House approves Denham bill to protect salmon, eliminate wasteful water usage

The House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday that U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) introduced to address conflicting statutes that endanger salmon in California.

The Save Our Salmon (SOS) Act, H.R. 4582, would strike a doubling provision for striped bass — a non-native predator of salmon — outlined in the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). In the process, the bill would help curb non-essential water usage because millions of acre-feet of water have been flushed into local waterways to help salmon and other native species reach the ocean while striped bass simultaneously feed on them.