EcoNews Report: Recent Episodes
The Green Gang
A weekly environmental news roundup produced in Arcata, California by Tom Wheeler/Environmental Protection Information Center, Caroline Griffith and Larry Glass/Northcoast Environmental Center, Alicia Hamann and Scott Greacen/Friends of the Eel River, and Jen Kalt/Humboldt Baykeeper.
Remember how a shady Southern California water agency, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, announced that it wanted to take over the Potter Valley Project on the Eel River, seemingly to thwart dam removal? We have some good news. Earlier this month, the Federal Energy Regulator Commission (FERC) denied the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District’s petition to “intervene” in their proceedings. This means that the Water District would lack “standing” to sue over the final determination by FERC.
While welcome news, that doesn’t mean that Elsinore is out of tricks it can play. Alicia Hamann, Executive Director of Friends of the Eel River, joins the program to give the latest news on Eel River dam removal.
For the latest on Eel River news, be sure to go to eelriver.org
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The effort to rematriate land, natural resources, and political sovereignty back to Indigenous peoples offers an important opportunity for restorative justice. It also offers an opportunity for better land conservation, moving from extractive colonial models of land management to more holistic management. Yet, land back has been met with caution from conservatives and even some environmental advocates. Guests Molli Myers of the Klamath Indigenous Land Trust and Alex Leumer of Leumer Consulting join the program to discuss the marriage of restorative justice and conservation and efforts in Sacramento to promote Indigenous management opportunities.
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The Trump Administration is going after California’s coast. To curb California’s power to stop harmful development off of its coast, NOAA has announced a new review of the California Coastal Management Program. The program is California’s way of implementing the Coastal Zone Management Act and allows more power for California to review and check federal projects off our coast. While NOAA conducts routine, periodic performance reviews of state coastal programs, it appears that this is deliberately to strip power from the state in order to advance more oil and gas developments and “space port” developments desired by Trump acolytes like Elon Musk.
Jen Savage of the Surfrider Foundation joins the program to talk about this and other threats from the Trump Administration to the California coast.
Want to learn more? Check out the Surfrider Foundation!
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The Eureka Police Department has announced a year-long campaign to reduce traffic violence. According to EPD data, injury collisions increased by 18% so far in 2026. Unfortunately, the police lack a lot of the tools necessary to help reduce collisions. Traffic enforcement has been shown to be effective but without a persistent visible police presence, benefits decrease over time. So what can make our streets safer? Better design. Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities and Matt Simmons of EPIC join the show to discuss how we can have lasting safety improvements.
EPD wants to hear your thoughts on how they can help make roads safer. Fill out their survey here.
Is there a dangerous street in your neighborhood? Report it on on Street Story.
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Explore the exciting world of abalone! Author, naturalist, and environmental historian Ann Vileisis talks to the Gang Green about the sad, strange and sometimes hopeful history of California’s abalone.
LINKS:
- Ann Vileisis’ web page.
- Abalone: The Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of California’s Iconic Shellfish
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Could a chemical in our tires be killing salmon? That's what Humboldt Waterkeeper and the Wiyot Tribe have set out to study. The chemical, 6PPD-quinone, is a breakdown product of 6PPD, which is added to tires to prevent cracking and wear. When tires grind away, little bits of the rubber become susceptible to react with ozone. These are then swept away by rain to local waterways, where even slight concentrations are known to kill coho salmon.
The Wiyot Tribe and Humboldt Waterkeeper sampled 19 urban streams and parking lots that discharge stormwater runoff. Their findings were alarming: Sixty-three percent of samples (12 out of 19) exceeded the U.S. EPA aquatic screening levels. Jen Kalt and Sylvia van Royen of Humboldt Waterkeeper and Tiffany Douglas of the Wiyot Tribe join the show to discuss their study.
To learn more, check out their report!
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Despite Trump's best efforts, offshore wind ain't dead. The Humboldt Bay Harbor District has been steadily at work developing its Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project, the port facility that will be used to assemble and service wind turbines. And there are updates to share with you. The Harbor District-convened Community Advisory Committee invites you to attend a community meeting to learn more and ask questions about a proposed offshore wind heavy lift marine terminal project. Community Advisory Committee members Rachael Smith, Colleen Clifford, and Matt Simmons join Rob Holmlund, Development Director at the Harbor District, to discuss the upcoming meeting and offshore port development.
We hope to see you at the meeting!
DATES/TIMES
Wednesday, June 24th: 5:30-7:30 p.m.
WHERE
Arcata Community Center
PRICE
Free
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The Green Rush is over and we are dealing with the consequences. Abandoned cannabis farms speckle the landscape. And on these abandoned farms are a variety of environmental harms that need remediation: improperly graded roads and undersized culverts send sediment into salmon-bearing streams; piles of garbage rotting in the wildlands; pesticides, fertilizers and petroleum improperly stored and at risk of failing; and poorly-constructed ponds at risk of sudden collapse.
That's where Scott Bauer, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Cannabis Remediation Manager steps in. Working together with nonprofits, local governments, and cannabis farmers, Scott works to coordinate clean up of abandoned sites. Scott joins the program to discuss the historic and ongoing impacts from cannabis production and what is being done to address them.
And you are helping too: each time you buy cannabis products from a legal California market, a portion of your taxes go to environmental programs.
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How well do you know river otters? They are cute (obviously). But did you know they are carnivores? They are the apex predator of our local watersheds, hunting on fish, crustaceans, and even waterfowl! Otter experts Charlotte Norman and Gina Culver join the program to talk about the diets of local otters and their complex social lives.
You can report an otter sighting and learn more about these critters at the River Otter Ecology Project.
For a deep dive, check out Wolves of the Wetlands? River Otter Behavior and Space Use at a Water Treatment and Recreational Wetland in Northern California, by Jeffrey Black, Cal Poly Humboldt.
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This week on the EcoNews Report our host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River is talking about the recently launched Eel River Native Plant Network. She's joined by her colleague at Friends of the Eel River, Julie Weeder, and Adam Canter, Wiyot Tribe Natural Resources Director, and Audrey Jackson, Wiyot Tribe Nursery Manager. When the Eel River dams are removed, we'll need possibly hundreds of thousands of pounds of native plant seeds to revegetate and restore the reservoirs. But it turns out that there's already a need for increased production of native plants within the Eel basin, just to support existing cultural and ecosystem restoration projects. The new Eel River Native Plant Network is connecting all kinds of folks to collaborate on increasing regional capacity to produce native plants, not just now, but for generations to come.
Learn more about the network: https://www.eelrivernativeplantnetwork.org/
Wiyot Tribe native plants in Soulatluk: https://www.wiyot.us/314/Native-Plants
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Episode #86
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, particularly harmful to young children and developing fetuses. Mercury is commonly present in fish, but in wildly different concentrations based on the life history of the species. What local fish species are safe to eat and at what amounts?
Humboldt Waterkeeper is there to help. With our guest fisheries biologist, Ross Taylor, and volunteer fishermen, Humboldt Waterkeeper tested 70 fish across nine species to examine mercury concentrations in fish. Their results? Long-lived species that eat high on the food web have the highest concentrations and should be avoided by those most sensitive to mercury. Other seafood, like salmon, oysters and clams, are good for eating frequently because of their extremely low mercury levels.
Want to know if your fish is safe? Download these pocket-sized images for handy reference (click to print or download to your phone):
- Women <45 and Children
- Women >45 and Men
You can also download the full report, Mercury Testing of Sport/Food Fishes from Nearshore Ocean Waters of Humboldt County, California.
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Grizzly bears were once native to California, from the redwoods all the way to the Mexican border. Euro-American settlers wiped out the species in roughly 75 years, with the last reported grizzly bear seen near what is now Sequoia National Park in 1924. Despite that literal absence from the state, grizzlies are also still everywhere: from the California state flag, to place names (like Los Osos, meaning "the bears" in Spanish), to college football team mascots, like the Berkeley Golden Bears. A new effort led by the Yurok and Tejon Tribes is proposing to study the feasibility of bringing back our grizzlies to the state. A new bill in the legislature, SB 1305 (Richardson), would direct the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to study potentially reintroducing the species to the state through scientific, socioeconomic, and tribal consultations to assess its feasibility.
Tiana Williams Clausen, Director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department, and Peter Alagona, professor at UC, Santa Barbara, join the program to talk about grizzlies in California, both in the past and hopefully the future.
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The Trump Administration is taking an axe to the Forest Service. They are "reorganizing" the Forest Service, eliminating Regional Offices and Research Stations. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is virtually gone—and with it opportunities for public engagement. And Trump is pushing to get out the cut, meaning bigger, more impactful projects.
Kimberly Baker, Executive Director of the Klamath Forest Alliance, is a watchdog for over 5.3 million acres of Forest Service Land and have commented on virtually every timber sale for 25 years. She joins the program to discuss the damage being done to our public forests.
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On April 21st, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins rocked the North Coast with a Tweet: She claimed that a Los Angeles-area local water district, the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, wanted to purchase the Eel River dams to operate them for hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. The Water District has since walked back Sec. Rollin's Tweet, claiming that it had no firm plans and its interest was, at present, only exploratory. Now, Congressman Huffman is involved and livid—rightfully so, as he has worked hard on a solution that would work for both parts of his district—and has initiated an investigation into this affair.
Alicia Hamann and Scott Greacen of Friends of the Eel River join the show to discuss whether the public should take this threat seriously and what can be done to keep dam removal on track.
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The Elk River was once idyllic: baby salmon once grew big and healthy in the slack waters of its estuary, Elk once browsed in meadows by the river, and returning adult salmon once laid their eggs in cold river gravel, kept shady by old-growth redwoods. The watershed was stewarded by the Wiyot people. And then colonization screwed things up. The lowlands were diked and drained, turned over to cattle. Elk were killed and the meadows swallowed up by conifer encroachment and homesteads, and clearcutting smothered cold water gravel with sediment from logging roads and landslides. The river is unwell—legally recognized as impaired under the Clean Water Act. And absent intervention, it is unlikely to get better anytime soon. That's where CalTrout comes in. In projects from the river's headwaters to its mouth, CalTrout is working to recover the function of the river. Katy Gurin and Bill Matsubu of CalTrout join the show to discuss their restoration work.
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How should state-owned demonstration forests be managed? For private timber production or for climate, biodiversity, clean water, and other values? That's the question being considered by the California legislature with AB 2494 (Rogers). AB 2494 proposes a virtual reserval of priorities. Currently, state law directs that these public lands be managed for "maximum sustained timber production" while "giving consideration" to other resource management. Under AB 2494, managing for other resources takes top billing while still allowing for commercial timber production where that production is used as a tool to achieve the resource objectives. EPIC staff Melodie Meyer and Josefina Barrantes join environmental attorney Alex Leumer to discuss.
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Trump has revived a little-utilized part of the Endangered Species Act—formally the Endangered Species Committee but often called the "God Squad" as it can decide whether species may go extinct—in a purported effort to boost oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico. Your favorite legal minds, Scott Greacen of eFriends of the Eel River, Matt Simmons of EPIC, and Jen Marlow from CalPoly Humboldt, join the show to discuss the legal basis for the God Squad, its invocation by Trump, and the potential for it to be used in the Pacific Northwest.
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On this week's show, your usual host, Tom Wheeler, is in the hot seat to explain EPIC's long-lasting litigation against Caltrans' Richardson Grove Project. 16 years of litigation, boiled down to a half-hour of radio.
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Have a broken lamp that is too sentimental to toss? Is your favorite knife too dull? Is your laptop running slow? Come to the Repair Cafe! By fixing your items, instead of tossing them and buying new, you are not only saving money, you are saving carbon too. Do-gooder and cafe organizer Wendy Ring joins the show to discuss.
The next repair cafe is Sunday, March 15 from 10-2pm at the Adorni Center. Check out future repair dates on Facebook: Facebook.com/HumboldtRepairCafe
Are you a fixer and want to help at a future cafe? Click here!
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For offshore wind to fight climate change, that power needs to reach the larger statewide grid where it can replace fossil fuel electricity generation. The catch? Humboldt's current transmission lines are too small to transmit that power out of Humboldt. New transmission infrastructure has been proposed to solve this problem, with the California Independent System Operator selecting Viridon to build new 500kV transmission lines. While this is a big project, new analysis from the Schatz Energy Research Center found that the cost to California ratepayers is low, about $1.68 per year. Tanner Etherton, Awbrey Yost and Jim Zoellick from Schatz join the show to nerd out over transmission infrastructure planning.
For more info, check out these recently-released Schatz reports:
- North Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Infrastructure Ratepayer Cost Impact Analysis
- Power Behind the Redwood Curtain: A History of Electric Transmission and Natural Gas Infrastructure in Humboldt County
Have other questions about offshore wind? Check out northcoastoffshorewind.org.
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On this week's EcoNews Report, Assemblymember Chris Rogers joins the program to discuss this year's legislative session. Asm. Rogers has emerged as an enviro legislative darling, with bills like year's AB 263, which established minimum instream flow protections for the Shasta and Scott Rivers. Asm. Rogers joins the show to preview three new and exciting bills:
AB 1984 would redefine corporate powers under state law to remove corporation's ability to spend money on elections. (Asm. Rogers recommends this article to learn more.)
AB 1699 would remove operational hurdles to prescribed fire and address liability issues with the goal of expanding "good fire."
AB 2494 would reimagine state-owned demonstration forests, changing their management goals from "maximum sustained production" of timber to managing for climate, clean water, wildlife, and more.
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On February 12th, the Trump Administration rescinded the Obama-era "endangerment finding," a legal recognition by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that greenhouse gas emissions were harming and would further harm health and human safety. This endangerment finding allowed the EPA to issue regulations under the Clean Air Act on six climate pollutants, including carbon dioxide. Now, the Trump Administration says that it lacks the legal capacity to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and have tossed the endangerment finding and clean car regulations that aimed to reduce emissions by improving efficiency. To break down what this means, Matt Simmons, Climate Attorney at EPIC, and Scott Grecean, Conservation Director at Friends of the Eel River, join the program.
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Roads are a significant barrier to wildlife movement, whether you are a small salamander or a wandering wolf. Environmental activists like guest Steve Blackledge of Environment America have been advocating for the construction of wildlife crossings — physical structures, from big bridges to small culverts — to help mitigate the impact of roads.
But in this advocacy strange bedfellows have emerged, like motorcycle clubs, whose members want to avoid hitting animals when out riding and insurance companies who want to reduce claims. Now there is a bipartisan effort at both the federal and state government to identify hot spots where roadkill is common, and to create new structures to help both wildlife and drivers more safely get to their destinations.
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There is a traffic safety crisis on 4th and 5th Streets in Eureka. These streets are extremely dangerous for people walking, biking, and rolling. While Caltrans has made some improvements to crosswalks, there are currently no plans for major safety improvements to 4th and 5th Streets. Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities (CRTP) joins the program to discuss how street design increases car crashes and pedestrian strikes and how Caltrans could immediately improve safety in Eureka.
Want to take action? CRTP is petitioning Caltrans to better prioritize road safety improvements on 4th and 5th Streets.
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On this week's EcoNews Report, we are doing something a little different: climate action theatre. Environmentalists drone about the climate crisis a lot, laden with statistics, science, and doom-and-gloom stories, hoping that with just a little more information, people will straighten up and take this issue seriously. What is too often missing is the engagement of our imaginations, essential both to take in the magnitude of the changes happening to our planet and to envision futures where we live within its means. On this week's show, Humboldt friends and neighbors perform mini-plays written as part of Climate Change Action Theatre, an international event created to stimulate our climate imaginations. Many thanks to climate advocate Wendy Ring for bringing these plays to life!
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Does thinking about the climate crisis get you down? Do you feel guilty about your consumption? Do you feel overwhelmed thinking about all that dooms our planet? Your emotional response to the state of the environment is understandable—good even!—but if it is impacting your capacity to live a full and vibrant life, maybe it's time to take action. Ecochaplain Hanna Nielsen joins the show to discuss how to become a more resilient (and more impactful) person. Hanna, together with the Good Grief Network, is also hosting a 10-week program this spring on building community and personal resilience.
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Local poets Jerry Martien and Katie Gurin join us for what has become a lovely annual tradition of reflection on the past and the new year ahead.
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The temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, stretching from Alaska all the way down to the redwoods of California, are some of the most productive and biodiverse forests on the planet. In terms of total carbon sequestration and storage, nothing beats them—particularly the towering coast redwoods. In this climate crisis, the best thing we can do is to grow these forests older, safely storing carbon away. But there is a concerted effort by the timber industry to offer a different "solution:" cutting down trees to store carbon in wood products.
Environmental journalist Paul Koberstein, author of the book Canopy of Titans, joins the program to discuss the magnificence of the temperate rainforests of North America and his reporting on greenwashing of timber operations in the name of the climate.
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The long-awaited Humboldt Regional Climate Action Plan—a multi-jurisdictional strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—is finally up for approval before the Board of Supervisors. (We say finally because the document, which sets emissions reduction targets for 2030, has been in the works since 2018. Seven years of work for a document with a shelf life of four years.) On this week's show, guests Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities (CRTP) and Matt Simmons, Climate Attorney at EPIC, join the show to discuss the merits and demerits of the Climate Action Plan.
Interested in more? Help urge the Board of Supervisors to adopt an improved Plan.
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This week on the Econews Report, we’re joined by Marc Hoshovsky and Bob Schneider, two of the authors of the new book Exploring the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, which will be published early next year by Backcountry Press.
Never heard of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument? It’s an incredibly strange stretch of land, with absolutely unique geologic and botanical features, that stretches down from Lake County to Napa County. The land is part of a subduction zone that was thrown up from the deep ocean to the mountains, and as such it’s made mostly of minerals and rock types that you’re not likely to find many other places.
On top of that, the region has a rich and unique history that encompassed some 31 different Native American groups … and terrible acts of genocide at the hands of European settlers.
Check out this conversation, then check out the book, and you’ll almost certainly want to check out the Berryessa/Snow Mountain area on your next hiking trip.
LINKS:
- Exploring the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument at Backcountry Press.
- The monument’s Wikipedia page.
- The monument’s page at the Bureau of Land Management.
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On this week’s EcoNews Report, we take an audio tour of the Siskiyou Crest with Luke Ruediger, chief evangelist for the rugged and wild mountain range that connects the Coast Range with the Cascades along the Oregon/California border. The crest is renowned for its amazing biodiversity, including species, like the Siskiyou Mountains salamander and Baker cypress, found nowhere else on the planet. Yet Trump’s new push for more timber from public lands is putting this place at risk.
Want to learn more? Check out the Siskiyou Crest Coalition!
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This week on the EcoNews Report we're excited to share that the comment period for Eel River dam removal has finally opened! Tune in to hear co-hosts Tom Wheeler of EPIC and Alicia Bales of the Redwood Chapter of the Sierra Club talk with Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River about this important moment. The Wild and Scenic Eel River offers an unparalleled opportunity to restore native fish populations. With vast, high-quality habitat protected in wild landscapes and fish that retain their wild genetics, dam removal will reconnect hundreds of miles of prime spawning and rearing habitat, restore natural sediment flow, reduce methylmercury buildup, and improve downstream water quality. Taking down the Eel River dams is the single most important step toward recovering the river’s once-abundant salmon, steelhead, and lamprey runs. Supported by Tribes, fishers, recreationists, and conservation groups, the Free the Eel movement invites everyone to help heal a century of harm and restore this iconic river.
Learn more and find information about upcoming comment workshops and instructions for submitting comments at eelriver.org.
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The Yurok people are a fishing people. Since time immemorial, the Klamath River provided for the Yurok, with salmon, eels, eulachon, and other food. Colonization fundamentally upset the balance that existed. The Yurok faced genocide, and those that survived were confined to a small portion of their territory. The Klamath, once a mighty salmon stronghold, was choked by fish-killing dams. But the Yurok persisted. In her new book, The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life, Amy Bowers Cordalis details the long struggle by her family and people to resist, restore and renew tribal sovereignty and the Klamath River.
Come see Amy and get a copy of her new book signed at CalPoly Humboldt on Thursday, November 13th from 4:30-7:30pm at the Behavioral & Social Sciences building, room 162, as part of their Decolonizing Sustainability Speaker Series.
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On this week's EcoNews Report, historian Jerry Rohde joins the show to discuss his new book, Northern Humboldt Indians, which you can download as an e-version here. In his book, Jerry details the history of the seven tribes of Northern Humboldt County, with many newly colorized photographs and transcripts of interviews that help to bring to light the indigenous people of the area. The book is the companion to Jerry's 2022 book, Southern Humboldt Indians.
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Approximately a third of U.S. residents are non-drivers. Some by choice, but many are physically incapable of driving or financially cannot afford to. The Week Without Driving is an annual campaign that encourages people, especially those who drive, to go a week without their car — use alternative methods, like public transit, walking, biking, or riding-sharing to meet their transportation needs — to see what life is like for non-drivers. The week highlights barriers to transportation and aims to promote better-designed transportation systems and infrastructure for everyone.
This year, Humboldt County Supervisor Natalie Arroyo attempted a week without driving. She joins hosts Tom Wheeler and Colin Fiske to discuss her experience and the work of local governments to make our transportation system better.
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Assemblymember Damon Connolly joins the program to break down what was a historic legislative session. The legislature made major revisions to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with the stated purpose of helping to build more housing but some folks—like Assemblymember Damon Connolly—are concerned that the legislature may have gone too far and a "clean-up bill" is needed. Asm. Connolly shares his thoughts on how we balance environmental protection with the "Abundance agenda" sweeping Sacramento.
The legislature is set to distribute billions of dollars from the state climate bond. What is coming for the North State that excites the Assemblymember?
And we celebrate a win. Governor Newsom recently signed AB 263, legislation sought by the Yurok and Karuk Tribes and sponsored by Asm. Rogers, Connolly and Ramos. What responsibilities does a legislator have when representing sovereign tribal nations?
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For decades pesticide-intensive farming of Easter lily bulbs on the Smith River Plain has contaminated groundwater and surface waters of the Smith River estuary, threatening the health of wildlife and humans along one of California’s healthiest, most ecologically pristine rivers. Now the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is considering new regulations to address this persistent pollution. Greg King, Executive Director of the Siskiyou Land Conservancy, joins the program to discuss an important upcoming townhall meeting—October 8th at 6 p.m. at the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Chambers or participate remotely online—and what it would take to effectively regulation pesticide pollution.
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High-severity wildfires that burn communities are obviously bad. But what about high-severity fire that burns in the backcountry? Guest Dr. Dick Hutto, Emeritus Professor of biology and wildlife biology at the University of Montana and author of the recently published book A Beautifully Burned Forest: Learning to Celebrate Severe Forest Fire, makes the case that high-severity fire has been unfairly demonized and this fire forms an important and transitory habitat type.
Rethinking high-severity fire has policy consequences. Do we invest as heavily in fire risk reduction for wildlands or is funding better spent in and near communities? Do we invest as heavily in fire suppression where fires are burning far from human habitations? And what do we do after fires burn—do we log and replant or leave it be? Listen to hear Dr. Hutto’s prescriptions.
Want to learn more? Check out Dr. Hutto’s website on fire ecology.
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On this week's episode of the Econews Report we discuss restoration planning in the Eel River with a rockstar team of restoration experts. Your host Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River is joined by Kaydee Boozel from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marisa Parish-Hansen and Ruth Goodfield from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Julie Weeder, former NOAA staff and current FOER staff and CDFW volunteer. Tune in for a discussion of how state and federal agencies are working with the local community to develop restoration solutions for the Lower Eel River that work for fish and for people. We’ll discuss upcoming ways for you to participate.
After listening, mark your calendars for the Eel River Community Meeting on Saturday September 27 from 11 am - 2 pm at the Gene Lucas Community Center in Fortuna. Email EelRiverShaRP@googlegroups.com with any questions.
See below links for additional information:
Eel River Community Meeting
NOAA SHaRP
CDFW ShaRP
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Humboldt County just took a big step towards protecting our night sky! In August, the Board of Supervisors approved the Inland Outdoor Lighting Ordinance, regulating outdoor lights to limit light pollution and light trespass. This is a significant win for the dark sky movement and will require new development on unincorporated land to use light fixtures and bulbs that reduce light pollution.
