Conflict Over Hunting Rights Sullies Tolowa Dunes

ECONEWS
The Newsletter
of the Northcoast
Environmental
Center
Conflict Over Hunting Rights Sullies Tolowa Dunes
A brutal battle over land use has once again sullied
the Tolowa Dunes.
The coastal bluffs outside Crescent City, California
were once a hold-out for the state’s largest remaining
intact tribes. Sheltered behind a secluded curtain of
redwood trees, miles from the gold discovered in the
Trinity River, and a safe distance south of the Oregon
Trail, generations of Tolowa Indians survived Spanish
colonization and early pioneer settlement. This ancient
way life came to an abrupt halt in 1853, when the
second largest Native American massacre in United
States’ history decimated an entire village.
Now located within Tolowa Dunes State Park, the
massacre site is under fire from sportsmen with an eye for
robust waterfowl, and administrators who want to weaken
protections to accommodate them. While environmental
groups argue waterfowling will harm rare species, and a
group of well-connected hunters say they have historic
rights to the site, the Tolowa worry they have no voice in
conversations that impact their homeland.
In August, the California Department of State
Parks proposed that Tolowa Dunes be reclassified as a
recreation area. While hunting is against the law in all
state parks, demoting the site would open the door for
licensed sportsman and their guns.
“Hunting here is like digging through the ash pits of
a World War II concentration camp, or carrying a gun
onto a cemetery,” said Loren Bommelyn, a Tolowa dance
maker, member of the tribal council, and local high
school teacher.
Historians debate the time of year, but the Tolowa
massacre likely took place near the Autumn Equinox. A
ten-day world-renewal ceremony called Nee-dash was
about to begin, and Tolowa came from miles, floating
their hand-carved canoes down the Klamath and Smith
Rivers. They were headed to the redwood-plank village
that lined the shore of the Yontocket Slough—the center
of the Tolowa’s genesis story, and now a destination for
bird watchers, hikers and wildlife photographers.
“The little town of Crescent City noticed all the
canoes stacking on the shore, and made the assumption
[the Tolowa] were coming to kill them,” said Bommelyn.
By Amy Coombs
“But it was a pilgrimage to Mecca. If the settlers had
been here longer they would have known.”
United States militia stormed the ceremony, lit fire
to the wood houses, and shot the evacuees as they ran.
The men staying in sweathouses alongside the slough
slid out the door, and into the water. They pushed their
way into the south end of the swampy pond, and hid
beneath floating bodies until day came.
“This is why one of my great uncles survived. The
men lived in the saunas, so they were close to the water
and could hide,” said Bommelyn, whose grandmother
hid under an upside down basket while her tribe was
massacred farther north.
Beneath a sign and fence in Tolowa Dunes State
Park rest the remains of 450 massacre victims. As
the expanding west quickly built over the Native
Americans it butchered, and many remaining locations
are kept private due to past looting, the Tolowa Dunes
remain one of the few places where Native American
genocide is openly marked. Perhaps this is why the
graveyard ignites charged emotions.
“People aren’t reverent to the fact that it’s a massacre
site. People don’t know how to be reverent to that. For
example, people kill the ducks and waste them, when
we believe you shouldn’t waste anything. Sometimes
the animals are left wounded,” said Suntayea Steinruck,
Tolowa Tribal Heritage Preservation Officer.
Yet Steinruck said some Tolowa remain ambivalent
about whether hunting should be entirely banned.
“On the other side of things, the creator gave us
food to eat and we hunted there traditionally. The
problem is the way hunters are allowed to do things.
The environmental groups keep asking if we are for or
against it, and the hunters say they have been doing
this for generations. We have never even been part of
the process, and if we had, things would be done in an
entirely different way.”
The site also remains an active burial ground. After
a long series of negotiations with State Parks, in 1999
the Tolowa began burying descendants of massacre
victims on location. Just a few feet from the contested
parcel rest recently buried Tolowa grandmothers. Once
Unlike many forgotten locations of Native American genocide, the
Tolowa Dunes massacre site is a marked memorial. During the “Taa-laawa Dee-ni’ Holocaust” of 1853-1856, the Tribe diminished from 10,000 to
1,000. Now hunters have their eye on Tolowa ancestral land. Will the site
lose protection? Photo: Smith River Rancheria Archive.
used for ceremony, the sloughs below are part of the
reclassification proposal.
From Nee-dash to Chivalrous Duck Hunters
Hunter Mitch Farro agreed that the Tolowa Dunes
are a special place. “The waterfowl hunting isn’t
fabulous in there, but it’s a place where you have to get
out and walk,” he said.
Even with thousands of acres of similar, less-restricted
habitat at the adjacent Lake Earl and Lake Tolowa, Farro
said the dunes are his favorite place to hunt. “Lake Earl is
a big body of water and requires a boat, and you have to
row during waterfowl season,” he said.
Farro has hunted at the grassy dunes with his friends
for decades. This changed in 2001 when the site became
an official state park.
On the last Saturday of hunting season, Farro met a
ranger
when leaving the dunes. “He told us to enjoy it,
We are scheduled to break ground
We’ve collected 69 percent
because
tomorrow is the last day you can hunt,” said
in late spring/early summer of 2011
of the matching funds needed
Farro.
“I
got together with the California Waterfowl
th
to remove contaminated soil and
to move forward with the 9
Association,
and we started making calls to State Parks.
replace it with clean soil. After the
Street clean up process! Frankly,
their
response was ‘we stole it fair and square,
soil is removed, a bio/chemical
As reported in the
so
tough
luck.
’
”
oxidation agent will be injected
June/July ECONEWS, the
The
Tolowa
word for white man (Matlh-mii˜t’i) has
into the site soils to assist with the
Northcoast Environmental
a
double
meaning.
It can be translated as ‘one who
breakdown of the contamination.
Center received a $200,000
brandishes
a
knife.
’
It also implies ‘one who is restricted
When the injection is complete,
federal EPA Brownfields
by
their
object
or
possession.
’ After the dunes were
clean soils will be placed on site and
grant to clean up the site
designated
a
state
park,
the
knives
came out on both
the groundwater will be monitored
where our building burned
sides,
said
Bommelyn.
for 18-24 months under the
to the ground in 2001. But
“We were upset,” said Farro. “I wasn’t going to be told
supervision of the Regional Water
a condition of the grant was
by
a state employee that I should just go away and give
Quality Control Board. that we raise $40,000 in
up.
We wanted them to do a land swap with Fish and
After the monitoring results are
matching funds.
Game.
We got them to sit down at the negotiation table.
reviewed, we expect to receive a
Thanks to the support of
But
in
the
end State Parks wouldn’t hear of it.”
clean bill of health. The NEC Board
our members, the generosity
Instead
the
two agencies agreed to continue with
of Directors is determining whether
of Green Way Partners and
seasonal
hunting
on the site. This posed some legal
to develop, lease or sell the property
a grant of $10,800 from the
challenges,
as
Tolowa
Dunes was now designated parkland.
once it has been thoroughly and
Humboldt Bay Recreation
“Hunting
isn’t
allowed
on state park lands, so you
Enhancement and Water Quality Fund, a fund of
properly cleaned.
may
ask
how
we
had
this
authority,
” said Roy Stearns,
the Humboldt Area Foundation, the NEC is only
With the goal in sight, we encourage you to dig
Deputy
Director
of
Communications
at California State
$12,540 away from having all necessary funds for
a little deeper to donate towards this worthy cause.
Parks.
“My
understanding
is
that
we
actually
transferred
the clean up. Thank you for your continued support!
land to Fish and Game for hunting season. It was no
longer a park during hunting season. Instead, it became
Department of Fish and Game Property, where their
rules applied.”
Park lawyers cite California Government Code
14673, which allows agencies to sell land to one another,
Mercury in Ruth Lake Fish......................3 Planning for Resilience.............................8 said Stearns. “In connection with such a transfer, the
director may authorize the payment… from available
An Argument for Better Community Design
No Advisory Will Be Posted By Health Officials
of the receiving agency to the transferring
A Train, a Trail, or Both?..........................5 Kids Page: Learn About Frogs...............10 funds
agency,” reads the code.
Did You Know There Are Frogs Without Tails?
Struggle Continues Over Rail Proposal
Environmental activists question State Parks’
All
Species Ball Photo Collage...............11 interpretation of this code. “You shouldn’t be able to
9th Circuit Court Win .............................6 Logging Roads Now Require Permits
transfer a state park for a few months to allow illegal
The Creatures And Critters Came Out To Dance!
Atrazine Is Sprayed in Forests Too.........7 New Pollution Rules for Klamath.........13 hunting. This subverts the process of a state park,” said
Wendell Wood, a Tolowa Dunes volunteer, who is also
Chemical Maker Silences News Media
Regulations May Improve Water Quality
associated with some of the local environmental groups
Cleanup Of Old Site Moving Forward
Inside This Issue
New Harvest Plan Moves Forward ........7
Matole Permit Plan Sparks Debate
Eco-Mania................................................15
A Monthly Melange of Salient Sillies
Continued on Page 4
ECONEWS
is the official monthly publication of the Northcoast
Environmental Center, a non-profit organization,
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Writers: Dan Ehresman, F. Thomas Cardenas, Tara Stetz,
Pete Nichols, Sylvia Ann White, Sarah Marnick,
Sue Leskiw, Kerul Dyer, Sid Dominitz, Beth Werner,
Ken Burton.
Artists: Terry Torgerson
Cover Art: The Yontocket Slough is currently part of
Tolowa Dunes State Park.
Photo: Wendell Wood
NEC Mission
To promote understanding of the relations between people and the biosphere
and to conserve, protect and celebrate
terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems of northern California and
southern Oregon.
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California Native Plant Society
Jen Kalt (Secretary) [email protected]
Redwood Region Audubon Society
Ken Burton [email protected]
Sierra Club North Group, Redwood Chapter
Lynn Ryan [email protected]
Humboldt Baykeeper
Pete Nichols (President) [email protected]
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Eileen Cooper [email protected]
Safe Alternatives For Our Forest Environment
Larry Glass [email protected]
At-Large
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Martin Swett (Treasurer) [email protected]
Bob Morris (Trinity County Representive)
[email protected]
Volunteer submissions are welcome! Full articles of
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should be pitched to the editor, contact
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Baker Beach by Maureen McGarry
volunteer-written articles
Now that the busiest
is no small task. Sarah
part of our outreach
has managed to do this all
season is behind us, we’re
and turn ECONEWS into
taking a moment to reflect
a more visually appealing
on all the support and
publication. We wish
positive energy we have
Sarah well in her future
recently received. Because
endeavors, and thank her
of folks like you, the NEC
in advance for the troublecontinues to be a voice for
shooting phone calls she’s
environmental awareness
bound to receive from us.
and education on the
Amy Coombs is
North Coast.
replacing Sarah as
The much-anticipated
ECONEWS Editor – look
September events went
for her articles in this
off without a hitch. Our
issue. Amy has worked as
volunteer power was in full
a freelance environmental
swing at the All Species
The NEC’s big fundraiser, the All Species Ball, brought out critters from all corners of
writer and editor and has
Ball, and everyone had a
the community. Photo: TerenceMcNalley, Arcata Photo Studio
published more than 300
blast! The event could not
outreach coordinator, did a terrific job
popular environmental
have happened without
organizing volunteers and collecting
and science articles. Gary Bloomfield,
the generosity of our many sponsors,
data on local beaches.
current producer of the Sandpiper,
donors and volunteers. We would like
Adding to the excitement of an
will take over the layout and design of
to send out a special thanks to Nancy
active outreach season, we’ve also
ECONEWS. We’re happy to welcome
Stephenson for helping coordinate the
welcomed some new staff members.
them both to the team, and we hope
event and to Brian Shields for turning
Allison Toomey and Alanna Cottrell
you enjoy the new energy!
all the donated produce into a truly
are the newest faces at the NEC. Both
Remember that this is your NEC. We
delicious meal. And thanks to each and
are enrolled in the Federal Work Study
love hearing from you. To get involved
every one of you who came to join in
program and arrived at a time when we or to donate, please contact our office
the fun. Look for more photos of this
couldn’t have needed them more.
at 707-822-6918, email us at nec@
fabulous event on page 11.
