The State - News from Sept. 29, 1989

A wildlife supporter has hailed the possibility that farming may be stopped on some poorly drained land in the western San Joaquin Valley. “We’re dealing with a public health problem,” said Lydia Miller of the San Joaquin Raptor Wildlife Rescue Centers. “Retiring land is the most reasonable long-term solution.” Officials in the Westlands District in western Fresno and Kings counties are preparing a possible incentive program to get farmers to retire some land that might have soil too tight to drain. Land eligible for retirement might also be highly contaminated by selenium, or might be in a location where leaving it idle would be the most economical way to protect surrounding farmland, officials said.