Restoration Update




	July 2004www.salttonsea.ca.gov

Gary Wyatt Elected New Salton Sea Authority Chairman

Imperial County Supervisor Gary Wyatt has been elected as Chairman of the Salton Sea Authority Board of Directors.

Wyatt, who also currently serves as Chairman of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, represents District 4 in northern Imperial County including the Salton Sea region.

He replaces Imperial Irrigation District Director Andy Horne as Authority board Chairman.

“I want to thank Andy for his leadership,” Wyatt said. “Over this past year, we have come a long way and we have developed and endorsed an exciting and feasible plan.”

Wyatt, who also represents the Imperial County Board of Supervisors on the recently formed State Advisory Committee on the Salton Sea, added that in the coming months “we will be working hard to convince the state to grant us a full partnership in its restoration efforts, so we can avoid delays and duplication of work.”

Wyatt said that another item high on the board’s agenda will be finding a replacement for Authority Executive Director Tom Kirk, who has announced his resignation to take a position with a Coachella Valley engineering firm.

Newly appointed SSA Chairman Gary Wyatt speaks to the media at a recent press conference at Johnson’s Landing.

A Job Well Done

Carol Roberts, Salton Sea Coordinator for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, presents a plaque to outgoing SSA Executive Director, Tom Kirk, for his outstanding service on restoration efforts.

“Tom’s shoes will be hard to fill, but we are committed to finding a highly qualified replacement,” Wyatt said. “Our board feels it is imperative that we keep our momentum going. We hope to have the position filled sometime this fall.”

Wyatt has been committed to making a difference in Imperial County’s communities since 1990, establishing himself with the Sheriff’s Department as the supervisor of the Crime Prevention Unit. His duties included serving as the liaison for Volunteer Services; Community and Public Relations; Special Projects Coordinator; and Director of Crime Stoppers, Inc.

He has served on numerous committees such as the California Rural Crime Prevention Task Force; the Red Ribbon Coalition; and the California Crime Prevention Officers Association. He was recognized as “Employee of the Year” and was a member of the unit recognized as the “Crime Prevention Unit of the Year” by the State of California.

Wyatt, who served on the Brawley Union High School Board of Trustees, is currently a member of the Brawley Rotary Club; the Brawley Chamber of Commerce; the Navy League; the I.V. Football Officials and the I.V. Basketball Officials; along with numerous other organizations. He is on the Board of Directors of the California State Association of Counties and is active on the Regional Council of Rural Counties; the National Association of Counties; the Mental Health Advisory Board of Directors and the newly formed Socio-Economic Improvement Committee.

Residents of Brawley, Wyatt and his wife of thirty years Dorothy Elaine Wyatt have two children, Kari and Jeremy. Wyatt graduated from Brawley Union High School, attended Imperial Valley College, Southern California College, and Berean College.

Russell Kitahara Added to Salton Sea Authority Board

Coachella Valley Water District Director Russell Kitahara has been appointed to serve on the Salton Sea Authority board, replacing CVWD Director Patricia A. (Corky) Larson who recently resigned from her Authority board position.

Kitahara’s appointment was effective July 1, 2004. He joins Peter Nelson, CVWD’s other representation on the joint powers authority board that was formed in 1993. In addition to the CVWD, the Authority’s board also has representatives from the Imperial Irrigation District, Boards of Supervisors from the Riverside and Imperial counties and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians,

CVWD Board member, Russell Kitahara replaced Patricia “Corky” Larson on the SSA Board of Directors.

“I want to welcome Russell to the board and I look forward to working with him,” said Authority board President Gary Wyatt, Chairman of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors. “The Authority will certainly miss Corky. She has been a very committed board member who did an excellent job for us. We wish her well in her new endeavors.”

Larson, who will remain on the CVWD board, retired approximately one year ago from her position as Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments. In May, she was named City Attorney for the Coachella Valley City of Desert Hot Springs.

In addition to his elected position on the CVWD board, Kitahara is manager of his family’s 80-acre grapefruit farm in Thermal. It annually produces 3.5 million pounds of grapefruit. Kitahara is responsible for the day-to-day management and oversees the operation and maintenance of equipment and irrigation systems.