But this isn’t just about seeing more stars — light pollution disrupts the natural rhythms of wildlife and humans alike. Bright lights left on at night can alter the timing of bird migrations, interfere with seasonal flowering cycles, and affect our own sleep cycles.
Sylvia van Royen, GIS & Policy Analyst for Humboldt Waterkeeper, joins us to discuss the new lighting ordinance and how Humboldt residents can adapt their outdoor lighting to be friendlier to migrating birds and support the biological rhythms essential to our region’s biodiversity.
To learn more:
- Humboldt Waterkeeper Light Pollution Factsheet
- DarkSky Approved lighting fixtures
- DarkSky International’s explainer on What is Light Pollution? &Glossary of light-related terms.
- Light Pollution Webpage from the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
- New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness
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Government often moves slowly. This is a problem when there are immediate safety concerns for a street. The solution: Quick-build projects, which employ cheap and quick materials, like paint or plastic bollards. You may have seen this strategy in action, with new crosswalks and other improvements coming to local streets. Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Transportation Priorities joins the show to talk about quick-build projects and ways we can help identify other roads that need a tune-up.
RESOURCES:
- Quick-Build Toolkit
- Street Story
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Hating on environmental laws is now a bipartisan activity. California Democrats have leaned into the “Abundance agenda” — a progressive case for weakening regulations to build more housing, renewable energy, and other public goods — to take swipes at the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
But to what extent does California’s landmark environmental law actually hold back housing production? And are proposed reforms actually aimed at the right targets?
REQUIRED READING:
- In Defense of CEQA’s Swiss Cheese
- “What is ‘abundance’ liberalism, and why are people arguing about it?” The Guardian, March 28, 2025.
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Been thinking about that induction stove? Or maybe a nice new heat pump? Of course you have! It’s the 21st century.
On Tuesday, 350 Humboldt and a bunch of allied organizations are hosting an “Electrification Fair” at the Jefferson Center, and there’ll be a whole host of experts on hand to help you navigate how to ditch natural gas in the easiest (and cheapest) possible way. More details here.
350 Humboldt’s Wendy Ring joins the show to give you a little preview of the kinds of things that will be on tap at the Fair, and to make the case that even if you don’t know it yet — yes, you really want to electrify.
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PG&E recently tendered its License Surrender Application and Decommissioning Plan for the Potter Valley Project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This plan details when and how PG&E plans to tear down its two dams on the Eel River. And since an agreement has been reached for run-of-the-river, wet season diversions to replace the existing diversion to the Russian River, support for dam removal is now pretty much universal between the two basins. PG&E's Application is eye-wateringly long and technical. Thankfully, Scott Greacen and Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River are here to help break this all down.
The Eel River needs your help! Visit eelriver.org to voice your support for swift dam removal.
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We rarely post reruns, but this show from last December is quite relevant in light of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula last Tuesday. The subsequent tsunami watch along the West Coast soon became a tsunami advisory, and later, a tsunami warning was issued for the North Coast. Although the tsunami peaked at 3.6 feet in Crescent City, it was another good lesson for everyone living in a tsunami hazard area.
And if you are wondering why Crescent City is so often on the receiving end of tsunamis, check out this 2008 article by local expert Lori Dengler et al.
The Vulnerability of Crescent City, California, to Tsunamis Generated by Earthquakes in the Kuril Islands Region of the Northwestern PacificOriginal show notes:
What’s the difference between a strike-slip fault and a subduction zone? Can a local 7.0-magnitude earthquake? And what on earth was going on with all that weird footage of Humboldt Bay last week, in the wake of the quake?
Jay Patton, of Cal Poly Humboldt’s geology department, is here to talk us through it all. Check out his blog here.
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Siskiyou Land Conservancy just finalized a new acquisition of 170 acres on Baduwa’t, joining a 183 acre property that the Conservancy acquired earlier in the year, to create a 353 acre reserve. Baduwa’t is, of course, important. It is home to coho salmon and a summer run of steelhead trout. And the river also provides domestic water for 70 percent of Humboldt County residents. Yet Baduwa’t remains the least protected of all of the fabled “six rivers” of the California North Coast. The new reserve will help to protect some of the headwaters of the river, including limited patches of old-growth forest. Greg King of Siskiyou Land Conservancy joins the program to discuss the new reserve and what this means for Baduwa’t.
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To reach 100% renewable energy, we will need to store large amounts of energy generated from “intermittent” sources — things like solar or wind that only produce power sometimes. Large-scale industrial battery storage is one way to store this energy. But a recent fire at the Moss Landing battery facility in Monterey County has some folks concerned. A recent battery proposal in Blue Lake, for example, was met with some skepticism.
On Wednesday, July 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, in collaboration with the Schatz Energy Research Center, is hosting a free public workshop on grid-supporting battery energy storage at the D Street Neighborhood Center (1301 D Street, Arcata). The event will feature a presentation and panel discussion that explores how large-scale utility battery storage works, its role in supporting California’s grid, and how storage projects can differ in purpose, safety, size and benefits.
Richard Engel of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority joins this week’s show to give a preview of how batteries feature into the Redwood Coast Energy Authority’s work to transition our energy away from fossil fuels.
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Roughly a third of people don’t drive. That might seem like a lot but you probably know non-drivers in your own life. Some people can’t, either because they have some kind of disease or disability that makes driving impossible. Some people can’t because they are too young or too old to safely operate a vehicle. Some people can’t afford to drive, as car ownership is stupidly expensive (the average cost of owning a car is over $1,000 a month). Some people choose not to drive or drive as little as possible, as cars have a large environmental impact, from greenhouse gas emissions to fish-killing toxins in tires.
Anna Zivarts, author of When Driving Is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency (Island Press, 2024) and founder of the Week Without Driving, joins hosts Colin Fiske of the CRTP and Tom Wheeler of EPIC on the show to talk about how we can meet the transportation needs of non drivers.
Anna is also giving a free public talk on June 17th at 7 p.m. at the Arcata D Street Neighborhood Center. The talk will cover the nondrivers in every community, the importance of meeting the transportation needs of nondrivers, how communities can work better for nondrivers (and everyone else), and valuing the expertise of nondrivers.
Want to hear more? Listen to Arcata City Councilmember Sarah Schaeferand others discuss their attempts to go carless during the 2024 Week Without Driving.
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The Trump Administration has announced it seeks to revoke the “Roadless Rule,” the 2001 regulation limiting U.S. Forest Service activities in unroaded areas of our National Forests. Guests Kimberly Baker of the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) and Scott Greacen of Friends of the Eel River join the program to discuss the history and purpose behind defending roadless areas and what this new attack on our public lands means for clean water, fish and wildlife, and recreation.
More information on the history of the Roadless Rule can be found here.
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The Bay Trail is finished, and now there’s a safe and beautiful trail that connects Humboldt Hill all the way to Clam Beach!
Guests Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities and Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper join the show to discuss the history of the trail (shout out to Supervisor Madrone for his work way back in the 1980s to get planning started) and how the trail will help Humboldt Bay residents roll, walk, or ride in a safe way that lowers their carbon footprint.
We hope to see you at today’s big celebration from 3-6 p.m. at the Adorni Center in Eureka! Find more information at this link.
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Before enjoying Ruth Lake this summer, be sure to clean, drain and dry all gear, boats and trailers to prevent the spread of the invasive golden mussel. The golden mussel, native to East and Southeast Asia, was first documented in California in 2024. Like quagga and zebra mussels, the golden mussel is capable of rapidly spreading, wreaking ecological health and threatening water infrastructure and water quality.
Thomas Jabusch of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Michiko Mares of the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District join the program to golden mussels, their threat, and what you can do to stop the spread of this invasive species.
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This week: An all-star roundtable with our favorite law wonks, wherein we try to figure out where the Supreme Court is taking the National Environmental Policy Act — the most important federal law regulating the environmental costs of development.
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On Donald Trump's first day in office, he signed an Executive Order directing all parts of the federal government to take steps to stop the development of offshore wind. This has left people wondering: what's the future for offshore wind? Spoiler: it's unclear.
Citing his executive order, on April 16, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a stop work order for Empire Wind\, a fully-permitted wind project off New York. Included in the rationale for the stop work order is a discredited conspiracy theory that offshore wind development was responsible for a spate of whale deaths. (A claim that has been thoroughly debunked although still commonly cited by anti-wind activists.) After the stop work order was issued, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 17 other attorneys general filed a lawsuit to challenge the legality of Trump's anti-wind executive order. Humboldt's own EPIC, together with a coalition of other environmental organization, have filed an amicus brief in the litigation against the Trump executive order too. Approximately a month later, the Trump Administration lifted its stop work order. Why? They won't say.
But despite uncertain federal waters, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District and the State of California continue to move forward on work for other necessary infrastructure to develop offshore wind. The Humboldt Bay Harbor District is continuing to develop its "green port" for build and service wind turbines. And the California Independent Systems Operator has selected a developer to build new transmission lines to service the project.
Breaking down all of these events and more is Matt Simmons, Climate Attorney at EPIC.
Have a question about offshore wind? Visit northcoastoffshorewind.org, a product of EPIC, Humboldt Waterkeeper, Blue Lake Rancheria, and the Redwood CORE Hub at the Humboldt Area Foundation.
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Pope Francis centered the climate crisis during his papacy, highlighting the moral obligations that we all share to our fellow humans (especially the poorest among us, as they will be disproportionately impacted by climate change) as well as our responsibilities to the Earth itself. In 2015, Pope Francis released his first encyclical, Laudato si’: On Care for Our Common Home, a 40,000 word treatise on both the Biblical mandate to care for creation but also a holistic discussion of the effects of modernity on the ecological function of the planet. While the encyclical became part of the Catholic Church’s official teaching, the encyclical was written for both believers and nonbelievers.
Catholics are continuing to work together to address climate change through the Laudato Si’ Movement, a nonprofit that joins over 900 Catholic organizations and over 10,000 trained grassroots leaders known as Laudato Si’ Animators to “inspire and mobilize the Catholic community to care for our common home and achieve climate and ecological justice”
Anna Johnson, North American Director of the Laudato Si’ Movement, joins the program to discuss Pope Francis’ lasting legacy of climate action.
Interested in joining fellow Catholics for Climate Action? Laudato Si’ Movement has a California chapter!
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A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) warns that when we experience the next Cascadia subduction zone earthquake, land near the coast may rise or fall significantly over a short period of time—think +/-5 feet in five minutes. If it falls, it could significantly expose new parts of our coast to sea level rise and coastal flooding. Check out the coverage from the Lost Coast Outpost or read the study yourself.
Dr. Jay Patton of the California Geological Survey joins the show to discuss why land may suddenly jump or fall, the archeological evidence of past earthquake-driven subsidence, and the consequences of such a sudden shift.
Want to be prepared for the big one? Check out "Living on Shaky Ground" for advice on how to get ready to rumble.
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Melodie Meyer of the Environmental Protection Information Center joins the show this week to talk about a new plan to log 500 acres of the Jackson State Forest by the method known as "group selection."
This forest in Mendocino County is managed by the State of California and has been the subject of much controversy over herbicide spraying, clearcutting, and failure to consult with local tribes (among other things). Tune in to learn about the latest plan, the relatively new Tribal Advisory Council, and how to learn more and/or comment on the plan.
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President's often set a "first 100 days" agenda, when fresh from their inauguration, they have the most political power and influence in their term. The first 100 days is not only a benchmark to measure success but a preview for how they hope to govern for the rest of their four years.
We are at day 95, close enough to measure Trump's impact on the environment. Instead of a long list of all the rollbacks and deregulation, guests Scott Grecean of Friends of the Eel River and Matt Simmons of EPIC discuss what the first 100 days reveal about the President's agenda and what it foretells moving forward.
Want more?
Jared Huffman on Project 2025
Supreme Court overturns Chevron
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Thousands of Humboldt residents rely on the Humboldt Transit Authority to get around. And for a rural transit agency, they do a really good job. But there are gaps: both in locations (good luck getting to Ferndale) and times (sorry if you want to take the bus on a Sunday). And there are other improvements (like more frequent buses) that are needed to make the bus more convenient and attract more riders. To get better bus service, Humboldt Transit Authority needs more money.
Humboldt County voters approved Measure O last election. Among the promises of Measure O was funding for transit. The Board of Supervisors will meet in the near future to decide exactly how much will go to transit, and transit advocates are working to make sure they keep their promises. Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities joins the show to advocate for at least 20% of Measure O funds to go to support public transit.
Email your Supervisors to let them know that you support Measure O funds going to transit:
- rbohn@co.humboldt.ca.us
- mike.wilson@co.humboldt.ca.us
- smadrone@co.humboldt.ca.us
- narroyo@co.humboldt.ca.us
- mbushnell@co.humboldt.ca.us
And if you're a transit rider, email CRTP at admin@transportationpriorities.org to request to be added to their transit email list and Facebook transit riders group.
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Do you like to go to the beach? Do you appreciate having a beach to go to? Are you happier when that beach has clean ocean water, thriving ocean life and isn’t covered by rocks, seawalls or houses intruding on the public sand?
If the answer to any/all of those questions is, “Yes!,” that means you’re a fan of the California Coastal Act, a law passed in 1976 following a 1972 public uprising to defend the coast from development threats. The Coastal Act, as it’s commonly known, protects two key rights: public beach access and coastal preservation – but now those rights are under attack as the Trump administration and California's own Governor Gavin Newsom seek to weaken or eliminate the agency charged with upholding them, the California Coastal Commission.
Guest Jennifer Savage of Surfrider Foundation joins the show to discuss the movement to protect the Coastal Commission from attacks from the left and right.
Want to help? Surfrider Foundation has the resources for you here.
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The Klamath dams are out; let's celebrate! Goudi’ni Native American Arts Gallery presents Undammed, an exhibition that celebrates the historic removal of dams on the Klamath River. Art has been at the forefront of the struggle by Native communities to bring down the dams, from protest art lampooning corporate executives to bumper stickers expressing solidarity with the cause. Gallery Director Brittany Britton and artists Lyn Risling and Annalia Norris, join the show to discuss the upcoming show, the role of art in dam removal activism, and the local Native art scene.
The gallery is open Wednesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.-3 p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. It is closed Sunday-Tuesday. The gallery will be open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. during the California Big Time & Social Gathering on Saturday, April 5. Visits can be arranged via appointment. Please contact the Gallery Director Brittany Britton at rbg@humboldt.edu, or call (707) 826-3629.
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Maybe you've heard about biodiesel. Meet its cousin, "renewable diesel." Made from oils and fats, supporters claim that it can simply replace diesel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Humboldt County is banking on renewable diesel to meet its climate obligations in its draft Regional Climate Action Plan. But is this too good to be true? Host Tom Wheeler and Gary Hughes of Biofuelwatch explore these questions and to learn more about the concerns arising from the California pivot to high deforestation risk liquid biofuels.
More info:
- Biofuel Blunders - Oxfam
- Halt Deforestation Driving Biofuels Before It Is Too Late - Transport and Environment
- The Global Fat Grab - Biofuelwatch
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Fossil fuels are bad for us, both to our climate and to our health. These impacts are felt most acutely in fenceline communities immediately adjacent to fossil fuel power plants, which also tend to be lower-income, communities of color. Folks from these communities are banding together to present a new energy future that leans into renewables and battery storage in order to shut down the gas power plants that pollute their neighborhoods and harm their families. Julia Dowell of the Sierra Club and Heena Singh of California Environmental Justice Alliance join us on the show to talk about their work leading Regenerate California where they apply pressure on local and state agencies to retire gas plants in environmental justice communities. They share their advocacy on how responsible utility scale energy infrastructure (like offshore wind and transmission) can enable gas plant retirements. Show your support for state action to build offshore wind by signing a petition here.
Learn More:
- EcoNews: Tribal Energy Sovereignty
- Heat Wave Report
- NOx Report
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The Trump Administration has taken a large whack at the National Environmental Policy Act (often better known by its acronym, NEPA). NEPA is the federal environmental law that requires that the federal government understand and acknowledge the environmental impacts of its actions and provide an opportunity for public engagement on projects.
While a bedrock federal environmental law, the law itself is vaguely worded. Thus, implementing regulations (issued by the Council on Environmental Quality in 1978) have been important to its application. Through these regulations, we have NEPA as we know it—"major federal projects" and "cumulative impact analysis" and so on. All that changed on January 20th. Through Executive Order, Trump revoked the authority of the Council on Environmental Quality to issue regulations and the agency has withdrawn the long-standing rules. Now we are in a legal limbo: NEPA still exists (Trump can't veto a law that has already been approved) but the rules implementing NEPA are gone. What are we to do?
Jan Hasselman of Earthjustice and Melodie Meyer of EPIC join the program to discuss this major turning point in federal environmental law.
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The Redwood Coast Energy Authority has a sometimes conflicting mission: purchase as much renewable energy as possible, but ideally that power is local, and also it needs to be cheap enough to compete with PGE. And layer onto that state mandates and competition with other power purchasers across the state. Richard Engel of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority joins the show to talk about the difficulties of trying to meet these goals and a new long-term power agreement with a large solar project in Kern County.
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Filmmakers Dave Feral and Michelle Hernandez talk with The EcoNews Report about their new film about Baduwa’t — a.k.a., the Mad River.
PREVIOUSLY:
- (PREVIEW) The Makers of the New Baduwa’t Documentary Want People to Get Mad About the River
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This week on the EcoNews Report our host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River talks about the flurry of recent developments on Eel River dam removal. On January 31 PG&E released their final draft license surrender application, a document that outlines some of the logistics of how they plan to remove the two Eel River dams. PG&E is accepting comments on this document until March 3, you can find more information at eelriver.org.
On a separate but parallel track is the publication just last week of a deal for wet-season diversions from the Eel to the Russian post-dam removal in exchange for a number of benefits for the Eel. This includes agreement from all parties to support timely dam removal, $1-million-dollar annual payments to Round Valley Indian Tribes for lease of the water right they will take ownership of, and between $750,000 - $1 million dollar annual payments into an Eel restoration fund.
Our guests include Hank Seeman, Humboldt County Public Works Deputy Director; Darren Mireau North Coast Director for California Trout; Charlie Schneider, Senior Project Manager for California Trout, and Scott Greacen, Conservation Director for Friends of the Eel River.
Learn more:
Eelriver.org
Freetheeel.org
Eel River restoration and conservation plan: https://caltrout.org/eel-river-watershed-program/report
Eel River Expo: https://caltrout.org/eel-river-watershed-program/eel-river-expo
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In Humboldt we are not new to protecting our environment, but have you ever thought about protecting the night sky from pollution? When nighttime light spills outside of areas we want to illuminate, it becomes light pollution. Bright lights left on at night can disrupt the circadian rhythms of people as well as urban-dwelling and migrating birds, bats, and even aquatic animals, particularly in rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas.
Ruskin Hartley, CEO of DarkSky International, shares how his organization is helping to ensure that light is used respectfully and responsibly around the world. Join us for this discussion of the basics of light pollution.
Want to learn more? Check these out:
- New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness
- DarkSky International web page
- Light Pollution Fact Sheet by Humboldt Waterkeeper
- Why Should We Make Humboldt a Dark Sky County? by Sylvia van Royen, Humboldt Waterkeeper
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President Trump has entered his second term with a wave of executive orders and other executive actions. These have pulled the U.S. from international climate accords, blamed Southern California fires on "radical environmentalism"—he means us!—and portended a gutting of federal environmental laws in order to drill, frack, log, graze and mine. Jeff Miller, Senior Conservation Advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, joins the program to discuss how the Center has prepared for Trump to take office, what this slew of new actions means for the environment, and how we can stay sane and engaged. (Jeff has also recently published a book, Bay Area Wildlife: An Irreverent Guide, with illustrations from Obi Kauffman. This might be a fun distraction from the news.)
The EcoNews Report would like to take this opportunity to say: We told you so! In June, Congressman Huffman joined the program to discuss Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s policy outline for a second Trump administration. Project 2025 is a template for radical far-right action for the next four years. Curious what else is in Project 2025? Here is a helpful index of topic areas. Care about National Monuments, for example? Project 2025 calls for the repeal of the Antiquities Act and the downsizing of existing National Monuments, like the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in Southern Oregon/Northern California. How fun.
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Every year, delegates from across the globe meet to discuss how we can muster an international response to climate change. On November 5th, 2024, voters elected Donald Trump to be President and one of his first actions was to, again, pull the United States from global climate accords. How can we take meaningful action on climate change when an election fundamentally changes American climate policy? And are these annual meetings actually accomplishing anything or is the age of multinational climate action over? Guests Derek Walker Adjunct Professor in International Climate Change Law at Vermont Law and Michelle McMillan, law student at Vermont Law share their perspectives.
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Jimmy Carter: Peanut farmer. Humanitarian. President. Environmentalist? On this week's EcoNews Report, we catalogue the environmental legacy of President Carter with Rich McIntyre, friend and fishing partner of the President. Locally, President Carter signed into law the expansion of Redwood National Park (against the protest of loggers). President Carter was also responsible for doubling the amount of acreage protected by the National Parks Service and conserving over 100 million acres of land in Alaska through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. An energy crisis drove President Carter to promote renewable energy, even putting solar panels on the White House (which were later removed by President Reagan.)
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"All go to one place; all are of the dust, and to dust all return." Ecclesiastes 3:20. That was true, at least until the Civil War era. Then a desire to preserve bodies led to a new way of dealing with the dead: toxic embalming, water-tight coffins and concrete vaults. For many of us who try to live simple, low-impact lives, our deaths present a dilemma. We can't go simply or sustainably into whatever comes next.
But there is another way. Imagine breaking down quickly, wrapped only in a shroud or in a biodegradable casket, eighteen inches under the soil, your nutrients being taken up by a tree. Michael Furniss, soil scientist and green burial enthusiast, is working to make that a reality in Humboldt. Michael joins the show to discuss the green burial movement, the science behind natural burial, and efforts to create a conservation burial ground in Humboldt.
For more, check out Sacred Family Groves.
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Poet Jerry Martien joins the Green Gang in the studio to read poetry inspired by the natural landscapes of Humboldt County. If you have never heard Jerry read his poetry before, you are in for a treat, as Jerry’s sonorous voice and crisp lyrical poetry inspires and soothes the soul.
(Encore from 2021)
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Today's episode is about trespass cannabis production and its impact on the environment. We have two fantastic guests from the Integral Ecology Research Center based in Blue Lake, California -- Greta Wengert and Ivan Medel.
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Environmentalists have a reputation for being a bit too doom-and-gloom. But what gives us hope? Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper, Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River, Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and Tom Wheeler of the Environmental Protection Information Center join the show to discuss the things that give them hope.
Need a dose of hope?
Public Transit Wins Big in Local Elections
California’s Pace of Emissions Cuts Is Accelerating, Report Finds
Eel River Fish Counts
Digawututklh Returned
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What’s the difference between a strike-slip fault and a subduction zone? Can a local 7.0-magnitude earthquake? And what on earth was going on with all that weird footage of Humboldt Bay last week, in the wake of the quake?
Jay Patton, of Cal Poly Humboldt’s geology department, is here to talk us through it all. Check out his blog here.
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The industrial legacy of the 20th Century left many contaminated sites around Humboldt Bay. Our second special episode on communities at risk from sea level rise features local residents talking about several of the most vulnerable sites, including Tuluwat Island, Butcher Slough in Arcata, and the nuclear waste storage site above King Salmon. Many thanks to Hilanea Wilkinson, Adam Canter, Jerry Rohde, Nate Faith, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant Program.
For more info:
- The 44 Feet Project
- Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute
- Humboldt Bay Shoreline, North Eureka to South Arcata: A History of Cultural Influences - Jerry Rohde
- Humboldt Bay King Tide Photo Project - Humboldt Waterkeeper
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The Redwood Coast Energy Authority is working to encourage new local generation of renewable energy through their redesigned "Feed-In Tariff" program, which provides about-market pricing and a streamlined contracting process to encourage the development of local renewable energy projects. This means projects like the new solar farm near Hydesville, a project brought forward by renewable energy developer EDP Renewables.
Jocelyn Gwynn of Redwood Coast Energy Authority and Kendra Kallevig of EDP Renewables join the show to discuss the Feed-In Tariff program and how we can help foster the development of local renewable energy projects.
