The delta smelt is a 2-3 inch fish that's endemic to the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary here in California.
<-all this right here. It is also an indicator species-one of the animals looked at to judge the overall health of it's environment. Other fish who share the delta smelt's environment and may rely on it as a food source include salmon and sturgeon.
It's also the center of a major debate in the state. Here's the issue.
Most of California's water are in the north and west of the state. A good part of California's agriculture is located in the drier central and southern potion of the state. This means we have to get water from
here
via a bunch of this
to places that look like this.
These guys who live also happen to be endangered and are now under federal protection. Part of this protection involves limiting pumping water from to in an effort to preserve the fish.
However, the lack of water is affecting farmers and leading to things like and .
While the pumping restrictions in place do affect farmers, they may only be a small part of the problem. Many of the farms suffering from a lack of water are in dry, arid, temperate zones that see less than 12 inches of rainfall annually. California is still affected by a drought that started in 2006.
So who do you side with? Is there a middle ground somewhere that will protect both fish and farmers?