Challenging the myth about "objective" university researchers, a UC Davis study shows that university scientists tend to concur with the beliefs of environmentalists in San Francisco bay and delta water-policy issues. In another finding, most civil servants and government agency officials also appear to eschew neutrality and instead share values, perceptions and policy preferences with their interest-group allies, such as agricultural or environmental groups. Environmental studies professor Paul Sabatier and graduate student Matthew Zafonte studied the beliefs of 465 people actively involved in water policy regarding the bay and delta. In answers to a 14-page questionnaire, policy activists' beliefs ranged from the utilitarian points of view of the federal Bureau of Reclamation and state Department of Water Resources to the environmental beliefs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal fisheries agencies. As for the take-home lesson, Sabatier says, "If you think all informed interests should have a say in a major policy decision, then you want to establish technical advisory committees that include members from the various coalitions." Sabatier presented the results earlier this month at an environmental law conference in San Francisco.