It’s with regret that we will be
yournec.org or stop in our office in
2010 marks the most successful
saying farewell to Sarah O’Leary
Jacoby’s Storehouse on the plaza,
Coastal Cleanup Day yet in Humboldt
who has done incredible work as the
791 8th Street.
County! More than 1,000 volunteers
ECONEWS
Editor.
Coordinating
the
collected 5,000 pounds of trash at
~Tara Stetz, Office Manager
production of this paper and the many
45 local beaches. Lisa Zystro, our
We Want Your Letters!
Bouquets
This month’s floral tributes go to:
 Brian Shields of Split Hog Catering.
Thank you for practically donating your
services for the All Species Ball. You
stayed within our small budget and
whipped the donated farm produce into
a delicious meal.
 Nancy Stephenson, party planner
extraordinaire, and owner of Imagine
jewelry. There is no way we could have
pulled such a huge event off without
you. Thanks for donating your time and
materials. We’re very lucky!
 Bruce Slocum, Coastal Cleanup
volunteer. You have been cleaning up the
beach near the mouth of the Eel River for
over 20 years. You have been the NEC’s
point-man at the mouth of the Eel River
for many years. Thanks for bringing your
boat along, not to mention the ATV,
and a trailer. You helped orchestrate the
removal of over 2,000 pounds of garbage
this year!
 Sarah O’Leary, ECONEWS editor,
writer, layout wizard, and crisis-solvingmachine. We’re really going to miss
your talents, patience, and last-minute
wrangling. You have pulled off each
issue of ECONEWS with style and
professionalism, and transformed our
little paper into something great. Please
stay in touch, and keep us in the loop as
you go on to do amazing things.
 Tara Stetz and Lisa Zystro, NEC
event coordinators. The All Species
Ball was a magical event!, and Coastal
Cleanup was bigger than ever! Thanks
for creating beauty out of chaos, and for
facilitating people along the way. Things
couldn't have gone better, and we owe it
all to you!
Arts! Arcata At The NEC
Join us this month and next for our
fun-filled Arts! Arcata celebrations – on
Fridays October 8 and November 12.
In October we are featuring the
watercolors of local painter, Maureen
McGarry. After teaching art to
children in Humboldt County for 35
years, McGarry has now returned to
watercolor painting. Her recent work
focuses on beaches, where she has found
pleasure in simply acknowledging the
beauty that surrounds her. Stop by during Arts! Arcata, or any time
2
News From the Center
in October, to view McGarry’s panoramic
watercolors of Trinidad beaches. She
paints in the panoramic format because
she believes this brings in the viewer’s
peripheral vision; evoking “that sense of
place where one can feel the ocean breeze
and smell and taste the salty air.”
In November we’ll have the digital art
of Jim Lowry on display. Lowry used to
paint with acrylics, he says, but now he
uses pixels.
“To say that working in the digital
medium is a stimulating experience
would be an understatement,” Lowry
said. “With digital art the potential for
exploration is vast. The computer and
digital camera combination gives me
the feeling of freedom to do whatever
comes to mind. There is a sense of
newness to this medium, and I enjoy
being near the edge of new directions
in art.”
As always we’ll be pouring high quality
wines provided by Libation and serving
some sweet and savory snacks.
www.yournec.org
Feeling irritated by something you
read here in ECONEWS? Or maybe
one of this month’s articles made
you jump for joy. Tell us about it!
Try to keep your letter to 300 words
or fewer and include your full name
and city of residence. We may edit
for space and clarity. E-mail letters
to [email protected], or mail to P.O.
Box 4259, Arcata, CA 95518.
We welcome your thoughts and
comments!
Marine Protection
A Good Thing
Dear ECONEWS,
Most Thursday mornings a popular
boat trip begins in Ventura, California.
If weather and traffic conditions permit,
the boat will drop anchor first in Landing
Cove on Anacapa Island, 25 miles away.
Anacapa is part of the Channel Islands
National Park. Some of its coastline has
been protected under the MLPA for the
last five years, some is unprotected and
some is off limits only during the Brown
Pelican nesting season. But Landing Cove
is unique, it has been protected area
for over 30 years. The boat is the Peace
dive boat and, unfortunately, all of its
passengers are scuba divers. Unfortunate
because only that small percentage of
California’s residents will ever get to see
a long term marine reserve and be able to
compare it to unprotected adjacent areas.
The difference is unbelievable. Landing
Cove is lush with big fish, scallops and
lobsters, it’s what California’s coastal
marine environment was like 200 years
ago. I started diving these waters in the
mid 1960s as a teenager – before it was
protected - and it wasn’t like that then. In
Mendocino there are still a lot of abalone
but large fish are few and far between.
Marine protected areas are long
overdue in California.
Frank Onstine
Blue Lake, California
October/November 2010 ECONEWS
Study Finds High Mercury Levels in Ruth Lake Fish
No public eating guidelines will be issued for fish
at Ruth Lake, and no advisory will be posted to warn
fishermen about high mercury levels in largemouth
bass, despite a recent study that found high levels in the
popular fish.
It’s not that contamination levels are disputed, or that
the mercury will disappear from the environment any
time soon. Rather the Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) can’t burden the public—
at least until they have good news to share.
“Fish are an important part of a healthy diet, and
provide vital nutrients such as Omega 3s. We need
data from a variety of species so that we can not only
warn about species that are high in mercury, but also
recommend the species that are safest to eat,” said Colleen
Flannery, of OEHHA’s Legislative and External Affairs.
Largemouth bass recently sampled from Ruth Lake
averaged mercury levels of .71 parts-per-million (ppm).
Eleven fish were sampled, ranging from .44 to 1.08 ppm.
The results were published in June as part of a statewide
survey of lakes.
“The mercury levels in Ruth Lake bass are well above
the threshold at which OEHHA advises no consumption
for sensitive populations,” said principal investigator
Jay Davis, of the San Francisco Estuary Institute. The
study was contracted by the Surface Water Ambient
Monitoring Program (SWAMP)—a program of the
California State Water Board.
According to OEHHA’s Fish Contaminant Goals,
children and women of childbearing age are warned not
to eat servings of fish that contain more than 1.3 ppm
of mercury. Servings with concentrations of .44 ppm
should only be eaten once a week.
“Serving sizes are based on an average 160 pound
person. Individuals weighing less than 160 pounds
should eat proportionately smaller amounts (for
example, individuals weighing 80 pounds should eat one
4-ounce serving a week when the table recommends
eating one 8-ounce serving a week),” says the report.
Fish from many lakes exceed these levels.
Largemouth bass from Mendocino’s Lake Pillsbury
averaged mercury levels of 1.29 ppm, and bass taken
from Almaden Lake near Oakland averaged 2.15 ppm.
Bass with such high levels have been listed in past
OEHHA safe eating guidelines.
An October 2005 guideline for the Trinity River
warns women between the ages of 18 and 45 to avoid
eating Largemouth and Smallmouth bass. These are
the only species listed under the “do not eat” category,
due to mean mercury levels of .55 ppm and .39 ppm,
respectively. This is a fraction of the average mercury
levels found in Ruth Lake bass.
No Safe Eating Guidelines On Mercury
More than a thousand people fish at Ruth Lake
each year, and many come in search of bass. “I would
estimate about 15 percent of the fish caught are bass
or trout,” said Terry White, manager at the Ruth Lake
Community Service District.
Without a posted advisory, fishermen cannot make
an educated decision about the potential harms of
the mercury. “I might keep eating the fish, but if a
By Amy Coombs
indicator species like largemouth bass is widely
woman came in and was pregnant, I would want to say
consumed by the public? Even if bass can’t be used to
something,” said White.
estimate mercury levels in other fish species, they are a
The Ruth Lake Community Service District does not
problem in and of themselves. “Bass are a known source
have authority to post the advisory, as they lease the
of contamination, and they are widely fished at Ruth
water from Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District.
Lake,” he said.
“Water quality is ultimately not our concern,” said White.
OEHHA does not dispute the mercury
The Water District, in turn, is directing questions
concentration in the fish, but
about mercury
says it lacks the authority,
contamination to
budget, policy guidance, and staff
OEHHA. “We learned
resources to issue a guideline
that OEHHA is
for a single fish at a single body
responsible for notifying
of water. Without an eating
local county health
guideline published by OEHHA,
departments, who
local health groups can’t post an
are responsible for
advisory that warns fishermen.
posting contamination
advisories,” said Aldaron
Where Does It Come From?
Laird, who sits on the
The study was commissioned to
board of directors at the
help identify lakes with impaired
District.
water quality, and Regional Water
Laird argues the
Boards across the state may now
report should never have
have to design cleanup plans for
been released to the
local lakes.
public, as it raises alarm
States must develop a list of
in a time when no public
water bodies that do not meet
health agency will post
water quality standards, establish
a warning. The levels of
priority rankings for the rivers
mercury found in fish
and lakes on the list, and develop
are much higher than in
action plans, according to The
the surrounding water,
Federal Clean Water Act section
Mercury was used by Victorian-era hat makers to treat fur, resulting
and drinking water
in tremors and memory loss. This was the basis for Lewis Carroll’s
303(d). Management plans will
from Ruth Lake poses
Mad Hatter character in the classic novel Alice in Wonderland. Today
identify the total maximum daily
mercury exposure occurs at lower-levels, and usually comes from
no concern.
loads (TMDL) of mercury that can
contaminated
fish.
Largemouth
bass
are
not
stocked
at
Ruth
Lake
Fish bioaccumulate
by the Department of Fish and Game. The high mercury levels found enter the lakes.
mercury because of
in bass likely come from the lake’s food web.
“I would expect that Ruth Lake
their high position in
Drawing courtesy The Victorian Web.
will qualify for the 303(d) List,”
the aquatic food web.
said Davis.
Mercury is protein loving, and about 90 percent of the
No research into the sources of mercury at Ruth Lake
chemical a fish consumes remains in its body. Called
has been conducted, but the chemical is likely entering
indicator species, predators like largemouth bass retain
the lake as inorganic mercury, which occurs naturally in
the mercury found in prey.
mineral deposits and is generally considered harmless.
