Wine vs. Salmon: Water Wars Hit Sonoma County

[n2doc]

By JACOBA CHARLES

The dense forests of redwood, oak and Douglas fir that once covered much of Sonoma County have for many decades been giving way to pastures, orchards, subdivisions — and vineyards.
Now, those vineyards are emerging as yet another threat to a fish that would go just perfectly with the region’s signature pinot noir: the coho salmon.

Battered by a long history of habitat loss, logging and development, a dwindling number of coho struggle to survive in the rivers and streams where they return every year to spawn. Now they must contend with water-hungry vines, and especially a frost-prevention method that involves spraying plants with 50 gallons of water per acre, per minute. In smaller tributaries, the technique can literally suck stretches of a stream dry.

“There are a lot more grape vineyards than there really is water for,” said Brian Cluer, a scientist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

http://www.baycitizen.org/water/story/wine-vs-salmon-water-wars-hit-sonoma/

[Auggie]

1. Sonoma County will have to find other water sources or limit

further vineyard expansion. The Gallo expansion in the 80's coupled with the Sonoma Coast's emergence as ideal Pinot Noir country has created quite a problem.