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Join us for episode #1 of our special series on communities at risk from sea level rise featuring local residents who share their thoughts on the challenges and potential solutions facing our region.
Many thanks to Marnie Atkins, Jerry Rohde, Nate Faith, Troy Nicolini, Adam Canter, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant Program.
For more info:
- Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute
- Communities at Risk: King Salmon, Fields Landing, Fairhaven and Finntown - Aldaron Laird
- Humboldt Bay Shoreline, North Eureka to South Arcata: A History of Cultural Influences - Jerry Rohde
- Humboldt Bay King Tide Photo Project - Humboldt Waterkeeper
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Elections have consequences. What does four more years of Trump mean for our environment? (Hint: It's baaaaaaaaaad.) But local elections were a lot better.
In Eureka: Measure F failed spectacularly, firmly clarifying that Eureka voters want more housing and approve of the city's parking lots-to-apartments plan. The rejection of Measure F also hints that while money matters in politics, it only can get you so far. City Councilmembers Scott Bauer and Kati Moulton were re-elected too, which the EcoNews sees as an endorsement of the direction of the city and a rejection of the Take Back Eureka crowd (again).
In Arcata: Incumbents Stacy Atkins-Salazar, Sarah Schaefer and Alex Stillman appear to have won. (Political newcomer Genevieve Serna may still be within striking distance of Stillman.) What unites these candidates? All four of the top vote getters are firmly pro-housing and were supportive of the Gateway Area Plan. Two of the candidates most critical of Arcata's housing ambitions failed to eclipse 8% of the vote. The EcoNews sees this as an endorsement of the pro-housing direction of the current council.
Zooming out to the state: Voters appear to have approved Proposition 4, the California climate bond, which will invest $10 billion into fighting the climate crisis. This money may be particularly important given likely disinvestment in climate action from a unified Republican Congress and White House.
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Should we turn California trees into wood pellets to be burned in foreign power plants? That's the proposal being brought forward by Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR), a nonprofit organization formed by Rural County Representatives of California and Golden State Finance Authority. GSNR has just released their draft environmental impact report for the project, which proposed two wood pellet factories (one in Lassen County and another in Tuolumne) that will draw biomass from roughly a 100 mile radius around the plant. Those factories will turn woody biomass into pellets, which will be shipped by rail to Stockton where the pellets will be loaded onto ocean-going ships to be delivered, likely to foreign power plants where they will be burned for energy.
What's Humboldt's connection? Humboldt County's own Supervisor Rex Bohn sits on the Board of Directors for GSNR and biomass from Humboldtmay end up be turned into wood pellets.
This proposal has drawn concern from environmental groups worried about the greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and impacts to forest health from the project. Nick Joslin of the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center and Rita Vaughn Frost of the Natural Resources Defense Council join the show to discuss their concerns with the project.
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People often say that Humboldt County is a climate refuge. But what does that mean? And after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the Southeast—including communities like Asheville, North Carolina, which was also described as a climate refuge—what is still safe in the age of climate-driven megastorms?
Luckily, we have Michael Furniss, local climate nerd, and Troy Nicolini, Meteorologist-In-Charge at US National Weather Service, Eureka, on the show to discuss what is known about how climate change may affect Humboldt County. The good news: We are fortunate to have a very stable climate, even in the face of climate change, and that's not likely to change much. The Pacific is likely to continue to act as our natural air conditioning. The bad news: Warmer temperatures elsewhere are going to increase moisture in the air and energy in storm events, bringing larger and more unpredictable weather. (But nothing like Hurricanes Helene or Milton.)
If we are likely to have desirable weather into the future, what does that mean for future development plans? We will save that for a future episode.
Want to learn more? Check these out!
- Troy Nicolini delivers the Humboldt Bay Symposium Keynote Address: Winds of Change, 2024.
- Is the North Coast a Climate Refuge? Michael Furniss at the Eureka Zoo lecture series, 2019.
- Understanding the 1964 Flood with Michael Furniss.
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Congressman Huffman is back on the show. With a major election in just a few days, what is the Congressman up to? When he isn't calling voters in swing states—has anyone in Nevada received a call from a "Jared from California"?—he is sponsoring new legislation to protect birds and whales. The Congressman also has new bipartisan fire resiliency legislation that seeks to make our state safer without sacrificing environmental protections along the way.
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The second national Week Without Driving just wrapped up, which means that many elected officials, planners, engineers, and community members did their best to not get behind the wheel of a car for seven days. This event highlights the fact that there are many non-drivers in our communities - at least 36,000 people in Humboldt County don't have a driver's license - and raises awareness among decision-makers about the need for safe, convenient and dignified mobility options.
Arcata City Councilmember Sarah Schaefer, Humboldt County Association of Governments Executive Director Beth Burks, and Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities Executive Director Colin Fiske join the EcoNews Report this week to discuss the needs of non-drivers in Humboldt, and to reflect on experiences participating in the Week Without Driving.
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Hear that howl of joy? It's because gray wolves are coming home to California. Once extirpated from the state, with the last wolf killed in Lassen County in 1924, wolves have been making a quick recovery in the Golden State. Now, only 13 years since the first wolf came back to our state, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) reports that 5 out of the 7 gray wolf families in the state have reproduced this year.
Gray wolves are recovering thanks to protections under the Endangered Species Act, but with constant threats to the law and to the listing of wolves under the Act, protections for gray wolves are iffy.
Amaroq Weiss, Senior Wolf Advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, joins the EcoNews Report to celebrate the good news and to talk about the long political history to secure protections for gray wolves.
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In late August, Russian Riverkeeper and the California Coastkeeper Alliance got what looks like a very significant ruling in their challenge to Sonoma County’s well permitting ordinance. The groups say that by allowing excessive and unmonitored groundwater extraction, the County is failing to protect surface flows in creeks and rivers that fish, wildlife, and recreation need. The court agreed, holding that under the Public Trust doctrine, Sonoma County has an affirmative duty to take the public trust into account in the planning and allocation of water resources, and to protect public trust uses whenever feasible,” but that the County failed to do so, overlooking impacts on the public trust, including cumulative effects.
In this episode of the EcoNews Report, Friends of the Eel River Conservation Director Scott Greacen and EPIC Executive Director Tom Wheeler talk to three people deeply involved in these questions.
• Rue Furch, former Sonoma County planning commissioner and veteran Russian River advocate.
• Don McEnhill, the Executive Director of Russian Riverkeeper.
• Drev Hunt, Legal Director for California Coastkeeper, and one of the attorneys
on the case, with Jaime Neary of Russian Riverkeeper, Daniel Cooper of Sycamore
Law, and Amy Minteer and Michelle Black of Carstens, Black and Minteer LLP.
Further reading:
• A Landmark Victory for California Waters - California Coastkeeper Alliance
• Why You Should Care About the Public Trust Doctrine - Russian Riverkeeper
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Climate change promises to wreak havoc on Humboldt County. And Humboldt County is responding to this threat … slowly.
A draft of the long-delayed Regional Climate Action Plan is here. Colin Fiske, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and Matt Simmons, climate attorney at the Environmental Protection Information Center, join the show to review the draft and offer suggestions for how it can be improved.
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Eureka voters will be asked to decide on Measure F, the pro-parking ballot measure that opponents warn would thwart ongoing plans to build affordable housing downtown. If it passes, what are the consequences. The California Housing Defense Fund, a non-profit that ensures California's housing laws are follows, recently sent a letter to the City of Eureka warning that should Measure F pass, it could "wreak legal and financial havoc."
On this week's show, Dylan Casey and James Lloyd of the California Housing Defense Fund join the show to discuss California housing law and elaborate on their letter to the city.
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It's easy to spiral when thinking about all that dooms our planet: forever chemicals, climate change, species extinction, and so on. Feeling overwhelmed by overwhelmed by eco-distress is normal. And there are ways to lessen that anxiety. Eco-chaplain Hanna Nielsen joins the show to discuss how to become a more resilient (and more impactful) person.
Hanna, together with the Good Grief Network, is also hosting a 10-week program this fall on building community and personal resilience. Sessions run weekly, each Sunday starting September 15, from 2-4pm. And thanks to our friends atQueer Humboldt, the series is free! Space is limited. If you are interested, please email hannanielsen@goodgriefnetwork.org.
Other listening:
An Existential Toolkit for the Climate Generation
Coping with Climate Anxiety
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Wildfires are burning across many parts of California, including in Humboldt County. Fires are complicated. Fire is somewhat paradoxical. It is both a natural phenomenon and necessary for forest health, yet some large fires are unnatural. The way to reduce big bad fires may be more, smaller fires.
Complicated things are difficult to understand and even harder to discuss well in public. Luckily, the EcoNews Report has Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Director of the University of California Agricultural and Natural Resource's Fire Network, who is both thoughtful and a good communicator about fire. Listen in and up your fire knowledge!
Are you a property owner and interested in returning fire to your land? Find out about local networks at the California Prescribed Burn Association or check out the Fire Network to learn more about preparing your home, fire-wise landscaping, evacuation planning, and more.
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Should we borrow money to pay for urgent environmental priorities? That's the question before voters this fall. Proposition 4 asks for the state to issue $10 billion in new bonds to pay for drinking water improvements, forest restoration work, land conservation, kelp forest reestablishment, and climate action. The bond measure would direct that 40% of funding be explicitly directed towards under-resourced communities or are impacted by natural disasters. Josefina Barrantes and Kim Delfino join the show to discuss the bond measure and how the North Coast stands to benefit from an investment in environmental protection.
Required Reading:
- CalMatters has helpful info on Prop. 4 and other California ballot measures.
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The Northwest Forest Plan turns 30 this year. The Plan, which governs federal forest management within the range of the northern spotted owl, was a first of its kind: a landscape level ecosystem management plan. While the Plan has been a success on many fronts, it is also showing its age. Climate change and tribal sovereignty were issues that were never well-addressed in the original plan. Now, the Forest Service is moving forward on amendments to the plan to update it to better reflect modern issues and modern needs on public forests.
To help direct that amendment, the Forest Service has convened a “federal advisory committee” of concerned citizens to provide recommendations. This week’s guest, Susan Jane Brown of Silvix Resources, is one of the co-chairs of the advisory committee. She shares her perspective on the Plan and potential amendments on this week’s episode.
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Your favorite enviro do-gooders, Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper and Tom Wheeler and Matt Simmons of EPIC, recently went on a fact-finding mission to Norway to investigate offshore wind of the Norwegian coast. Join them and other guests in an exploration of this technology in action.
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Northcoastoffshorewind.org is a new website designed to provide objective answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about offshore wind with links to primary sources.
On this week's show, Matt Simmons of EPIC and Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper answer the top 10 most frequent questions that we get about offshore wind. Want to learn about whales, birds, fish and more? Listen in or go to https://www.northcoastoffshorewind.org/.
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Chevron deference is no more. What's Chevron deference you ask? Well, it was the backbone of our federal administrative state. Congress often passes laws that are vague or are capable of multiple interpretations. In Chevron, decided in 1984, the Supreme Court said that where a law is vague, the agency gets deference to its interpretation of that law in issuing regulations. In other words, regulations were likely to withstand legal challenges because federal courts were directed to respect the opinions of federal agencies. The Supreme Court recently overturned Chevron, saying that agencies should not be afforded deference but rather it is courts to decide what laws mean. So what does that mean? CHAOS.
Your legal eagles on the EcoNews, Tom, Matt, Melodie, and Scott, break down the decisions and discuss the ramifications on this week's episode.
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Special guest Congressman Jared Huffman is heading a task force in the Democratic caucus to address Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s policy outline for a second Trump administration. The document is pervaded by anti-science and anti-regulatory animus, with a particular focus on climate science and renewable energy. Friends of the Eel River Conservation Director Scott Greacen goes deep into these and even darker corners of the plan with Congressman Huffman.
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Golden State Natural Resources, a non-profit organization, is partnering with Drax, a U.K.-based energy company, to propose two new factories to turn biomass into wood pellets and an export facility to ship the pellets to be burned for energy in South Korea and Japan. If approved, the mills would be a major expansion of biomass energy in California. Forest and climate advocates warn that biomass like this results in more carbon emissions than coal and could worsen forest conditions by driving the commodification of public lands.
Humboldt's own Supervisor Rex Bohn sits on the board of Golden State Natural Resources through his service on Rural County Representatives of California, which provided the capital to start Golden State Natural Resources.
Rita Vaughan Frost of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Gary Graham Hughes of Biofuelwatch join the show to discuss the proposal and the risks it brings for our forests and climate.
Learn More!
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/burning-wood-is-not-renewable-energy-so-why-do-policymakers-pretend-it-is/
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/uks-drax-targets-california-forests-for-two-major-wood-pellet-plants/
https://www.nrdc.org/bio/rita-frost/why-wood-pellets-wont-solve-californias-wildfire-problem
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In the third episode of Humboldt Waterkeeper's special series on communities at risk from sea level rise, we hear from long-time residents and relative newcomers who share their thoughts and concerns about sea level rise. We are also joined by Laurie Richmond of the Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute, which is a network of academics, tribes, government agencies, NGOs, private consultants, and civic and community groups working to envision the future of our region. How will we adapt to increased flooding and rising groundwater in low-lying areas? Whether we decide to protect certain areas, relocate critical facilities, or figure out how to live with rising water levels, major changes are on the horizon. The good news is that we have time to plan, and a lot of people are thinking deeply about these issues.
Many thanks to Hilanea Wilkinson, Maurice Viand, Lia Stoffers, Weeramon Sudkrathok ("Cake"), Laurie Richmond, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant Program.
For more info:
- Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute's Digital Commons (reports and publications on sea level rise)
- California’s new Sea Level Rise Guidance
- Wiyot Tribe's Climate Adaptation Plan
- Episode 1: Is Humboldt Bay the Canary in the Coal Mine for Sea Level Rise?
- Episode 2: Can We Clean Up Humboldt Bay Before the Sea Rises?
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The Wiyot Tribe has entered into a special partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to help manage Headwaters Forest Reserve, part of the Tribe's ancestral territory. Headwaters Forest needs some help. The majority of the forest is in rough shape from a history of industrial logging, resulting in poor forest health and impaired watersheds. Together, the Wiyot Tribe and the BLM are working to restore the forest through ecological forestry and watershed restoration. The partnership between the two governments allows the Wiyot Tribe to utilize its traditional ecological knowledge in the furtherance of good land stewardship of its ancestral territory for the benefit of the general public.
Marisa McGrew and Zach Erickson of the Wiyot Tribe join Marissa Vossmer and Zane Ruddy of the BLM to discuss their work to restore Headwaters Forest Reserve.
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This week on the EcoNews Report, our host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River discusses the opportunities and challenges presented by the Great Redwood Trail. The project, proposed to be the longest rail-trail in the nation, is the state's opportunity to fulfill its responsibility to remediate the environmental harms caused by the old railroad. These harms include fish passage barriers, toxic waste, and hazardous debris left in the river. The trail will also provide opportunities for safe active transportation, enhanced public access to the Wild and Scenic Eel River, and a boost to the tourism economy. But of course a grand vision like this has significant challenges too. Top of the list are protecting cultural sites abused by the railroad, navigating fragile geology, and of course, funding this whole thing.
Join us to hear from guests Ross Taylor, fisheries biologist and principle at Ross Taylor and Associates; Colin Fiske, Executive Director for the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities; and Scott Greacen, Conservation Director for Friends of the Eel River.
Ross Taylor's Fish Passage Report: https://eelriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NWPRR_FINAL-REPORT_FINAL_-DEC-2011.pdf
Great Redwood Trail Master Plan: https://greatredwoodtrailplan.org/
Friends of the Eel River info about the railroad: https://eelriver.org/projects/protecting-the-eel-river-canyon/
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To operate floating offshore wind turbines, we need to know what conditions are like far below the waves. Over a thousand feet beneath the surface, the ocean floor is mostly unmapped, with only scant knowledge about the geologic features present.
Offshore wind developers are going to change that with autonomous underwater vehicles—basically drones of the ocean or underwater robots that can map the ocean floor.
Ciara Emery and Joel Southall of RWE join the EcoNews to talk about how they plan to study the bottom of the ocean and how the research will feed into the design of the project.
For more info:
- California Offshore Wind Energy Gateway
- Short Science Summary: Benthic & Pelagic Habitats
- California Coastal Commission findings on Site Assessment activities (2022)
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Petey Brucker, stalwart defender of the Salmon River and friend to many, passed away on April 22, 2024.
On this week's show, we are joined by his daughter, Allegra Brucker, and friends, Larry Glass and Nat Pennington, to talk about the impact Petey had on the planet on their lives.
Listen to Petey's music.
OBITUARY: Petey Brucker, 1952-2024
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The Scott and Shasta Rivers were once salmon strongholds, but over-allocation of water has made these rivers nearly uninhabitable for Coho and Chinook. The State Water Resources Control Board established emergency regulations that set minimum streamflows during the most recent drought. But those will likely expire soon. Without new permanent instream flows, both rivers could run dry.
A coalition of tribal governments, fishermen and environmental nonprofits are asking the State Board for new permanent instream flow dedications. And new legislation, if passed, will strengthen the ability of the state to protect those instream flows. Karuk Vice-Chairman Kenneth Brink, Cody Phillips of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, and Klamath advocate Craig Tucker join the EcoNews to talk about what's needed to save California's salmon.
Let Senator McGuire know that you support AB 460 and AB 1337.
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California’s system of awarding water rights is anachronistic and out of touch with modern needs. Yet, we are still bound by it. The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District is navigating these challenges. The District once provided a lot of water to the pulp mills of Humboldt Bay. When these shuttered, the District faced a challenge: without putting that water to “beneficial use,” the District could lose its water right. (And in the worst case scenario, some big water user could put their straw into our river and slurp that water away, like is done in the Trinity and Eel Rivers.)
Now the District is proposing a new in-stream flow dedication to protect that water right. District Board Director Michelle Fuller joins the show to discuss the process to dedicate an in-stream flow right.
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The Smith River needs your help. Agricultural operations along the estuary are polluting the river with high levels of pesticides. This pesticide pollution is impacting coho salmon, tidewater goby and other wildlife that rely on the river, as well as the human residents that live amongst the pollution.
Greg King, executive director of the Siskiyou Land Conservancy, joins the show to discuss his organization’s new report detailing the 40 year history of pesticide pollution in the river and what needs to be done to restore it.
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“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” - Aldo Leopold
Do you also have a gnawing, seemingly ever-present hum in the back of your head—an intrusive thought about the immensity of the climate crisis and your own miniscule ability to do anything about it? If so, you are not alone. Some 83% of the United States thinks that climate change poses a "serious and imminent threat to the planet" and "59% of youth and young adults said they were very or extremely worried about climate change."
Doomerism is not the only option. Would you like to reduce your own eco-anxiety? This show is for you. Join Chelsea Pulliam, EcoSomatic Coach at Somatic Earth, for a discussion about how you can cultivate resilience.
Want to hear more? Check our interview with Sarah Jaquette Ray, author of A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety.
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This week on the EcoNews Report, we discuss how fish are monitored and counted. Our host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River is joined by Dave Kajtaniak from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Samantha Kannry from TRIB Research. Tune in to learn about the hopeful returns salmon returns on the Eel and why preserving genetic diversity is so important to giving species the adaptability they need to survive our changing climate.
Click here to learn more about TRIB Research.
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The industrial legacy of the 20th Century left many contaminated sites around Humboldt Bay. Our second special episode on communities at risk from sea level rise features local residents talking about several of the most vulnerable sites, including Tuluwat Island, Butcher Slough in Arcata, and the nuclear waste storage site above King Salmon. Many thanks to Hilanea Wilkinson, Adam Canter, Jerry Rohde, Nate Faith, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant Program.
For more info:
- The 44 Feet Project
- Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute
- Humboldt Bay Shoreline, North Eureka to South Arcata: A History of Cultural Influences - Jerry Rohde
- Humboldt Bay King Tide Photo Project - Humboldt Waterkeeper
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Spice up your life by checking out the spectacular dunes of Humboldt County! Just like the shifting sands of Arrakis in the iconic Dune series, these sandy landscapes are home to unique and fragile ecosystems, adapted over millennia, which were once at threat from exploitation. And who are the Fremen that protect our dunes from OHVs, invasive species, and other threats? Meet Suzie Fortner, the new executive director of Friends of the Dunes. Suzie and outgoing executive director Mike Cipra join the show to discuss the restoration and education work of the Friends and why our Dunes are worth fighting for!
Need some gear? Check out the annual Get Outside Gear Sale on April 6 (open for members starting at 11am-noon and the general public 12-6pm). Or donate your own used gear! *No Stillsuits, used helmets, weapons, skis, snowboards, moldy/rusty items, and other similar items.
Want more? Meet the original Muad'Dib of the dunes, Hortense Lanphere.
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Klamath River dam removal is underway, with drawdown of the three largest reservoirs occurring now and physical removal of these dam structures scheduled for this summer. The dams have impacted the river for over a hundred years and dam removal has its own environmental impacts. While fish biologists and water quality scientists are confident that the long-term benefits will outweigh the short-term impacts, a loud group of dam removal antagonists have glommed onto the ‘messy’ part of this massive ecosystem restoration project — temporary increases in suspended sediment and associated impacts to water quality and the recent mortality event of hatchery juvenile salmon— to continue their fight against dam removal.
Luckily, Toz Soto, Senior Fisheries Biologist with the Karuk Tribe, and Dr. Maia Singer, Senior Scientist at Stillwater Sciences, join the show to help sort fact from fiction.
For more information about Klamath Dam removal, check out:
Lower Klamath Project – Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) | California State Water Resources Control Board
Klamath Dam Removal Overview Report for the Secretary of the Interior an Assessment of Science and Technical Information, Version 1.1, March 2013 | FWS.gov
Klamath Dam Removal Studies | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov)
Klamath River Renewal (klamathrenewal.org)
Klamath Basin Monitoring Program
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Mass transit along California's North Coast is difficult. The long distances between rural communities are trouble for ordinary battery-powered electric buses, which don't have the range to make there-and-back trips. Hydrogen buses, however, are able to make the long journey. And thanks to a $38.7 million grant, Humboldt Transit Authority is purchasing 11 state-of-the-art buses and building a hydrogen fueling station. Guests Peter Lehman of the Schatz Energy Research Center and Jerome Qiriazi join the show to discuss Humboldt's forthcoming fleet of hydrogen buses.
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Join us for the first in a special series on communities at risk from sea level rise featuring local residents who share their thoughts on the challenges and potential solutions facing our region.
Many thanks to Marnie Atkins, Jerry Rohde, Nate Faith, Troy Nicolini, Adam Canter, and to Jessie Eden, who produced this episode with funding provided by the California Coastal Commission Whale Tail Grant Program.
For more info:
- Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute
- Communities at Risk: King Salmon, Fields Landing, Fairhaven and Finntown - Aldaron Laird
- Humboldt Bay Shoreline, North Eureka to South Arcata: A History of Cultural Influences - Jerry Rohde
- Humboldt Bay King Tide Photo Project - Humboldt Waterkeeper
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The Humboldt Bay Harbor District has been in the news a lot this year. The Harbor District has committed to a "green terminal" strategy that commits the District to a goal of a zero emission terminal capable of building offshore wind turbines. And Congressman Huffman helped to deliver $426m in federal funding for the construction of this new green terminal.
What does building a green terminal look like? Maddy Hunt and Ysabelle Yrad, fellows at the Blue Lake Rancheria, have produced a new white paper on the state of port electrification that offers insights into what a green terminal in Humboldt might look like.
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Humboldt County's transmission infrastructure is old. Connections to the larger grid are weak and undersized, forcing Humboldt to be reliant on the fracked gas-burning Humboldt Bay Generating Station because we cannot pull enough power from our grid connections to keep the lights on. And, conversely, those same undersized powerlines mean we cannot export the power that would be generated from offshore wind. Until new grid infrastructure is operational, offshore wind can't be operational.
While offshore wind is driving grid improvements, grid improvements can also benefit Humboldt. With improved grid connections, we can shut down our greenhouse gas-spewing power plant. And improvements to the grid can improve energy resiliency for communities like Hoopa that frequently experience outages.
