Rat Story Is a California Allegory

Sacramento

It was one of the most absurd stories of California’s lunacy. In the midst of one of the worst droughts in the state’s history, state and federal wildlife officials were depleting a large reservoir in the Sierra foothills to save (by increasing river flows) a handful of hatchery-born fish that had virtually zero chance of making it to the Pacific Ocean alive. At a water-board meeting I attended, local farmers and residents were incredulous at officials’ refusal to prioritize humans over critters.

This week’s news gives that story a...