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Indybay Feature

Restore the Delta: Healthy Delta Communities Plan

by Dan Bacher
Restore the Delta volunteer Barbara Bowers will be conducting a series of interviews with Delta residents, as well as featuring policy statements from California Delta water experts and plans for water use and storage designed by Restore the Delta senior advisors. Here is the first installment of the "Healthy Delta Communities Plan."

The Sacramento San Joaquin Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast, is in its worse ecological crisis ever as Delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass, threadfin shad and other fish species plummet to record lows. Meanwhile, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Chamber of Commerce are pushing a water bond initiative including new dams and a peripheral canal that would result in the complete destruction of the imperiled estuary.
california_delta.jpg
Dear Friends of Restore the Delta,

Below you will find the first installment of the Healthy Delta Communities Plan – a series of interviews conducted with Delta residents, policy statements from California Delta water experts, and plans for water use and storage designed by Restore the Delta senior advisors.

Our goal is to use this plan to give voice to the people of the Delta – from everyday citizens to experts on California water policy residing within our community. We are a grassroots campaign and feel that the observations, analysis, comments, and history of the people of the Delta gives direction to the work of Restore the Delta staff. We will, however, continue with our newsletter Delta Flows to keep readers up-to-date on what is happening in terms of the political response to the crisis within the Delta.

We will post these installments on our website for future reference.

Let us know what you think.

Yours in service for the Delta,

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Campaign Director
Restore the Delta
Making the Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable by 2010!
Barbara [at] restorethedelta.org
http://www.restorethedelta.org
ph: 209-479-2053
PO Box 691088
Stockton, CA 95269
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Healthy Delta Communities Plan
Interviews with Delta Residents
Dave Hardwick – Longtime Delta Resident
Interviewed by
Restore the Delta Volunteer
Barbara Bowers
July, 2007


Barbara Bowers: What do you do in the Delta?

Dave Hardwick: I use the Delta for recreation and riding my motorcycle.

Barbara Bowers: How long have you lived in the Delta?

Dave Hardwick: I have lived in the Delta for 44 years.

Barbara Bowers: What does the Delta mean to you?

Dave Hardwick: The Delta means cool weather, breezes, agriculture that is close-by, and boating opportunities.

Barbara Bowers: What would you like to see for the future of the Delta?

Dave Hardwick: For the future of the Delta I would like to see more fresh water flowing through the Delta, from Friant Dam and all other sources. I think the debris could be removed so it would be cleaner.

Barbara Bowers: What is your greatest concern for the Delta?

Dave Hardwick: What scares me the most is a peripheral canal that would draw more water away from the Delta. My other concern is the collapse of levees.

Jeff Hart – Delta Nursery Owner
Interviewed by
Restore the Delta Volunteer
Barbara Bowers on
June 30, 2007

Barbara Bowers: What do you do in the Delta?

Jeff Hart: I do habitat restoration and also have a nursery with native plants that are sold to the public. In addition I provide eco-tours using Tule Queen II. In the future I intend to grow organic vegetables with a plan to open a restaurant and incorporate them into the menu.

Barbara Bowers: How long have you lived in the Delta?

Jeff Hart: I have lived in the Delta for nine years. My wife, Toni, grew up in Rio Vista.

Barbara Bowers: What is your family’s history with the Delta?

Jeff Hart: My family owned a fishing resort on the Sacramento River near the town of Grimes.

Barbara Bowers: What does the Delta mean to you?

Jeff Hart: The Delta means home, community, place of business. It also means a troubled estuary that divides a lot of people regarding the direction it should be taken.

Barbara Bowers: What would you like to see for the future of the Delta?

Jeff Hart: I would like to see the future of the Delta have sustainable practices. There would be no loss of soil in farming. Carbon would be sequestered with native plants on Delta levees. This could be a carbon offset so it could also be run for profit. Currently, grass on the levees is burned and soil erodes. Levees need “green engineering”.

Barbara Bowers: What is your greatest concern for the Delta?

Jeff Hart: Political stupidity is what scares me the most. My greatest concern is that people will remain wedded to an ideology and not be open to new ideas. Whether we retain the pumps or go around the Delta with a canal, there needs to be a quantity and quality of water that will sustain life in the Delta.
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