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000303 ; I f In 1994, there were 2,200 nest starts on evaporation ponds at Tulare Lake Oraln~ age District. In 1999, 4,100 birds started nests on the compensation habitat and 200 on the ponds. Seil as a salt repository, but this will ultimately cause fish to die. The ex- tinction of fish in the sea is unc1cceptM able to a significant segment of soci- ety. Therefore, some costly Salton Sea restoration projects are being consid- ered. The sun'ival of agriculture is somewhat protected by the fact that if agriculture does not provide water to it, the sea ,,\'ill dr)' lip. The future of <<griculture in the Im~ perial Valley will more likely be con- str"ined by the <1vai,lability of irriga- tion water thill1 by salinization. A likely scenario is that as urban water demands increase and water supplies diminish, more water transfer arrange- ments wil! occur behveen filrmers and cities, similar to the recent agreement between Imperial Valley and San Di- ego. \Vith reduced irrig,ltion, less agri- cultural \vntcr \.vill flow to the Sillton Sea and the sea \.....ilI shrink. The future of agriculture in the western Snn JO<lquin Valley is more problematic. Selenium in the drainage w,1ter greatly limits the options for it$ disposal. Achie\'ing salt b.'!,lnce by rt'- mo\'ing the salts from the \\'est Side is at best (\ distant possibility. S<llt bal- ance within a field requires pl<lcement of snits in a repository, cll1d evapora- tion ponds can serve th,lt purpose. However, the potentiill for bird dam- age on €\'nporation ponds remains a (onstr,lint; indeed, California's Re- gion.ll \Vater Qu,11ity Contn..ll Boards 1101\'(' been limiting their use and con- struction due to bird impac.ts. Regulations \vill drin~ the future of agriculture on the \Vcst Sidt.'. A policy \ t. , f ~ i directed toward maximizing bird populations through .~ compensation habitat and ~ other means, while allowing !l. some bird damage, would en- .~ able growers to use a comhi- ~ nation of drainage-disposal j methods to sustain agricul- j ture. , >- Numerous federal, state and private agencies share re- sponsibility for the management of sa- linity in the San Joaquin Valley. None, however, has the authority or capabil- ity to assume unilateral leadership. To. some extent these agencies have con- flicting interes~, so achieving consen. sus can be difficult and challenging. Productive farmlands are going out of production because of high water tables and the inability to dispose of drainage waters. In the future, the amount of productive agricl~ltural land is likeiy to diminish, and acreage with water tables approaching the sur- face are in greatest jeopardy. All of the options discussed can minimize a'nd slow the salinization process, but none will completely solve the problem tth- less an out-of-valley discharge solution becomes feasible. The future of both agriculture and wildlife in the Imperial and western San Joaquin valleys can be enhanced by cooperative rather than adversarial approaches by agricultural and envi- ronmental ad\"Ocates. In the Imperial Valley, agricultural drainage waters could be used fo create productive wildlife habitat prior to discharge into the Salton Sea. Drainage waters can sustain wildlife before terminating at the sea, where the chemicals accumu- late and concentrate (UC MEXUS 1999). Indeed, high numbers of birds are presently observed in areas adja- cent to the sea's main body. In the western San Joaqliin Valley, growers can create a productive wildlife sys- tem by mitigating evaporation-pond damage and constructing alternative and compensation habitat. In both.cases, some habitat will be sacrificed - the evaporation ponds and the main body of the Salton Sea. 48 CALIFORNIA AGAICUL lURE, VOLUME 54. NUMBER 2 ,<.~ >~ This approach requires a new para- digm, whereby wildlife habitat is not limited to "natural" systems. It. calls for innovative approaches' to creatine . 0 new, highly productive habitats. Agri culture has a history of increasing pr1" ducti\'ity per. unit of iand area ,so th,lt growing human population can be fel \....ithout large expansions of acreage. Attention shouid now be directed to- ward increasing wildlife production per unit of habitat area. Such an ap- proach can benefit both wildlife and agriculture in the Imperial Valley and western San Joaquin Valley. J. Letey is Distinguished Professor a/Soil Physics, lIC Rh'erside, and Director of III lIC Cenler lor Waler Resources, and Sa- linity and Drainage Program. References [CAST) Council for Agricultural Scie.1ce and Technology. 1996. The Future of '::j. gated Agriculture. Task Force Report No. 127. Ames, IA. 76 p. Cohen MJ, Morrison JI, Glenn EP. 1999. Haven or Hazard: The Ecology and Future of the Salton Sea. Pacific Institute. Oakland, CA. 63 p. Jacobsen T, Adams RM. 1958, Salt and silt in ancient Mesopotamian agriculture. Sci. ence 128: 1251-8. Letey J, Roberts C, Penberth M, VasekC 1986. An Agricultural Dilemma: Draina:e Wa ter and Toxics Disposal in the San Joa":;uin Valley. UC Agricultural Experiment Station Spec. Pub!. 3319. 56 p. [Salton Sea EIS/EIR] Salton Sea Restora lion Project Environmental Impact Statement Environmental Impact Report, 1999. www.lc.usbr.gov. San Joaquin Valley Drainage Implementa tion Program. 1999. Technical committee reo ports: drainage reuse, drainage treatment, land retirement, evaporation ponds. source reduction, groundwater management. river . discharge, salt utilization, grasslands sub- area, Tulare/Kern subarea. Division of Plan. ning and Locel Assistance, Dept. of Waler Resources, Sacramento, CA. . wwwdpla.water.ca.gov/agriculture/drainage/ implementation/hq/sjvlib.htm San Joaquin Valley Dra/nage Program. 1 990. A Management Plan for Agricullurai Subsurface Drainage and Related Pro~lems on the Wests/de San Joaquin Valley. FlOal Report. 183 p, . 9 Acti, Tulare Lake Drainage DistrICt. 199 . ity Summary. Corcoran, CA. 40 p. r ',. UC MEXUS. 1999. Alternative Futures 0, the Salton Sea. UC Riverside Salton Sea < Project SteeringCommillee. 23 p.