This is why high mercury levels in bass do not
Lake bacteria convert inorganic mercury to methyl
necessarily warrant a safe eating guideline for the lake,
mercury, which is the problematic form.
said Flannery. “We can’t assume all fish have high
Studies have shown that logging and mining
levels,” she said, “and based on data from an indicator
combined with erosion cause inorganic mercury to
species alone, we can’t issue a safe eating guideline.”
accumulate in lakes and bays. If these sources are the
Safe eating guidelines require samples from at least
culprit, the disruption would have to be recent. After
nine or ten different species, indicating fish with low
many years, mercury settles to the bottom of the lake
and high concentrations, said Flannery. “We try to
where it is buried under sediment.
balance the health risks from contamination against
“Logging isn’t the first place I would look, but we
the health benefits of fish, and recommend species and
certainly can’t rule it out,” said Davis.
consumption levels that are lowest in mercury,” she said.
Neither OEHHA nor SWAMP have plans to sample
Brown bullhead fish from Ruth Lake were also
additional fish at Ruth Lake. “The SWAMP study is a
sampled, in 2007, but they only had .12 ppm levels of
final report, and while it’s not premature to say there
mercury. In a different study, blue gill and rainbow
is a mercury problem at Ruth Lake, there is no further
trout were both sampled from the middle of Ruth
research planned at this time.” said Davis.
Lake. Mercury levels were .20 ppm. The report was
Even if Ruth Lake addresses its mercury problem, the
published in 2007 by the Northern District of the State
clean up process could take decades. In the meantime,
of California Department of Water Resources.
those who fish on the lake’s scenic shores will continue
But these are not the only fish consumed at Ruth
eating bass, perhaps without knowing they are
Lake, points out White. What happens when an
ingesting mercury.
Big Oil Threatens California’s New Emissions Standards
This November voters will decide whether to check
“yes” or “no” for Proposition 23, ultimately determining
the fate of California’s climate change policy.
Prop 23 would suspend implementation of climate
change measures, including air pollution monitoring and
reduction for California’s largest polluters. Climate change
initiatives would be put on hold until the statewide
unemployment rate hit 5.5 percent for a full year, a goal
economists predict is at least ten years out.
The hotly debated ballot initiative faces strong
opposition on the North Coast due to its ability to
evaporate funding for green projects and concerns
over legal precedence. “Prop 23 is AB 32 backwards. I
support AB 32,” said Arcata Mayor Alex Stillman. “We
are shortsighted if we do not support AB 32, and in this
case that means opposing Prop 23.”
Passed in 2006, AB 32 implements policies designed
to curb climate change, including a cap-and-trade
program that allows carbon offset credits to be sold. But
Take Action!
Come to a “No on Prop 23” phone-call party
with the North Group Sierra Club. Bring your
cell phone to Coffee Break Café in the in the
Sunny Brae Centre, Arcata on Sunday, October
10, from 5 to 7 p.m. Free pizza will be provided. Call Jennifer at 707-845-1216 for more
information or go to www.350.org/StopProp23.
ECONEWS October/November 2010
By F. Thomas Cardenas
the so-called “California Jobs Initiative,” Prop 23, would
do-away with AB 32’s primary goals—at least until the
economy improves.
While Prop 23 hinges on an economic improvement
platform, local city leaders say it will more likely have the
opposite effect. AB 32 creates a range of green market
opportunities, including forest carbon projects and offset
accounting, and its suspension would stop many projects in
the making.
Stillman said she and other county officials have
been looking toward green technologies for economic
development, and passing Prop 23 could potentially
derail funding.
Other opponents to Prop 23 include gubernatorial
candidates Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman, as well as
Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos.
Gallegos said axing pollution caps and climate change
efforts deteriorate community health around the state,
not to mention the environment. “I find the fact that this
initiative is financed by out of state billionaires [Charles and
David Koch] and Texas oil companies [Tesoro and Valero]
particularly distasteful… I look forward to this misguided
attempt to hijack democracy failing by a landslide,” he said.
The No on 23 campaign has also established a base
on the HSU campus, where it has recruited student
interns and volunteers to raise awareness.
“This is a do or die situation for California,” said
Taylor Held, field coordinator with Environment
California, a non-profit sponsor of No on 23. “If we
www.yournec.org
roll back California’s landmark regulations, it will
stifle the growth of our green energy economy and
set a precedent for the oil companies to go into other
states and essentially buy their way through regulations
that affect their
businesses.”
Held said the
campaign has
organized students on
30 college campuses
across the state. A
mass demonstration
is being planned.
With such a strong
foothold in the
community and a
statewide protest on
the way, it is difficult
to imagine how the
oil companies can
recapture the polls
and public opinion.
But in the end,
voters will decide on
November 2.
F. Thomas Cardenas
is a Humboldt County
Volunteers spread the word about
based freelance
Prop 23 at Humboldt State University.
journalist.
Photo: F. Thomas Cardenas
3
Tolowa Dunes,
Continued from Page 1
“This sanctioned hunting, but only until the
area was to become a state park,” said Stearns.
As the seasonal land managers, Fish and Game
had to designate separate regulations for the
Tolowa Dunes. They limited the hunt to three
days a week near the slough, as opposed to
seven days on Lake Earl. This regulation was
rescinded in 2009, leaving no management
plan for hunting season.
It wasn’t until this regulation was rescinded
that State Parks revisited their argument about
the legality of onsite hunting, said Stearns.
“Our legal staff looked at the transfer. We now
don’t think we have the legal authority to allow
hunting on land designated as a state park,
even with a temporary transfer. We spotted
this ourselves,” said Stearns.
A hunting prohibition went into immediate
effect in 2009, before the waterfowl season
began. Opening day came, and hunters
The Yontocket Slough once ran red with Tolowa blood. While the tribe wants to
showed up with guns and licenses. They were
bring ceremony back to the site, the land may instead be opened for waterfowlturned away on the spot. Once again, tempers
ing. Hunters will carry their rifles past an active burial ground. Photo: Smith River
began to rise.
Rancheria Archive.
By now the California Waterfowl
Association had formed a lobbyist group
the property one of the considerations to be studied,”
called the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance.
wrote State Parks’ in a September press release.
Together with Farrow, the group approached Ruth
Reviewing hunting along with other land use options
Colman, Director of California State Parks.
means that any final decision will be more likely to
“Colman used to be the legislative analyst for
withstand legal challenges, said Stearns.
Congressman Mike Thompson, who likes to hunt ducks,”
This is why Bommelyn is not yet celebrating, even
said Farro. Tolowa Dunes State Park is one of the many
though reclassification will probably not happen
places Thompson has hunted, confirmed Kovacs.
this year or next. “They clearly still want to weaken
Months later the reclassification of Tolowa
protections,” he said. “I am resisting the temptation to
Dunes State park was proposed. “There are about
breathe a sigh of relief.”
The Yontocket Slough is peaceful today, but many years ago it was the
40 hunters who have been vocal with their local
Steinruck agrees. “We still have a lot of work left
sight of a bloody massacre. A redwood-plank Tolowa village once lined
leaders,” said Stearns. “They approached us, and
ahead of us,” she said.
the Yontocket Slough. It was the center of the tribe’s creation story.
we began a public process, and the reclassification
Photo: Smith River Rancheria Archive.
Vulnerable Species
proposal was the result.”
Shaped like an umbrella, the shore pine trees in
site during hunting season. State Parks oversaw the land
This was not the first controversial attempt at a
Tolowa Dunes State Park are one of California’s last three
the rest of the year. It was pretty much the same thing
solution. In November 2009, State Parks looked into
remaining populations. The species have earned S-3
after [Tolowa Dunes] became a state park, although we
transferring the slough, along with 1,200 acres, to
listing with the California Department of Fish and Game,
went from a multi year interagency agreement to an
the California Department of Fish and Game. The
meaning they are vulnerable to extinction or extirpation.
annual one.” said Kovacs.
information was reportedly leaked by a state park
But Farrow doesn’t believe that pines, nor the
State Parks acknowledges there was an interagency
employee, setting off alarms in the environmental
federally
endangered tidewater goby, nor the sensitive
agreement that authorized Fish and Game to oversee
community. Governor Schwarzenegger had recently
red
and
yellow-legged
frogs, are jeopardized by
the area during hunting season and that this document
tried to close parklands. Not only would the transfer
hunting. “Even on days when there are 20 hunters out
was consummated for a number of years after the land
have legalized hunting, it would have made the land
there, and 10 or 12 vehicles, we are careful. Hunters
became a state park. Whether the agreement authorized vulnerable to real-estate deals.
have done a lot for wildlife in this
a land swap or just a transfer of management
state,” said Farro, who works for
remains in question.
the Arcata-based Pacific Coast Fish
The agency failed to return any documents
Wildlife Restoration Association.
in response to a November 2008 Public
The group has collaborated with
Records Act request filed by Wood. The
California
State Parks on a small
request asked for maps and materials
handful of projects. “I participated
outlining authorized hunting areas as well as
in a planning session for fishery
any documents that authorize the transfer of
restoration at Tolowa State Park,”
land to Fish and Game and any documents
he said. “We also replaced a culvert
that authorize hunting.
crossing that was blocking fish passage
“Their response directly contradicts what
in Jedediah Smith State Park.”
we know now,” said Wood.
Ecologists with similar credentials
As for the Tolowa, “We were not even
take
a different perspective. “Hunters
kept in the loop during this process,” said
are not bad people, but they use
Bommelyn.
vehicles like four wheelers, they
The tribe was later asked to draft a
leave spent shotgun shells, they hunt
stewardship agreement and submit it to
ducks during a time of year when
California State Parks. “Back in 2005, we
amphibians are breeding, and along
sent it in, but State Parks didn’t respond,” he
with their dogs, they trample the area
said. “Then we hear the land is going to be
around the ponds where amphibians
reclassified for hunting. Again we responded,
but it’s like they don’t want to deal with us.”
After the 1853 massacre, ranchers took over the land. The surviving Tolowa faced forced sterilization, mass live,” said Chad Roberts, a consulting
relocation to internment camps, the downsizing of reservation land from 17,000 to 160 acres, and finally
conservation biologist, who believes
So continued a ping pong game between
the slough should receive a Natural
regulatory agencies and interest groups. State forced assimilation under the 1960 Federal Termination Policy. Photo: Smith River Rancheria Archive.
Preserve designation—a higher class
Parks had the first serve, but this was several
of protection than a state park.
“While state parks can’t be sold, Fish and Game
decades ago.
Farro said these kinds of arguments only divide the
lands don’t enjoy that same protection,” said Karen
Fighting From Both Sides
environmental community. “I can’t emphasize enough
Schambach,
California
Director
for
the
Washington
No one at either agency can remember the details,
that members of the conservation community are doing
DC-based Public Employees for Environmental
but the state originally purchased Tolowa Dunes from
such a thorough job of alienating and disenfranchising
Responsibility (PEER), in a press release.
rancher Loren Bliss in 1979. Just three years earlier, the
their allies in the hunting community,” he said. “Hunting
In
a
whirlwind
series
of
events,
the
Tolowa
tribe
Keen Negedly Act set aside bond funds for wetlands
is a historic use of this site, and state parks are supposed
joined
environmental
groups
like
EPIC
and
Friends
of
conservation, and the State Legislature approved funds
to protect historic uses.”
