Audubon California Executive Director Brigid McCormack argues in today's Capitol Weekly that any water bond approved by the legislature for the November ballot must include resources for birds and habitat:

Every serious bond proposal to emerge from negotiations in the legislature accepts California’s responsibility to provide water to these refuges, as well as the need to fund watershed protection and habitat restoration throughout the state. This represents only a small fraction of the cost of the bond, but will produce long-lasting ecological benefits and will safeguard prior public investments.

Any long-term plan for water use – that is to say, any water bond – that fails to address the future needs of birds and habitat should be considered a failure. This will not only be because of the ecological destruction that will ensue, but also because of the failed opportunity to create a comprehensive plan to provide for California’s future water use.

(photo of ducks at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge courtesy USFWS)