, invasive species and other factors,” according to Wolk. “The economy of the Delta – primarily agriculture and recreation - has been similarly degraded for many of the same reasons. The poor quality of the levee system threatens to ruin the local agricultural base on a large scale, while the recreation industry (hunting, fishing, boating, etc) has great potential, but is hurt by water quality issues as well as limited facilities.”

With Wolk’s bill, there is an opportunity to accomplish both ecosystem restoration as well as enhance the Delta economy. One area of the Delta that has been consistently proposed for restoration is at the south end of the Yolo Bypass and includes Liberty Island, Prospect Island, Little Holland Tract and surrounding areas.

“The consensus of opinion is that this is an area that cannot be farmed efficiently, but can provide some of the best opportunities available for making significant improvements to the overall ecological health of the Delta,” said Wolk.

Some of this area is currently used by anglers, duck hunters and and boaters. Unfortunately, much of the Delta in Solano and Yolo Counties where the proposed recreation area would be located is now off limits to bank anglers, due to restrictions imposed by local reclamation districts and the federal government.

“The demand for additional recreational opportunities that would be provided for by providing access and facilities appears to be great, but little will likely change under existing circumstances. Small businesses could be positively stimulated if such access and facilities were provided,” she said.

The land is owned by the Trust for Public Lands (most of Liberty Island), the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Prospect Island) and the Corps of Engineers (Little Holland Tract).

“It is likely that each of the present owners is anxious to divest themselves of these ownerships,” she said. “There are no known proposals of the landowners to restore the habitat or facilitate public recreational use.”

The goal of AB 2502 is to unify public ownership of these properties under the State Department of Parks and Recreation, charge DPR with the responsibility of restoring the land and provide much needed recreational opportunities. The bill would establish funding for restoration and management through an endowment.

“We are sponsoring the bill because we are interested in playing our part in restoring the ecological health of the Delta and providing increased recreational opportunities for sportsmen and sportswomen,” said Chris Unkel, director of public policy for Ducks Unlimited, Western Region. “This legislation provides us with a unique chance to do both.”

The bill proposes to fund the recreation area restoration, management and planning from the sale of “mitigation credits’ to compensate for the loss of wetlands and aquatic species and habitats in the Delta caused by the operation of the State Water Project and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project.

CSPA is also supporting the bill. “It’s time for the Bureau to pay what it owes for mitigation and to start resolving the problems that it has caused on the California Delta for many years,” said Jim Crenshaw. “The Bureau needs to pay for its sins.”

Letters to the Boards of Supervisors of Yolo and Solano Counties are needed in support of AB 2502, according to Unkel. You can send emails to Yolo County at http://www.yolocounty.org/org/bos/board.html or Solano County at http://www.co.solano.ca.us/Department/Department.asp?NavID=78.

I applaud Wolk and Ducks Unlimited for sponsoring this long-needed legislation. I urge anglers, hunters, environmentalists and the public to support the bill. For more information, contact Susan Treabess, Consultant to Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, 916-319-2008 or Chris Unkel, Ducks Unlimited, 916-851-5307.