Del
Norte,
in
letter
writing
campaigns.
Twenty-nine
for the purchase of Tolowa Dunes, the adjacent Lake
Historically, the Tolowa had a different
groups
from
across
the
state
voiced
their
opposition.
Earl and Lake Tolowa.
relationship to the land, and they now share a
The
hunting
lobby
countered,
and
after
months
“[The purchase] was probably initiated through the
different memory of hunting.
of controversy, California State Parks withdrew
Wildlife Conservation Board, or someone like that,”
“When we grew up, the only people who were
the reclassification proposal at the end of last
said Kovacs. “The large Lake Earl water body went to
allowed
to hunt near the slough were the landowners
September. A Parks Commission vote originally
Fish and Game, and State Parks got the [Yontocket
and their friends,” said Bommelyn. Ceremony was not
scheduled
for
October
was
tabled
in
favor
of
a
more
Slough] and the uplands.”
allowed on site, and visiting tribal leaders often found
To the disappointment of a small group of friends comprehensive environmental impact review and
themselves staring down the barrel of a shotgun. “Once
general
planning
process.
who had hunted with Bliss, waterfowling was no
an elder tried to show me the location of an old dance
“Reclassification
will
not
be
abandoned,
but
will
be
longer allowed. This changed in 1984, when the
hall, and we were run off at gun point,” said Bommelyn.
included
in
the
discussion
as
an
alternative
that
is
possible
state legislature approved a public resources code
After Tolowa Dunes became a state park, Bommelyn
to
return
to,
”
said
Stearns.
“How
do
you
like
your
roast
written to allow hunting at Tolowa Dunes, then part
hoped
this would change. The Tribe paid to have a
duck?” he joked during an earlier conversation.
of a larger parcel called the “Lake Earl and Lake
fence
constructed
around the massacre graves, and
“Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks,
Tolowa project.”
once again began burying members on site. There was
said she wants to make the resumption of hunting on
protesting hunting. The code does not suggest land
can be transferred back and forth on an annual basis,
and it does not say transfers can be used to avoid legal
restrictions—like hunting on park land.
Fish and Game also raises questions. “There was
never any transfer of land, just a transfer of management
authority,” said Karen Kovacs, wildlife program manager
at the Northern region of the Department of Fish and
Game. “There was an interagency agreement subsequent
to the purchase of the land. Fish and Game managed the
Continued on Page 5
4
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October/November 2010 ECONEWS
A TRAIN, A TRAIL, OR BOTH?
Struggle Over North Coast Rail Corridor Continues
By Sarah O’Leary
As rail and trail proponents continue to lock horns
with county decision-makers over the best use of the
deteriorated railroad right-of-way, the City of Arcata
is moving forward with plans to build a trail from the
Sunset area to the Bracut intersection of 101, and the
Timber Harvest Association is utilizing another section
of track to transport train aficionados on a “Speeder.”
As reported in the February 2009 issue of ECONEWS
(“Will Rails Trump Trails,” visit http://yournec.org
to read the full article), the North Coast Railroad
Authority (NCRA) was established to rebuild the
railroad from the San Francisco Bay Area to Humboldt
County. But the feasibility of such a restoration remains
in question due to price and environmental concerns.
Additionally, NCRA has not identified a revenue
source for the section of track between Willits and
Manila, nor have they completed a business plan and
environmental review – despite a public promise to do
all three before beginning railroad restoration.
“The plans for freight rail restoration are, by NCRA’s
own benchmarks, not economically viable even with full
public subsidies for construction,” said Scott Greacen,
executive director of the Environmental Protection
Information Center (EPIC).
EPIC, along with Humboldt Baykeeper, Friends of the
Eel River and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, are
concerned with NCRA’s methods of gaining environmental
clearance for the southern portion of the line.
“We contend that the south end Draft Environmental
Impact Report impermissibly segments the CEQA
[California Environmental Quality Act] analysis,” said
Greacen. “It should be for the entire line if NCRA is
planning, as public documents suggest they are, on
rebuilding the north end and Eel river canyon for freight
in the near future.”
The Value of The Right-Of-Way
Since the late ‘90s when the Federal Railroad
Authority (FRA) ordered the rail lines shut down due to
safety concerns, the North Coast rail corridor has been
essentially abandoned and continues to deteriorate.
“We need to preserve this asset,” said Mike Wilson,
a Harbor District commissioner and civil engineer who
has been working on local transportation and trails
infrastructure issues for the past five years.
Wilson, along with many other county residents,
believes that the best way to do this is through
railbanking, a federal program that preserves rail
corridors and maintains them for future rail use. In the
meantime, the corridors can be used for trails or other
public uses.
Trails can also be built while preserving the tracks so
that a rail line could run alongside the trail, a method
called ‘rail with trails.’ This model is more expensive
than railbanking, however.
The cost of building a train on the corridor between
Arcata and Eureka is just under $5 million, excluding
the cost of later road construction, according to the
2007 Humboldt Bay Trail Feasibility Study. The same
trail built alongside the railroad would raise the cost
to slightly more than $30 million. The study was a
cooperative effort undertaken by the Humboldt County
association of Governments (HCAOG) along with
various agencies and city governments.
The longer the corridor sits fallow, the more
likely challenges to the right-of-way will arise, argue
trail proponents. The federal railbanking program
preempts this.
A Tourist Train?
Even while the debate rages, the Timber Heritage
Association (THA) is operating a recreational “speeder”
ride on the rail corridor between Samoa and Manila.
The train-like transportation has run on a donation
basis for two summers, drawing fire from folks
concerned about the safety of expanding the route into
new territory – from Arcata to Bracut.
The FRA issued a closure order to Northwest Pacific
Railroad (NCRAs operator) in 1999, due to public
safety concerns, and some wonder if the speeders are
an appropriate use of this infrastructure. The order
specifically requires NWP “to discontinue operation by
anyone of trains on the NWP rail line from mile post
295.5 at Arcata, California to mile post 63.4 between
Schellville, California and Napa Junction, California
until the NWP inspects and properly repairs its track
and grade crossing signals, and it trains its employees
how to properly maintain the safety of its track and
grade crossing signals.”
But THA board member Don Banducci said that
a speeder is not considered a train because it is a
lightweight track-maintenance vehicle. Therefore, the
ECONEWS October/November 2010
FRA has acknowledged
that speeders fall
outside the practical
definitions of railroad
operations.
At present the
organization has the
permission of NCRA
and the FRA to operate
the rides, Banducci
said, as long as they are
free. “As a non-profit
fundraising effort for
a museum it’s okay, so
long as it is done safely
and responsibly,” he said.
The suggested donation
for an adult to ride the
speeder is $7.00.
Banducci said that
one of THA’s goals is
to eventually operate a
tourist excursion train
around Humboldt
Trail proponents argue that the deteriorating railroad right-of-way should be used to build trails for walking and
biking. Many bikers now use Highway 101 to travel between Arcata and Eureka, and here a bicyclist walks his bike
Bay, similar to the
along the railroad track. Photo courtesy of City of Arcata.
Skunk Train in
Willits, that would
for completion, but no committed dollar amounts,
cover more territory
than the speeder rides, perhaps picking people up and Diemer said.
Although Diemer expressed the hope that the
dropping them off at points of interest along the way.
city’s work on this trail will be transferrable to coastal
However, the loosely organized nonprofit lacks
trails though out the county, the Humboldt Bay Trail
funding and a workable business plan at this point.
Feasibility Study shows a much larger difference in
“We are a bunch of people who are trying to figure out
cost in the section between Bracut and Eureka, mostly
how an interactive museum dealing with the heritage
because of potential wetland impacts.
of the redwoods and, potentially, a steam powered
Rail Restoration a Feasible Option?
excursion train could best serve the larger community
of Humboldt,” Banducci said.
While rail proponents continue to hope that the
funding can be found to restore the line, others are
Everyone Loves Trails
skeptical.
Few question the value of building trails that could
Wilson said that the North Coast is just not
connect Arcata and Eureka, as well as other areas
competitive for federal dollars to support such a project.
of the county. “Most of us at THA are walkers or
“We’re way down on the list as far as rail transportation
cyclists,” Banducci said. “We totally support the idea
goes,” he said. “It’s tough to make the case for why the
of rails and trails.” But Banducci would rather not see
federal government should pay to rebuild this railroad
the railroad tracks around Humboldt Bay torn up to
when there are others in highly populated, congested
accommodate trails.
areas that are more productive and in need.”
A multi-use trail between Arcata and Eureka would
But what about the environmental benefits of
be a link with the California Coastal Trail. Study after
transporting people and freight through rail as opposed
study show that trails which promote walking and
to by car and truck?
biking are good for the environment, for public health,
Wilson acknowledged that rail transport could offer
and for local tourism.
economic and environmental benefits on the North
Well aware of this, the City of Arcata is moving
Coast, but only when we are ready to change our
forward with a rail with trail connectivity project that
priority from roads to rails.”
will link Northern Arcata to Bracut.
“At this point no one’s willing to shift away from the
Karen Diemer, deputy director of environmental
roads,” Wilson said. “So what can we do today to save
services, acknowledged the additional expense involved
the [railroad] infrastructure for tomorrow? I’m not antiin building the trail with rail, rather than railbanking.
railroad, but my strategy for getting it back is different.
“We know it’s going to be more expensive, possibly 25This is why I believe railbanking is a realistic and
30 percent more,” she said, noting that the city is still
practical tool to preserve the corridor.”
completing budget analyses. But Diemer said there’s
Multiple studies all point to the same conclusion, he
still enough interest in this particular section of track to added. “It’s time for county decision-makers to stand up
warrant the extra expense.
and be willing to make a hard decision.”
The Coastal Conservancy has funded the first phase
of the project, and the city has some potential funders
Tolowa Dunes,
Continued from Page 4
even talk of rebuilding the dance hall, and bringing
ceremony back to the site. “We thought we could help
[State Parks] manage the property, and maybe we
could return to our home for certain purposes,” said
Bommelyn. “But they haven’t followed through with
anything, and we now face possible reclassification.”
State Parks invited interest groups to a local
workshop in August. After preparing a formal
comment to deliver, Bommelyn was handed a sheet of
lined paper, and asked to write his thoughts. “Instead
of listening to us, we had to listen to them,” he said.
Steinruck said she is fine with the dunes remaining
public because bird watchers can help look out for
looters. “But we need to have a more active role out
there, and the site needs to remain a state park if it’s
going to be protected,” she said. “This is the center of
our world and the origin of our genesis story. We have
a long history on this land.”
“They butchered us off this land,” added
Bommelyn.
After the Tolowa Dunes massacre, many of the
surviving children were put on ships that sailed off
the coast of California. They watched as the mainland
www.yournec.org
disappeared, and the masts turned west to San
Francisco. Some were sold into slavery, while others
worked as indentured servants.
“If they could see land, the kids would orient
themselves and run back home,” said Bommelyn.
“This is why the boats went so far off shore. Many of
the kids thought they had gone to another continent.”
The few children who returned home found white
settlers ranching on top of ancestral burial grounds.
Cattle grazed near the slough where Tolowa went
diving during “training,” a baptism-of-sorts that
involved fasting and prayer. A few of the returning
Tolowa lived on the outskirts of town as vagabonds,
but most were shipped to internment camps called
“reservations.” The tribe diminished from 10,000 to
1,000 over four years.
