Restoration of S.J. River flow sought Stockton Record - August 13, 2005 Restoration of S.J. River flow sought Stockton Record – 8/13/05 FRESNO -- Some Fresno residents and farmers have banded together to form a group dedicated to restoring flows of water in the San Joaquin River between Fresno and the Delta. The group, Revive the San Joaquin, said in a news release that it seeks to restore both the fisheries that once lived in the river and the farms that now depend on its water for irrigation. Revive the San Joaquin board chairman George Folsom also is a member of the board of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, a nonprofit group trying to restore the upper river. Revive the San Joaquin vice chairman Walt Shubin is a raisin-grape grower near Kerman. Until now, the loudest voices in the San Joaquin River debate from the Fresno area have been groups that oppose restoring the river. The new organization hopes to provide a voice for the many Fresno and Madera County residents who want the San Joaquin to be a living river. The river goes dry most years between Mendota and Merced because its flow is diverted at Friant Dam for use by farms and cities. The dead river is the subject of a federal court case that has long pitted environmentalists and northern San Joaquin Valley interests. Lawrence Karlton, the judge in the case, has already ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation violated state law when it destroyed the salmon population by shutting off the river's flow. For more information on the new group, visit www.revivethesanjoaquin.org A remedy phase of the trial set to start Feb. 14, 2006, will determine how much water the Bureau must release to keep salmon alive. # http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050813/NEWS01/508130335&SearchID=73217352203739 ####