Explain it like I'm 5: Habitat land rush worries Yolo (Calif.) rice farmers, officials

[XemaSab]

Picture a shallow waterway as wide as the Mississippi River flowing through Yolo County farmland and teeming with migrating salmon.

For some it's a laudable goal: a seasonally flooded corridor stretching more than 30 miles, from the Fremont Weir in the north to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in the south.

With ample food and shelter, it would be a place where imperiled fish could thrive.

For others, the idea of an alternate fish route paralleling the Sacramento River is a threat that could wipe out rice farming, a major economic engine in the low-lying Yolo Bypass. Agricultural officials estimate the industry's value at up to $50 million annually.



Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/19/3268390/habitat-land-rush-worries-yolo.html#ixzz18i4J1sXf

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The part that's confusing to me is why anyone would want to bypass the main channel of the Sac at that location. Any theories?

[XemaSab]

1. And here's a follow-up article:

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/12/20/3269691/cities-set-to-decide-on-conaway.html

[pscot]

3. And there's the sting

[pscot]

2. It sounds like that's an incidental result

of the mitigation requirements. It's hard to see any downside to letting Yolo revert to tules, but I guess it would depend on what fresh developement hell that allows somewhere else. There's always a hook somewhere.

[XemaSab]

4. Tsakopolous is the satan

n/t