How does a state agency respond to something
like this? State Parks reassures it’s committed to fair
practices. “This is a transparent process and we are
listening,” said Stearns. The planning process will
continue through the year, and like the Tolowa, many
will be paying close attention.
5
Logging Roads Now Require Permits
By Amy Coombs
It’s a problem nearly impossible to
avoid: cutting logging roads into hillsides
creates sedimentation problems. Trucks
grind up gravel and sand, and rainwater
accumulates on the surface.
Whether the muddy water is
channeled by a drainage system, or flows
directly from a rut in the road, it will
eventually end up in a downhill stream.
Here soil smothers salmon and trout
eggs, reduces oxygen levels in the water,
and buries insects that provide food.
This is why logging companies must
now seek permits for road construction
and use, according to a landmark 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals ruling. In
August, the San Francisco court clarified
a murky loophole in the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Silviculture Rule—
a regulation that frees many logging
operations from Clean Water Act
permitting guidelines.
The Court said logging roads are a
Logging, road construction and storms combine to form big blowouts. After the 1996
form of point-source pollution, and
require a permit just like mines, landfills floods along the Eel River, this plume at the mouth of Bear Creek filled with soil from a
logging-related landslide. Photo: EPIC
and factories that directly pipe pollution
into lakes and streams.
categorically exempting all natural runoff discharges at
Neither Oregon’s Department of Forestry nor the
logging sites. According to the Court, the Silviculture Rule
timber companies who use state roads had obtained a
is “fatally inconsistent” with the CWA, which does not
permit, argued the Portland, Oregon-based Northwest
suggest water must come from a particular source—either
Environmental Defense Center (NEDC), which filed
natural or non-natural—in order to require a permit.
suit in 2006. The nonprofit showed that logging roads
“An administrative rule can’t contradict a statute.
discharge sediment into the South Fork Trask River
There is nothing new about this,” says Paul Kampmeier,
and the Kilchis River. The Clean Water Act requires
an attorney at the Washington Forest Law Center,
any pollutant discharge into navigable waters to receive
which litigated the suit on behalf of NEDC. “The EPA
a permit under the National Pollution Discharge
can’t construe a regulation to redefine a statutory point
Elimination System (NPDES).
source as a non-point source.”
“A logging company could avoid the permitting
The judge also addressed a series of 1987
requirement by channeling precipitation into a
amendments to the CWA that exempt certain nonvegetated area that prevents all run-off. In this case
industrial discharges. Because hikers and bikers traverse
there would be no discharge to surface water. But any
the same paths as log hauling trucks, the timber
fissure, channel or conduit is treated as a point source,
companies argued their roads are “non-industrial.”
and needs a permit,” says Mark Riskedahl, executive
Logging roads are also located far from an industrial
director of the NEDC.
location, like a logging site, or a factory or building.
Oregon’s State Forester Marvin Brown did not
The judge refuted this claim, saying “if there was no
return a call placed in early September, but according
logging, there would be no logging roads.” Due to the
to court documents, the defendants questioned the
roads’ industrial use, they cannot be exempt from the
legal definition of a ‘point source pollutant.’ While
Clean Water Act.
environmental laws interpret this term broadly, the
EPIC’s Precedent
defendants argued precipitation and rainfall constituted
The Court acknowledged a key 2003 ruling filed by
“natural runoff,” and exempted logging roads from
the Humboldt county-based Environmental Protection
permitting requirements.
Information Center (EPIC) on the same issue. EPIC
Legal Definition Questioned
challenged the Pacific Lumber Company’s failure to
Under the 1976 Silviculture Rule, the EPA has
obtain a permit for the drainage systems along its
considered natural runoff to be a non-point source
logging roads in the Bear Creek drainage—a tributary to
pollutant, and says logging companies are only
the Eel River. Buried by logging-related landslides, this
responsible for point source discharges related to
area has been transformed by sedimentation released by
“rock crushing, gravel washing, log sorting [and] log
logging roads and slope failures.
storage facilities.” According to this interpretation,
In EPIC’s case, federal district court judge Marilyn
any rainwater that flows from a logging road has not
Patel found that ditches and channels are indeed point
required an NPDES permit.
sources. “We agree with the analysis of the district
But the Court disagreed with this line of reasoning,
court in Environmental Protection Information Center
and ruled that the Silviculture Rule was wrong for
v. Pacific Lumber Co.,” wrote the 9th Circuit Court of
contradicting the Clean Water Act (CWA). Even
Appeals in their decision.
while some ditches and culverts might be exempt
In EPIC’s case, no fines were levied against Pacific
from permitting requirements, this was not a basis for
Lumber because the company declared bankruptcy.
6
www.yournec.org
After the judge confirmed logging roads need
permits, EPIC was preparing to show how Pacific
Lumber harmed the environment by allowing
sediment to flow into streams and rivers. Pacific
Lumber filed and lost an appeal, and then declared
bankruptcy before damages could be tallied. EPIC’s
attorney’s fees were settled for pennies on the dollar.
“We didn’t get to address Pacific Lumber’s liability
here,” said Scott Greacen, of EPIC. “But the case made
a clear point: if there is a ditch and a culvert, there’s a
point source, which must be addressed.”
NEDC will return to district court to seek civil
penalties against the timber company defendants.
“We are going to wait to see if they file for a rehearing,” says Kampmeier. “They could also try to
take the case before the Supreme Court. If the case
stands, we will go back before a district court judge
and prove the violations of the Clean Water Act, and
require the defendants to pay fines.”
Sediment slowly suffocates streams. This logging road above Jordan
Creek discharges into the Eel River. Photo: EPIC
NEDC sampled stormwater discharges at six points
along Trask River Road, which runs parallel to the
South Fork Trask River. Five points were sampled along
Sam Downs Road, which flows alongside the Little
South Fork of the Kilchis River. Each sample contained
significant amounts of sediment.
Now that the Court has ruled logging roads
require permits, this finding allows the non-profit to
pursue fines against the defendants. A win in district
court may also mean that Oregon’s State Forester
has to fix logging roads. They may also be liable for
attorney’s fees.
The take home message: if logging roads’ drainage
systems direct the flow of water, they are point
source polluters. Failure to get a permit may cost the
landowners and users money, although how much will
be determined during round two of the legal battle.
October/November 2010 ECONEWS
Atrazine: The Untold Story
By Amy Coombs
As countless journalists can attest, the tale of the
Syngenta’s “kill everything” biocide atrazine is a no
man’s land. The company has developed a reputation
for frightening newsrooms that publish negative press
about the chemical.
According to Tyrone Hayes, a UC-Berkeley scientist
who studies atrazine, many a well-meaning journalist
has called for information, only to have her story
killed by a nervous editor in the final moments before
publication.
When I was commissioned to write a feature
story on atrazine for one of the largest newspapers
in California, I spent months reading studies and
interviewing scientists from both sides of the debate,
as well as Syngenta’s own management and public
Southern Torrent Salamander in Del Norte County.
Photo: Gary Nafis, California Herps.
relations team. But in the final days before publication,
newspaper management decided to kill the story.
sprayed on corn, but it’s also widely used after clear-cuts
I resold the remains of the story to a liberal magazine,
to discourage plants that compete with conifer seedlings.
where the piece cleared edits and fact checking only to be
About 13 tons was applied to Humboldt forests in 2008,
once again killed in the final moments before publication.
and almost 27 tons has been applied since 2005, according
Determined to make something of my article, I began
to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s
e-mailing colleagues at academic magazines and scientific Pesticide Use Report.
publications. Even my scholarly editors surprised me.
Atrazine could pose a significant threat to forest
Due to threatening, legalistic e-mails from Syngenta, they
ecosystems. The chemical builds up in ponds in the
would no longer touch the topic.
spring, posing a risk to developing amphibians, said
Given the controversy over atrazine press coverage, I
Hayes, who showed atrazine can cause voice box
was glad to see Dave Stancliff’s column in the August 25th
mutations—potentially making it harder for frogs to
issue of the Times-Standard. By comparing atrazine to
attract mates.
Agent Orange, the piece makes a bold statement about
Jason Rohr—a scientist at the University of Kentucky—
Syngenta’s safety claims. Stancliff even calls the EPA
showed that atrazine can fatally disrupt an amphibian’s
corrupt for meeting with Syngenta behind closed-doors
ability to retain moisture, and Washington State
during the pesticide review process—a blatant violation of University professor Andrew Storfer found the herbicide
the laws governing EPA transparency practices.
can make salamanders more susceptible to naturally
Yet despite his bold critique, Stancliff tiptoes around
occurring disease.
the most controversial and pertinent issue: how much
What does this mean for our local amphibians? Several
atrazine are we exposed to in our neck of the woods?
rare species can be found in local forests, including
Most know atrazine as an agricultural chemical
the Southern torrent salamander, Northern red-legged
frog, foothill yellow-legged frog, tailed frog, and the
Del Norte salamander—all listed as species of special
concern by the California Department of Fish and
Game.
For those of us who pick wild berries in the woods,
atrazine could have even more personal impacts.
Studies have shown the chemical clings tightly to
water molecules, and can turn up in groundwater and
rainwater hundreds of miles away from a spray-site.
Concern over atrazine’s health impacts has been widely
debated, but studies have shown the chemical increases
expression of aromatase—an enzyme that makes estrogen,
which in turn can cause breast tumors to grow.
Originally published by Hayes, who began his
work with atrazine under a research contract with
Syngenta, the aromatase findings have been widely
dismissed by the chemical industry. While Hayes
said he and his family have been followed and threatened
by thugs from the chemical industry, Syngenta criticizes
Hayes’ work as unfounded and reactive.
In August Suzanne Fenton of the National Institute
of Health published a less controversial paper in
Reproductive Toxicology. Male rats exposed to atrazine
in the womb have high levels of prostate inflammation,
and a later onset of puberty. In the study, rats were
exposed to atrazine levels similar to those found in
regulated drinking water.
As a chemical that mimics the body’s hormones, low
doses of atrazine may have a big impact. Its water-loving
nature also makes it nearly impossible to keep out of
drinking water. This is one reason the European Union
officially withdrew atrazine’s registration as a permitted
herbicide in March 2004.
After my last attempt to cover atrazine, I understand
that journalists have to pick their battles with each
sentence printed. Thanks to those who tackle national
controversies, but let’s not overlook the local angle.
New Mattole Timber Harvest Plan Moves Forward Despite Objections
By Sarah O’Leary
A “light-touch” timber harvest alternative developed
by the Mattole Restoration Council (MRC) would
provide an incentive for landowners who log to follow
more stringent environmental guidelines. But some say
the new standards don’t offer enough protection, and
may even encourage landowners to log their property.
Called the Program Timberland Environmental
Impact Report (PTEIR), the project hopes to make
light-touch timber harvest a financially feasible
alternative to clear-cut logging. By streamlining the
permitting process, landowners face lower costs when
harvesting their land. The catch is that more sustainable
logging practices must be used in order to qualify for
the fast track option.
