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                       Fish and Game Considers Appeal
                           after Tujunga Wash Rebuff


     The California Department of Fish and Game is evaluating a a possible
appeal
of  a ruling by an arbitration panel that opened the way for the
construction of a golf
course in the Tujunga Wash. The arbitration panel said that Fish and Game
did not
have jurisdiction over the area, because the Tujunga Wash floodplain should
not be
considered a "streambed".  California law gives the Department of Fish and
Game
regulatory authority over streambeds and wetlands. The Department issued in
February
a set of regulations over the Wash that would have made development of the
proposed
golf course impossible. Fish and Game fears that the development will lead
to the
extinction of two endangered species, the slender-horned spineflower, and
the Santa Ana sucker.
The Tujunga Wash is one of the two major areas of alluvial floodplain
habitat left
in Southern California.

     Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, the leading golf course
proponent, said he
was "pleased" with the arbitration panel's decision. Wachs, a candidate for
mayor of
Los Angeles in 2001,  must leave his councilmanic seat that year due to term
limits, and fighting
for the golf course builds his bona fides amoung conservative San Fernando
Valley
voters and business interests. Wachs orchestrated approval of the golf
course by the LA
City Council, after the developer, Foothill Golf, sued the City of Los
Angeles for $215
million. The project was initially rejected by the City Council as
environmentally unsound.

     California Natural Resource Secretary Mary Nichols, and Departmrnt of
Fish and Game
Director Robert Hight will decide shortly whether to file a lawsuit to
overturn the arbitration panel's
decision. To give them your input, write :

Mary Nichols
Secretary, Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street
Suite 1311
Sacramento, California 95814

Robert C. Hight, Director
Dept of Fish and Game
1416 9th Street, 12th Floor
Sacramento, California 95814