Tomorrow, Governor Newsom will be meeting with President Trump in Washington D.C. to discuss California water and the Los Angeles fires. If you are covering this story, please consider the following joint statement from Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA), Restore the Delta, Friends of the River, San Francisco Baykeeper, and California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. Additionally, here’s an individual statement from GSSA’s executive director.
Scott Artis, Executive Director of Golden State Salmon Association
“The last time Governor Newsom and President Trump met, everyone who relies on the Bay-Delta watershed was handed an executive order not to defend salmon and struggling fishing families, but to maximize water for Central California’s big ag industry. We are not in a drought, water storage is at all-time record levels, and, frankly, we expect better from him. I’m worried that when the Governor comes back from his meeting tomorrow in D.C., we’ll be facing more Trump-inspired water policies that are just plain devastating for salmon recovery. The Governor must protect our rivers instead of compounding his salmon problem with a Newsom-Trump water diversion alliance.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2025
CONTACTS:
Scott Artis, Golden State Salmon Association, Scott@goldenstatesalmon.org
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Restore the Delta, Barbara@restorethedelta.org
Gary Bobker, Friends of the River, GBobker@friendsoftheriver.org
Dr. Jon Rosenfield, San Francisco Baykeeper, jon@baykeeper.org
Chris Shutes, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, blancapaloma@msn.com
STATEMENT ON GOVERNOR NEWSOM’S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP AND REPUBLICAN LEADERS
Stockton, CA — In response to reports that Governor Gavin Newsom will meet with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders tomorrow, February 5, 2025, to discuss the Los Angeles fires and California’s water management, we urge the Governor to defend California’s people, environment, and laws in these discussions.
The President’s recent executive orders (EOs) attempt to undermine California’s right to manage its water for the benefit of all Californians. By leveraging the urgent need for federal disaster relief in Los Angeles, the administration is pressuring the state to accept changes in water policy that would devastate California’s watershed communities. Federal aid should not come with conditions that force California to sacrifice its clean water, cultural resources, and ecological health. The pain and suffering of Los Angeles residents must be addressed immediately — just as in any other natural disaster across the United States — without tying it to unrelated, harmful policy changes.
The Federal EO seeks to override state law, harming Tribes, cultural resources, vulnerable riverside communities, and clean water throughout San Francisco Bay’s watershed and Central Valley river systems. Moreover, the President’s policies threaten to devastate coastal communities that rely on California’s commercial and recreational fishing industries. Implementation of this unlawful EO would ensure further degradation of California’s clean water and living rivers, and may lead to extinction of native species, including the state’s iconic salmon runs. Destroying river and coastal economies worth billions of dollars to repair the damage in Los Angeles does not solve any problems for California.
On behalf of our millions of members and supporters, we stand ready to defend California’s people, environment, and laws. We call on Governor Newsom to defend all California regions and uphold our State laws on behalf of all people.
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