SACRAMENTO — As the clock runs out on the Clinton administration, one of U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt's last key decisions is expected to be whether to dramatically increase the flow of Northern California's once-roaring Trinity River.
His choice could pit the interests of farmers and power users against American Indian tribes and a struggling tourism industry. Tribal leaders, environmentalists and tourism promoters are all eager for him to make up his mind before November's presidential election, which they fear could cause delays regardless of the winner.
The proposal would double Trinity River flows to 595,000 acre-feet a year. This could significantly increase fish for the Hoopa and Yurok tribes. Bolstering the river's flow would also enhance its wild beauty, which could draw increasing numbers of white-water river rafters, recreational anglers and other tourists to the state's northwest corner, which has been struggling since the decline of the timber and fishing industries.
The volume of water at stake, however, generates enough electricity to supply 31,000 Sacramento-area households. Replacing it could cost $12.5 million a year, a cost that would be passed on to consumers. It also irrigates 150 square miles of some of the world's richest farmland across the San Joaquin Valley, where many farmers have seen their water supplies dwindle in the last decade.
"Science shows the quantity of water remaining in the Trinity is a big factor in the health of the [fish population]," said David Hayes, deputy Interior secretary. "But water back in the Trinity is water that is no longer in the Central Valley."
Competing for Babbitt's attention are several other key environmental matters, each with its own set of supporters and detractors. He is expected to decide whether to recommend that the Paria Plateau in northern Arizona be declared a national monument, and whether to expand the Craters of the Moon National Monument in southern Idaho. Babbitt also must decide whether to sign off on a final plan to reduce traffic in Yosemite National Park.
Restoring water to the Trinity, which originates in the jagged Trinity Alps and flows west across Trinity County before emptying into the Klamath River, would mark a continuing reversal of a historical decision. In 1962, the river was dammed and much of its flow--at times as much as 90%--was diverted into the Sacramento River to serve farms and cities by irrigating crops and generating power.
