Letters WHAT DO YOU THINK ? The editorial staff of California Agriculture Ag info network needs funds welcomes your letters , The topic of water research , as reported in California National Academy of comments and sugges - Agriculture ( October - December 2007 ) , points out Sciences ( NAS ) and tions . Please write to us at a persistent theme of land - grant university scien - the National Academy 6701 San Pablo Ave . , 2nd tists : Once initial studies of a subject have been floor , Oakland , CA 94608 of Engineering ( NAE ) . or calag @ ucop.edu . undertaken , there is a need for extended research , An NRC committee Include your full name including fieldwork , to solve important questions . spent almost 2 years and address . Letters may For instance , harmless E . coli is used as an indica - reviewing agency be edited for space and tor of pathogens in water supplies â?? but the critical decisions surround - clarity . questions concerning the load and concentration ing the Klamath of actual pathogens in water bodies , and their re - water situation sponse to management practices and wetlands , are ( see Endangered and unanswered ( page 159 ) . A separate article on juniper Threatened Fishes in the October â?? December 2007 removal also refers to â?? substantial data and research Klamath River Basin : California Agriculture gaps in our knowledge â?? of the influence of western Causes of Decline and juniper on hydrology ( page 166 ) . Strategies for Recovery , National Academies Press , The resolution of such issues as the long - term 2004 ) . William Lewis of the University of Colorado health of our citizens and the continuation of testified before the U.S . House of Representatives problems in the environment depends on well - Subcommittee on Water and Power on July 31 , integrated agricultural and environmental research . 2007 . Excerpts of his testimony follow : However , federal support for such research has been â?? Between 2002 and 2004 , I was chair of the steadily decreasing , at the same time that funding Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fishes for health research , development and dissemination in the Klamath River Basin . An important ques - has increased exponentially . tion considered by the committee . . . is whether It is critical for scientists , educators , extension management of water by the Klamath Project was agents and agribusiness leaders to build a coher - responsible for withholding the pulse of flow that ent and responsive system serving all commu - would have allowed the salmon to migrate . The nities . They need resources for research in the NRC committee concluded that this is very unlikely . public interest , and that research must be avail - The Klamath Project is located over 150 miles up - able . Increasingly that means â?? discoverable â?? on the stream from the mouth , and water flowing through Internet . the Klamath Project accounts for only 10 % of the The National Agricultural Library , land - grant total flow at the mouth ; large tributaries entering universities and related organizations are design - the river below the Klamath Project contribute most ing a digital library that will support dynamic , of the flow at the mouth . Furthermore , the Klamath collaborative and fully integrated electronic agri - Project releases water that is warm because it comes cultural information systems . However , planning from storage lakes rather than reaching the stream for the Digital Library for Agriculture has been through groundwater or surface runoff . The com - hampered due to the lack of funds , which have ba - mittee concluded that a relatively small amount of sically been static since 1985 . warm water propagated over a distance of 150 miles USAIN , the United States Agricultural Inform - would not have made a critical difference to the ation Network , ( representing 40 states and five salmon that were staging for migration at the mouth countries ) has recently advocated for adequate of the river . â?? funding through the Farm Bill , which is still pend - Michael Byrne ing approval in Congress ( www.usain.org ) . Klamath Falls , Ore . Norma Kobzina , President , USAIN 2007 - 2008 head , Information Services Cal Ag research helps improve water quality UC Berkeley Bioscience and Natural Resources Library Editorâ??s note : Californiaâ??s Proposition 50 was passed in 2002 with $ 3.44 billion in bond funding for water qual - Cause of Klamath fish die - offs disputed ity improvements . An incorrect statement was made concerning the cause of fish die - offs ( attributed to Levy [ 2003 ] ) in We had between 65 and 70 people at our Prop 50 the juniper removal article in California Agriculture Upper Feather River Watershed Irrigated Lands ( October - December 2007 ) . The National Research Stakeholder Meeting in Quincy on Nov . 15 , 2007 . Council ( NRC ) is the operating arm of the Members of the Prop 50 Project Team along with http : / / CaliforniaAgriculture.ucop.edu â?