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“There’sa lotmorethoughtamongsome landownersof gettingoutwhile thegetting isgoodif this is theway it’sgoing tobe,”said Siskiyou County cattle rancher and hay growerRickBarnesofCallahan,whorelies onScottRiverwater. “Selling the ranchhas been a topic. It’s a thought of mine. I know there’sa lotof first-, second-andthird-gen- erationpeoplewhoare thinkingmaybe it’s time tohead for the exits.” Localssaymorale is lowasmanyconsid- er the stress of staying in business. “Guys that are usually positive are pret- ty down right now. It is going to be really tough,”saidJimMorris,whoraises livestock and field crops inEtna in the Scott Valley. Shasta Valley rancher Ryan Walker of Montague said the issue is much more acute for Scott Valley diverters because those in the Shasta watershed can still get theirhighest-prioritywater rights, but gen- erally, expectations are that diverters will be curtailed “early and heavy.” A largerworry,Walker said, is theweak- ening of water rights. The region has an adjudicated systemand a priority system inthe rivers that arenot being followeden- tirely, he added. “By completely getting rid of some of the stock water rights, you’re essentially moving priorities around, and we’re very concerned that the water board is going to essentially overrule the century-long priority systemthat wehave,”Walker said. “Before, you understood that if it was a bad year, people were going to be cut off in a particular order,” he added. “I don’t think that there’s comfort that the playing field that you’vebeen livingwith, really for generations, is at all the playing field we have now.” Sommarstrom argues that curtail- ing groundwater represents an expan- sion of the state’s authority. She said agricultural wells in the Scotts Valley “are seriously affected,” and that she believes it is the first time groundwater
Farmers who rely on water from the Scott River water- shed are express- ing concerns about impacts on the growing season due to the state’s curtail- ment order adopted last August.
is affected by a curtailment order. She said she believes the local ground- water challenges couldhave ramifications for policies statewide. She points out that state courts have ruled California has a duty under the public trust doctrine to consider the potential impacts. “Thisdoes apply togroundwater aswell as surface water, so this is precedent set- ting,” Sommarstromsaid. While the Scott River adjudication doesn’t impact groundwater wells out- side of a specified zone, Ekdahl said state water officials can act under certain cir- cumstances to protect a public trust, such as fish populations. “The whole idea behind public trust management is that you’re managing to everybody as opposed to the benefit or outcome of one specific group or person,” Ekdahl said. Ekdahl said it could take the statewater boardbetween 10 and 20 years todevelop regulations, which would most certainly be litigated. Meanwhile, related to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, he said local agencies have a 20-year timeline to bring groundwater basins into balance. “You’re looking at those timescales, do we take 20 years to put together a regu-
lation or does the species potentially go extinct?” Ekdahl said. Ekdahl said fishpopulation figures from the California Department of Fish and Wildlifeshowthat,asofJan.3, therewere829 adult coho observed in the Scott River and 1,324adultChinook;andintheShastaRiver, therewere6,908adultChinook(3,000more thanwereobservedayearago)and50coho. Sommarstromsaidthenumberssuggest that farmers arebeingunfairly targeted for potential water cuts. “The fish numbers are doingwell in the Scott, and the farmers do not deserve this extreme action,” she said. “The threat of 100%could be very real come July.” To assist in the short term, Ekdahl said the most recent state budget contains millions of dollars in financial assistance available through the CDFW and the CaliforniaWildlifeConservationBoard to
Management Act regulations and what lies ahead for some subbasins across California? Seminar Trailer 3. • 10:05-10:55 a.m.: Bees &Honey. The Bradshaws have been in the honey busi- ness since 1949 whenHoward Bradshaw bought his first beehive kit at Sears and Roebuck. Learn how the family contin- ues the tradition today andmakes prod- ucts while caring for bees in sustainable ways. World Ag Women Pavilion. • 11-11:25 a.m.: Rise of Autonomous Machine Funct ions in Agr icul ture Industry. The seminar will help you learn how you can take part in the continuing advancement and early adoption in au- tonomous functionality within the agri- cultural industry. Seminar Trailer 2. • 12:15-12:45 p.m.: Veterans Rising: Providing Agricultural Pathways to Military Veterans. Learn how one non- profit organization is helping cultivate a new generation of farmers and food leaders and developing employment and meaningful careers throughthecollabora- tion of the farming andmilitary commu- nities. Seminar Trailer 3. • 1-1:40 p.m.: Supporting Women in Agriculture, from Farms to C-Suites. Join a team of female leaders from Trimble Agriculture to learn how to overcome fe- male biases in amale-dominated agricul- ture industry. Seminar Trailer 3. help landowners pursue projects such as liningditches to increasewater efficiency. Related to the curtailment order, the state sent letters askingdiverters tosubmit informationabout their drought response and those who do not respond may face fines of $500 per water right, per day. Looking long term, locals say additional water storage is needed and is something thatall community interestscouldsupport. “Downstreamtribesandfishermenthink we’re the big problem,” Walker said. “We think that they’re demanding unreason- abledemands, andthiscurtailmenthasput real stressonthat tensionthat’sexistedfora longtime.Storageisoneof thefewsolutions whereit’snotazero-sumgamewherethere’s really somepotential collaboration.“ (Chr i s t ine Souza i s an ass i s tant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)
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BlueTechValley innovationcluster and the ValleyVentures accelerator. Theater. • 2-2:25 p.m.: Monitoring Grapevine Water Stress inVineyards Using Remotely Sensed Imagery fromUAV and Satellites. This session explores the use of remotely sensed images fromUAV and satellite im- agery to monitor grapevine water stress. Seminar Trailer 1. • 3-3:55 p.m.: Why Can’t We All Get Along?Managing FamilyDynamics in the Family Business. As the business moves froma foundermaking all of thedecisions to sibling partnerships to cousin consor- tiums, eachsucceedinggenerationof fam- ilymembers increases the need for clarity aroundownershipandmanagementof the enterprise. Seminar Trailer 2. • 3-3:25 p.m.: The Bumpy Road from High-TechIdeas toField-ReadyMachines. All precision agriculture equipment de- pendsonsome formof high tech. This talk seeks tocover some failures andchalleng- es, and bring a sense of camaraderie for all theprecisionagmanufacturers fighting heat, dust, rain, lightning, terrainandplain ol’ bad luck. Seminar Trailer 1. Thursday, Feb. 10 • 9:30-10 a.m.: SGMA Round 3. What have we learned through the first two phases of Sustainable Groundwater
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12 Ag Alert February 2, 2022
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