Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today welcomed the news that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have formed an interagency task force – the Federal Drought Action Team – to work with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and State agencies to address the California’s drought emergency.

“This is very encouraging news. California is in the grip of one of the worst drought emergencies on record. So I very much appreciate the commitment from Secretaries Salazar and Vilsack to coordinate the efforts of their agencies to work with the State to immediately address this dire situation,” Senator Feinstein said.

“But we know that a short-term fix is only one piece of the puzzle. I feel very strongly that we must develop a concrete plan of action this year to address California’s chronic water shortages and the fishery population collapse. It’s critical that we marshal our federal, state and local resources to establish and implement a comprehensive, long-term strategy to help the State restore the Delta and its fisheries, convey water more effectively, and store more water in wet years for use in the dry years.”

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