Arne Jacobson of the Schatz Energy Research Lab joins the EcoNews to discuss recent research produced by Schatz on transmission infrastructure planning.
Required reading:
Northern California and Southern Oregon Offshore Wind Transmission Study
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On this week’s episode of the EcoNews Report, host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River is joined by long-time Eureka resident and fisherman Steve Rosenberg and Humboldt Trails Council’s Advisory Chair Karen Underwood. Alicia and her guests reflect on the history of losing public access to rivers and wild spaces, and discuss modern efforts underway to protect what remains. Featured is the recent issue of attempts to limit access to one of the few remaining fishing access points along the Van Duzen River at Fisher Road.
To learn more about this issue, please visit this link.
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Have you ever wondered what exactly the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District does, who runs it, and how on earth did they manage to get a $426 million federal grant for a Heavy Lift Terminal for building offshore wind turbines? Tune in for a conversation with Chris Mikkelsen, the District's new Executive Director.
For more info:
- Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project
- The Biggest Federal Grant in Humboldt History?
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In politically progressive circles, a strange phenomenon can occur. Supply skepticism, the belief that housing prices are divorced from impacts to housing supply, abounds. On this week's EcoNews Report, Professor Vicki Been from the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, joins to discuss her metaanalysis of research into the relationship between housing supply and cost. (Hint: More housing moderates housing costs, generally.)
Required Reading:
Supply Skepticism (2018)
Supply Skepticism Revisited (2023)
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Are there Coho salmon in small urban streams like Jolly Giant and Janes Creek? If so, how often, and how far upstream do they go? Our guests, fisheries biologists Colton Dixon and Darrren Ward, are studying these streams and have some answers that might come as a surprise. Tune in to learn more about these streams and the fish that call them home for a fairly brief but critical time in their life cycle.
For more fascinating info on the fish in our local streams and rivers and the people who study them, you can follow Colton Dixon on Instagram and TikTok @colt.j.dixon.
Also check out Humboldt Outdoor's Tour of Jolly Giant Creek - Part 2, which follows the part of Arcata's ~4 mile long Jolly Giant Creek as it flows through Arcata's urban downtown area. A tour of the upper half of the Creek can be seen in Jolly Giant Creek - Part 1.
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Start your new year on a poetic note. Poets Jerry Martien and Katy Gurin join the EcoNews for our annual new year's poetry reading.
Do you have an environmental-themed poem that you want read on air? Email tom@wildcalifornia.org and you might hear your poetry read on the EcoNews.
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Humboldt's Queen of Quakes, Dr. Lori Dengler professor emeritus of geology at Cal Poly Humboldt, joins Gang Green to break down the 6.4 magnitude rumbler that hit Rio Dell hard last December. It was the third most "shaky" recorded earthquake in California's history (as measured by peak ground acceleration), with 1.46 g-force of acceleration.
Why was Rio Dell harder hit when the earthquake was centered closer to Ferndale? Why did this earthquake feel much more violent than other past earthquakes (which may have had higher magnitudes)? And what lessons can we learn from this earthquake to keep us safer in the future?
PS: Check out Thomas Dunklin's great virtual tour of the Mendocino Triple Junction.
Want more?
- Earthquakes are not fun, make sure you are prepared for next one
- The complex relationship between small, large earthquakes
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On this week's EcoNews Report, spotted owl experts Dave Wiens and Peter Carlson join bird nerds Ken Burton and Tom Wheeler to discuss barred owls and their impact to West Coast ecosystems. The barred owl is in the news because of a draft strategy released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to cull the invasive owl to benefit the native northern spotted owl and California spotted owl. The impacts of barred owls are well-documented—together with habitat loss, barred owls are driving the spotted owls to extinction!—but the barred owl's impact to other species is a deep concern for ecologists. The more varied diet and higher densities of the barred owl result in significant and new impacts to basically anything that moves and is smaller than the barred owl, from birds to rodents to amphibians and crayfish.
Listen and nerd out!
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On this week's EcoNews Report, Humboldt's preeminent bird nerd, Ken Burton, drops by the show to discuss the bird buzz.
The Christmas Bird Count is coming up. This bird count is very important to understanding long-term trends in bird populations and identifying species that require conservation attention. If you would like to help our local Redwood Region Audubon Society with this year's count, please visit their website.
Local birders are atwitter because of a new visitor to the area: a purple gallinule! This striking bird boasts a purple, blue and turquoise plumage with long yellow toes. Often found in tropical settings, this is a first time visitor to our area who somehow got far afield from its Florida breeding grounds.
Bird names are changing! Out are bird's named after someone—no more Stellar's jay or Anna's hummingbird—in are more descriptive names to be determined. And you can help. Our Redwood Region Audubon Society is looking for suggestions for the birds that call our area home. Give them a hand!
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The Hoopa Valley Tribe is engaged in exciting work to help promote a greener, more resilient power grid. And they are being recognized for their good work! Linnea Jackson, the general manager of the Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District, is the California Energy Commission's 2023 "Tribal Champion" award winner and inductee into the Clean Energy Hall of Fame. Linnea joins the show to talk about the challenges of providing power, water and waste services for a rural district and opportunities to help better the Hoopa Valley through new investments in renewable energy.
If you want to celebrate with Linnea, you can join the ceremony in person or by Zoom.
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How will California's coast deal with sea level rise? Journalist Rosanna Xia traveled across the state to talk with folks on the frontlines of sea level rise. Their stories are the focus of her new book, California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline. Rosanna joins Tom Wheeler of EPIC and Jennifer Savage of the Surfrider Foundation to discuss sea level rise and her work as an environmental journalist.
Bonus: Rosanna will be at CalPoly Humboldt on Thursday, November 30 from 5:30-7:00 pm in the Native American Forum (BSS 162) talking about climate communication and environmental storytelling, followed by book signing!
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The legislative season has come to a close, so let’s take a look at what was done! Specifically, how will the new raft of laws affect some of the biggest environmental issues we’ve been tracking — including affordable housing, urban design, greenhouse gas emissions and more? We talk about it!
- Street Story: A Simple Way to Contribute to the Fight for Safe StreetsHave you experienced a near-miss, a crash, or know of an hazardous street or intersection? In just a few minutes, you can give CRTP and local government agencies better information about the need for safety improvements.
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Congressman Jared Huffman joins the show to discuss the current happenings in Washington D.C. — Who the heck is Speaker Mike Johnson? Will we pass a continuing budget resolution? Why would any thinking person want to be a United States Representative? — and his legislative priorities. From offshore wind to Eel River dams to nickel mining on the Smith River, Congressman Huffman has a lot to share. Listen in to learn more.
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Tune in for an interview with Sebastian Elrite of AquaRodeo Farms and Humboldt Bay Provisions to learn about Humboldt Bay oysters. Sebastian tells us all about how they are grown, why they're good for you, the importance of water quality, and how ocean acidification has led to a boom in the local oyster "seed" industry.
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Environmental activists are concerned with the direction of the Humboldt County Climate Action Plan. The Plan, a to-do list of sorts describing what local jurisdictions can do to reach state-mandated greenhouse gas reductions, has been in development for five years and at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Planning Director John Ford warned that significant changes to the plan are necessary, delaying adoption of the plan even further.
Caroline Griffith of the Northcoast Environmental Center and Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities join host Tom Wheeler of EPIC to discuss what modifications and delay mean for meaningful efforts to address the climate crisis.
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This week, Cal Poly Humboldt Assistant Professor Jennifer Marlow and Graduate Research Assistant Alec Brown join Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper to talk about the 44 Feet Project, which is focused on the future risk of climate and coastal hazards to Humboldt Bay's spent nuclear fuel site above the town of King Salmon. The first privately-owned nuclear plant in the U.S, the Humboldt Bay Power Plant produced electricity from 1963 to 1976, leaving 37 tons of spent nuclear fuel to be stored indefinitely 115 feet from the edge of an eroding bluff just 44 feet above current sea level.
Two recent developments will be of particular interest to residents of King Salmon and other Humboldt Bay communities. In June, the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury made recommendations for improving disaster planning and emergency preparedness in response to "any Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation-related emergencies." In September, the California Public Utilities Commission recently issued a Final Decision in which PG&E agreed to update the tsunami hazard assessment for the spent fuel storage site.
For more info:
- The climate threat to California’s stored nuclear waste - Yale Climate Connections, Oct. 2023
- Spent nuclear fuel sits on a crumbling California coastline. So what to do? - Boyce Upholt, California Sea Grant News, July 2023.
- Humboldt County Emergency Preparedness: Ready or Not? - Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury Report, June 2023
- 44 Feet Project website
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At the beginning of October, many local elected officials, planners and other community leaders in Humboldt County took on a simple but significant challenge: don’t get behind the wheel of a car for seven days. They were participating in the first National Week Without Driving, which was organized in our region by the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities (CRTP).
The challenge was designed to give decision-makers personal insights into what life is like for the many people who can’t drive because of disability, age, or because they just can’t afford it.
Participants included Humboldt County Supervisor Natalie Arroyo, Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes, and Eureka City Councilmember Mario Fernandez, all of whom join host Colin Fiske of CRTP to reflect on their experiences.
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On this week’s episode of the EcoNews Report we reflect on the tragic dam failure in Libya last month and discuss why Scott Dam on the Eel River poses similar risks. The PG&E-owned dam sits right on a significant fault line, the Bartlett Spring Fault. Between its unusual engineering and a century’s worth of accumulated sediment, many factors are converging to make even PG&E wary of the risk. That’s why the company made drastic changes to how they manage the dam last spring. And that’s why they are pursuing expedited dam removal right now.
Tune in to hear Alicia Hamann and Scott Greacen from Friends of the Eel River share their concerns about dam safety and lethal water temperatures for juvenile steelhead, and their hope for dam removal.
For more info, see Alicia Hamann's recent op-ed in the North Coast Journal:
- Bigger Storms, Poor Oversight Put Dams at Risk
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Anyone who’s traveled between Arcata and Eureka lately has seen a whole lot of construction going on. Humboldt County Supervisor and Coastal Commissioner Mike Wilson joins co-hosts Jen Kalt (Humboldt Waterkeeper) and Colin Fiske (Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities) to talk about several projects that have been in the works for many years. Once the Indianola Interchange is built, CalTrans will close all the medians, meaning no more left turns across oncoming traffic. The final four miles of Humboldt Bay Trail will be finished by next fall, completing a decades-old goal: a continuous section of California Coast Trail connecting the two largest cities in the County! Other topics include sea level rise, billboard removal, why those Eucalyptus trees had to go, and what’s in store for the former lumber mill at Brainard.
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On this week’s episode, Luis Villa, Director of Latino Outdoors, joins the show to talk about how to make nature a safe, welcoming and inclusive space for all people. Latino Outdoors is a unique Latinx-led organization working to create a national community of leaders in conservation and outdoor education. By providing leadership opportunities and by changing the narrative about who are environmentalists, Latino Outdoors is helping to broaden the tent of environmentalism to make it more diverse and inclusive.
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Trash: it’s everywhere! From our beaches to our forests. But those plucky do-gooders at the Northcoast Environmental Center are on the job. With this year’s Coastal Cleanup MONTH, dozens of clean ups are planned across the county to make our beaches great again. The NEC is also working with individuals experiencing homelessness to help mitigate issues of trash in encampments. Come learn more from Caroline Griffith and Sable Odry on this week’s episode. Sign up to help keep our coast clean here.
Can’t get enough plastic pollution? Listen to this past episode featuring Jen Savage of the Surfrider Foundation discussing her work to tackle the systemic roots of plastic pollution in our ocean.
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David George Gordon, author of the new book, Heaven of the Half Shell, joins the show to discuss all things oysters. The oyster has long been an integral part of local diets and has helped to shape our history. Now, climate change and invasive species put oysters at risk. Tune in to learn more about this lovely mollusk!
David will be in town for an oyster-filled weekend the second weekend in September The first event will be held Friday, September 8 at 7pm at Northtown Books and the second event (featuring oysters!) will be on Sunday, September 10th at 4pm at Wrangletown Cider in Arcata.
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The kids are alright. Sixteen youth took Montana to court to challenge their state's failure to consider greenhouse gas emissions when approving fossil fuel extraction permits. Using Montana's unique constitution, which explicitly recognizes a right to a clean and healthy environment, the plaintiff's alleged that Montana violated their constitutional rights. And a judge agreed. In a powerful 103 page ruling, Judge Kathy Seely outlined the facts about climate change and how Montana's failure to consider greenhouse gas emissions when reviewing permits directly harmed the plaintiffs.
Environmental attorneys Tom Wheeler, Matt Simmons and Jen Marlow break down the case and its implications.
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On this week's episode of the EcoNews Report, our host Tom Wheeler is joined by Alicia Hamann and Craig Tucker from Friends of the Eel River to discuss a vague, last-minute proposal from water users to take over part of the Potter Valley Project. Pacific Gas and Electric, owners of the two Eel River dams and diversion tunnel that make up the Project, are in the midst of preparing their license surrender and decommissioning plan. The company will submit a draft plan this November, with a final plan due January of 2025. And PG&E has been clear that they want to rid themselves of this aging, liability-ridden project - they've told stakeholders that their plan will call for removal of all infrastructure in the water. BUT - they also told stakeholders this spring that the company would be open to proposals to take over all or part of the project through the end of July.
A proposal from Sonoma Water, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, and the Round Valley Indian Tribes was published just last week, but it's really more of a plan to make a plan. While it supports removal of Scott Dam, the plan is unclear about the future of Cape Horn Dam, or how any of their proposed modifications to Cape Horn Dam will be financed. Leaving the most difficult questions unanswered makes it all but certain that this proposal would delay PG&E's plans for decommissioning and dam removal.
Tune in to learn about what Eel River advocates think about this proposal, and how conservation organizations plan to continue holding PG&E to a swift timeline for dam removal.
More Info:
- Sonoma's Eel River Diversion Plan Risks Extinction of Humboldt Fisheries
Past episodes about Eel River Dams:
- What's Next for Eel River Dams 2/12/2022
- The Beginning of the End for Eel River Dams 4/16/2022
- Big Doings on the Beautiful Eel River 8/6/2022
- PG&E Finally Taking Dam Safety Seriously 4/1/2023
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Call it what you want—supply side progressivism, a “liberalism that builds,” or good ol’ permitting reform—a debate has emerged within progressive circles about whether environmental laws get in the way of good things, like renewable energy, and if so, what to do about it. As the executive director of a non-profit law firm that regularly uses environmental laws to fight bad things like oil and gas development, Erik Schlenker-Goodrich of the Western Environmental Law Center, has some thoughts on the matter. He joins the show for a conversation about the perils and potential of amending environmental laws to make good things easier to do.
REQUIRED READING:
- We Must Tend the Garden of Environmental Law
- A Liberalism That Builds Power
- What America Needs Is a Liberalism That Builds
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Walkability expert Dan Burden took Humboldt by storm last week, leading walk audits in Blue Lake, McKinleyville, Arcata, and Eureka. Dan joins the show to talk about how we can rethink our road system to be safe for all people on foot, on bikes, and in cars.
Read more!
- How Do We Make Our Communities More Walkable? Dan Burden Knows, and He’s Coming to Humboldt to Help Us Out - Lost Coast Outpost
- In Conversation With an Expert: Dan Burden - Strong Towns
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Rob Arkley is back at it again! This time with a new ballot initiative that would block new affordable housing in downtown Eureka and rezone the former Jacobs Middle School site for dense housing. (To be clear: more density is great! But Eureka City Schools, which owns the site, has already turned down an offer from the city to purchase the lot and California Highway Patrol is deep in negotiations to purchase some of the land.)
Jen Kalt of Humboldt Baykeeper and Matt Simmons of EPIC join the show to discuss Arkley's previous ballot initiatives—whatever happened to the Marina Center?—and the consequences of the ballot initiative should it pass.
More Info:
- The CHP Would Like to Build New Headquarters on the Property Championed by People Opposing Downtown Housing Development, and There Was a Meeting About it Yesterday - Lost Coast Outpost, July 20, 2023
- Wiyot Tribe Awarded Affordable Housing Contract in Eureka - Lost Coast Outpost, July 19, 2023
- EaRTH Center a Go: Eureka Council Approves Ambitious Housing/Transit Development Downtown - Lost Coast Outpost, Feb 10, 2022
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Offshore wind energy can be thought of as three distinct projects: the construction of offshore wind turbines, the actual operation and generation of electricity, and the transmission of that electricity across California. The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District is poised to play a major role in offshore wind turbine construction and is planning improvements to create a port designed specifically to build these large floating turbines.
The Harbor District has released a "Notice of Preparation"—the initial step in the CEQA process for analyzing environmental impacts from the port redevelopment. Luis Neuner of EPIC, Jen Kalt of Humboldt Baykeeper, and Caroline Griffith of the Northcoast Environmental Center join the show to discuss their thoughts on the initial designs.
More info:
- The Harbor District’s Notice of Preparation of Draft Environmental Impact Report is the earliest phase of environmental review in which the public can raise issues to be analyzed. Written comments are due by 5 pm on Aug. 3. Submit via email to Rob Holmlund at districtplanner@humboldtbay.org.
- Humboldt Harbor District Officials Talk Port Development As Offshore Wind Efforts Ramp Up by Isabella Vanderheiden, Lost Coast Outpost
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Plastic is everywhere and not in a good way. From the Mariana Trench to the top of Mount Everest to even your own blood (ew!), plastic pollution is a big and growing problem.
Jen Savage, Senior Plastic Pollution Manager at the Surfrider Foundation joins the show to talk about Plastic Free July, an international movement to try to reduce plastic use as much as possible for the entire month.
Need some help getting started? Check out the Surfrider Foundation's tips for plastic-free living.
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How do you improve the flow of a river? Just ask our friends at Salmonid Restoration Federation. On this week's episode of the EcoNews Report host Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River is joined by Dana Stolzman and Katrina Nystrom from Salmonid Restoration Federation, and Joel Monschke from Stillwater Sciences for a discussion of flow monitoring and enhancement projects on the South Fork Eel River. Tune in to learn more about SRF's decade of flow monitoring on Redwood Creek, the Marshall Ranch Flow Enhancement Project, and more.
Learn more about Salmonid Restoration Federation.
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Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) once swam along the North Coast of California, but 18th- and 19th-century fur trappers nearly caused the species to go extinct. Statewide, only one remnant population of approximately fifty individuals was left in Big Sur by the 1930s.
Today, thanks to concerted efforts, more than 3,000 sea otters call California home from that small initial remaining population. While recovery efforts have increased the overall population, sea otters are still only occupy a narrow belt, roughly from Santa Cruz to Point Conception, of their historic range.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has studied the feasibility of sea otter reintroduction efforts and is hosting open houses across the North Coast to discuss potential reintroduction. Guests Chanel Hason of the Elakha Alliance and Andrew Johnson of Defenders of Wildlife join the show to discuss the vital role that sea otters play in ocean ecosystems and their work to facilitate sea otter introduction.
Want to attend a meeting? There are some that are (likely) close to you!
- Crescent City - June 24, 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM, Del Norte Recreation Department, Gymnasium 1005 H St., Crescent City, CA 95531
- Arcata - June 25, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Cal Poly Humboldt, College Creek Complex, Great Hall Community Center Building, Room 260, 1 Rossow St., Arcata, CA 95521
- Fort Bragg - June 26, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Noyo Center for Marine Science, Discovery Center 338 N Main St., Fort Bragg, CA 95437
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This week on the EcoNews Report hosts Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River and Tom Wheeler from EPIC discuss an experimental installation in the South Fork of the Eel River. Guests Marisa McGrew from the Wiyot Tribe's Natural Resources Department and Gabe Rossi and Philip Georgakakos, both research scientists with UC Berkeley, tell us all about the collaborative effort to install and manage a weir in the river. The primary purpose of the weir is to remove invasive pikeminnow from the river system and keep them away from prime rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead farther upstream.
Weir technology is ancient, it is a floating fence that allows researchers to monitor and manage fish populations as they migrate upstream into a trap. Native fish are released and invasive pikeminnow are removed from the river. A camera also monitors downstream migration to capture as much data as possible.
This collaborative project includes a large number of partners and community members named in the episode, and researchers are especially thankful to the landowner, Lost Coast Forest Lands, who is providing access to this site.
Click here to watch a video and learn more about this exciting project. (https://vimeo.com/832438472).
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Let’s face it: Broadway - that section of Highway 101 in south Eureka - sucks. Especially for people getting around on foot or on a bike. Thankfully, Caltrans recognizes the deep suckiness of Broadway and is committed to making it better.
You may have seen cones and temporary bollards and wondered, “WTF?!” They are part of a “pop-up” demonstration of potential measures to make the road just a little bit safer — from bulbouts and curb extensions to improve visibility of pedestrians and to slow vehicle speeds when turning to islands in the left-hand turn lanes.
When walking, biking, driving or moving yourself by some other unspecific means through or across Broadway, take note of how your behavior is modified by these demonstration pop-ups or whether you feel safer as a result. Caltrans wants to know! Go to this SurveyMonkey to share your feedback
Jeff Pimentel joins the show to discuss how Caltrans is considering safety improvements to Humboldt’s most dangerous road.
RELATED READING:
- What the Heck’s Going on With Broadway in Eureka? Caltrans’ ‘Pop-Up Demonstration,’ Explained, May 24.
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It would seem unbelievable if it weren’t true. EarthFirst!, bombs, crooked cops, racists. This is the story of the redwoods, or rather, the fight to protect the redwoods, as told by one of the partisans of this fight, Greg King. His new book, The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals and Real Estate in the California Redwoods is part memoir of his own time as fiery young radical in the Redwood Wars and part of history of the economic and social history that set the stage for the Redwood Wars.
Greg joins the EcoNews to talk about his new book. Join us.
Read an excerpt of The Ghost Forest here. The Ghost Forest will be released on June 6th, preorder a copy today.
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For offshore wind to be successful, there will need to be considerable investment in Humboldt County — big infrastructure, like new transmission lines and substations, but also investment in housing, healthcare, childcare and other “human infrastructure.” On this week’s show, we talk about how we can draw community benefits from offshore wind development.
Erik Peckar of Vineyard Power joins the show to provide the experience and perspective of residents of Martha’s Vineyard, a community that has already negotiated community benefit agreements related to offshore wind. Eddie Ahn of Brightline Defense talks about his experience negotiating community benefit agreements for other non-wind projects. Katerina Oskarsson of the CORE Hub at the Humboldt Area Foundation discusses her organization’s work to develop community priorities for investments.
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California has set a bold conservation goal to protect 30% of its lands and coastal waters by 2030. This “30x30” goal aligns with a global 30×30 movement to protect nature all around the world to avoid an extinction crisis.
The Power in Nature Coalition brings together environmental organizations, activists, and tribal nations to collectively push Sacramento to meet its 30x30 target. Advocates are urging the state to fund and protect key strategic lands and waters that will protect biodiversity, allow for better public access to the outdoors, and help to naturally sequester carbon. Josefina Barrantes of the Power in Nature Coalition joins Dan Sealy of the NEC and Matt Simmons of EPIC to chart a path forward for conservation.
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The barred owl, not native to California, is quickly becoming established in the state, having flown down the West Coast. The barred owl’s presence is bad news for its cousin, the northern spotted owl, the iconic species of the Timber Wars. The barred owl outcompetes the northern spotted owl and quickly takes over its territory.
With the northern spotted owl on the road to extinction, now is the time for desperate measures. To save the northern spotted owl, researchers have tested whether killing barred owls makes a difference. The grim but good news: when barred owls are removed, population declines of the northern spotted owl stabilize.
Owl researcher Dave Wiens joins Gang Green to discuss the results of his recent research.
REQUIRED READING:
”Invader removal triggers competitive release in a threatened avian predator,” David Wiens et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Aug. 3, 2021.
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Running a transit agency in a rural area is hard work. Just ask Greg Pratt, General Manager of the Humboldt Transit Authority. Less dense development means longer distances between fewer people, both increasing operational costs (diesel is expensive, y'all!) and limiting potential ridership revenue. Despite these challenges, Humboldt Transit Authority is plowing ahead with new solutions to boost ridership and reduce tailpipe emissions from its fleet. Listen in to learn more.
