A three-inch-long fish is at the center of a political debate over wildfire management in California as deadly blazes continue in Los Angeles.

Probably the most controversial fish in this region, if not in California as a whole, is the Delta Smelt. The Delta smelt is the poster child of all that is wrong in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Longfin smelt live for several years, spawning in freshwater and inhabiting estuaries and nearshore waters, and even ranging out into the ocean. Usually growing from 3.5 to 4.3 inches as adults, these ...