¢ JANUARy â?? MARCh 2008 5Letters Outreach news Service grants allow 4H - ers representatives from state and regional agencies Hto build healthier communities gave presentations and participated in discussions . H In addition to results of season - long water - the morning of a school holiday in mid - quality monitoring from across the watershed , He ONNovember , 12 - year - old Sean eBoergerr November , 12 - year - old Sean Boerg most participants received a copy of the October - got a rid across town and presented his ideas oforr got a ride across town and presented his ideas f December 2007 California Agriculture with the ex - H installing benches in a wetland to officials of hthee installing benches in a wetland to officials of t cellent article by Knox et al . , â?? Management reduces Siskiyou Land Trust . Boerger is junior leader of hthee Siskiyou Land Trust . Boerger is junior leader of t E . coli in irrigated pasture runoff . â?? 18 USC 707 Strawberry Valley 4 - H woodworking group , and hhee Strawberry Valley 4 - H woodworking group , and Co - author Ken Tate , a member of the Project knows about making and installing public benches . Team , discussed management practices that lo - Last year , his group won a 4 - H service - learning cal agricultural owners who irrigate for forage and grant to provide benches at Siskiyou Lake . This livestock could implement on their ranches , based year , a new grant of $ 1,100 will allow the group to upon work conducted at the UC Sierra Foothill make benches for the Sisson Meadow Wetlands , Research and Extension Center and summarized in which the land trust has recently restored in down - California Agriculture . Based on the article and Kenâ??s town Mt . Shasta . comments , members of the Upper Feather River â?? I think itâ??s going to be fun for the group , â?? Watershed Group felt that greater efforts could be Boerger says . â?? The benches will give people a place undertaken to reduce E . coli levels in local streams to sit and make the area look nicer , and we get to by having tailwater go through grassed waterways learn more woodworking skills . â?? or mini - wetlands before returning to the main Thatâ??s exactly the concept of service learning â?? channel . Ranchers also felt that they could improve serving the community and , in the process , gain - their grazing practices to minimize the time cattle ing educational opportunities . Last year , the are in actively irrigated fields . We will continue to community of Lake Siskiyou received beautiful , monitor E . coli levels on behalf of ranchers next year sturdily built benches , and Boerger and his group and hopefully see some improvements . learned many things , including how a cedar snag holly George is felled and turned into lumber at the town mill . Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor UC Cooperative Extension , Plumas - Sierra counties On the new project , Boerger is looking forward to the trickiest aspect : â?? Iâ??m not quite sure how weâ??re going to do the foundation , because itâ??s kind of swampy out there , â?? he says . To our readers The service - learning grants are part of the California 4 - H Youth Development Program spon - sored by the University of California Division of Laue leads Cal Ag into digital future Agriculture and Natural Resources ( the 4 Hâ??s stand Andrea Laue joined California Agriculture journal for â?? Head , Heart , Hands and Health , â?? and mem - as Web Editor on Aug . 1 , 2007 . Laue is leading bers pledge their hands to â?? larger service â?? ) . a new digital publishing initiative to digitize â?? The goal , â?? says Pat English , California 4 - H copies of the journal dating back to 1946 , and program representative , â?? is to expand mem - to redesign the information architecture of bers â?? skills in citizenship , leadership and life . â?? the journalâ??s Web site . She will also work on Club increasing the journalâ??s exposure in research 4 - H databases and popular search engines such as Valley Google . â?? California Agriculture content should Strawberry be more findable , retrievable and usable online very soon , â?? Laue says . In concert with California Agriculture and Communication Services staff , Andrea Laue Laue is implementing a comprehensive proposal that integrates the ideas and skill sets of collaborating staff . Laue earned her Ph.D . in English and Digital Humanities from the University of Virginia in 2006 . She has worked on sev - eral scholarly digital publishing projects , including the Mark Twain Project Online at UC Berkeley . Laue can be reached at With support from a 4 - H service - learning grant , ( 510 ) 642 - 2431 , ext . 16 , or andrea.laue @ ucop.edu . the Strawberry Valley 4 - H woodworking group built and installed benches at Siskiyou Lake . 6 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE â?¢ VOLUME 62 , NUMBER 1