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Nordic Aquafarms recently announced that it was making a switch: yellowtail kingfish, a fish native to the warm waters of the Pacific, instead of Atlantic salmon. Biologically, the two fish require different environments, with yellowtail needing warmer, saltier water compared to chilly brackish water for Atlantic salmon.
Yellowtail, perhaps better known as hamachi to our Japanese cuisine loving friends, also has a higher price point than Atlantic salmon, meaning that Nordic can make the same return on fewer fish. These changes will alter the environmental impacts from the project, conceivably for the better, with an anticipated reduction in total energy use, project footprint, and freshwater demand. Scott Thompson and Jacki Cassida of Nordic Aquafarms join the show to explain the change.
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Local environmental groups have gotten very good at saying “no” to developments, whether it is a Liquid Natural Gas export facility on Humboldt Bay or cutting and paving over redwood roots at Richardson Grove State Park.
But some development is socially necessary and desirable, such as affordable housing projects. On this week’s episodes, leaders from Humboldt Baykeeper, the Northcoast Environmental Center, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and EPIC talk about the recent baseless lawsuit from “Citizens for a Better Eureka” that seeks to stop affordable housing development.
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Despite the wildly wet year, the Bureau of Reclamation has threatened to reduce flows in the Klamath River below the mandatory minimum for salmon. Such an action will dry up critical habitat for salmon at a time when salmon populations are critically low. Now, the Yurok Tribe and fishermen are in court together to challenge the low flows.
Amy Cordalis, legal counsel for the Yurok Tribe and a tribal member, and Glenn Spain, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association join the show to discuss their new litigation and other issues imperiling salmon runs in the Klamath River.
REQUIRED READING:
- ”Yurok Tribe and Fishermen’s Associations Sue Feds Over Water Flow Reductions on the Klamath,” March 27, 2023.
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On this week's EcoNews Report, Ken Burton, local bird nerd, joins the show to discuss this year's Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival and other big news in the birding community. This year's festival, running from April 13-16, features over 75 events, from bird walks to lectures. We hope to see you there!
In other bird news, we chat about the controversy in the birding community about whether to retain reference to birder and slaveholder John James Audubon by the Audubon Society and its chapters. Also, are you concerned about bird impacts from offshore wind? Be sure to check out this week's episode for more.
- Audubon faces a backlash after deciding to keep name that evokes a racist enslaver
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Tune into the EcoNews Report for big news about Eel River dam removal – PG&E is finally taking dam safety seriously! On March 16, the company announced big changes to how they will manage Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury reservoir based on an updated evaluation of seismic stability and dam safety. Dam removal advocates at Friends of the Eel River have been ringing alarm bells about dam safety for years and are hopeful about what this could mean for expediting the dam removal process.
PG&E Admits Scott Dam Faces Serious Seismic Risks
Free The Eel
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Do you live or work in a tsunami zone? Do you drive through one to take your kids to and from school? Do you like to go to the beach but wonder how to know if there might be sneaker waves? Do you wonder what you should do to prepare for climate change?
This week’s guest is Troy Nicolini, Meteorologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service in Eureka. Troy has lots of practical, time-tested tips on avoiding sneaker waves, what to do in a tsunami and why empowering people to take action and connect with each other is better than instilling fear, whether you’re dealing with disaster-preparedness or climate action.
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This week, Colin Fiske of Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities and Matt Simmons of EPIC join the show to talk about why the race to electrify cars and trucks isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to our climate woes. More - and larger - electric vehicles mean more mining lithium for batteries, which comes with social and environmental costs. And the more vehicles on our streets, the more dangerous those streets are for people walking and biking. One solution is building more housing close to where people work, shop, and study, so that we can free ourselves from auto-dependency.
For more info:
Achieving Zero Emissions with More Mobility and Less Mining
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Today’s guests, Jaytuk Steinruck of Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and Megan Rocha of Resighini Rancheria, join the show to talk about the Tribal Marine Stewards Network, an alliance of Tribal Nations working together to steward, protect, and restore the ocean and coastal resources along the California coast.
The network’s initiatives include monitoring important marine species like surf smelt, mussels, salmon, and kelp, as well as toxic algae, erosion, and other climate related impacts on coastal environments.
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So you have decided to do your part to fight climate change (or maybe you just don’t want a gas stove to slowly kill you). Great! There are a bunch of incentives now available to help insulate and electrify your house. Aisha Cisna and Stephen Kullman of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority walk through the incentives available to people who want to make climate-smart improvements to their homes.
For more, check out the Redwood Coast Energy Authority and Rewiring America.
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We don't know why he continues to join the show—doesn't he realize he's palling around with a bunch of treehugger dirt worshipers?—but Congressman Jared Huffman joins the EcoNews again for more discussion on what's going on in Washington D.C. Who does he want to replace Feinstein? What's it like to work with George Santos? How is D.C. going to help fund offshore wind infrastructure improvements? (For the answers, you have to listen.)
Bonus: Watch Rep. Huffman's own state of the union address!
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For a weird, brief moment, prominent conservatives pitched a collective freak out over the false notion that the Biden Administration was coming to steal gas stoves. ("You can have my stove when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!") While bad faith scare mongering in the conservative culture war isn't really newsworthy, the moment had something of a Streisand effect: it exposed that your gas stove may be giving your kids asthma as well as the public relations campaign by the fossil fuel industry to cover up this well-documented link. Whoops.
Laura Deehan, state policy director at Environment California, joins the show to talk about the indoor air quality risks from gas stoves and the movement to limit gas appliances in new home construction.
Want to start electrifying your house. Environment California has put together a toolkit to help!
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Local jurisdictions have very limited control over regulating local pesticide use. New legislation introduced by Assemblymember Damon Connoly would return some local control. Assembly Bill 99 would require Caltrans to respect resolutions passed by counties banning the roadside spraying of pesticides. This legislation builds on decades of work by anti-spray advocates, who have continuously pushed on the agency to reduce its reliance on the nozzle.
The EcoNews talks with Patty Clary of Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, Patty Mayall of Protect Our Watershed San Mateo County, and Megan Kaun of Sonoma Safe Ag, Safe Schools about their experience working to reduce roadside spraying and their thoughts on the proposed legislation.
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On this week’s EcoNews Report, we travel to California’s Central Valley to explore the elaborate plumbing that connects North Coast rivers to the Central Valley and the impact of this massive diversion system has on local fish populations.
In December, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland reversed a Trump-era decision that got Central Valley irrigrators off the hook for habitat restoration costs. Chris Shutes of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association lay out the sordid history of the Central Valley Project.
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Global warming increases the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, supercharging winter storms like the slate of atmospheric rivers that have smashed the West Coast. More moisture also means increased risk of flooding, as we have tragically experienced this year. Lots of rain might sound good in recent drought years but it's more complicated than that. A warming planet also increases the risk of summer droughts, despite increased winter moisture. Climate scientist Michael Furniss joins Gang Green to talk through how climate impacts weather.
Required Reading:
Climate Change and California's Atmospheric Rivers
How climate change will make atmospheric rivers even worse
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I don't think it's just us: 2022 has been stressful, right? Between earthquakes and a bomb cyclone, you could use to take your mind off things. Never fear! Gang Green is here with some poetry to soothe your soul and reset the new year on a more positive note.
The EcoNews welcomes poets Jerry Martien and Katy Gurin to read some of their poetry, discuss their creative process, and how the act of writing poetry helps spark greater joy and wonder in life.
If you want more, check out:
- Katy Gurin
- Four poems by Katy Gurin in Narrative Magazine
- Jerry Martien's Poetry Reading at the Arcata Playhouse - Nov. 13, 2021
- Interview with Jerry Martien - Cascadia Poetics Lab
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Humboldt's Queen of Quakes, Dr. Lori Dengler professor emeritus of geology at Cal Poly Humboldt, joins Gang Green to break down the recent 6.4 magnitude rumbler. It wasn't just you: that was a big one! It was the third most "shaky" recorded earthquake in California's history (as measured by peak ground acceleration), with 1.46 g-force of acceleration.
Why was Rio Dell harder hit when the earthquake was centered closer to Ferndale? Why did this earthquake feel much more violent than other past earthquakes (which may have had higher magnitudes)? And what lessons can we learn from this earthquake to keep us safer in the future?
PS: Check out Thomas Dunklin's great virtual tour of the Mendocino Triple Junction.
Want more?
- Earthquakes are not fun, make sure you are prepared for next one
- The complex relationship between small, large earthquakes
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Trespass cannabis grows, those rogue operations of pot production on public land, often employ chemicals banned for sale in the United States. Past research has demonstrated that these chemicals have poisoned rare and endangered species like the Pacific fisher, Humboldt marten, and northern spotted owl. But what are they doing to our aquatic environment? Dr. Mourad Gabriel of the Forest Service and Ivan Medel of the Integral Ecology Research Center join Gang Green to talk about their new report which found really nasty pesticides, like carbofuran, downstream from trespass grow sites.
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The recent lease auction for the Humboldt Wind Energy Areas shows that wind energy developers are excited about the potential for floating offshore wind off of Humboldt's coast. Where will these floating turbines be built? The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District is visioning how they can be built locally, with family-wage blue collar jobs building our renewable energy future. Larry Oetker, Executive Director of the Harbor District, joins Gang Green to discuss port redevelopment plans and what Humboldt Bay may look like in ten years time.
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Trying to be an ethical person in the modern world is hard. How should we weigh the site-specific impacts from wind energy development against the potential climate benefit? How far should we go to try to save an endangered species (and at what point is that resource allocation better served somewhere else)? Should we rely on our intuition or does that risk confirmation bias? Does climate change clarify our moral obligations or does it make finding the "right thing" even murkier? (Is there even a "right thing"!?)
Do you think about these things? Because Gang Green does. Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, Matt Simmons and Tom Wheeler of EPIC, Caroline Griffith of the Northcoast Environmental Center, and Alicia Hamann and Scott Greacen of Friends of the Eel River talk about how they make decisions as local environmental leaders.
Send your own probing ethical questions to tom@wildcalifornia.org and we may feature your question on a future episode!
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Do we have a fundamental human right to a healthy climate? If so, how do we know when our rights have been violated?
Global climate agreements are structured to keep warming below 1.5C (or 2.7F, for our American friends). But this number reflects a political compromise—what global leaders believe is politically achievable—not a scientific understanding of climatic risks. Below this threshold, science predicts dire consequences. (Think Biblical: floods, fires, pestilence, and the like.) Yet, in informal and legal discussions of climate change, 1.5C is treated as some kind of legal litmus test.
Professors Jen Marlow (CalPoly Humboldt), Lauren Sanckin (U. of Washington School of Law) and attorney Andrea Rodgers join Gang Green to talk about their most recent scholarship and break down the state of national and international litigation to recognize the right to a healthy climate.
For more info, see the soon-to-be published article in the Fall 2022 issue of Virginia Environmental Law Journal:
- The Injustice of 1.5˚C–2˚C: The Need for a Scientifically Based Standard of Fundamental Rights Protection in Constitutional Climate Change Cases by Lauren Sancken, Andrea Rodgers, and Jennifer Marlow
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The "Red Wave" turned out to be more like a ripple, with Democrats holding onto the Senate and Republicans taking only a slim majority in the House. What does this election mean for our environment? LoCo Editor Hank Sims joins Gang Green to breakdown local, state, and national election results.
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On this week’s edition of the EcoNews Report, host Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River is joined by three fisheries experts to talk about how we count fish in the Eel River.
Tune in to hear from Wyatt Smith from the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Dave Kajtaniak from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Charlie Schneider from California Trout as they discuss DIDSON cameras installed throughout the watershed and what data collected from these monitoring stations tells us about salmon and steelhead populations in the entire Eel River. This data can help influence conservation decisions as we work to meet recovery target population numbers for species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The data we discuss in this episode is specific to the mainstem Eel River, so it is not reflective of entire populations in the watershed, but rather a helpful indicator of just how many fish are out there.
LINKS:
- Redwood Empire Trout Unlimited
- Friends of the Eel
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On this week's EcoNews Report, host Tom Wheeler talks to friends from across California about "rewilding." What the heck is rewilding? It is a global movement to restore lands and ecosystems to a more complex and "wild" state, often with the reintroduction of keystone species—think large mammals like elk or ecosystem engineers like beavers—that may be absent.
This episode is a crossover collaboration with John Davis of the Rewilding Institute (and host of the Rewildling Earth Podcast) and the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center.
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This week on the EcoNews Report your host Tom Wheeler chats with Friends of the Eel River's Alicia Hamann about the fantastic news that the Great Redwood Trail is finally in the clear from threats to take the public right of way. It's now full steam ahead on trail master planning - tune in to learn about how you can be involved and check out greatredwoodtrailplan.org. And in other groundbreaking news, Alicia shares information about the lawsuit just filed to protect public trust flows impacted by unregulated groundwater extraction in the Eel River.
Links:
https://eelriver.org/2022/10/27/protecting-public-trust-flows-in-the-lower-eel-river/
https://greatredwoodtrailplan.org/
https://eelriver.org/projects/protecting-the-eel-river-canyon/
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Humboldt County has some of the highest pedestrian fatality numbers in the state. Thankfully, a large cultural change is taking over in local transportation planning. Under the banner of "Vision Zero," transportation planners are imagining how we can manage our road network to reduce road fatalities down to zero. Sounds too lofty? Other jurisdictions have already seen significant improvements in road safety under this model.
What does Vision Zero look like? Addressing issues with investments in road safety, like Caltran's new Broadway HAWK beacon to large planning efforts, like the Humboldt County Association of Governments' Safe and Sustainable Transportation Targets.
Alexis Kelso of Caltrans and Stevie Luther of HCAOG join Gang Green to talk about how their agencies are hard at work to save lives.
Want to learn more? Check out this cool video with safety improvement ideas that are being implemented across the world.
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News of PG&E's plans to spray power poles on its easements throughout Humboldt County alarmed residents. Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties have a long and storied history in challenging the application of pesticides.
On this week’s EcoNews, Gang Green talks to two veterans of the Pesticide Wars, Larry Glass of Safe Alternatives for our Forest Environment and Patty Clary of Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, about the long history of citizen activism against spraying.
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Before 2022, you may have thought that nuclear weapons were blasé — that’s so 20th Century — but Russian nuclear sabre rattling in Ukraine may have you practicing your dunk-and-cover drills. Where should you turn for expert thought on nuclear proliferation in the modern age? The Which Way the Wind Festival, starting this week!
The third-annual Which Way the Wind Festival tackles the problems of nuclear weapons in our modern age and the risk of sea level rise through a mixture of arts and education. Learn about sea level rise through a ride on the Madaket with Aldaron Laird, Jerry Rohde and Marnie Atkins. Muse on the absurdity of war and deterrence strategies through burlesque. Engage with some of the deepest thinks on the subject in panel discussions. Jack Irvine, Chairman of the Festival, joins Gang Green to talk about this year’s lineup and the prospects of nuclear nonproliferation.
For the full lineup of events and tickets, visit the festival’s web page.
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New research published in the journal Global Change Biology raises alarming questions about the efficacy of forest carbon programs registered in California’s cap-and-trade program. Utilizing satellite imagery, particularly of forests in Northwest California, researchers have compared the carbon sequestered by forests versus what is claimed and have emerged with a concerning conclusion: forests registered in the offset program are overcounting the carbon that they are paid to protect.
Researcher Shane Coffield joins Gang Green to discuss his findings and the implications of his research on California’s carbon emission reduction strategy.
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Michael Kauffman and Justin Garwood are in love with the Klamath Mountains, the rugged and remote mountain range in Northern California that is world-renowned for its biodiversity.
They, together with 32 other co-authors, have published the first definitive natural history guide to the region. Michael and Justin explain to Gang Green why the region is so special on this week’s episode of the EcoNews.
BOOK:
The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History, by Michael Kauffman and Justin Garwood. Backcountry Press.
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It is tough to be a fish in the Klamath River. On the heels of a large fishkill caused by a debris flow following the McKinney Fire comes another fishkill, this time caused by a pathogen, Flavobacterium columnare, more commonly known as gill rot. Hot, tepid waters in the lower Klamath form a perfect breeding ground for the disease. Elsewhere in the Klamath watershed, ranchers are illegally diverting water (at the encouragement of Rep. Doug LaMalfa), creating perilous conditions in the Shasta River, a tributary to the Klamath.
But there is good news too. The final environmental analysis for Klamath River dam removal is complete and dam removal may begin as early as next year.
Guests Craig Tucker, Natural Resources Policy Advocate at the Karuk Tribe, Dave Webb of Friends of Shasta River and Nick Joslin of the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center join Gang Green to break down what's happening in the Klamath.
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The Inflation Reduction Act is the largest single action taken by the United States against the climate crisis ever. Roughly $370 million will go to a variety of eco-groovy things, from rebates for consumers for things like solar panels or heat pumps to tax incentives for large renewable power projects.
How will this impact the North Coast? Gang Green investigates.
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In July, the Wiyot Tribe finalized the acquisition of a 46-acre coastal property in the ecologically and culturally significant Wiyot place of Mouralherwaqh or “wolf’s house,” which will be prioritized for ecocultural restoration purposes. The property is located at the present day site known as King Salmon at the base of Humboldt Hill and represents the first forestland to be returned to the Tribe. Tribal citizens Cheryl Seidner and Hilanea Wilkinson, Wiyot Tribal Natural Resources Director Adam Canter, and Cal Poly Humboldt Professor Laurie Richmond join Gang Green to talk about this historic return of tribal ancestral territory and what #LandBack means to the Wiyot Tribe.
For more info:
Reclaiming Mouralherwaqh: Wiyot Tribe Acquires Coastal Property for Cultural and Water Quality Protection
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Obi Kaufmann, naturalist and best-selling author, joins Gang Green to talk about his new book, The Coasts of California: A California Field Atlas. Like his previous best sellers, The Coasts of California explores the Golden State’s wild places in a way only Obi can, through hundreds of watercolor paintings and maps, woven together with philosophy and lyrical naturalism.
Obi also has a new podcast — shameless cross-promotion here — called Place & Purpose, where he and co-host Greg Sarris, Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, explore deep questions of purpose and belonging.
Grab a cup of tea, sit back, and enjoy this far-ranging conversation.
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On this week's EcoNews Report, Scott and Alicia from Friends of the Eel River join Gang Green to talk about dam removal and FERC relicensing. Also, the coal train is officially dead! Let’s take a moment to celebrate that big victory.
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From skunks to songbirds, the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center is here is help the wildlife of the region. Gang Green sits down with Monte Merrick, director of the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center, to talk about the center's work, what to do if you see an injured animal and the center's upcoming big move.
To learn more about volunteer opportunities or to help with moving costs, visit the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center's website.
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On this week's EcoNews Report, Gang Green and special guest Melodie Meyer, staff attorney with the Yurok Tribe, talks about the Land Back movement—the indigenous-led campaign to return political and economic control to indigenous people and tribes—and why rank-and-file environmentalists should support this movement.
Some local examples of Land Back:
- Yurok Tribe now operating Chah-pekw O’ Ket’-toh ‘Stone Lagoon’ Visitor Center
- Congressman Huffman introduces Yurok lands act
- Duluwat Island is Returned to the Wiyot Tribe in Historic Ceremony
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Marbled murrelets, the ocean-going bird that was once at the heart of the showdown with the Pacific Lumber Company over Headwaters Forest, are back in court in Oregon. Nick Cady of Cascadia Wildlands joins Gang Green to discuss their recent victory protecting the large, old trees that murrelets need to survive. And there is a Humboldt connection: local biologists testified on behalf of the environmental plaintiffs, establishing that the proposed logging would violate the federal Endangered Species Act. Read the decision for yourself here.
Photo Credit: Marbled Murrelet Habitat, Aaron Barna, USFWS Pacific; edited with an image of flying marbled murrelet.
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The Supreme Court’s recent decision in West Virginia v. EPA not only throws a substantial hurdle ahead of regulating greenhouse gas emissions from coal power plants, it takes a vicious swipe at the entirety of the modern administrative state. Using a new invention—the “major questions doctrine”—the Supreme Court has set up an easy way for conservative judges across the country to invalidate any regulation that a judge finds to be of “vast significance.”
The Supreme Court has been on a bender of recent: reproductive rights (Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization), school prayer (Kennedy v. Bremerton School District), tribal sovereignty (Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta), separation of church and state (Carson v. Makin), gun regulation (New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen). All of these controversial decisions were decided by a majority of Republican-appointed judges. This is not a coincidence but the product of a 40+ year movement by conservative activists.
How can environmentalists and progressives restrain the Supreme Court before we lose any more rights and still have a democracy? Listen in to hear more.
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What can we learn about the national and political landscape from the results of the 2022 primary election? Those enviro-political nerds at RCCER (the Redwood Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility) and the Lost Coast Outpost’s own Hank Sims break down election results and reflect on lessons learned from this election.
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On this week’s EcoNews Report, Gang Green talks with Professor Dan Kammen of UC Berkeley and Gary Hughes of Biofuelwatch to investigate how the state of California intends to meet its climate targets and whether its plan is sufficient. (Spoiler alert: it’s not).
The California Air Resources Board has released its draft scoping plan, a document intended to guide the state’s climate actions moving forward. The plan has been poorly received by environmental groups. Find out more on this week’s episode.
REQUIRED READING:
- “Op-Ed: California can do better than carbon neutrality by 2045,” Daniel Kammen, Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2022.
- Hoodwinked in the Hothouse: Resist False Solutions to Climate Change
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The transmission lines running into Humboldt County are fairly small. This has big implications for local efforts to decarbonize our local electricity supply. The lines are too small to supply enough of Humboldt’s current power demands, necessitating the Humboldt Bay Generating Station, run off methane gas (Gang Green refuses to call it “natural gas”). It also limits our ability to fully realize our offshore wind resource as, again, the damn lines are too small, thereby limiting our capacity constraints.
Arne Jacobson from the Schatz Energy Research Lab joins the show to talk through the lab’s new report on grid constraints.
For more info, visit Schatz's offshore wind webpage for reports and webinar recordings.
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On this week’s EcoNews Report, Warner Chabot of the San Francisco Estuary Institute joins Gang Green to talk about micro-plastic pollution, including that which comes from car tires. A chemical in tires has been found to kill coho salmon. Now the California Department of Toxic Substances Control is considering regulation to address this threat.
People can submit written comments on the rulemaking proposal until July 5.
For more info:
- CA Department of Toxic Substances Control video on 6PPD in Tires
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Two weeks ago, the federal Surface Transportation Board made some important decisions about the future of trails in our region. Tune in to hear about the latest developments including what’s in store for the Annie and Mary Trail and what comes next in determining the future for the Great Redwood Trail. Will it be a spectacular 300-mile trail connecting communities from San Francisco to Humboldt Bay, or will rail entities succeed in taking the right-of-way from the public and using it to poison our future?
Learn more at nocoalhumboldt.org
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Organic matter — things like banana peels, coffee grounds, and newspaper — clog our waste system and when it reaches a landfill, breaks down into methane, a potent greenhouse gas. That’s why California is requiring more and more diversion of this organic matter from our waste stream.
Two compost nerds — Layla Richardson of Zero Waste Humboldt and Daniel Hosapple of the Blue Lake Rancheria — join Gang Green to talk about how individuals can start composting in their backyard and how large producers of organic waste, like the Blue Lake Rancheria’s brewery and restaurants, can compost their food waste and returning it back to the soil.
Learn more:
- Zero Waste Humboldt
- Blue Lake Rancheria’s Daluviwi’ Community Garden
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The McKay Community Forest is one step closer to reality with the release of the draft Forest Stewardship Plan. The McKay Community Forest looks to join its famous neighbor to the north, the Arcata Community Forest, as a local hub for recreation, wildlife, and even timber production—all directed by the Forest Stewardship Plan. Hank Seemann of Humboldt County and Stevie Luther of the Humboldt Trails Council join the show to talk about the future of the McKay, trail building, and just how soon you can take your dog for a walk in the woods here.
LINKS:
- The County’s McKay Community Forest web site.
- The Humboldt Trails Council’s volunteer sign-up page.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Karelian Bear Dogs were bred to hunt large game, like bears. Now they are being used to save them. Wildlife biologist Jessica Reyes of the Wind River Bear Institute joins Gang Green to talk about how these fearless dogs train bears to avoid humans - and how the dogs train humans to be better for bears.