Kitahara was first elected to the Coachella Valley Water District board of directors in 1998 and he was re-elected to his second term in 2002. He also served as CVWD’s Public Information Aid from 1985 through 1990.

In addition to being a member of the Salton Sea Authority, Kitahara is an alternate member of the Colorado River Board, Past President of the Imperial Dam Advisory Board and Past Vice President of the Thermal/Oasis Community Council.

He is a lifelong resident of the Coachella Valley. Kitahara and his wife, Anna – a special education aide for the Coachella Valley Unified School District – have two children.

M E E T I N G S
S C H E D U L E

Board of Directors
August 19, 10am
Imperial Irrigation District - La Quinta

Technical Advisory Meeting
September 9, 10:30am
Salton Community Service District
Salton City

Plaza La Quinta
78-401 Highway 111, Suite T
La Quinta, CA 92253
www.salton sea.ca.gov

Outdoor Recreation Task Force Issues Final Report

An Outdoor Recreation Advisory Task Force has concluded that the future of the Salton Sea can be a bright one — even with diminished inflows.

The task force, which was appointed in February by the Salton Sea Authority Board to evaluate the recreational potential of a restored Salton Sea, presented its recommendations to the board in June.

“With water transfers and the QSA resulting in a smaller sea, the Task Force was asked to address how to turn potential problems into potential opportunities. It was asked to create a new vision for the Sea that responds to the new water realities,” said Authority Executive Director Tom Kirk.

Its members, which represented elected officials from Brawley, Calipatria and Westmorland as well as state, federal and local agencies working on Salton Sea issues included John Benson, (City of Brawley); Victor Torres, (City of Westmorland); Lea Anne O’Malley, (City of Calipatria); Shirley Palmer, (Salton Community Services District); Christine Harris, (Bombay Community Services District); Sue Giller, (Brawley Chamber of Commerce); Bill Gates and Tim Kelley, (Brawley Economic Development Commission); Cliff Lawrence, (Niland Chamber of Commerce); Leon Lesicka, (New River Wetlands); Roland Gaebert, (Salton Sea State Park); Chris Schoneman, (Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge); Jack Crayon, (California Fish and Game); Vince Signorotti, (Cal Energy); Wayne Olesh and Al Kalin, (Imperial County Farm Bureau); Fred Singh, an area farmer and Jack Hart, a Brawley business owner.

The Task Force, chaired by Lea Anne O’Malley, held its first meeting March 29th. Six subsequent meetings were held in West Shores (Salton City), Niland, Westmorland, Brawley and Calipatria.

The newly envisioned Salton Sea will no longer be California’s largest lake. “What it loses in quantity, though, will be replaced by quality,” according to the findings of the Task Force.

In articulating its vision for a restored Salton Sea, the task force reported:

“For years, dreamers have envisioned economic development and a recreation Mecca around its shores. With proper funding and with the necessary political will at the Federal, State and local government levels, this lake will realize its potential.

Just visualize what can occur if this effort is successful.

In the next several decades, as inflows diminish and the shoreline recedes, new wetlands areas, shallow water ponds and Imperial County’s largest fresh water lake will appear along the southern shores. Hunting and fishing, bird watching, hiking, equestrian trails and off-roading will attract thousands of visitors and local residents annually. The old Salton Sea Navy Base will possibly become another Glamis desert recreational area — a Glamis with a lake view.

In the northern marine lake, a stabilized body of water will attract sports fishermen and recreational boating. The Imperial County communities of West Shores, Bombay Beach, Calipatria and Niland will receive major economic benefits and development from this renewed ecotourism. The community of North Shore will again become a place to visit.”

The issues evaluated by the task force included:
• Extension of new/Alamo Rivers and Wetland Creation
• Creation of Freshwater Lakes in the South
• Marine Lake, North Basin
• Construction of Shallow Water Ponds
• Reclamation of Agriculture Lands
• Geothermal Issues
• Off Road Vehicle Use
• Land-Ownership Issues
• Hunting and Fishing

(To see the Complete Report, visit our web site at www.saltonsea.ca.gov).

The Outdoor Recreation Task Force looked to expand recreation opportunity at the Salton Sea.

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