Comment on FR Doc # E8-09835

If this is a duplicate, please blame my computer. I comment only as a private citizen I selected "Federal" as "Government Agency Type" only because I feared the computer would reject my comment if I left the entry blank. Longfin smelt were virtually absent from a recent survey of delta fish; so says your web site. Listing them as endangered, or at least threatened, will become a reason to improve their habitat. One step toward improving their habitat is allowing more water to stay in the delta and flow into the ocean. Drip irrigation and other techniques will allow SJ Valley farmers to make a good crop, in all but the dry years without depleting the delta. Farmers and consumers can tolerate occasional dry years and may learn to make a crop in all but the driest years. In contrast, when a species is gone and their are no individuals left, we have lost that species forever. As Sen. Florez' SB 994 shows, it is difficult to convince folks that habitat improvement is the way to recover species, rather than raising the species in captivity and then allowing individuals to be destroyed by impaired habitat. Listing other Delta species may help folks accept habitat improvement. Thank you for the opportunity to comment, Arthur Unger 2815 La Cresta Drive Bakersfield, CA 93305-1719 (661) 323 5569