Want more? Check out this YouTube video or the Wind River Bear Institute’s website.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On Thursday, we celebrated the expiration of PG&E’s 50-year license for the Eel River dams. Next up comes license surrender, decommissioning and ultimately dam removal.
Tune in to hear about what this process might look like and why it is so important to act swiftly to seize the opportunity for recovery of the Eel River’s wild runs of salmon and steelhead.
And in other celebratory news: Klamath dam removal is on track to begin by the end of this year. Two of California’s largest rivers are in for monumental change over the next few years!
LINKS:
- Friends of the Eel’s Potter Valley Project page
- Caltrout’s Eel River Dams page
- Potter Valley Project
- Undam the Klamath
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Plastic pollution in our oceans is a high-profile problem.
Jen Savage, Senior Manager of the Plastic Pollution Initiative of the Surfrider Foundation, joins the show to talk about just how bad the problem has gotten — if the headline didn’t give it away, it’s so bad that a recent study found microplastics in human blood — and what can be done to stop the problem.
[Note from Jennifer Savage: Since recording, the tobacco and cannabis industries convinced the state assembly’s Health Committee to gut the state bill that Tom and I discussed. It will no longer ban cigarette or cigar filters, only single-use vaping products.]
LINKS:
- California Legislation
- Reducing Waste in National Parks Act
- Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s EcoNews Report, planning expert Dan Zack joins Gang Green to talk about “urbanism” — a term that might sound scary for rural Humboldt County. But despite its name, principles of urban design can be applied across the whole of the county, from Bridgeville to Eureka. Because at its core, urbanism is just about making planning work for humans. Dan also breaks down “form based codes,” a relatively new idea in urban planning that is at the heart of the Gateway Area Plan, Arcata’s new planning effort to allow for mixed-use infill development near the city’s core.
Like what you hear? Dan is giving a slightly longer presentation on “The Principles of Good Infill Development” on April 7 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. There will also be the opportunity to ask him some questions. Register online here. (Kudos to the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities for sponsoring Dan’s talk!)
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
With gas prices spiking and a climate crisis making you feel guilty every time you get into your car, you might be thinking about dragging your bike out of the garage for a ride. But what about the rusty chain, the flat tire and old brakes? And what about your own anxiety: Will I look dumb? Where is it safe to bike?
Your friends at Moon Cycles are here to help! Sage and Sprout, the owners of Moon Cycles, Arcata’s queer-owned bicycle shop, join Gang Green to talk about getting back on your bike and how they are working to make bicycling more inclusive.
REQUIRED READING:
- Check out Moon Cycles.
- Want to learn skills? Talk to Eureka Bike Kitchen!
- Humboldt Bay Area Bike Maps
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Humboldt County is faced with some important and difficult decisions regarding our energy future, and if the TerraGen project taught us anything it’s that the public needs to be involved as energy projects are planned.
But civic engagement requires an educated populace, so the Northcoast Environmental Center is working to figure out what folks do and don’t know about renewable energy sources and how to fill those information gaps to make sure we move forward with the best possible energy sources for our future.
In this episode Gang Green are joined by CalPoly Humboldt graduate students Lorelei Walker and Alexander Brown to talk about our energy past, our energy future and the survey they are working on with the NEC to learn Humboldt County residents’ perspectives on renewable energy sources.
Take the survey by March 31 at this link.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Ask anyone who has tried to look for rental housing lately and they’ll tell you that housing in Humboldt is expensive. Humboldt, like California generally, suffers from a housing affordability crisis brought on chiefly by failing to build enough housing. Our housing crisis is an environmental issue and local green groups are working to support new infill housing development.
On this week’s episode, Gang Green talks to housing policy experts Lulu Michelson and Brian Heaton about why California has failed to build enough housing and what policy changes can be made to support housing creation.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s EcoNews, the gang’s nerdy lawyers — Tom, Matt and Scott — are joined by CalPoly Humboldt’s own professor of environmental law, Jennifer Marlow, to talk about the recent oral argument in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency.
Is the court going to jettison Chevron deference in favor of its newly constructed “major questions doctrine” or will we see a return to Lochner-era non-delegation doctrine? Learn what that all means and why it should terrify you on this week’s episode!
- “In climate-change case, justices grapple with EPA’s role, congressional intent, and their own jurisdiction,” SCOTUSBlog, Feb. 28, 2022.
- ”The Supreme Court appears eager to gut the EPA, but can’t figure out how to do it,” Vox, Feb. 28, 2022.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
This week, Gang Green sits down with Caltrans’ Jeff Pimentel to discuss Caltrans’ work to improve Broadway for all road users (and not just motorists). Through fixing sidewalks, adding pedestrian crossings, and other changes to the road, we can influence individuals to make safer decisions.
Caltrans’ work on Broadway is also a reflection of larger cultural changes within the agency. Once almost solely focused on traffic speed, the agency has made great progress towards broadening its horizons to prioritize traffic safety and incorporate the interests of non-car road users. Progress!
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Gary Hughes of Biofuelwatch joins the show to talk about the creative accounting of “net zero” carbon emissions. Can we “offset” emissions or is this sending us down the wrong path? Gary discusses Biofuelwatch’s new report, Carbon Capture or Captured Futures?, which examines the politics and influence of the fossil fuel industry in shaping California’s climate policy.
REQUIRED READING:
Carbon Capture or Captured Futures
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s edition of the Econews Report, Friends of the Eel River discuss developments in the thrilling drama of Eel River dam removal. It’s a story of injustice and opportunity— a 100-year-old water diversion that takes from one watershed to give to another, and the chance to correct the harms by returning salmon and steelhead to excellent cold-water habitat locked behind the dams.
Starring characters like the charismatic Northern California summer steelhead, the most athletic and endangered fish in the watershed; Congressman Huffman, who is working diligently to arrive at a win-win solution; and countless stakeholders all taking part in a process which will see the Eel River become the longest free-flowing river in the state.
Be a part of the story at eelriver.org. Take action here: https://bit.ly/FERC-action
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Congressman Jared Huffman joins Gang Green for a fun conversation about his legislative priorities for 2022, the prospect of the Build Back Better agenda and voting rights legislation currently stalled in the Senate, and his thoughts on California’s legislative redistricting.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
This episode first aired in October 2019.
A new study in the journal Science documents the staggering loss of bird populations in North America — a decline of approximately three billion birds in total over the past 50 years. Local ornithologist Ken Burton says that Humboldt County is not immune to this trend. Using available data, Burton has determined that of the most commonly reported species in Northwest California, 69 percent of birds were reported less frequently. On the show, Burton digs into the data with the Green Gang to figure out the causes.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Naturalist and best-selling nature writer Gary Ferguson joins the show to talk about how nature can teach us important lessons to make us better humans. From the interconnectedness of mycorrhizae bounding trees together from how a wolf pack moves through Yellowstone, the natural world is a countless source of wonder and inspiration that can help us overcome our climate blues.
For more about Gary’s work and philosophy, check out his new project, Full Ecology.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Join Gang Green for a review of the highlights and lowlights of 2021.
Friends of the Eel River organized a motley crew of enviros, organized labor, religious leaders and others in a coalition to fight against the threat of a coal export facility and train line.
Humboldt Baykeeper continued to keep the community safe by tracking mercury in commonly consumed fish.
EPIC maintained the decade-long fight over the Richardson Grove Project, an attempt by Caltrans to realign portions of Highway 101 through Richardson Grove State Park, which would require cutting into the root system of nearby ancient redwoods trees.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Urban planning nerds rejoice! Here is an episode for you.
Humboldt is seeming a bit more crowded as of late. Whether it is climate refugees burned out of their homes or folks freed to move to the redwoods because of lax telework options, Humboldt’s housing market has been white hot. If people are coming, how do we ensure that we have enough housing for those who are looking to join our community (and how we do have enough having for those of us who want to stick around)?
As part of Arcata’s strategic infill development planning, the city is giving a hard look at the future of the “Gateway Area” — that area of already-developed land west of K Street. City planner Delores Freitas joins Gang Green to talk about the city’s planning process and how citizens can participate in long-term planning.
Want to let the city hear your thoughts? Take the community vision survey here.
Keen to learn more about long-range planning for the Gateway Area? Clear here.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
One of the first nuclear power plants in the US was built on a bluff overlooking the Humboldt Bay entrance and the town of King Salmon. Shut down in 1976 and recently decommissioned, the site - located 115 feet away from the bay, on a bluff 44 feet above sea level - continues to serve as storage for 37 tons of spent fuel and other radioactive waste. The underground casks are relatively safe for the next 50 years, but rising sea level and ongoing bluff erosion raise questions about long-term safety in the absence of a federal repository.
Our guests this week are Michael Welch, an activist who has watchdogged the nuclear plant since it was still operating, and Professor Jennifer Marlow of Humboldt State University, who is working to facilitate inclusive community conversations about the future of the nuclear waste site.
Required Reading:
- 44 Feet: Sea-Level Rise Risk to a Spent Nuclear Fuel Site on Humboldt Bay
- PG&E completes decommissioning process, ends nuclear facility license - Isabella Vanderheiden, Eureka Times-Standard, Oct. 30, 2021Dancing on the Hum Nuke's Grave is Strictly Prohibited - J.A. Savage, North Coast Journal, Nov. 4, 2021
- The Atomic Priesthood, Giant Rutabagas and What's Next for Humboldt's Decommissioned Nuke Plant - J.A. Savage, North Coast Journal, Dec. 16, 2021
- Crucial Antarctic Glacier Likely to Collapse Much Earlier than Expected - Lily Roberts, Columbia Climate School, Dec. 17, 2021
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
In this encore episode from 2019, poet Jerry Martien joins the Green Gang in the studio to read poetry inspired by the natural landscapes of Humboldt County. If you have never heard Jerry read his poetry before, you are in for a treat, as Jerry’s sonorous voice and crisp lyrical poetry inspires and soothes the soul.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Have you ever seen the “Grand Canyon of the Eel River”?
Few have, but that might change soon thanks to a major new conservation deal engineered by the Wildlands Conservancy. The former “Lone Pine Ranch,” owned by San Francisco financial mogul Dean Witter, is now the Eel River Canyon Reserve, one of three reserves managed by the Wildlands Conservancy along the Eel River.
Listen to this week’s show to learn about when you can go camp along the Eel River and how the new lands will be incorporated into the Great Redwood Trail (and the risk that a coal train poses to this special spot).
REQUIRED READING:
- SOLD! Conservation Groups Close Escrow on Mogul’s Massive Ranch in the Eel River Canyon
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The Redwood Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility — RCCER, pronounced “rocker” — is aiming to give a larger voice to environmental voters by holding elected officials accountable and by providing model legislation that local jurisdictions can adopt.
Listen to this week’s episode to learn who is behind this new organization and what they are looking to accomplish.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Local environmental groups — Northcoast Environmental Center, Citizens for a Sustainable Humboldt and the Redwood Region Audubon Society — have filed their second lawsuit against Humboldt County concerning a controversial cannabis farm deep in the wild Eel River canyon.
Larry Glass of the Northcoast Environmental Center and Mary Gaterud of Citizens for a Sustainable Humboldt join the show to talk about their lawsuit, why this farm is symptomatic of larger failings in the county’s regulation of cannabis, and the politics of cannabis on the Board of Supervisors.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The Mad River isn’t one of the county’s largest, but it’s the source of water for two-thirds of the county’s population. One of its tributaries, Powers Creek, runs smack through Blue Lake and its industrial outskirts, and has been impacted by development over the years.
But recently, people have started to do something about that. In this episode, we’re joined by representatives of the Mad River Alliance and the Blue Lake Rancheria, who tell us about a recent restoration project aimed at bringing back the natural systems supported by the creek.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week's EcoNews Report, Chairman Joe Davis and Mike Orcutt, Fisheries Department Director of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, join Gang Green to talk about the Hoopa Tribe's work to restore the Trinity River. Critical to this is wrestling back water diversions that go to the Westlands Water District back to the Trinity River. Tune in to learn more about the Hoopa Tribe's work and what is needed to have a sustainable fishery again in the Trinity River.
Required Reading:
Fresno County Judge Nixes Westlands Water District’s Federal Contract for Trinity River Water; Hoopa Valley Tribe Celebrates - Lost Coast Oupost
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Chairman Michael Hunter of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians joins Gang Green to talk about his tribe's work to protect the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Chairman Hunter has been on the front lines of the struggle to protect sacred cultural resources and protect the redwood forest that his people have called home since time immemorial. The Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians' efforts to protect Jackson Demonstration State Forest is part of a larger story about how can America move towards reconciliation and reparation for lands stolen from native peoples.
Required Reading (and Viewing):
- Tribal Chair Threatened in JDSF
- Pomo Perspective: Priscilla Hunter and Polly Girvin on Jackson Demonstration State Forest Logging
- Please join our journey to save the redwoods in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest
- Protests in Jackson Demonstration State Forest Escalate in the Face of Unsafe Logging, Threats of Violence, and Harassment of Tribal leaders
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The destruction of the North Coast's redwood forests is well known to EcoNews listeners but did you know about the loss of our kelp forests? Gang Green sits down with James Ray, a scientist with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, who studies bull kelp populations along the North Coast. James talks about the marine heat wave in 2014 and the resulting 90% decline in bull kelp, in part due to an explosion in purple urchins, which have overgrazed some bull kelp beds into oblivion. The purple urchin used to be kept in check by sunflower sea stars, but bad news: in 2013, a wasting disease killed 90% of sunflower sea stars along the West Coast from Mexico to Alaska. Is there any hope for our coastal kelp forests? James and his colleagues have seen some slight increases in some kelp beds, giving a glimmer of hope that this foundational species to the marine ecosystem could eventually recover even in the absence of sunflower sea stars.
Required Reading:
- New research to address kelp forest crisis in California - California Sea Grant
- Kelpwatch - an interactive kelp mapping tool that uses Landsat satellite data to display kelp canopy coverage throughout the state (2021 data coming soon)
- Kelp Forests Surge Back on Parts of the North Coast, with a Lesson About Environmental Stability - Bay Nature
- Iconic Sea Star Listed Critically Endangered After Study Finds Marine Epidemic Event Nearly Wiped Out Global Population - The Nature Conservancy
- Restoring Kelp in the Face of Climate Change - Humboldt Now
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
For the past six months, forest defenders have protested ongoing logging at the state-owned Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Their concern: logging the mature redwood forests is bad for climate, water and wildlife. In recent weeks, loggers have threatened physical violence against forest defenders in a manner reminiscent of some of the worst times of the Timber Wars.
On this week’s show, “Alder,” a forest defender at Jackson, and J.P. O’Brien, a climate scientist, share with Gang Green why they are concerned with ongoing logging operations and how the state of California is complacent in allowing threats of violence to occur.
REQUIRED READING:
- ”JDSF Update: Protestors Threatened,” EPIC, Oct. 19, 2021.
- ”How a California state forest became a battleground for logging redwoods on public land,” SFGate, Oct. 14, 2021.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week's EcoNews Report, Gang Green breaks down redistricting efforts at the state and county. Could draft maps splitting Eureka apart be an attempt to draw Supervisor candidate Natalie Arroyo out of her district? Is the state serious about lumping Humboldt with Redding? Our politics will be shaped by mapping decisions for the next decade so you better to pay attention!
- ”Redistricting Surprise? The County’s Advisory Committee is Looking Seriously at a Plan That Would Move a Distant Quarter of Eureka Into Arcata’s Supervisorial District,” Lost Coast Outpost, Oct. 5.
- ”The County’s Draft Redistricting Maps Have Been Released, and a Couple of Them Are Real Doozies,” Lost Coast Outpost, Oct. 11.
- ”A WEDDING to REDDING? There Are Ideas to Join Us With Shasta County at the State and Federal Level, and the State Citizens’ Redistricting Commission Would Like Your Feedback,” Lost Coast Outpost, Oct. 14.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Eureka's Broadway is one the most dangerous streets in California for pedestrians. In the last decade alone, at least 10 people have been killed and at least 14 people severely injured while walking or biking on Broadway. What is being done about it? Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities joins Gang Green to talk about what fixes can and should be undertaken immediately to make the roadway safer for all road users. Want to take action? Sign the petition to Caltrans to demand immediate improvements here. Have you felt unsafe as a pedestrian? Mark the location to help drive improvements.
Required Reading:
Eureka May Propose New Roads Through Wetlands to Improve Broadway Corridor; Opponents Say Plans Aren’t Feasible
Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities Holding Memorial on Friday for People Killed By Cars
Previously on EcoNews Report:
Building Cities for People, Not Cars
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
In a set back to the Two Basin Partnership — which sought to gain control over the two fish-blocking dams on the Eel River — FERC denied a request for a delay by the coalition, damaging their chances at gaining control (and forestalling decommissioning of the dams).
Friends of the Eel River think that this is BIG win for the salmon of the Eel River and dam removal of both Scott and Cape Horn Dam now seems more likely.
Listen to learn more!
REQUIRED READING:
- ”Regional Coalition Looking to Take Over Potter Valley Project Hits Snag as FERC Denies Request for Extra Time,” Lost Coast Outpost, Sept. 23, 2021.
- ”ECONEWS REPORT: Friends of the Eel River Force FERC to Comply with the Endangered Species Act,”April 3, 2021.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The City of Eureka's wastewater treatment facility releases its treated wastewater into Humboldt Bay near its facility by the Elk River. Nearby, surfers play at Stinky Beach and Humboldt Bay residents collect seafood.
The City had been operating on the assumption that the treated sewage discharged from its Elk River Wastewater Treatment plant washes out to sea, but a 2014 study determined that much more of the treated sewage remains in Humboldt Bay than was previously understood. In 2016, the City was ordered by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to “cease and desist” discharging into Humboldt Bay and move to an ocean discharge by 2030. The City is instead asking for an exemption to existing water quality rules so it can continue pumping up to 12 million gallons of treated sewage into the bay near the Elk River Spit.
Surfrider Foundation and Humboldt Baykeeper are asking the City to thoroughly examine the feasibility of moving to an ocean discharge or to commit to significant upgrades that will improve water quality in Humboldt Bay and that they hold at least one public workshop on the matter. Jen Kalt of Humboldt Baykeeper and Delia Bense-Kang of the Surfrider Foundation join the show to talk about where your waste goes when you flush and the impacts to Humboldt Bay.
Read More:
- City of Eureka Seeks to Allow Sewage to Stay in Humboldt Bay
- 2021 Humboldt Bay Symposium, Sept. 28-30
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
A shadowy shell corporation is threatening our future with an apparent proposal to purchase the Northwestern Pacific rail line, kill the dream of the Great Redwood Trail, and ultimately export coal to Asia from Humboldt Bay. Tune in to hear your friends from Friends of the Eel River, Humboldt Baykeeper, and EPIC discuss the details of how such an absurd proposal is even possible, and why we must take this threat seriously and fight it with everything we've got!
REQUIRED READING:
- Aiming to Ship Coal Out of Humboldt Bay, Shadowy Corporation Makes Bid to Take Over NCRA Line Lost Coast Outpost, Sept. 2.
- North Coast lawmakers gearing up to battle coal export proposal tied to Humboldt Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Sept. 3.
- Is coal industry behind secretive plan to preserve a defunct California railroad? Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 9.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
What would Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir talk about if they were alive today? A bushy bearded naturalist meets a pragmatic politician, both with an unabiding love of nature confronting climate change, colonization, fire, and how to conserve the planet in the 21st Century.
Well, we have the next best thing: Best-selling author, naturalist and painter Obi Kauffman joins Gang Green to talk about his friendship with California Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot and the premiere of a short film where they following in the footsteps of Muir and Roosevelt on a camping trip in the Sierra Buttes.
When a naturalist with a breathtaking artistic vision and a political pragmatist with 19,000 employees and a four billion dollar budget come together to solve pressing issues of California’s lands, where do they begin? As Muir said, “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.”
Join Obi and Wade on September 9, 2021, to explore California’s nature and engage in deep conversation on urgent topics, including wildfires, water shortage, climate change, and an action plan to be better stewards of the Golden State’s biodiversity. Live Q&A with attendees following the event.
Tickets at this link.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Humboldt State professor Sarah Jaquette Ray talks with hosts Tom Wheeler and Alicia Hamann about how to avoid burnout, why peddling hope and leveraging guilt are not effective, and how we can move past the illusion of partisan division to working toward climate justice.
A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, by Sarah Jaquette Ray. University of California Press.
Sarah's book is available at Eureka Books and Northtown Books in Arcata.
This show originally aired on May 10, 2020, but is as relevant today as it was then - perhaps more than ever, as drought and wildfires intensify here in California, and Hurricane Ida bears down on the Gulf Coast on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s most recent report is clear: the climate crisis is here and humans are causing it. Gang Green break down the major conclusions of the report and have a mild on-air existential crisis. The threat of climate change is immense and our collective response has been flaccid. Can we change the trajectory in time to avoid run-away warming? And how can Humboldt respond as a county?
All this and more on this week’s show.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Folks, it’s that time of year again! Coastal Cleanup Month 2021 promises to bring all the great elements of the last few years together for an event packed with citizen science, coastal stewardship, and fun prizes. Last year, COVID precautions turned a two day event into a month-long one, and we couldn’t have been happier with the results. We’ll be continuing that new tradition this year, with cleanups taking place every weekend of September. This year’s event will also be entirely zero waste, with reusable cleanup gear being supplied by the NEC. Volunteers can also look forward to a weekly raffle full of fun prizes from local businesses. Grab your family and friends and head to your favorite beach, park, street, or trail...We’d love for you to join us this year!
Check out our website to learn more about Coastal Cleanup Month 2021 and how to participate!
https://www.yournec.org/coastalcleanupmonth
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The barred owl, not native to California, is quickly becoming established in the state, having flown down the West Coast. The barred owl’s presence is bad news for its cousin, the northern spotted owl, the iconic species of the Timber Wars. The barred owl outcompetes the northern spotted owl and quickly takes over its territory.
With the northern spotted owl on the road to extinction, now is the time for desperate measures. To save the northern spotted owl, researchers have tested whether killing barred owls makes a difference. The grim but good news: when barred owls are removed, population declines of the northern spotted owl stabilize.
Owl researcher Dave Wiens joins Gang Green to discuss the results of his recent research.
REQUIRED READING:
”Invader removal triggers competitive release in a threatened avian predator,” David Wiens et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Aug. 3, 2021.
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Offshore wind has a lot to offer: Humboldt’s wind resources are virtually unmatched in North America and we have the potential to produce gigawatts of low-carbon power off our coast and Humboldt Bay is one of the few ports on the West Coast capable of assembling the monster 600+ foot tall turbines, creating the potential that Humboldt Bay could become the American center of offshore wind technology. But the technology offers risks to the environment and the severity of these risks is hard to gauge because the technology has not been deployed in our ocean environments before.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is close to opening up the coast for competitive bids for development. What is in store for Humboldt County? Matthew Marshall from the Redwood Coast Energy Authority joins Gang Green to discuss.
REQUIRED READING:
- “Redwood Coast Offshore Wind,” Redwood Coast Energy Authority.
- Schatz Energy Research Center's offshore wind energy page features 24 reports (and that's just the first set!), recordings of panel discussions from Fall 2020, and more.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Following the 2020, California is set to redraw its legislative maps and for the first time in our state’s history, we are set to lose a congressional seat. What does this mean for Humboldt? Guest Sam Sukaton of the California League of Conservation Voters joins Gang Green to discuss the California Citizens Redistricting Commission and how environmental voters can better harness power to affect change.
While environmental and climate justice advocates have been building a policy agenda for years, we currently do not have the political power in California to act on these solutions at the rate and scale required. The 2021 redistricting process is a unique moment to make key structural change: not only for the next legislative session, but for this final decade leading to the 2030 climate deadline.
California’s Constitution requires that redistricting preserve “communities of interest”—those economic or cultural ties that bind communities together—to the maximum extent possible. The redistricting process begins by soliciting input from the public about what forms their community of interest. Unique public comments are very important to the process. There are two ways you can participate!
REQUIRED READING:
- Do You Feel More Like Redding or San Rafael? The California Citizens Redistricting Commission Wants to Know
Participate in a Communities of Interest Public Hearing!
