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Apr 1, 2008 6:25 pm US/Pacific
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Calif. Approves $5.3M To Restore Salmon Habitat
SACRAMENTO (AP) ―
The California Senate on Tuesday approved spending $5.3 million to restore salmon habitat, responding to a population decline that may end salmon fishing off the California and Oregon coasts this year.
Lawmakers sent the bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on a 27-10 vote. Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Lisa Page said the governor has not taken a position on the bill.
The money would come from a $5.4 billion water bond approved by voters in 2006. The bill's author, Sen. Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, said it would be used to match about $20 million the federal government has made available for salmon projects.
The money would help remove barriers to salmon migration, restore spawning areas and monitor salmon populations.
Four Republicans joined majority Democrats in approving the bill. It passed without debate, but Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, later said he opposed the measure because the state should have a comprehensive plan for spending money from the 2006 bond measure.
The measure, Proposition 84, provides money for clean water, parks, flood control and conservation programs.
"I don't think we ought to be parceling out bits and pieces of the Prop. 84 money based on one member's pet projects," Hollingsworth said in a telephone interview.
The federal Pacific Fishery Management Council is to decide this month in Seattle whether to end the salmon season for the year.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)