The MRC board passed a resolution in support of
the Mattole PTEIR in August. A Draft Environmental
Impact Report (DEIR) is due to be released for public
comment in January, and landowners might be able to
start filing for THPs through this program by summer
of 2011. The DEIR is being prepared by the California
Department of Forestry (CalFIRE). If implemented in
the Mattole, this program could be used as a model
throughout the state.
Guidelines ask that broad no-cut buffers be left along
streams, that unstable areas are not logged, and that
more trees are retained than is required in existing
Timber Harvest Plans (THPs). New road construction
will also be minimized.
But a group of residents have raised a number
of objections, and have asked the MRC board and
staff to delay implementing the new system until the
community has had a full discussion.
“I don’t see the PTEIR as restoration work at all,” said
Hart Welsh, a research wildlife biologist and former
board member. “The Mattole is probably the most
sensitive watershed in the state and with the PTEIR
there would be a stronger incentive to log.”
Welsh is a member of an ad hoc citizen’s group
based in the Mattole area which submitted a letter to
the MRC board detailing their concerns. The letter
states that the PTEIR is shaped mostly by professional
foresters, is focused on economic incentives, and is not
consistent with the best available science nor with the
precautionary principle that requires all potential harms
be fully understood.
Scientific Review And Public Comment
But Seth Zuckerman, manager of Wild and Working
Lands Program for the MRC, said the new standards
have been through two official public comment sessions
since 2007, and suggestions and concerns have been
incorporated. Additionally there has been rigorous
ECONEWS October/November 2010
Simulation images based on actual forest inventory of a typical stand in the Mattole. Top path displays forest stand development following PTEIR selective harvest; lower path shows same stand harvested by clearcutting using a standard Timber Harvest Plan (THP).
Image at far left shows starting point at year zero; following PTEIR selective harvest, we would arrive in 10 years at the stand in top center image. After 45 years, the stand selectively harvested through the PTEIR would resemble that shown in the uppermost right image.
Alternatively, starting again with the same stand shown at far left and leaving a few wildlife trees amid the clearcut, the forest would
resemble that shown in the bottom center image after 15 years; 50 years after the standard THP harvest, the forest would resemble the
image at bottom right. Graphic courtesy of Mattole Restoration Council. Model images provided by BBW and Associates.
scientific review and a geological assessment by the
California Department of Fish & Game (CDFG).
“We’re standing on the shoulders of all this work,”
said Zuckerman, adding that this information has been
incorporated into the PTEIR.
Welsh and his group questioned the urgency of
moving the project forward while the sluggish economy
disfavors timber harvesting, but Zuckerman said it’s
important to implement new standards soon. “We want
to have this in place before the next boom and have
tested it out,” he said, noting that 72,000 acres of the
Mattole was last logged in 1962. “It’s approaching the
time when it might be clear-cut again.” he said. “Timber
prices will come back up and people will start looking to
the forest for revenue.”
Another complaint is that PTEIR promotes the
planting of Douglas fir after timber harvest. “They
want to grow plantations of Doug fir,” Welsh said.
“Not matching native mixed hardwoods, which is
best for wildlife.”
“We’re working to insert some sort of cap on Doug
fir planting,” Zuckerman responded. He said that before
the area was logged, it consisted of mixed hardwoods
and Douglas fir. “A little bit of Doug fir planting will
shift the balance back,” he said.
An additional benefit of the program is that it
addresses what Zuckerman called the two biggest
www.yournec.org
dangers to the recovering Mattole forests—catastrophic
fire and poor logging of second growth. Forest that’s
been thinned rather than clear-cut is much more
resistant to catastrophic fire, he said.
“This is kind of a moment of truth for us
as environmentalists,” said Zuckerman. “Back
during the timber wars we said we’re not against
logging per se, it just needs to be done in a more
responsible manner. So, what would that be? This is an
attempt to find middle ground.”
But those questioning the plan, including Welsh,
say it should be substantially revised before it is put in
place. “This is vitally important to the North Coast and
to the salmon,” Welsh said.
Learn More
Read a summary of the PTEIR and a full
working draft at www.mattole.org/pteir.
To read a list of concerns about the PTEIR as
put forth by the group of Mattole citizens, see
our web version of this story at
http://yournec.org.
7
Planning for Resilience: An Argument for Better Community Design
By Dan Ehresman
Take Action!
Streetscape in Denver, Colorado. The “before” picture is all too
familiar. The simulated “after” image includes wider public-friendly
sidewalks, crosswalks and narrower streets (making it easier and
safer to cross), living landscaping (street trees), and buildings that
more effectively utilize space. Photos courtesy Healthy Humboldt.
I
n a reflection of our increasing dependency on the
automobile, communities the world over are
sprawling farther and farther from neighborhood
centers. Such development encroaches on working
forests and farms, and harms watersheds. As a result,
village centers are declining, and costs for roads, water,
sewer infrastructure and other public services are on
the rise. If there is one good reason to promote welldesigned compact development it is this: we can’t afford
sprawl – economically or ecologically.
The Costs of Sprawl
Sprawl is low-density development that expands
outward from a population center. It is characterized
by poorly planned, boundless growth on previously
undeveloped land. Sprawl results in auto-dependent
lifestyles, leaving residents with little choice other than
to drive to work, school and services.
Since the late 1970s ecologists, economists and
planners have been examining the costs of our
development practices. The results are clear: sprawl
costs more than compact forms of development and
makes communities more vulnerable in times of
economic downturn.
When people depend on driving, their neighborhoods
have higher foreclosure rates than communities with
options for commuting by foot, bike and public transit.
And money spent on gas means less money kept in the
local economy (and in the pocketbook).
The further roads and water lines extend, the more
expensive this infrastructure is to build and maintain,
per household. Low-density development also increases
costs for police, fire and emergency services, as their
vehicles have to drive longer distances between
households. The same is true for other services such as
power, telephone, cable and internet.
According to Humboldt County Public Works, building
one mile of new road costs $1 million, with an annual
cost of at least $20,000 per mile to maintain. Sprawling
development causes greater wear and tear on roadways,
more pollution washing into local waterways, and
increased carbon emissions.
Sprawl also takes a significant toll on resource lands.
In Humboldt County alone, an average of 3,000-4,000
acres of agricultural lands have been converted to
residential uses each year since 1964. Should this trend
continue, another 74,000 acres of agricultural lands will
be converted in the next 20 years, further decreasing the
region’s capacity for food production, and diminishing
returns from a major part of the county’s economy.
This all represents a significant threat to Humboldt
8
County’s rural quality of life, particularly in areas closer
to population centers. Rather than bringing the city
to the country, Healthy Humboldt recommends that
we work to make our existing communities beautiful,
affordable and healthy places to live. By directing
development to locations with established public
services, we can save money, spend less time driving
and maintain open space for future generations.
Towards Local Self Reliance
Focused growth protects forests and agricultural
lands, thereby promoting local food security and
sustainable timber production. Community forests and
gardens adjacent to population centers can connect
residents with the landscape while providing food,
fiber and economic benefits throughout the region. In
addition, these working lands help keep our air and
water clean and provide wildlife habitat.
Incorporating smart development strategies can
also bring our urban areas closer to balance with the
hydrological cycle. Through sustainable design we can
allow rain to more easily sink into the landscape, irrigate
vegetation and replenish our groundwater supply. By
allowing stormwater to percolate into the ground, we
can minimize flooding and reduce automobile-related
pollution of our streams and rivers. With water-wise
development we may one day see the county’s onceabundant salmon runs return.
Personal health can also be improved through
better planning. Research has shown that when safe,
accessible routes for pedestrians and bicyclists are
available, more people will walk and bike for exercise
and transportation. Similarly, when we build residential
areas in close proximity to schools, jobs and stores,
people are more likely to choose alternatives to driving
for their transportation.
Well-designed, compact development clearly
consumes far less capital and fewer natural resources.
With good planning it is possible to accommodate
growth, build a stronger local economy and support a
healthier environment for all.
Right now, through the County’s General Plan update
we have an opportunity to shift the focus away from
sprawl and toward design strategies that preserve natural
resources and promote vibrant neighborhood centers.
If we design our human habitat with the same reverence
we often show our forests and rivers, our communities
can be places that are safe, healthy and enjoyable.
Dan Ehresman is a Regenerative Design consultant
and serves as a policy analyst for Healthy Humboldt
Coalition. www.yournec.org
In the next phase of the
General Plan Update, the
Planning Commission
will discuss the Circulation Element, which
will guide the County’s
transportation system and
its integration with land
use planning. The way
we design our streets and
neighborhoods greatly
influences public health
and the wellbeing of our
environment. Voice your
support for a General Plan that promotes healthy
transportation choices and reduces our dependence
on fossil fuels.
Tell our representatives that the new General Plan
should include:
COMPLETE STREETS
Promote a “complete” transportation system that integrates public transit, bicycle, and pedestrian travel.
Design roadways to enable safe, attractive and comfortable access and travel for people of all ages and
abilities.
Prioritize funding for maintaining existing roads
and creating “complete streets” over new road
construction.
ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION FOR HEALTHY
COMMUNITIES
Prioritize bicycle, pedestrian and public transit infrastructure that connects neighborhoods, retail centers,
schools, and parks.
Promote active transportation to benefit the environment, public health, and our local economy.
EFFICIENT & CONVENIENT PUBLIC TRANSIT
Develop transit hubs near multi-family housing and
village centers to provide increased opportunities for
safe, convenient and efficient public transportation.
Promote new development near public transit corridors to reduce traffic congestion and dependence
on fossil fuels.
TRAILS
Develop a regional trail system that enables safe
commuting options between communities and provides a recreational and tourist destination.
Promote “railbanking” as a means to develop local
and regional trails while preserving the right-of-way
for a variety of public uses (particularly for the Annie
and Mary corridor and the Humboldt Bay rail corridor).
SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS via email to
[email protected], or to
Humboldt County Community Development
Services,
3015 H Street, Eureka, CA 95501.
ATTEND A HEARING on Thursday, October
14 at the County Courthouse, 825 Fifth Street,
Eureka (corner of 5th and I Streets).
For meeting updates or to find out more, visit
www.healthyhumboldt.org.
October/November 2010 ECONEWS
ep c’s
ep c
Annual Dinner & Celebration
Membership Mtg 6
Dinner and Awards 7
Berel Alexander Ensemble 9
November 5, 2010
Mateel Community Center
Environmental Protection Information Center
Protection Sought for Nearly Extinct Humboldt Marten
The California Range of the Humboldt Marten
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Nevada
Crescent City
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Humboldt Marten in Six Rivers National Forest
marten are beautiful, unique animals, but we’ve nearly
lost them to extinction. The California population of
Humboldt marten appears to have declined by more
than 40 percent from 2000-2008. They need Endangered
Species Act protection immediately to have a fighting
chance at survival.”
In California, the known range of the marten in the
foothills around the lower Klamath River and Yurok
Reservation includes portions of the Six Rivers and
Klamath National Forests, Redwood National and
State Parks, and industrial timberlands owned by
Green Diamond Resource Company/Simpson Timber.
The Oregon range of the marten includes parts of the
Siskiyou and Siuslaw National Forests.
“Logging of old-growth forests has wiped out the
Humboldt marten across 95 percent of its historic
range,” said Scott Greacen, Executive Director of EPIC.