The Citizen Redistricting Commission is holding virtual meetings based on “zones.” Humboldt, Mendocino, Trinity and Del Norte Counties are in Zone A. The Citizen Redistricting Commission is hosting a special meeting for our zone on August 23 from 1-7 p.m. Go to this link to see the meeting agenda and to register to speak! Each speaker will get up to 3 minutes.
Draw Your Own Map!
Don’t want to sit through a public meeting? Can’t make August? No problem! Submit your testimony online, by email or by mail.
The Citizen Redistricting Commission has set up a cool website where you can draw your community of interest. Go to DrawMyCACommunity.org and follow the helpful tutorials.
You can also provide input to the Commission by emailing: VotersFirstAct@crc.ca.gov (CC us at epic@wildcalifornia.org too!) or by snail mail: California Citizens Redistricting Commission, 721 Capitol Mall, Suite 260, Sacramento, CA 95814. You can even call in your comments to: (916) 323-0323.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Clam Beach landed on Heal the Bay's list of California's most polluted beaches yet again this year, getting an 'F' for water quality on the 2021 Beach Report Card. Today our guest is Dr. Jeremy Corrigan, who has worked for years to answer the burning question: why does Clam Beach have such high levels of fecal indicator bacteria? Dr. J is the Lab Manager at the Humboldt County Dept. of Public Health, and recently published a paper based on genetic analysis of the most likely sources. His findings point to birds as the main influence at Clam Beach, while cattle appear to be the biggest source of bacteria pollution in the Strawberry Creek watershed. Tune in to find out what this means for surfers and other beachgoers.
For those inclined to do a deep dive:
- Microbial Source Tracking Approach to Investigate Fecal Waste at the Strawberry Creek Watershed and Clam Beach, California, USA by Jeremy A. Corrigan et al. 2021
- Heal the Bay's 2020-21 Beach Report Card
- Regional Water Board's 2016-18 research on Pathogens in Coastal Streams
- Humboldt Baykeeper's Water Quality Program features research involving volunteers, student interns, and local water quality experts
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Only a small genetic difference separates winter-run and summer-run steelhead, but that little bit of nucleic acid makes a big difference. Last month, the California Fish and Game Commission voted to list the North Coast’s summer steelhead under the California Endangered Species Act.
This week, Gang Green dives into the difference between these two runs to learn why preserving summer steelhead may be important in a warming world, why the fish are teetering on extinction, and some strange hope for a rebirth of summer steelhead after Scott Dam is removed on the Eel River.
Extra-special bonus: if you are also a fish freak who loves tacos, we have just your event. This weekend, fish biologist Samantha Kannry is hosting a taco feast at her farm, with all the proceeds going to benefit steelhead research. Get stuffed on tacos and help forward science? You bet Gang Green will be there! To find out more, head to tribresearch.org/events.
- “FOER proclaims victory for Northern California summer steelhead.” Friends of the Eel River. June 17, 2021.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Congressman Jared Huffman joins Gang Green to talk about this legislative session. Top of his mind, as always, is his public lands bill—the “Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act”—which packs together new Wilderness designations with fuel breaks, trespass cannabis clean up, new trails and visitor centers and more. Sen. Padilla has taken up the bill in the Senate and is proving to be an effective advocate.
Also on the docket is dam removal on both the Eel and Klamath Rivers, protections for forage fish in the Magnuson Stevens, and the long problem of Trump’s judiciary for the environment. Listen in!
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, particularly harmful to young children and developing fetuses. Mercury is commonly present in fish, but in wildly different concentrations based on the life history of the species. What local fish species are safe to eat and at what amounts?
Humboldt Baykeeper is there to help. With the help of fisheries biologist—and EcoNews guest—Ross Taylor, Humboldt Baykeeper tested 70 fish across nine species to examine mercury concentrations in fish. Their results? Long-lived species that eat high on the food web have the highest concentrations and should be avoided by those most sensitive to mercury. Other seafood, like salmon, oysters and clams, are good for eating often because of their extremely low levels.
Want to know if your fish is safe? Download Baykeeper's 1-page summary HERE.
You can also download the full report, Mercury Testing of Sport/Food Fishes from Nearshore Ocean Waters of Humboldt County, California.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Drought-related tension threatens to boil over in the Klamath. Ammon Bundy’s posse of right-wing terrorists are threatening to open irrigation gates of Upper Klamath Lake, by force if necessary, to illegally divert water held in reserve to protect endangered fish. Meanwhile in the mainstem of the Klamath River, juvenile salmon are experiencing a mass die-off caused by a disease-causing parasite (Ceratonova shasta) that thrives in the hot, warm waters resulting from the Klamath dams. “Flushing flows,” big pulses of water from Upper Klamath Lake used to prevent this mass die-off, have been called off because of drought. It is a mess.
Meanwhile on the coast, Gang Green reacts to the good news that Nordic AquaFarms and Humboldt County have agreed to do a full environmental impact report for their proposed on-shore fish factory. What does this mean? Listen to find out!
REQUIRED READING:
- ”Faced With Massive Juvenile Salmon Infection and Year After Year of Drought, Karuk Tribe Declares a Climate Change State of Emergency,” Lost Coast Outpost, June 1.
- ”Ammon Bundy coming soon.’ Federal water cutoffs igniting rebellion in Northern California,” Sacramento Bee, May 28.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Caltrans is making progress on Last Chance Grade, removing multiple alternatives from further consideration. By cutting down the number of alternatives to study, Caltrans has cut the project planning budget and has lopped considerable time off the timeline. (Enviros are also happy because the highest risk alternatives were among those on the cutting room floor.)
On this week's episode, Jaime Matteoli, Last Chance Grade project lead for Caltrans, joins Gang Green to talk about how Caltrans was able to reduce the alternatives in the project and why the public should feel confident about the decision.
Required Reading:
- Permanent Fix for Last Chance Grade Narrowed Down to Two Options
- GUEST OPINION: As Someone Who Has Two Active Lawsuits Against Caltrans, Let Me Say That Caltrans is Doing a Great Job With Last Chance Grade
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
In October 2020, California Governor, Gavin Newsom, issued an executive order pledging to conserve 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. In January, President Joe Biden announced a similar effort, calling for conservation of 30 percent of the United States land and water by 2030. But what do these executive actions mean and will they move the needle on our climate and biodiversity crises.
Gang Green examines the potential of the “30x30” movement and the potential for disappointment. After all, more than 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters are already held by the public, so “conserve” must mean something additionally, right?
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The Shasta River should be chock full of salmon. (It was, after all, the largest salmon producing tributary to the Klamath prior to Euro-American colonization.) The sweet waters of the Shasta have the perfect combination of elements to help grow big, fat fish: low velocity and a prime gravel bed, key nutrients, and cold, clean water.
But the river is a shadow of its former self. Agricultural development has lapped up and polluted its waters and salmon struggle to survive. Yet, hope remains. If the river is restored and fish are given enough cold, clean water again they will come back.
Friends of the Shasta River, the scrappy defenders of this river, join Gang Green to talk about the incomparable Shasta River and ongoing threats to the river, including a free pass to a California billionaire to continue to despoil the river.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Is a massive land-based fish factory the best next chapter for a former pulp mill nestled between Humboldt Bay and the Pacific Ocean? Tune in to hear local environmental leaders discuss Humboldt County’s assessment of the impacts Nordic AquaFarms proposed fish factory might have on the bay, ocean, wildlife and climate – and ways to avoid or mitigate them. Surfrider Foundation’s California Policy Manager Jennifer Savage and Colin Fiske of Coalition for Transportation Priorities join co-hosts Tom Wheeler of EPIC, Larry Glass of NEC, and Jen Kalt of Humboldt Baykeeper for a discussion of what is proposed and top issues of concern as we gear up to submit comments on May 24.
REQUIRED READING:
- Nordic Aquafarms Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration: As Lead Agency, Humboldt County released this environmental review document for public review and comment. Comments are due May 24, and a public hearing is on the County Planning Commission agenda for Thursday, June 3 at 6pm.
- Background studies and reports are posted on Humboldt County’s Major Projects webpage.
- The Regional Water Board released its draft ocean discharge permit for the project. Comments are due June 4.
- The California Coastal Commission will also have a role in permitting the ocean discharge and the bay intake in the near future.
You can submit comments on Humboldt County's environmental assessment of this proposed project until May 24 via email to: Planningclerk@co.humboldt.ca.us.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The Wildlands Conservancy is close to acquiring the 26,600 acre Lone Pine Ranch, a property with more than property more than 20 miles of river frontage, hundreds of acres of wetlands, and over 86 million board feet of trees in the standing forest, which can be protected to sequester vast amounts of carbon dioxide. This acquisition will build on an earlier purchase of 3,000 acres in 2019 and is sandwiched between two other ecological reserves, the Spyrock Reserve upriver and the Emerald Water Reserve Downriver. With the completion of the Great Redwood Trail, you will be able to bike or hike to Lone Pine in the future, where Wildlands Conservancy hopes to have an established campground.
Here’s the catch: while Wildlands Conservancy has raised over $20 million to purchase Lone Pine, they are still $9 million short and their purchase option will expire. Find out more about Lone Pine and how you can help safeguard the Grand Canyon of the Eel River by listening to this week’s show.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Biking for transportation is a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. May is Bike Month in Humboldt County and the EcoNews has all of the resources you need to zip around on two wheels. Dave Ryan and Colin Fiske join the show to discuss this year's festivities (all of which are COVID-friendly), ways cities can encourage more cyclists, and even how to start cycling as an adult.
Required Reading:
Track Your Miles and Win Prizes
Improvements Coming to H/I Street
Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities
Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Humboldt Bay is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise, with much of the land around the bay protected by low sea walls. According to projections, many of these sea walls will be breached in the next 50 years. How will Humboldt adapt?
A suite of bills are before the California legislature will shape Humboldt's approach. Jennifer Savage, California Policy Manager at the Surfrider Foundation joins Gang Green to discuss what is before the legislature and how California—and Humboldt—should respond to this threat.
Required reading:
Rising Seas, Shrinking Beaches
California Coast & Ocean Legislation 2021
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
In 1968, Congress created Redwood National Park—or at least part of it. Nicknamed "the Worm," the park extended only one-half mile on either side of Redwood Creek. It was apparent that this was not enough and work began on a park expansion. Of course, expansion was opposed by local logging companies. In an attempt to blunt the expansion efforts, logging companies ran crews—sometimes 24 hours a day—in an attempt to cut the remaining old-growth in the Redwood Creek watershed, with the rationale that if logged, it would be less attractive to incorporate into the Redwood National Park. That plan failed. In 1978, Congress expanded Redwood National Park and took in many of the cut over lands, with only a fifth of the new land.
This decade of intense logging left a major impact on Redwood Creek. Large clearcuts, poorly cut roads, landslides and major floods sent a massive wave of sediment streaming into Redwood Creek. The National Park Service has spent the past 40 odd years cleaning up this mess and studying how Redwood Creek is (and is not) recovering.
Two expert geomorphologists with decades of experience studying Redwood Creek join Gang Green to talk about their research. Mary Ann Madej is the author of the recent report, Redwood Creek Watershed Studies: Summary of Geomorphic Research at Redwood National Park and Vicki Ozaki is a staff geologist at Redwood National Park.
For more info:
- Redwood Creek Watershed Studies: Summary of Geomorphic Research at Redwood National Park
- Expanding Redwood National Park in 1978: A Critical Act to Save the Park from Virtual Obliteration
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Government hijinx are nothing new to seasoned environmentalists but Six Rivers National Forest is taking this to a new level in the wake of the 2020 August Complex Fire. In December, claiming an "emergency" (although the fire was already extinguished), Six Rivers National Forest authorized a logging company to start falling timber in the forest without completing the required environmental analysis ahead of time. Fast forward to now, Six River National Forest is now attempting to bypass environmental review in the "Three Forks Project" by claiming that roadside logging is exempt from a federal requirement to study environmental impacts—this despite an EPIC victory at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that found otherwise.
Longtime forest defender Kimberly Baker joins Gang Green to break down what Six Rivers National Forest is proposing and why this lawless logging should concern North Coast residents.
Required Reading:
Three Forks Project Page
Biscuit Fire Controvery
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
There's a proposal to remove the fish-blocking Scott Dam on the Eel River but looming problems still remain. Cape Horn Dam, just downstream of Scott Dam, technically allows for fish passage through its fish ladder--but that's only when the ladder is properly functioning and the trouble is that fish often can't use the ladder because it gets so choked with rocks and debris. So what good is the removal of Scott Dam if salmon still struggle to get past Cape Horn Dam?
Friends of the Eel River is pressing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to address persistent issues with the fish ladder and--shockingly--FERC admitted that Friends of the Eel River is right! In an important win for salmon, FERC has agreed to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service as required by the Endangered Species Act.
Find out what this victory means for salmon and dam removal across the West Coast on this week's EcoNews Report.
Required Reading:
Victory for the Eel River salmon and the Endangered Species Act!Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Transportation planning: that’s what we are talking about on this week’s EcoNews Report. How people and goods move throughout Humboldt County is something that we all experience on a daily basis, whether you are a bicycle commuter navigating potholes and cars, a long-haul trucker cruising up the 101, or just out to grab your morning iced chai latte (with oatmilk, please). The routine and ever-present engagement with our transportation infrastructure can obscure the fact that all of this was planned. Our transportation planning choices today will have long-standing impacts on our lives into the future, whether it is reducing road-related fatalities or how we can reduce greenhouse gases from our transportation network (Humboldt’s #1 category of emissions).
The Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) is hard at work on an update to the “Regional Transportation Plan,” a blueprint for our current and future transportation needs. Oona Smith, Senior Planner with HCAOG joins Gang Green to talk about how good planning helps all road users and how the Regional Transportation Plan will shape our transportation investments in the future.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The Northcoast Environmental Center is celebrating 50 years of activism and they want to let you in on their secrets to success. NEC staff are excited to present two new programs--Activate NEC and Thrive: Eco Grief Circle--to teach you how to be a better, more effective environmental advocate and how to avoid the doom-and-gloom burnout that can plague activists). Plus, learn about how you can help keep our streets and beaches clean with this year's trash-a-thon and how to get a FREE cigarette butt receptacle outside your local business!
Required Reading:
- Activate NEC
- Thrive: Eco Grief Circle
- Trash-a-thon 2021
- Butt In: Cigarette Litter Prevention Program
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
What happens when a group of friends goes on a hiking trip? If they are science nerds (and employees of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife), they document and map a set of quickly melting glaciers (publishing their findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal) and the nearby flora and fauna (in prep). Two of the adventurer-scientists join Gang Green to talk about the weird and unique life that lives amongst old ice (such as the endemic beetle, Nebria praedicta, that lives beside Grizzly Glacier) and how documenting dying glaciers can change one's perspective on life and time.
Bonus feature: Learn how to make a Glaciertini, the new rage in haute mixology. All you need is glacier ice, vermouth, vodka and olives.
Required Reading:
- The Backpacking Scientists Who Are Watching a Glacier Die
- The Last Glacier in the Klamath Mountains
- 20th Century Retreat and Recent Drought Accelerated Extinction of Mountain Glaciers and Perennial Snowfields in the Trinity Alps, California
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Before you throw away that half-eaten sandwich, you'll want to listen to this week's EcoNews Report. Every year, Humboldt County sends thousands of pounds of organic waste to our out-of-state landfill. In the oxygenless (anaerobic) landfill environment, organic matter breaks down into greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane. Luckily, there's an easy solution: waste less in the first place. But by taking on food waste, we can not only reduce greenhouse gas production at our landfills, but we can also take a bite out of local food insecurity. Maggie Gainer from Zero Waste Humboldt joins Gang Green to talk about how Humboldt can (and must) do a better job diverting organic waste from the waste stream.
Required Reading:
https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/slcp
https://www.foodforpeople.org/
http://www.hwma.net/
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
In 2019, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority adopted a goal to deliver 100% clean, renewable electricity to all customers by 2025 and for 100% of that power be generated within Humboldt County by 2030. Richard Engel, Director of Power Resources at RCEA, joins Gang Green to talk about their plans to rapidly increase renewables in our power portfolio. RCEA recently contracted with a new solar farm in Kern County to deliver 100MW of power by 2022 and is working on a residential battery storage program through Swell Energy for local customers to provide consistent, dispatchable power to the grid. RCEA is also joining with other community choice energy aggregators in a new organization, California Community Choice Association, to leverage their combined purchasing and lobbying ability to more rapidly more the entire state towards a renewable energy future.
If you want to get to 100% renewable energy even sooner, sign up for RCEA's REpower+ Program today.
Required Reading
https://cal-cca.org
https://redwoodenergy.org/community-choice-energy/residential/options/
https://redwoodenergy.org/rcea-contracts-for-100-of-the-output-of-a-new-100-megawatt-solar-project/
https://www.swellenergy.com/rcea/
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
The U.S. has a long history of wolf annihilation, reintroduction, and recovery. Now the federal government has stripped protection of wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act. Joining us to talk about what this means for wolf recovery on the West Coast are Amaroq Weiss, West Coast Wolf Advocate, Center for Biological Diversity; Kimberly Baker, EPIC's Public Land Advocate; and John Mellgren, Attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center.
For more info:
- Pacific Wolf Coalition
- Wolves on the West Coast. The Center and allies petitioned California to protect wolves under the state Endangered Species Act and, in June 2014, the California Fish and Game Commission voted to grant our petition. Those protections were extremely timely because only one year later, California's first known wolf family, the Shasta pack, was confirmed in the state, and the following year a new pair was confirmed in Lassen County.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Mike Belchik, senior fisheries biologist with the Yurok Tribe, joins Gang Green to give an update on Klamath dam removal (spoiler: it's on track to be completed by 2024!) and helps resolve a number of myths concerning the Klamath dams that you might see shared on social media.
To wit: (1) No, it won't increase in-stream water temperature (dams do that); (2) No, it won't result in severe flooding (these are hydroelectric dams, not flood control dams, and don't operate to control flooding); Yes, while there is a loss of power generation, that power generation is not very large (~170MW at full capacity, which hardly ever happens) and the power is not particularly low-carbon when you consider the methane produced by the reservoir behind the dams.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Congressman Jared Huffman has spent his entire federal legislative career on an idea: a holistic approach to address the needs of federal lands within his congressional district, combining new Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River designations with prescriptions for active forest restoration and more. After six years of drafting and stakeholder engagement, Congressman Huffman released his bill in 2018. Of course, with Trump and a McConnell-led Senate, the bill never made it past the floor of the House. But, as the old saying goes, elections have consequences. The 2021 General Election and the Georgia Senate runoff have fundamentally improved the odds that Rep. Huffman's bill will pass this year. Among other things, Rep. Huffman's former Senate co-sponsor, is now our Vice-President.
Ryan Henson of the California Wilderness Coalition joins Gang Green to talk about the details of the bill, some of his favorite new wilderness areas, and breaks down the prospects of the bill's passage in the 177th Congress.
Check out the bill and more at https://mountainsandrivers.org/
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Friends of the Dunes Executive Director Mike Cipra joins us to talk about new national recognition of the importance of Lanphere and Ma-le'l Dunes in the northwest corner of Humboldt Bay. On January 19, these unique public lands were designated as one of three new National Natural Landmarks by outgoing Secretary of the Interior David H. Bernhardt.
These lands are being recognized by the National Park Service for their outstanding variety of sand dunes ecosystems, from coastal dunes to beaches. Now managed by the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge and Bureau of Land Management, these dunes are important cultural sites to the Wiyot Tribe. They are remarkable for a diversity of native plants, habitats, and pollinator, in large part due to 40 years of restoration work to remove European beachgrass, iceplant, and yellow bush lupine to restore natural dune movement.
No access rules are changing as a result, and the designation may help prioritize the area for funding to continue ongoing restoration work that has relied heavily on volunteers for decades.
More Info
- Lanphere and Ma-le’l Dunes Designated National Natural Landmarks by U.S. Department of the Interior - Ryan Burns, LoCo
- Friends of the Dunes website has area maps as well as a map of wild places you can explore with your dog
- BLM: Ma-le’l Dunes CMA maps, equestrian access, etc.
- HBNWR on Dune Restoration and Wildlife & Habitat
- National Natural Landmarks Directory
- Deja vu in the Dunes, by Jerry Martien
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The 2020 August Complex was the largest fire in recent history, burning over one million acres. Scientists warn that large fires like these will likely become more common in the future, as climate change produces longer fire seasons and more extreme weather.
If large fires are the new future, what can we learn from the August Complex? One lesson that might be surprising to some is that the fire had large beneficial effects on the fire-adapted landscape.
Ryan Henson from the California Wilderness Coalition joins Gang Green to talk about wildfires, the environmental costs of fire suppression, and how we should (and should not) approach post-fire management.
More info:
- “Post-Wildfire Logging Hinders Regeneration and Increases Fire Risk,” Science, Jan. 20, 2006.
- “Salvage Logging, Ecosystem Processes, and Biodiversity Conservation,” Conservation Biology, June 20, 2006.
- “The forgotten stage of forest succession: early‐successional ecosystems on forest sites,” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, March 2, 2010.
- “Stop the Salvage Logging of Post-Fire Forests,” EPIC, Sept. 21, 2020.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s EcoNews Report, guest Carl Segerstron from High Country News joins Gang Green to discuss how Western far-right anti-government extremism contributed to the siege on the U.S. Capitol. From the Sagebrush Rebellion to Cliven Bundy to the Capitol, you can trace the roots of right-wing terrorism, and see how politicians (looking at you, Ronald Reagan) fed the movement by playing into their paranoia.
REQUIRED READING:
“The Washington, D.C., siege has Western roots and consequences,” High Country News, Jan. 8, 2021.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s EcoNews Report, Gang Green heads south to learn about the Jackson Demonstration State Forest outside of Fort Bragg and the new timber harvest plans that are being proposed for the forest. The planned logging raises important questions facing the future of sustainable forestry: Can we grow old-growth faster by logging mature second growth? What’s the best way to store carbon, in 2x4s or in forests? And should public forests be managed primarily for timber production?
For more on the proposed logging, check out:
- Mendocino Trail Stewards
- “ACTION ALERT: Tell CAL FIRE Not To Log The Western JacksonDemonstration State Forest,” EPIC.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
2020 was more than just a miserable year. It was a transformative one as well. America and the world will never be the same. Gang Green breaks down the highlights and lowlights from the past year and how we are forever changed. Plus, what are our New Year’s resolutions?
Alicia suggests this resource for holding on to some of the lessons of 2020 and making sure we don't just go back to "normal" - because that wasn't working for a large fraction of people!
- Anti-Racism Daily
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Our panelists take a look back at local environmental work in 2020 and take a look forward to big issues in 2021.
The discussion includes mercury levels in local fish, the Potter Valley dams on the Eel River, Caltrans’ Richardson Grove project, management of the region’s National Forests in the shadow of catastrophic wildfire, and more.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
A favorite American political tradition is the idea of the “first 100 days in office.” Gang Green breaks down the roots of this tradition, what President-elect Joe Biden has said will be his environmental priorities in the first 100 days, how the Georgia Senate run-off election may mean for his legislative agenda, and what environmental groups are urging him to do.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Researchers in the Journal Science report that a chemical in car tires, 6PPD-quinone, is a likely coho salmon killer. The chemical, used as a preservative in tires, was found to kill juvenile salmon in lab tests that replicated concentrations often found in nature. Warner Chabot, executive director of the San Francisco Estuary Institute, joins Gang Green to talk about the research and what California can do to protect its endangered salmon.
Read the report!
A ubiquitous tire rubber–derived chemical induces acute mortality in coho salmon
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Big, radical, wild ideas. On this week’s episode of the EcoNews Report, Gang Green shares their big ideas for how to save the planet.
Geothermal power could be the low-carbon energy source of the future, utilizing the planet’s hot core to turn turbines.
Green hydrogen could replace fossil fuels to power airplanes and to store excess energy produced by wind farms and other renewable energy sources when there isn’t a grid demand.
Direct air capture to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas levels back to a sustainable level.
What are your big ideas to save the planet? Share them to tom@wildcalifornia.org and maybe we will feature them on a future show!
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Highway 101 through Eureka is one of California’s most dangerous stretches of road. Structurally, the road is bad for non-vehicular users: it is wide, fast, and crosswalks are too spaced too far apart, to name a few problems. Local agencies and advocates are looking for ways to make Broadway safer for people walking and biking.
