Former judge Wanger at Tulare Ag Expo water forum: 'The answers lie with the legislature'

Former United States District Judge Oliver W. Wanger told a Feb. 13 audience at the Tulare Ag Expo that Congress has given non-human species priority over humans, and the way to win the "water wars" is to elect legislators who will change the law.

"A judge no longer has equitable discretion," said Wanger, whose decisions on California environmental water issues have become a flash point for Central Valley ranchers and farmers. "They have only species on the scale. Humans and the economy are not on the scale.

"Seventy percent of the decisions I made favor the environment. Do I think it's right? It's the law. The answers lie with the legislature."

Laws can be changed, suggested Wanger, who is now in private law practice in Fresno.

"Are they waging a war on the human race?" he responded to a provocative question from the audience. "That's a legislatable issue."

Wanger moderated a panel – sponsored by the Latino Water Coalition –of water managers and policy experts (see photo caption), who discussed the serious drought. The consensus was that the Central Valley needs more water storage.

"We've got to have a bond in 2014 that deals with storage," said Manuel Cunha Jr., farmer and president of the Nisei Farmers League and a member of a previous panel.

"I am more optimistic today that Congress will take some action [regarding Delta water and species]," said panelist Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District. Birmingham hailed new legislation introduced two days previously by California senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, saying the bill would change how biological opinions apply.

Representatives from the state (see caption) briefly mentioned the issue of climate change, which figures into the state's long-term planning but does not create much of a blip from the farmers. One said the state is providing funds to promote conservation, which also elicits little bounce from the farmers, who, as another speaker said, already are stretching every drop as a matter of necessity.

A previous panel focused on the effect of the drought on cities and farms. Robert Silva, mayor of Mendota, said his city is "ground zero" for impact of the drought, with residents lining up at food banks and unemployment high. He said an Associated Press story of several weeks ago has brought the international media to his town for more coverage. "They can't believe this is happening in this country," Silva said.