DAILY DIGEST, weekend edition: Farmer lashes out over plowing dispute; Could desalinated water from Mexico flow to San Diego?
California is still covered in snow; Utah State engineers design solutions to repair nation’s tallest dam; Russian River Watershed Association seeks public input; Bay Area: Some flea control products may have environmental impacts: trace amounts of pesticides found in San Francisco Bay; Dirtiest no more: Santa Cruz’s Cowell Beach now ranked #3 most contaminated; Sea nettles and leatherback turtles return to Monterey Bay; Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority policy committee ready to work; and California farms are thirsty and in danger, says A.G. Kawamura In the news this weekend … Farmer lashes out over plowing dispute: “A California farmer facing a $2.8 million fine for allegedly plowing seasonal wetlands on his 450-acre Tehama County land lashed out Friday against federal prosecutors and bureaucrats for what he called an abuse of government power.
The U.S. State Department’s approval of a presidential permit marks a step forward for the Otay Water District and its vision for a cross-border pipeline to import the desalinated water from Mexico.
Now the bureau is forecasting a 4-foot drop in the surface of the reservoir over the next 18 months — a difference of 25 feet.
… ” Read more from the Las Vegas Review Journal here: Latest forecast shifts Lake Mead from big gain to small loss It’s June.
… ” Read more from Deseret News here: Utah State engineers design solutions to repair nation’s tallest dam In commentary this weekend … California farms are thirsty and in danger, says A.G. Kawamura: He writes, “For generations now, California farmers have fed America and the world.
Public meetings will be held to discuss the SWRP and provide an opportunity for input on watershed priorities, storm water projects to be evaluated, and the prioritization of projects for future implementation.
… ” Read more from the Ukiah Daily Journal here: Russian River Watershed Association seeks public input Bay Area: Some flea control products may have environmental impacts: trace amounts of pesticides found in San Francisco Bay: “Some popular flea control products may be responsible for trace amounts of pesticides getting into the San Francisco Bay.
In the annual “Beach Bummer” report card issued Thursday by Southern California environmental nonprofit watchdog group Heal The Bay, the Santa Cruz surf break, a favorite among tourists and locals alike, slipped to the third most contaminated beach statewide.
… ” Read more from SF Gate here: Sea nettles and leatherback turtles return to Monterey Bay Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority policy committee ready to work: “The IWV Groundwater Authority appointed representatives to nearly all open Policy Advisory Committee positions at their monthly board meeting on Thursday morning.

In Zimbabwe, benefits of forgotten farming method realized during drought.
Better yet, the land is producing a crop even as southern Africa’s droughts grow stronger and more frequent, a problem linked to climate change.
That’s because Mr. Chiweshe is no longer plowing a portion of his farm, but instead planting his seeds directly into the intact soil, a water-conserving technique called “no-till” farming.
Besides planting seeds directly into the soil, no-till farming involves allowing the stalks and leaves left from earlier harvests to remain on the ground, to help hold moisture and eventually add nutrients to the soil, building soil fertility over time.
In some areas where soils are sandy, farmers practicing no-till farming saw yields no higher than those of farmers who plowed their land.
Before taking up no-till farming, he said he harvested just one tonne of maize from his 3-hectare plot last year, during the drought.
This year he expects twice that from just one-sixth of his land.
In Malawi, no-till farmers find they need to spend fewer days each year planting and weeding their fields – though they may need to buy and use herbicides to get rid of weeds without tilling the land, Thierfelder said.
Some farmers say eliminating tilling also has allowed them to plant more crops side-by-side in the same field.
Under a 2011 government plan to promote the practice, each of the country’s 4,300 farm extension officers was expected to train at least 75 farmers a year, said Phillimon Ngirazi, an extension officer from Chavakadzi in Shamva District, about 75 miles northwest of Harare.

Faced with more drought, Zimbabwe’s farmers hang up their plows.
MUREHWA, Zimbabwe (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Preparing his three-hectare plot of land for planting each year used to take Musafare Chiweshe – or the laborers he hired – two weeks.
Better yet, the land is producing a crop even as southern Africa’s droughts grow stronger and more frequent, a problem linked to climate change.
No-till farming is hardly new.
Besides planting seeds directly into the soil, no-till farming involves allowing the stalks and leaves left from earlier harvests to remain on the ground, to help hold moisture and eventually add nutrients to the soil, building soil fertility over time.
In some areas where soils are sandy, farmers practicing no-till farming saw yields no higher than those of farmers who plowed their land.
Before taking up no-till farming, he said he harvested just one ton of maize from his 3-hectare plot last year, during the drought.
This year he expects twice that from just one-sixth of his land.
In Malawi, no-till farmers find they need to spend fewer days each year planting and weeding their fields – though they may need to buy and use herbicides to get rid of weeds without tilling the land, Thierfelder said.
Under a 2011 government plan to promote the practice, each of the country’s 4,300 farm extension officers was expected to train at least 75 farmers a year, said Phillimon Ngirazi, an extension officer from Chavakadzi in Shamva District, 120 km northwest of Harare.

Trump administration officials spin a fantasy that they value a clean environment, but then they deride the legal standards that keep our air and water clean as “job-killing regulations.” The truth is this: The safeguards we all depend on to protect our air, water and health come in the form of government regulations.
(The truth is also that these environmental regulations produce far more benefits than costs and actually create jobs—but that’s another story.)
Most Americans today don’t have to deal with the kind of rampant pollution that was poisoning our air and water 45 years ago because we’ve created strong federal laws requiring the EPA to issue regulations to stop the contamination.
Before Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 and required the EPA to issue a host of new rules under the law, a patchwork of ineffective state regulations had allowed America’s waterways to become a dumping ground for sewage and industrial waste.
According to a report from a group of EPA alumni, protective guidelines set by the EPA over the past 40 years have resulted in the removal of 702 billion pounds of pollutants from our nation’s waters.
Most sewer systems now remove 85 percent of pollutants from wastewater, as opposed to in 1972, when half of the country was served by sewer systems that only removed 30 percent of contaminants.
In the first 20 years after the passage of the Clean Air Act, the law prevented more than 200,000 premature deaths and 18 million cases of respiratory illness in children alone.
We haven’t solved all our country’s pollution problems, but the lesson is clear: Without strong federal safeguards, polluters have the upper hand and the public pays the price.
Now President Trump wants to tip the scales even more in favor of polluters.
The Trump administration does not have some magical ability to protect communities without regulations.