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impact on Central Valley wetlands will impact waterfowl populations from Alaska to 

 Mexico, and throughout the Pacific Fly way. 



At one time, Mr. Chainnan, the California Central Valley provided over four 

 million acres of wetlands for migratory waterfowl. We are down to less than one-tenth of 

 that today. The 350,000 acres of Central Valley wetlands that remain provide vital 

 wintering and nesting habitat for sixty percent of our Pacific flyway waterfowl which in 

 turn represents over twenty percent of the entire continental U.S. waterfowl population. 

 Moreover, Mr. Chairman, the Grasslands represents over one-third of the remaining 

 Central Valley wetlands. Today, due to substantial changes in California's natural 

 hydrology almost all of the Central Valley wetlands and the Grasslands are "managed 

 wetlands;" meaning that water must be applied artificial! v and intentionally to the land 

 during specific times of the year to create marsh vegetation. Put another way, in emy 

 given year, the quantity and quality of Central Valley wetlands is almost entirely 

 dependent upon the water supplies made available from the Central Valley Project for 

 hands-on wetland management. 



Mr. Chairman, I said in the beginning of my testimony that we are not a member 

 of any "camp." We maintain that position not just here in a public hearing, but also in 

 private meetings. At various times, 1 think that members of the various Central Valley 

 water "camps" have been disappointed with us, and perhaps even a little angry. 1 hope 

 that suggests that we are succeeding in maintaining our independence. I also said that we 

 believe we can offer a unique perspective on Central Valley water management, and I 

 would like to explain what 1 meant. Much of the debate over the allocation of Central 

 Valley water is theoretical with each side seeking to outbid the other in predicting terrible 

 consequences if various actions do not take place. 



The waterfowl community wants to avoid making predictions; we prefer to stick 

 with historical fact. As you know, most of the water applied to the Grasslands between 

 the 1960's and 1985 was agricultural drain water contaminated by selenium, boron, silt 

 and other pollutants which eventually lead to the Kesterson disaster. In the 1993-94 water 

 year, however, the Grassland wetlands and reftiges in the San Joaquin Valley received 

 safe and adequate water supplies in the simimer for the first time in twenty years as a 

 result of CVPIA. The results were far more dramatic than anyone predicted. More than 

 26,000 acres were irrigated compared to an average irrigation of 4,000 acres over the 

 previous seven years. These critical summer irrigations increased waterfowl food 

 production by an estimated 300 percent. On the private landholdings within the 

 Grasslands, 49.5 million pounds of waterfowl food - or 14.5 percent of the total annual 

 food requirements for Central Valley waterfowl - was produced in the 1993-94 water 

 year. That compares to only 8.5 percent of production in the 1992-93 water year. Most 

 important, the number of birds visiting these lands increased from 38,535 to 1 15,000 over 

 the same period. 