What do wetlands, contaminated soil, and traffic congestion have to do with it? Listen to find out.
REQUIRED READING:
- Eureka May Propose New Roads Through Wetlands to Improve Broadway Corridor; Opponents Say Plans Aren’t Feasible
- The Eureka Broadway Corridor Plan
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s episode, Gang Green talks about the 2020 general election and what it means for local and federal environmental issues. Locally, Gang Green is excited about environmental scientist Scott Bauer making it to the Eureka City Council and the passage of Arcata’s Measure A, which will fund parks, greenspace protection and wetland restoration.
On the federal side, President-elect Joe Biden and the Democrats may have a surprisingly easy road to undo damage wrought by Trump on federal environmental laws, although a (likely) divided government will make a positive legislative agenda more difficult.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Much has been made of how Justice Amy Coney Barrett will rule on questions of abortion and healthcare, but what about her stance on the Chevron deference? If you don’t know what that is, you are not alone. On this week’s EcoNews Report, Gang Green goes legal nerd and dives into the bedrock of our federal administrative state. We promise this isn’t boring.
Required reading:
- My Word: Will Justice Barrett kill the modern administrative state?
- Will Confirming Judge Barrett be the Death of Chevron Deference?
- Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation could revive this hidden doctrine — and derail climate action
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New Zealand mudsnails are small--about the size of a peppercorn--but they can be a BIG problem for watersheds where they are found. On this week's EcoNews Report, the Green Gang sits down with Darren Ward, Associate Professor of Fisheries Biology at Humboldt State University, and Jacob Pounds, environmental scientist at the Blue Lake Rancheria, to learn about new infestations in the Mad River and how you can prevent the spread of these snails and other aquatic invaders.
Remember, always decontaminate your gear, particularly when traveling between watersheds. Use one of the following methods: Freeze your gear for a minimum of 4 hours to kill all mudsnails. Freezer temperatures should be at 26°F (-3°C) or below. Soak gear in a bath of hot water (at least 120°F, 46°C) for 10 minutes. Or use an approved decontamination product.
For more info:
- Darren Ward's video: March of the Mudsnails at warp speed (50x).
- How to Prevent the Spread of New Zealand Mudsnails through Field Gear, OR Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
- New Zealand Mudsnail species profile, CA Dept. of FIsh & Wildlife
If you observe this species in California, please report your sighting to the CDFW Invasive Species Program, or email Invasives@wildlife.ca.gov.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Washington is a mess. With the Feds failing to lead on climate change, is there any hope for our planet? On this week’s EcoNews, Gang Green dives into what it would take to translate the principles and values of the Green New Deal - you know, the thing that your crazy uncle says will ban hamburgers - into local legislation.
Special thanks to Colin Fiske, Executive Director of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities and Katy Gurin of 350 Humboldt for joining the show.
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On this week’s EcoNews Report, the Green Gang interviews fire ecologist Lenya Quinn-Davidson about this year’s record fire season and what people can do to reduce fire risk on their properties. (Did you know it can be as easy as cleaning out your gutters?)
More Info:
- Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association
- California Prescribed Burn Association
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On this week’s show, we hear from the award-winning California artist-naturalist Obi Kaufmann about his latest book, The Forests of California: A California Field Atlas.
Like his two previous best sellers, The California Field Atlas and The State of Water: Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource, The Forests of California explores the Golden State’s wild places in an attempt to center those of us fortunate enough to live here. The book is a collection of hundreds of watercolor paintings and maps, woven together with philosophy and lyrical naturalism to present a story of the forests of our past, present and future.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
This week, we are joined by Jacobs Pounds of Blue Lake Rancheria Environmental Department, who recently detected toxic algae in the Mad River from Blue Lake to Arcata. Anatoxins are powerful neurotoxins produced by blue-green algae when populations explode or "bloom" during unusually warm, low-flow conditions. These toxins have been detected in other local rivers and across the West, but never before in the Mad River. With limited testing due to high costs, it's best to avoid freshwater with visible algae mats, since these toxins have led to dog deaths and could be harmful to people, especially children.
To learn more, visit the Blue Lake Rancheria's Facebook page.
For more info on toxic algae, visit the CA Harmful Algae Blooms website.
There you will see the HAB Incidents Report Map with the latest test results throughout the state, including No Swimming advisories for Big Lagoon, Stone Lagoon, and much of the Klamath River.
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This week on the EcoNews Report, we hear from California State Parks, North Coast Redwoods District staff about their Interpretive programs, how they are working to tell unique stories, uplift diverse voices, and how use of digital technology during Covid has increased access to learning about these incredible public lands. Our guests include Interpretive Program Manager Marnin Robbins, and Interpreters at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, John Griffith and Erika Granadino.
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This week on the EcoNews Report, Casey Cruikshank, Coastal Programs Coordinator for the Northcoast Environmental Center, talks with us about Coastal Cleanup Day. This year the event lasts all month, so there's still time for you to participate and find out for yourself why picking up a little trash is really about so much more.
Learn more or join this year's event here: https://www.yournec.org/coastalcleanupday/
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Three major phenomena are shaping the future of the transportation system in Humboldt County and nationwide: climate chaos, autonomous vehicles, and the road safety crisis (particularly for non-vehicular road users). These phenomena will only grow in importance and influence in the decades to come. Yet today, as transportation officials at every level continue to repair and maintain our existing transportation system and draft plans for the future, these phenomena are often relegated to the status of minor considerations, or are ignored completely.
A new report from the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities documents what all this means for local transportation and identifies specific actions local governments should be taking. CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske joins hosts Tom Wheeler (EPIC), Alician Hamann (Friends of the Eel River) and Larry Glass (NEC) to give you the details.
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Our guest is Mike Cipra of Friends of the Dunes, a local conservation organization which is in the process of acquiring the Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Conservation Property (a.k.a. the Dog Ranch and Poovey Tract). The 357-acre property is scheduled to be purchased from Security National this fall. Friends of the Dunes has decided to be interim owner for up to 5 years while a permanent plan is developed to manage the area for habitat conservation and public access.
Just south of the Manila Dunes, this acquisition will create a continuous connected area of more than 1,600 acres of dunes, including the furthest southern extent of coastal dune forest in the world.
More on the tussle over this property:
- Buying binge reflects his vision, Arkley says - North Coast Journal, 2005
- Arkley's 'Dog Ranch' on the Market - North Coast Journal, 2014
For more info on the flora and fauna of the area:
- Flora & Fauna of Lanphere Dunes
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Our guest is Michelle Kunst of the Trinidad Coastal Land Trust, which manages some of the most popular beaches in the Westhaven/Trinidad area. Michelle explains the how, why, where, what, and when of the upcoming Snapshot Hum Coast BioBlitz 2020 project and how you can use just a smart phone and the iNaturalist app to gather observations for this "bioblitz" community science effort. No expertise of local plant and animal species is required!
To help create a snapshot in time of biodiversity along the Humboldt County coast, download the iNaturalist app and join the Snapshot Hum Coast BioBlitz 2020 project. All it takes is a visit to your your favorite coastal area anytime August 17 and 31, photographing the flora and fauna and uploading your observations to iNaturalist.
Click HERE to learn more including a short video on how to use iNaturalist .
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This week’s show is a lightning round on various environmental news from around the region: New developments on Eel River dam removal, the NEC’s “Trashathon,” Baykeeper's COVID-safe bay tours, EPIC sues the federal government on recent drastic changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, and more.
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The Northwest Forest Plan — first adopted in 1994 — guides the management of federally owned forest lands in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. A lot has changed in the last 26 years, but the plan has mostly remained static.
Until now! Mike Anderson of the Wilderness Society joins hosts Tom Wheeler (EPIC) and Scott Greacen (Friends of the Eel) to preview an upcoming effort to revise this important document, and to think about how to incorporate everything we’ve learned in the last quarter-century.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission either moved along the Klamath Dam removal project, or else it threw a big wrench in the works. S. Craig Tucker, consultant to the Karuk Tribe, and Mike Belchik, senior water policy analyst with the Yurok Tribe, joins Scott Greacen (Friends of the Eel) and Tom Wheeler (EPIC) for a spirited discussion on the new news about the state of dam removal. What does the FERC ruling mean? Will it speed up dam removal or slow it down?
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The Trinity is the only North Coast river that is partially diverted into the Central Valley Project — the massive waterworks that feeds the Central Valley and southern California.
Today the Green Gang checks in with Tom Stokely, salmon water policy advocate at Save California Salmon, to talk about the Sites Reservoir, a big new dam and reservoir proposed near Colusa.
If it gets built, how might Sites Reservoir affect the health of the Trinity River and its salmon run?
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Tom Wheeler of the Environmental Protection Information Center talks with Meredith of Redwood Forest Defense, a group conducting treesits on Green Diamond Resource Company land (Yurok ancestral territory) near Trinidad.
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What’s the state of the Klamath River in July 2020? Despite a recent series of wins and progress on dam removal — not great.
Mike Belchik, a senior water policy analyst with the Yurok Tribe, and Daniel Cordalis, a staff attorney for the Tribe, walk the Green Gang through what’s happening on the region’s largest river this season — including the threat of upcoming low flows and, with it, fish-killing disease.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Author, naturalist, and environmental historian Ann Vileisis talks to the Green Gang about the iconic California abalone.
Read about her new book here:
- Abalone: The Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of California’s Iconic Shellfish
Read about her previous books - Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get it Back and Discovering the Unknown Landscape: A History of America’s Wetlands here:
- Ann Vileisis’ web page.
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Spring-run chinook and summer-run steelhead are exceedingly strange creatures. What makes them different from their (more numerous) winter-run colleagues? Why are they an important indicator of the health of a river? What’s their future?
Scott Greacen (Friends of the Eel River) and Tom Wheeler (Environmental Protection Information Center) host a discussion on these odd fish, with Bill Tripp of the Karuk Tribe, consultant Craig Tucker and fish researcher Samantha Kannry.
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Better know a ranger district! Kristen Lark, ranger of the Six River National Forest’s Mad River Ranger District, virtually stops by to sing the praises of the beautiful stretch of land she oversees — from Ruth Lake to the Lassics and just into Humboldt County.
What’s it like to be a ranger? Tune in and find out!
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CalTrout’s Darren Mierau and Klamath dam campaign veteran Craig Tucker join the Green Gang to talk through the nascent plan to remove Scott Dam and restore salmon and steelhead to the upper Eel River.
For more about the Potter Valley Project Two-Basin Partnership's proposed solution for Scott Dam Removal, click HERE.
For more info about dam removal and the Potter Valley Project:
- Friends of the Eel River
- Action Alert! Submit comments on the Feasibility Study Report Filing to FERC
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Griff waited 20 years for his dream job. At long last, he is a naturalist at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which he describes as church for nature-lovers.
Naturalists go live on Facebook every day at 3 p.m. during the pandemic @NorthCoastRedwoods (Griff’s are Friday and Sundays), He also does “lives” on Fridays and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. @HumboldtRedwoodsStatePark.
Here are a few recent editions:
- What Good are Ticks?
- What is that sound coming from that huge redwood tree?!
- Rash or not, this plant is so cool!
Follow him @GriffWild on Facebook and @TheNatureNut on Instagram.
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A roundup of local environmental news from Gang Green. Humboldt Baykeeper celebrates that the Planning Department has refused to allow reconstruction of a downed billboard. The NEC reports on a new air curtain burner being tested by the Forest Service that will hopefully keep smoke levels down from debris burning. EPIC announces new lawsuits and the successful settlement with Humboldt County over the controversial contract with Wildlife Services. Friends of the Eel River previews the big news: we are one step closer to the end of Scott Dam!
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Humboldt State professor Sarah Jaquette Ray talks with hosts Tom Wheeler and Alicia Hamann about how to avoid burnout, why peddling hope and leveraging guilt are not effective, and how we can move past the illusion of partisan division to working toward climate justice.
A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, by Sarah Jaquette Ray. University of California Press.
Available for curbside pick-up at Eureka Books and Northtown Books in Arcata.
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Everything you ever wanted to know about e-bikes! Tom Wheeler is joined by Chris Johnson of Adventure’s Edge and Nancy Stephenson and Sofia Valenzuela of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority to about the miraculous new generation of electric bicycles and why they’re kind of a game-changer.
Plus: everything you need to know about the RCEA’s new electric bike rebate program. What is it, why is it, and how do you take advantage of it?
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Are you bored at home? Do you keep seeing a bird in your backyard and wonder, “what are you?” On this week’s EcoNews Report, the Green Gang investigates backyard birding! Stay sane during the shelter in place by birding without having to leave your house!
For more info:
- Common Birds of Northwest California(via Northtown Books).
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Connor McGuigan, lead planner on the county’s multijurisdictional Climate Action Plan, joins host Tom Wheeler to talk about Humboldt’s biggest climate challenges, the development of the plan and more.
“We’re laser-focused on transportation emissions and building energy emissions, because those are the big things that local governments, in partnership with local communities, can really have an influence on,” McGuigan says.
- Humboldt County’s Climate Action Plan page.
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Grocery store shelves got you anxious about food security? Spending more time at home and looking for a new project? Start a Victory Garden! Guests Julia Graham-Whitt and Mir de Silva of Two Green Thumbs share tips and tricks to get your first garden established, from seeds to soil and grass to garden.
Interested in learning more? Check out these free resources:
- https://humgardens.com/
- http://northcoastgardening.
- https://www.almanac.com/
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Congressman Huffman joins the Green Gang to talk about the federal COVID-19 response — spoiler alert: he isn’t pleased with the Trump Administration’s handling of the crisis — and previews upcoming environmental legislation. Bored at home? Huffman also offers a book recommendation to keep your mind occupied.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Dan Jacobson of Environment California joins the Green Gang to talk about how we can reduce the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions: Transportation.
For more info on strategies to transform transportation in the U.S., check out
Environment California’s new report: “Destination: Zero Carbon”
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Scott Greacen, Jen Kalt and Tom Wheeler discuss a recent Op-Ed in the New York Times and ask each other the question: How can we be all be happy, healthy, effective activists without succumbing to gloom?
More on Oregon activist Emma Marris's 5-step plan for dealing with the stress of the climate crisis and becoming part of the solution:
How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change. New York Times, January 10, 2020.
Marris is fighting a proposed Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) project in Coos Bay and the associated pipeline that would impact the Klamath, Rogue, and Umpqua Rivers.
For more on the fight to block the Jordan Cove Energy Project, go to NoLNGExports.org.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Emily Allee of the Wildlands Conservancy joins Tom Wheeler (of EPIC) and Alicia Hamann (of Friends of the Eel) to talk about the ambitious work that the nonprofit is doing right here in Humboldt and across the state.
Learn about the conservancy’s two unusual seaside properties along the Humboldt County coast (and how you might visit them) and their large plans for the Eel River, centered around the 30,000 Dean Witter Lone Pine Ranch.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Becky Chambers, local resident and Hugo Award-winning science fiction author, talks with the Green Gang about her work and her philosophy of science fiction. Her popular Wayfarers series focuses on the lives on regular people following an ecological collapse and their relationship with the alien species who somewhat reluctantly save humans.
Also: How living in Humboldt County has inspired new directions in her writing.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
It’s an environmental news roundup conrnucopia, as Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River joins us to talk about the latest on the Great Redwood Trail and
- The state of play with two fallen billboards
- Fuels management in the Six Rivers National Forest
- Summer steelhead and ESA listing
- Weird carbon sequestration ideas.
- … and more!
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What do you do when a raccoon is living in the walls of your home? What about when a bird flies into your window? Why do more English majors than science majors volunteer to save wildlife? Bird Ally X — how is it related to Speed Racer?
Monte Merrick, one of Humboldt County’s foremost wildlife rescuers, joins the Green Gang to talk us through these questions and more, and to muse on the complicated question of feral cats and the people who care for them. Hear about the odd baby pelican he once saved!
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
A divided Green Gang looks back at the process that led to the Terra-Gen wind energy project being denied last month, and debates whether or not it should have been.
What did we learn? Where do we go next? Offshore wind? Will rooftop solar save us? No easy answers.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s episode, Luis Villa, Director of Latino Outdoors, joins the Green Gang to talk about how to make nature a safe, welcoming and inclusive space for all people. Latino Outdoors is a unique Latinx-led organization working to create a national community of leaders in conservation and outdoor education. Started in California, Latino Outdoors is now an international volunteer movement.
Let’s face it: mainstream environmentalism is too white. But that is not because people of color don’t care. (Polling suggests the opposite: that people of color express more protective sentiments on issues like climate change than white people.) Rather, people of color are missing from mainstream environmentalism because they have been excluded. The Green Gang believes that all people have an inherent love of nature. Discovering or reawakening that love requires getting into natural spaces and feeling like you belong there.
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Urbanism is not just for big cities like San Francisco. To keep Humboldt bucolic and pastoral, our urban centers need to grow up and not out. Colin Fiske from the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities lays out the case to the Green Gang.
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With the recent power shutoffs and the proposed Humboldt Wind Project (RIP), our energy infrastructure has received considerable attention lately. But just how the heck does it work?
On this week’s episode, the Green Gang learns how our the grid actually works from Matthew Marshall, executive director of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority. What you learn may shock you.
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You may have noticed it: the bay seems particularly high this time of year. The extreme high tides of winter have a name: King Tides. And they can help illustrate the effects of rising sea levels.
Volunteers are needed to document the high tides and the way sea level rise will impact our bay. Sign up for Humboldt Baykeeper's King Tides Photo Initiative!
And for more info on sea level rise in the Humboldt Bay area, visit Humboldt Baykeeper's website.
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Darren Mierau, CalTrout's North Coast Director, joins the Green Gang to bring us up to date on efforts to remove two dams to recover salmon and steelhead runs on California's third largest river. CalTrout is one of many groups, including Friends of the Eel River, working to restore the salmon and steelheads runs by removing two dams in the Eel River.
As a member of the Eel River Forum, CalTrout is working with agency, tribal, and conservation partners regarding priority recovery actions and policy reform needed to recover salmonid populations in the Eel River basin, California’s third largest watershed.
For more info, visit the Potter Valley Project website at https://pottervalleyproject.org.
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Poet Jerry Martien joins the Green Gang in the studio to read poetry inspired by the natural landscapes of Humboldt County. If you have never heard Jerry read his poetry before, you are in for a treat, as Jerry’s sonorous voice and crisp lyrical poetry inspires and soothes the soul.
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Maggie Gainer of Zero Waste Humboldt joins the Green Gang to talk about how and why it's important to reduce our waste stream by reusing, recycling, and - first and foremost - reducing by buying less in the first place.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
This week, we talk with Cheryl Seidner (Cultural Liaison, Wiyot Tribe), Adam Canter (Natural Resource Specialist, Wiyot Tribe) and Corinne Alton (Wiyot Tribal member) about the wind energy project being proposed for Bear River Ridge and Monument Ridge in central Humboldt County. The project was denied by the County Planning Commission, and is headed to the County Board of Supervisors for an appeal hearing on December 16 at the Adorni Center in Eureka.
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In this week's episode, the Green Gang talks with Stephen Kullman of the Blue Lake Rancheria and Nancy Stephenson of Redwood Coast Energy Authority about the first annual Electric Vehicle Parade, electric vehicle expo, and Holiday tree lighting. Along the way, we also talk about how the PG&E outages provided a unplanned test of the Blue Lake micro-grid system. (They passed with flying colors.)
Join the Green Gang at the Parade.
Have an EV? Sign up for the parade!
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Gang Green talks with Pacific Forest Trust VP Paul Mason, veteran of both our own Headwaters Forest fight and more than a decade of lobbying for environmental causes in Sacramento.
- Why just saying no isn’t enough
- How Pacific Forest Trust uses carbon credits and conservation easements to drive better forestry
- Community forests and carbon sequestration
- Protecting California’s water supply
- The disastrous consequences of fire management; the state legislature starts to step up
- And above all, making a big enough difference on the scale and time frame we need to address now.
LINKS
- The Pacific Forest Trust
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s episode, the Green Gang talks with Jackee Riccio of the CROP Project about trespass cannabis grows —those rascals growing pot on our public lands. With this pot often comes guns, pesticides, and poaching.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s show, the Green Gang interviews author Jon Humboldt Gates about his new book “Firestorm,” the true life account of living through the 2017 Tubbs Fire.
Gates is also the author of Falk’s Claim (about the historic lumber town of Falk) and Night Crossings, tales of historical mishaps involving Humboldt Bay.
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On this week’s episode, the Green Gang investigates mercury in Humboldt Bay and the Eel River. (Could they be connected?)
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A new study in the journal Science documents the staggering loss of bird populations in North America — a decline of approximately three billion birds in total over the past 50 years. Local ornithologist Ken Burton says that Humboldt County is not immune to this trend. Using available data, Burton has determined that of the most commonly reported species in Northwest California, 69 percent of birds were reported less frequently. On the show, Burton digs into the data with the Green Gang to figure out the causes.
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The Klamath River is now a person with full legal rights under Yurok Tribal Law. Amy Cordalis, General Counsel for the Yurok Tribe, joins the green gang to talk about what this means for the river and why giving recognizing “personhood” for the river is both a big and little leap under the law.
(As Mitt Romney sez: “Corporations are people too, my friend.”)
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In this week’s show, the Green Gang discusses Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s attempts to fast track the approval of the Shasta Dam raise, which would benefit Bernhardt’s former client, the Westlands Water District. (The losers? The ecological community that would drown under rising waters.) The Gang also discusses Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of SB 1, a state bill that would improve state environmental law if the Trump Administration were to weaken federal law. Listen to learn how these two stories are connected.
LINKS:
- Baykeeper’s 15th Anniversary Party with Kenny Ray and the Mighty Rovers, Oct. 19 @ the Historic Eagle House
- EPIC Fall Celebration with Delhi 2 Dublin, Nov. 9 at the Mateel Community Center
- OBITUARY: Dan Dill, 1971-2019
- The Interior Secretary Wants to Enlarge a Dam. An Old Lobbying Client Would Benefit.
- Newsom Fails to Protect California from Trump’s Attacks on the Environment
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this week’s EcoNews Report, with your regular panel:
- Greta Thunberg and the Children’s Climate Strike.
- Jonathan Franzen: Bad novelist, maybe halfway decent activist?
- Single-issue environmentalism versus ecological advocacy.
- The glorious destructive power of an enraged mother walrus.
LINKS:
- ”It’s Kids vs. The World in Landmark Climate Complaint,” Gizmodo, Sept. 23, 2019.
- ”What if We Stopped Pretending the Climate Apocalypse Can Be Stopped?,” New Yorker, Sept. 8, 2019.
- The Karuk Tribe’s Climate Adaptation Plan
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Do you live or work in a tsunami zone? Do you drive through one to take your kids to and from school? Do you like to go to the beach but wonder how to know if there might be sneaker waves?
This week’s guest is Troy Nicolini, Meteorologist-in-Charge at the National Weather Service in Eureka. Troy has lots of practical, time-tested tips on avoiding sneaker waves, what to do in a tsunami and why empowering people to take action and connect with each other is better than instilling fear, whether you’re dealing with disaster-preparedness or climate action.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
On this EcoNews Report, your favorite Forest Grumps talk about “ecological grief” — the deep sense of dread and depression we get from thinking about how we are screwed in the face of climate change and the anthropocene.
Support the show (https://www.humboldtbaykeeper.org/get-involved/donate)
Remember the EcoNews Report? It was that handy, locally produced environmental news roundup on KHSU that you used to tune into on Thursday afternoons, back when KHSU was a thing.
Now, readers/listeners, it is back! Every Saturday at 10 a.m., the Lost Coast Outpost and our sister station KHUM (104.3 and 107.3 FM) will bring you the newly revamped half-hour enviro news/chat program with all the old familiar faces — Jen Kalt (Humboldt Baykeeper), Tom Wheeler (Environmental Protection Information Center), Larry Glass (Northcoast Environmental Center) and Scott Greacen (Friends of the Eel).
This week: What we’re doing, here; a roundtable on Caltrans’ Safety Corridor Improvement Project against the backdrop of rising sea levels; and nuking hurricanes — good idea, or great idea?
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