It may be in jeopardy since Pombo’s loss, but with the involvement of the environmental movement in his loss, one hopes the sound environmental project will still move forward and bring the salmon back to the river.
New goals surface after Pombo's loss
By Michael Doyle - Bee Washington Bureau Published 12:00 am PST Friday, November 10, 2006
The "Western Rebellion" that propelled Tracy Republican Rep. Richard Pombo to power now has receded, leaving many of its most important goals unmet and possibly beyond reach.
Democrats will run the House Resources Committee, which Pombo has led for the past four years. That will mean new priorities for parks, public lands and Western water.
It could mean less attention to a proposed San Joaquin River restoration in the Central Valley.
The Democratic takeover also emboldens the environmental groups that spent well over a million dollars to help ensure Tuesday's stunning defeat of Pombo.
It all portends an intriguing next couple of years in the environmental trenches. "As environmentalists, we're often frustrated that our issues are not part of the political conversation," Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters, said Wednesday. "But in race after race across the country, the environment was part of the conversation ... (and) we're proud of what we did."
The "Western Rebellion," also known as the "Sagebrush Rebellion," involves people in the West who think that the federal government oversteps itself on property rights issues, especially regarding enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. They also chafe over the fact that half the West is owned by the federal government instead of privately.
