A California river has dried up. Critics say the state should do more to protect its salmon

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Set us as preferred The Scott River, which flows out of mountain forests into a broad valley near the California-Oregon border, provides vital habitat for salmon that swim upstream from the ocean to spawn in the fall and winter.But this year, portions of the river have been transformed into stretches of dry sand and gravel, while farmers have kept hayfields green by running their wells and pumps.Environmental advocates are accusing regulators at the State Water Resources Control Board of failing to do enough to prevent the river from running dry.“They didn’t do their job,” said Regina Chichizola, who leads the nonprofit group Communities United for Water Protection.“It’s a free-for-all in the Scott River, and the water board has the authority and the laws in place to manage the water withdrawals, and they need to start doing it.”She and other critics say the state should have ordered farmers to cut groundwater pumping more drastically this year to save water in the river.

Farmers disagree, saying drought and other factors are primarily to blame.The debate over the drying out of the Scott River reflects long-standing disputes over how to keep water in the river and balance the competing needs of farmers and fish.The river is partly fed by groundwater in the Scott Valley.When farmers pump heavily from wells, that lowers the water table and can diminish the river.The river also depends on melting snow to sustain it in the summer.

But this year, it was extremely warm and the surrounding mountains got mostly rain and almost no snow.The snowpack in the area measured just 1% of average on May 1, when it typically reaches its seasonal peak.

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