“To protect surviving martens and rebuild a viable
population, we need to restore old forest conditions in
connected areas across the landscape.”
“A key problem for the marten is that much of its
remaining range is dedicated to short-rotation, clearcut
logging,” Greacen said. “What makes me hopeful is that
the Yurok, who have lived with the marten for millenia,
are trying to move toward lower impact logging
practices on tribal lands and seeking to restore areas
that could be critical for marten recovery.”
The Humboldt marten was rediscovered on the
Six Rivers National Forest in 1996. Since that time,
researchers have found martens using track plates and
hair snares. In 2009 a marten was detected at Prairie
Creek Redwoods State Park by remote sensing camera,
the first to be photographed in recent times. Martens
are 1.5 to 2 feet long and have large triangular ears and
a long tail. They primarily eat small mammals, including
voles and squirrels.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has 90 days
to decide whether the petition presents substantial
information indicating that protecting the marten under
the ESA may be warranted. Martens are among the
animals most closely linked to their old-growth forest
habitat. Humboldt martens select the largest available
patches of old-growth and late-mature or serpentine
habitat for their home ranges, then disproportionately
Kl
am
ARCATA, Calif.— The the Environmental Protection
Information Center (EPIC) and the Center for
Biological Diversity and filed a petition with the US Fish
and Wildlife Service (FWS) seeking protection under
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the Humboldt
marten, a cat-sized carnivore in the weasel family that
lives only in coastal old-growth forests in northern
California and southern Oregon. Because nearly all its
old growth forest habitat has been destroyed by logging,
the Humboldt marten is now so rare that until recently
it was thought to be extinct.
“The Humboldt marten used to be common in oldgrowth coastal forests in California and Oregon, but
now fewer than 100 of them are known to survive,” said
Tierra Curry, a biologist at the Center. “The Humboldt
0
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10 Miles
EPICGIS 2010
select the largest available trees and structures for
denning sites. Fragmented forests and small patches of
old growth are not adequate to ensure the long-term
viability of marten populations.
Loss of late-successional conifer forests is the
primary cause of marten population decline in areas
where martens are currently threatened or already
extirpated. Similarly, logging degrades or destroys
marten habitat at the micro-stand scale. Researcher
Keith Slausen found that a ten percent increase in the
amount of area logged was associated with a 23 percent
decrease in the odds of marten occurrence, after
accounting for amount of serpentine habitat and oldgrowth patch size.
The life history traits of martens make recovery from
population decline difficult. Martens have relatively late
sexual maturity and low reproductive capacity. They
produce only one litter per year. Martens can live up to
14 years in the wild. Mortality factors include predation,
exposure, accidents, disease, and trapping.
Timber Giant’s Shell Game Threatens Northern Spotted Owls
By Rob DiPerna
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), California’s largest
and most notorious timber company, is no stranger to
conflicts with federal and state agencies over protection
of wildlife like the threatened Northern Spotted Owl
(NSO), famous for its dependence on older forests.
SPI’s aggressive approach to logging owl habitat appears
to have been a key factor in the US Fish and Wildlife
Service’s decision to stop helping timber companies
design logging plans to minimize impacts on owls
and their habitat. FWS’ withdrawal leaves only the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(which we used to call CDF, but is now known as
CalFIRE) between the timber company and the NSO.
So guess what giant timber company is now
aggressively pushing CalFIRE to be allowed to log NSO
habitat, using a shell game of mutually inconsistent
standards as cover?
As it got out of the business of evaluating Timber
Harvest Plans (THPs), FWS issued a set of “take
avoidance guidelines” to give foresters a road map to
avoid harming owls in their logging plans. “Take,” in the
language of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) means
harming a listed species, either directly, or by degrading
its habitat or impairing its reproduction. CalFIRE is
specifically barred from approving THPs that would
result in “take” of listed species. FWS has stated that
California’s current Forest Practice Rules – the rules
CalFIRE enforces – are not strong enough to insure ‘no
take’ of NSO.
By contrast to the nearly twenty year old state rules,
the FWS guidelines provide clearer habitat definitions
and stronger habitat-retention standards for THPs in
two zones: the coastal redwood zone and the mixedconifer forests zone in the interior. The problem is,
while CalFIRE has told THP proponents that they can
707-822-7711
ECONEWS October/November 2010
Juvenile Northern Spotted Owl. photo by Noel Soucy
use the FWS guidelines (which on their face would
seem to be the appropriate, if minimum, standard for
owl habitat evaluation and retention) the state forest
regulators have signaled that they will only enforce their
own inadequate rules.
Exploiting this confusion, SPI is mixing and matching
FWS’ interior and coastal guidance standards, but
claiming to comply with the Forest Practice Rules. A
recent SPI THP in Humboldt County, 1-10-048HUM,
provides an example of the problems in this approach.
The stand to be logged is primarily Douglas fir with
a large hardwood component–forest that should be
assessed as interior forest type. Nonetheless, SPI is
using the FWS take avoidance guidelines for the coastal
(redwood) region to define available owl habitat. This
leads to SPI overestimating habitat available for owls.
SPI uses the habitat retention guidelines for interior
stands maximizing the amount of habitat it can log.
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wildcalifornia.org
www.yournec.org
|
The coastal and interior guidance differ not only in
terms of habitat definition, but also in terms of habitat
quantities to be retained and the size of the NSO core
area home range to be used. Essentially, the two sets of
guidance are meant to apply to two distinct ecosystems
that owls use in different ways. FWS has made it
clear there is no biological or scientific justification
for mixing the two standards, and no justification is
provided in SPI’s THP.
Finally, though the plan doesn’t comply with either
the coastal or interior guidance, SPI expects to obtain a
so-called “take avoidance determination” from CalFIRE
and get the plan approved, simply because it conforms
to the sub-standard Forest Practice Rules.
Confused yet? SPI’s shell game compounds the
damage already done to owl habitat in the area.
As it stands, this habitat-deficit activity center
will be subject to further habitat reduction through
clearcutting, rehab, and alternative prescription harvest
that threaten to render the site non-viable. The owl site
has not been surveyed in over a decade and SPI fails to
provide data to substantiate its claim that the activity
center is in fact invalid or unoccupied. Here, FWS has
done the right thing, and will not allow SPI to declare
the activity center abandoned. CalFIRE, for its part,
has recommended this plan for approval despite the
morass of differing definitions and retention standards,
and despite that further habitat reduction could lead to
unauthorized “take” of NSO.
Furthermore, lacking any recent information or
survey data with respect to the NSO activity center, it
is impossible for CalFIRE or anyone else to know if the
owls are present, exactly where the owls are, and what
habitats they are currently using. Despite all of this,
CalFIRE continues to blindly claim that “take” of NSO
will be avoided.
145 S. G Street Arcata, CA 95521
9
Kids’ Section
Hey Kids! Learn About Frogs
By Sarah Marnick
Did you know that there are frogs with tails?
There are only two species of tailed frogs
and they are found in the Northwestern part
of the United States and Southwestern part of
Canada.
The species that lives here on the North
Coast is called the coastal tailed frog (Ascaphus
truei, pronounced Uh-scafe-us true-ee-eye).
They can be found in cold, fast flowing streams
with softball size rock bottoms. The females lay
eggs under the rocks in the water.
The tadpoles can spend up to four years
in the water before they turn into frogs. The
tadpoles have special adaptations that allow
them to live in fast moving water without
getting washed away (see photo). They have
large sucker-like mouths that help them stick to
rocks under the water.
The tadpoles eat algae off of the rocks and
they also eat pollen from conifers. Conifers are
trees that don’t lose their leaves – examples are
pine trees, fir trees, and redwoods. The adult
frogs don’t ever go too far from the water and
they eat insects, spiders, and slugs. Only the
adult male frogs have tails.
Try This!
Find these words in the puzzle below
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Life Form Of The Month
Eurasian Collared-Dove: Invader Extraordinaire
By Ken Burton
In recent years, North Coast residents have begun
to notice an unfamiliar, pigeon-like bird showing up
around their homes and at their feeders. Dusting
off their old field guides in hopes of identifying it,
they find themselves stymied. The Eurasian collareddove (Streptopelia decaocto), unknown here only a
decade ago, is rapidly becoming an integral part of
our avian community.
The Eurasian collared-dove can be mistaken for
the native mourning dove at first glance but it is
stockier and paler, with a shorter, square tail that
looks mostly white from below or when spread. At
close range, a dark band across the back of the neck
is evident. It has a lower-pitched, three-syllable
cooing call: hoo-HOOOO-hoo. Displaying males
Photo by Reinier M. courtesy of leesbird.com.
fly steeply upwards, flapping loudly, then spiral
down with wings and tail spread while uttering a
Rica. This rate of expansion puts even that of the
distinctive nasal call. Unlike the mourning dove, this
starling to shame!
species does not make a wing whistle when it takes off.
The collared-dove tsunami hit California in 2001
Although the collared-dove is non-migratory, it
when my friend Lisa LaVelle found a pair in her yard
has strong dispersal tendencies and is considered
in Kern County. The species since has been recorded
one of the most successful colonizers in the bird
in every county in the state. The first Humboldt and
world. A little over a century ago it was limited to
Del Norte County sightings were in McKinleyville and
southern Asia; perhaps aided by humans, it since
Crescent City in May, 2004. Collared-doves are now
has spread across Eurasia to Ireland and Korea. In
seen frequently throughout the region.
1974 it was introduced accidentally to the Bahamas;
In North America this is generally a bird of rural
it soon made its way to Florida (though this event
and suburban environments, usually avoiding both
went largely unnoticed since a look-alike, the African natural and urban habitats. It thus occupies a niche
collared-dove, was already there) and launched its
intermediate between those of the mourning dove
invasion of North America. Now, only three decades
and the rock pigeon (also exotic). Its potential impact
later, it has reached New England, Alaska, and Costa
on native doves is as yet unclear, a subject ripe for
10
www.yournec.org
study, but there is strong anecdotal evidence that
it displaces mourning doves locally. However,
unless it is somehow released ecologically from its
dependence on human-altered habitats it poses
little threat to native doves on a larger scale. It
is a known carrier of West Nile virus and thus a
potential threat to vulnerable native species.
What makes this species such a successful
colonizer and competitor? Like most invasive species,
it is aggressive, prolific, and adaptable. It tends to nest
close to human habitation and eats a wide variety of
seeds, berries, and grains and even some insects. In
many areas it is considered a crop pest. Although it
never lays more than two eggs at a time, it can raise
up to six broods a year in warm climates.
Streptopelia means “twisted turtle-dove” in
reference to the twisted pattern on the neck of the
European turtle-dove, the species to which the name
was first applied. Decaocto was a handmaiden of Greek
mythology who prayed for release from her lowly
station and was transformed into a dove; perhaps this
species’ call was reminiscent of her plaintive appeal for
divine intervention.
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the collareddove’s arrival in California, it is worth reflecting on
how a seemingly innocuous event – in this case, the
accidental release of a few birds in the Bahamas – can
have unforeseen consequences on an unimaginable
scale. Perhaps lessons such as these will help us, the
greatest colonizer of all, learn to act with more caution
and humility.
