00:00I rise in support of HGA Resolution 78 offered by Representative LaMalfa from California,
00:05which would undo the listing of the longfin smelt in the San Francisco Bay Delta Distinct
00:11Population Segment under the Endangered Species Act.
00:15The listing was based on flawed science in response to an ESA-related lawsuit and adds
00:20yet another piece of regulatory red tape preventing water from reaching California's Central Valley
00:25and communities further south.
00:28California's Central Valley is one of the most prolific agricultural regions in the world,
00:33growing hundreds of crops that feed millions of people.
00:36However, this region faces continual water uncertainty due to drought and ESA-related regulations.
00:44The Central Valley Project, or CVP, transports water from wetter areas in Northern California
00:49to drier areas further south, including the Central Valley.
00:53It is subject to ESA biological opinions that mandate water that would otherwise go to
00:58communities and farms be diverted to the San Francisco Bay.
01:02The effects of this can be seen at this very moment in California, where federal reservoirs
01:07are almost full, yet many farmers are only receiving half of their water allocations.
01:13This is in large part due to restrictions imposed by the ESA which will only be exacerbated by the
01:19listing of the longfin smelt.
01:21Unfortunately, the rush to judgment that ensued from the lawsuit resulted in a listing based
01:27on flawed assumptions and bad science.
01:29First, by solely focusing on the Bay Delta rather than the longfin smelt's entire range, the service ignores
01:36the fact that the species have been found in dozens of locations, including in and around every tributary
01:41of the San Francisco Bay, meaning the longfin smelt is not at risk of extinction and does not meet the
01:48statutory definition of an endangered species.
01:51Instead of being based on science, this listing comes from the Common Radical Environmental Playbook of suing for a predetermined outcome.
01:59Radical groups have litigated for years trying to get the longfin smelt listed under the ESA, with a 2024 lawsuit compelling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make a listing decision,
02:10being the latest example.
02:13Unfortunately, as with many ESA-related lawsuits, the species is rarely the true motivation.
02:19The leader of the organization that filed the lawsuit in question said the not-so-quiet part out loud when he said that protecting the longfin smelt going forward would require taking more water away from farmers.
02:31I urge my colleagues to support the CRA and roll back this misguided listing, and I reserve the balance of my time.
