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07/14/2005: "Fish kills result of improper procedures and administration bullying"

The National Marine Fisheries Service did not follow its own procedures or have all the necessary information it needed when it decided to divert water to farms and southern California cities thereby endangering threatened fish populations in the northern part of the state, according to an audit by the Commerce Department's Office of the Inspector General.
Allegations that the administrators and the Bureau of Reclamations pressured biologists at NMFS to OK the diversion in order to fulfill 200 water contracts caused congressional leaders to demand the investigation that produced the audit.
Native fish populations in the Delta and in coastal rivers have seen a dramatic decline since last year, when fisherman and fish activists complained that low water releases caused river temperatures to rise killing huge numbers of salmon before they spawned.