Water Stewardship & Salmon Run
The intangible value of free-flowing water in the west is significant to many people. The beauty of a cascading waterfall, the peacefulness of a mountain brook, the excitement of a spring salmon run would be sorely missed if they disappear from California. In addition, many people find spiritual sustenance in free flowing waters including those Native Californians to whom in-stream flows are essential elements of religious practice.
California's rivers and streams are in critical need of protection. California's salmon populations have been decimated. Streams where salmon can return to spawn have declined from 6,000 miles of free flowing streams to less than 200 miles. The water has been diverted to the needs of agriculture and urban populations.
As California and the west were settled, water went to irrigation for agriculture, industry, and to thirsty towns and cities. Water rights were established on a seniority system of "first in time, first in right." No one thought to allocate to fish, birds and other wildlife the water they needed to survive. Probably no one could conceive, or even imagine, that they would ever be gone.
