A legendary biologist finds himself in the middle of California’s biggest water war, which his concern over the Delta smelt unwittingly helped trigger
Peter Moyle calls the Delta smelt a scapegoat for poor water management and a bellwether for an ecosystem sickened by overuse and major droughts. Several other fish species native to the Delta, he notes, are also listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, including the longfin smelt, green sturgeon and spring run Chinook salmon…