Lawmakers ask Feinstein to withdraw water proposal

Updated: Saturday, February 20, 2010 11:28 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A dozen lawmakers from California and Oregon are calling on Sen. Dianne Feinstein to withdraw her proposal to divert more water from the Delta for farming.

The group of Democratic lawmakers say in a letter released Thursday that Feinstein's proposal would push salmon and steelhead populations closer to extinction in the two states.

The Democratic senator announced last week that she was considering trying to amend a jobs bill so farmers could get up to 40 percent of their federal water allocation for two years. Last year, they received just 10 percent.

Fewer than 40,000 chinook salmon returned to the river this year, down from more than 750,000 in 2002.

A Feinstein spokesman said her staff would response after it had reviewed the letter.