Santa Clara River Status

Thank you for “A Sellout for Local Control,” your June 21 editorial on the Santa Clara River, which laments the action of Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon of Santa Clarita in attempting to shoot down selection of the Santa Clara as an American Heritage River. Fortunately, it is not too late to counter this special-interest sellout.

The Santa Clara is still in the running as one of 20 rivers picked by a selection committee and apparently was only eliminated from the final 10 after McKeon’s letter. That 10 includes only two rivers west of the Mississippi, the Rio Grande in Texas and the Willamette in Oregon. If President Clinton were to add the Santa Clara, it would do a lot for geographical balance.

I don’t believe McKeon would have taken his action had he read the Santa Clara nomination document and had he appreciated the depth of support for including the Santa Clara in the Heritage Rivers program.

He stated as his main objection that the American Heritage Rivers Initiative is not a locally operated and driven action. However, as your editorial indicated, the project steering committee for the Santa Clara River Enhancement and Management Plan, on which the application was based, is precisely a broad-based group of landowners, business stakeholders, river cities, government agencies and citizens groups. Further, the Santa Clara application was based on numerous community efforts up and down the river, including Santa Clarita’s Riverpark program.

The president can still act to designate the Santa Clara as an American Heritage River. The Santa Clara is Southern California’s last major “wild river.” It would benefit from and deserves Heritage status.

It is important for readers who support this nomination to write to the President at the White House, Washington, D.C. 20510.

RON BOTTORFF, Friends of the Santa Clara River, Newbury Park