65 



Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Graff, I don't mean to cut you off, but you 

 need to be wrapping up here. 



Mr. Graff. OK. Well, let me skip then right to the end. I think 

 the key, and I suppose we will have more discussion of this later, 

 is whether there is a possibility to make this into a consensus bill 

 or not. And I think what a fair critique of the bill — an analysis of 

 individual provisions is attached to our testimony — will dem- 

 onstrate, is that the bill as it presently stands is all take and no 

 give. 



I challenge the representatives of the CVPIA contractors to dem- 

 onstrate where in the bill there is something better for the environ- 

 ment than what exists in existing law. With that comment and my 

 time having expired, I will stop. Thank you. 



[Statement of Mr. Graff may be found at end of hearing.] 



Mr. DOOLITTLE. Thank you. Mr. Jeff Kerry is recognized. 



STATEMENT OF JEFF KERRY, VICE PRESIDENT, GRASSLAND 



WATER DISTRICT 



Mr. Kerry, Yes. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, members of the 

 Water and Power Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to 

 testify before you today. I am Jeff Kerry. I am Vice President of 

 the Grasslands Water District. I am also Senior Vice President of 

 the California Waterfowl Association. 



I am testifying on behalf of the Grasslands Water District, Cali- 

 fornia Waterfowl Association, the Tulare Basin Wetlands Associa- 

 tion, the Oregon Waterfowl and Wetlands Association, and the 

 Alaska Waterfowl Association. Accompanying me today are Dave 

 Widell of the Grassland Water District and Bill Gaines of the Cali- 

 fornia Waterfowl Association. Together, we represent virtually all 

 of the wetland, waterfowl, sports interests on the Pacific Fljrway. 



The Grasslands ecological area is near Los Banos. This is Califor- 

 nia's largest remaining interior wetlands complex. I own approxi- 

 mately 288 acres of the land in that area. We, the Grasslands own- 

 ers, are unique because we don't farm crops. We farm for wetlands, 

 we farm for water birds, and we farm for ducks. 



In order to provide viable wetlands, we need land, management, 

 and, most importantly, water, timely delivered. If significant water 

 is not available, the real users of these marshlands, the water birds 

 and ducks, will, because of reduced carrying capacity, naturally die 

 off or their ability to reproduce will be adversely impacted. Water- 

 fowl populations from Alaska to Mexico and throughout the Pacific 

 Flyway are affected. 



Between 1960 and 1985, most of our water that was applied to 

 Grasslands was contaminated by agricultural drain water and 

 which eventually led to the Kesterson disaster. Finally, in 1993, 

 the Central Valley Project Improvement Act provided wetlands and 

 refuges in the San Joaquin Valley with a safe and adequate sum- 

 mer water supply for the first time in 20 years. 



The results were very dramatic. Over 26,000 acres were irri- 

 gated, an increase of 650 percent over the prior seven years' aver- 

 age irrigations. Waterfowl food production increased by 300 per- 

 cent. Almost 50 million pounds of waterfowl food were grown in the 

 Grasslands resource conservation area alone. These are privately 



