0:00:00.000,0:00:04.845
You know, I only have a few years left in[br]life, maybe twenty years; fifteen maybe.

0:00:04.845,0:00:07.714
So I thought about what's the most[br]important thing that I could do

0:00:07.714,0:00:13.500
in the time that I have here.[br]And, uh, taking care of my grandkids,

0:00:13.500,0:00:17.310
and making sure that they have a place[br]to enjoy: that they have streams to enjoy;

0:00:17.310,0:00:20.280
that they have wildlife to enjoy.

0:00:20.286,0:00:23.106
That's, probably, one of the [br]most important things I can do.

0:00:29.716,0:00:34.309
Nestlé is drawing water from a[br]spring or a well,

0:00:34.309,0:00:37.079
within the National forests, [br]within public lands that are owned

0:00:37.079,0:00:38.979
by the people of the United States.

0:00:38.979,0:00:41.709
It's drawing that water and then it's[br]diverting it, in a pipe,

0:00:41.709,0:00:44.109
down several miles outside of the forest.

0:00:44.239,0:00:51.509
Nestlé has an expired special use permit,[br]issued 1978 that expired in 1988.

0:00:51.509,0:00:55.833
Uh, that permit alone allowed them occupy[br]National forest land, with the

0:00:55.833,0:01:00.657
infrastructure necessary to remove water.[br]And they take anywhere from

0:01:00.657,0:01:05.445
50 to 150 million gallons a year,[br]depending on certain conditions.

0:01:05.886,0:01:10.596
The Forest Service's maybe is getting [br]a pittance of what this water's worth.

0:01:10.596,0:01:14.621
We're subsidising the business that[br]depletes that public land resource,

0:01:14.621,0:01:18.860
and that then creates cost on down[br]the line in its lifecycle,

0:01:18.860,0:01:21.270
as well in the waste management cost.

0:01:21.510,0:01:25.530
The drought drags on but the watershed,[br]you know, grows drier.

0:01:25.710,0:01:31.815
Why is a foreign corporation like Nestlé[br]being allowed to withdraw millions

0:01:31.815,0:01:36.884
and millions of gallons out of our[br]watershed, making a huge, huge profit?

0:01:37.316,0:01:43.132
(interviewer) Do you have any intention of[br]ceasing bottling operations in California?

0:01:43.489,0:01:48.282
(Tim Brown) Uh, absolutely not, uh,[br]in fact, um, if I could increase it, I would.

0:01:48.479,0:01:50.594
We feel good about what we're doing.

0:01:50.834,0:01:56.341
Strawberry Creek is just barely hanging on[br]because there's so much water removed.

0:01:56.651,0:01:58.917
And then when we saw the drought[br]that's currently going on,

0:01:58.917,0:02:01.351
that's the worst drought [br]in recorded history here.

0:02:01.917,0:02:07.487
Um, so all of that together made me [br]really worry about Strawberry Creek,

0:02:07.487,0:02:11.257
I thought that there's a good chance we[br]could completely dry Strawberry Creek up.

0:02:11.487,0:02:15.979
Ah, the Strawberry drainage is, uh, is a [br]critical drainage for, uh,

0:02:15.979,0:02:20.734
our plant and animal communities, and it[br]becomes more and more critical every year.

0:02:20.734,0:02:25.258
Because as the urban population in [br]Southern California grows, uh,

0:02:25.258,0:02:29.205
the National forests down in Southern[br]California are becoming more and more

0:02:29.205,0:02:33.205
isolated islands, of plant and[br]animal communities.

0:02:33.268,0:02:38.457
This is a dry habitat that means that those[br]riparian areas, those areas that are wet,

0:02:38.457,0:02:41.889
are essential. Especially in dry years,[br]like this year, to wildlife.

0:02:41.919,0:02:47.283
And it's at 0.18 now, 0.18 cubic feet per[br]second, which is nothing,

0:02:47.283,0:02:48.953
I mean, it's almost no water.

0:02:48.953,0:02:52.583
Species that have lived there, [br]over eons of time, could be lost;

0:02:52.583,0:02:54.643
it's just a, it's a terrible thing.

0:02:55.337,0:02:59.459
The Forest Service hasn't looked at this[br]in a number of years and so they can't say

0:02:59.459,0:03:02.889
"yes we're protecting those public [br]resources, yes we're making sure

0:03:02.889,0:03:05.829
that there's sufficient water for all the[br]species, yes we're making sure,

0:03:05.829,0:03:09.179
that, we're holding this in trust[br]for the people of the United States,

0:03:09.179,0:03:12.799
we're using it in a sustainable way."[br]And they're obligated by law

0:03:12.799,0:03:16.129
to use the resources on the National[br]forest in a sustainable way.

0:03:16.225,0:03:21.849
A year ago, I started begging the Forest[br]Service and Nestlé to start meeting

0:03:21.849,0:03:26.063
together to start talking about Strawberry[br]Creek, to work together on their permit

0:03:26.063,0:03:30.903
and on the, uh, and on protecting the[br]National forests, and I was begging

0:03:30.903,0:03:34.603
them to do that, and, um, and still[br]nothing's happened;

0:03:34.603,0:03:36.563
there's no meetings, there's just talk.

0:03:36.563,0:03:40.033
Everybody in California is effected by the[br]drought, but not Nestlé,

0:03:40.033,0:03:44.033
or any other water bottling company.[br]I mean, this is our water!

0:03:44.033,0:03:48.033
The water in the, in those mountains[br]belong to every California(n),

0:03:48.033,0:03:49.633
and every tax payer in America.

0:03:49.751,0:03:55.617
Personally, I invested 40+ years of my[br]life being a professional forester.

0:03:56.137,0:04:01.681
And I care a great deal that public land[br]in our country is properly managed,

0:04:01.681,0:04:07.696
especially, in a manner that makes sure[br]that the goods and services it provides

0:04:07.696,0:04:09.828
are there for future generations,

0:04:09.828,0:04:12.394
and that's not how it's being managed[br]right now.