October/November 2010 ECONEWS
The All Species Ball 2010
All photos courtesy Terrence McNally and Terry Schulz
ECONEWS October/November 2010
www.yournec.org
11
217 E Street, Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 268-8897
www.humboldtbaykeeper.org
The MLPA: A Success Story On The North Coast
By Beth Werner, Humboldt Baykeeper staff
The Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) for the
Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) submitted a single
unified proposal in late August for marine protected
areas on the North Coast. The final marine protected
areas (MPAs) are for Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del
Norte Counties and represent a compromise agreed
upon by all the North Coast stakeholders who represent
constituencies from commercial and recreational
fishermen, tribal representatives, conservationists, kelp
harvesters, divers, and others.
The North Coast is the only region in California’s
MLPA process to submit a single cross-interest map
with consensus of ALL the regional stakeholders.
“In the end, we found the balance between
socioeconomics and conservation,” said Bill Lemos,
RSG member and retired Mendocino High School
teacher. “And hopefully, the results will frame the
discussion about the importance of marine protection
and community economics as the process moves
forward.”
When describing the MPA rationale, the RSG
incorporated language provided by local Tribes and
tribal communities specifying that all traditional and
non-commercial tribal uses will continue on the North
Coast.
Brandi Easter, a local diver and professional
photographer, said, “I feel that what we have done with
the unified array is an amazing statement about our
community – we looked to the community and worked
together and got the best balanced map to meet the
goals of the community and the goals of the Act.”
Although the North Coast has submitted a single
proposal, the work is not yet complete. We will need
your help to make sure that the marine protected areas
agreed upon by the RSG members are approved by the
Blue Ribbon Task Force and the California Fish & Game
Commission.
The next step for the unified proposal is review by the
Science Advisory Team, the Blue Ribbon Task Force,
and then the California Fish & Game Commission.
These meetings will include opportunities for public
comment, in which members of the public can make
statements about the map:
Science Advisory Team Meeting: October 13 -14
Blue Ribbon Task Force Meeting: October 25 - 27
Calif. Fish & Game Commission: December 15
For more information on what you can do to ensure
the community’s map is accepted by the California Fish
& Game Commission, or to attend meetings, check out
www.humboldtbaykeeper.org.
Final Proposal For Marine Protected Areas
its remote location, little or no socioeconomic
impacts to commercial or recreational fishermen.
Following are details on the marine
protected area submitted by the
Regional Stakeholder Group:
Vizcaino SMCA
Allowable Uses:
1. The commercial take of salmon by troll; and
Dungeness crab by trap.
2. The recreational take of salmon by troll; Dungeness crab by hoop net; Dungeness crab by diving;
and Dungeness crab by trap.
Site-Specific Rationale: Protect an area that is
rich in primarily rocky shore habitat with a high
diversity of benthic species characteristic of the
north coast. Captures most habitats except deep
rock and soft bottom. Only kelp and hard 0-30m
replicate in MPA array.
Pyramid Point SMCA
Allowable Uses:
1. The recreational take of surf and night smelt by
cast net; and surf and night smelt by dip net.
2. The special intent take of surf and night smelt
by dip net.
Site-Specific Rational: This SMCA captures
beach, rocky shore, and shallow soft bottom
replicates and is intended to maintain a moderate
high level of protection. Includes a unique offshore island (Prince Island) and several off-shore
rocks important for seabird colonies and Aleutian
cackling geese. Area receives very low fishery
exploitation by California commercial and sport
fishers. It also provides forage habitat for pinnipeds and cetaceans.
Ten Mile SMR
Allowable Uses:
No allowed take within the boundary of the MPA.
Site-Specific Rationale: This MPA has great diversity in unique marine habitats including; exposed
high energy rocky shoreline, sand and gravel
beaches, offshore islets, surf grass, kelp beds, hard
and soft substrates, while interfacing with the
complex estuarine habitats consisting of eelgrass
beds, marshlands and mudflat ecosystems. This
SMR helps maintain biodiversity in fish, invertebrates, seabirds and marine mammals associated
with the protection of the ecosystem. Protects a
spawning aggregation area of steelhead, coho
and Chinook salmon. The area includes pinniped
haul-outs and critical nesting and breeding bird
habitat, including the endangered snowy plovers.
Offshore Point Saint George SMCA
Allowable Uses:
1. The commercial take of salmon by troll; and
Dungeness crab by trap.
2. The recreational take of salmon by troll; and
Dungeness crab by trap.
Site-Specific Rationale: This SMCA is designed to
protect deeper rocky reef habitats while minimizing the socioeconomic impacts on Crescent City
harbor. The area contains the only offshore banks
north of Point Reyes in state waters; good reef
structure. Design overlaps with existing RCAs to
minimize further impact.
Ten Mile SMCA
Allowable Uses:
1. The commercial take of Dungeness crab by trap.
2. The recreational take of Dungeness crab by
hoop net; Dungeness crab by diving; and Dungeness crab by trap.
Site-Specific Rationale: Adds protection for soft
bottom habitat to the adjacent SMR proposed to
the north. Connects the estuarine reserve to the
offshore SMR while allowing for commercial and
recreational crabbing.
Reading Rock SMR
Allowable Uses:
No allowed take within boundary of MPA.
Site-Specific Rationale: This SMR improves fish
productivity to benefit local commercial rockfish
industry fishing outside the MPA. The species to
benefit include; halibut, harbor seals, sea lions,
sharks, mussels, rays, kelp, murres, guillemots,
cormorants, auklets, lingcod, cabezon, and kelp
greenling. The SMR encompasses both rocky reef
bottom habitat as well as sandy bottom habitat
that includes a significant nursery area for Dungeness crab, and numerous rockfish and flatfish
species.
Ten Mile Estuary SMCA
Allowable Uses:
Yet to be determined.
Site-Specific Rationale: This SMCA protects
larval source and enhances reproductive capacity
of numerous invertebrate species such as Dungeness crabs, ghost shrimp et al. Protects spawning
and nursery grounds for populations that are
harvested offshore.
Reading Rock SMCA
Allowable Uses:
1. The commercial take of salmon by troll; Dungeness crab by trap; and surf and night smelt by dip
and cast nets (commercial).
2. The recreational take of salmon by troll; Dungeness crab by hoop net.
Site-Specific Rationale: Captures beaches and soft
0-30 m habitat. Important for beach habitat spacing.
Samoa SMCA
Allowable Uses:
1. The commercial take of salmon by troll; Dungeness crab by trap; and
surf and night smelt by dip and cast nets (commercial).
2. The recreational take of salmon by troll; Dungeness crab by hoop net
Site Specific Rationale: Protect beach habitat and biodiversity.
South Humboldt Bay SMRMA
Allowable Uses
Waterfowl hunting.
Site-Specific Rationale: This SMRMA is critical habitat for seabirds,
migratory waterfowl, plants and harbor seals and other marine
mammals. Important nursery for marine and estuary fishes, including halibut, leopard sharks and rays. Key points for the millions of
migratory birds that rely on the Pacific Flyway. More than 200 bird
species, including 80 kinds of water birds and four endangered species, regularly feed, rest, or nest on the refuge or other areas around
the bay. Provides habitat for approximately 100 species of fish, many
contribute to sport/commercial fisheries and provides habitat for
steelhead, coho, and chinook salmon. Cape Mendocino/ Steamboat SMR
Allowable Uses:
No allowed take within boundary of MPA.
Site-Specific Rationale: Captures off shore rocks, rocky shores, soft
12
Point Cabrillo SMR
bottom habits, beaches, 0-30 hard proxy, 30-100 hard/soft. Aids in
protection of pinnipeds haul outs and seabird colonies. Mattole Canyon SMR
Allowable Uses:
No allowed take within the boundary of the MPA.
Site-Specific Rationale: This MPA has a variety of diverse habitats
including upwelling zones, submarine canyons, reef structures, and
improves study opportunities provided by marine ecosystems that are
subject to minimal human impacts.
Sea Lion – Spanish SMR
Allowable Uses:
No allowed take within the boundary of the MPA.
Site-Specific Rationale: This SMR captures offshore rocks, rocky
shores, kelp, hard 0-30m and 30-100m habitat, offshore rocks and
includes all levels of soft habitat. Additionally, important seabird and
sea lion rookeries are protected.
Allowable Uses:
No allowed take within the boundary of the MPA.
Site Specific Rationale: This area has been an
MPA here for many years and will continue to
serve the community for ongoing MPA research and monitoring.
Also, there are adaptive management opportunities for urchin
research with the Mendocino community.
Big River Estuary SMP
Allowable Uses:
1. The recreational take of surfperch by hook and line from shore;
Dungeness crab by hoop net; and Dungeness crab by diving.
Site-Specific Rationale: Estuary habitat preserved, eel grass beds,
anadromous fish refugia.
Navarro River Estuary SMCA
Allowable Uses:
1. The recreational take of salmon by hook and line.
Site-specific Rationale: All species protected as well as prime shorebird habitat and anadromous fish refugia.
Big Flat SMCA
Allowable Uses:
1. The commercial take of salmon by troll; and Dungeness crab by trap.
2. The recreational take of salmon by troll; Dungeness crab by hoop
net; Dungeness crab by diving; and Dungeness crab by trap.
Site-Specific Rationale: Captures rocky shores, beaches, all levels of
soft habitat, >200 hard. This SMCA is specifically designed to enhance
and preserve rock fish habitat while at the same time posing, due to
www.yournec.org
All the information for the MPAs listed above is
available at http://northcoast.marinemap.org
with Special Closure information.
October/November 2010 ECONEWS
New Water Quality Rules Bode Well For Klamath
By Sarah O’Leary
Advocates for fish and water quality in the Klamath
River are celebrating a new set of stringent pollution
standards. After 15 years of legal wrangling, the rules
were approved by the State Water Board in September,
marking a successful step forward in the campaign to
resuscitate the dying Klamath river.
Excess sediment, toxic algae blooms and overly warm
water have rendered the river almost unusable for salmon
migration, swimming and for Tribal ceremonial uses.
The dire condition of the Klamath made national news in
September of 2002 when more than 68,000 adult salmon
died due to low water levels and warm conditions.
Such water quality problems are caused by a
variety of sources, including agricultural operations
in the upper basin, suction dredging for gold, and the
reservoirs created by six dams owned by PacifiCorp, a
power company.
The new regulatory process is designed to help
restore the mighty Klamath.
“It’s a big deal,” said Craig Tucker, Klamath Campaign
Coordinator for the Karuk Tribe. “This is an example of
a bureaucratic regulatory process that actually worked –
though it took a long time.”
The new regulations require that TMDLs, or Total
Maximum Daily Loads, be designed for each of 22
salmon-bearing rivers, including the Klamath. The Clean
Water Act outlines requirements for TMDLs, as well as
criteria for the impaired rivers that qualify for protection.
The new TMDL standards are the result of litigation
filed in 1994 by a coalition of a dozen environmental
groups and fishing organizations, including the NEC,
the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations
(PCFFA), and Earth Justice.
The original litigation demanded that the state
enforce pollution standards on 22 salmon-bearing
rivers. Challenges and more lawsuits ensued, but the
state began to fulfill its obligations one river at a time.
The Klamath was left till last, and the crafting of the
TMDLs, took more than six years. The final step will
be approval by the U.S. EPA before the court-ordered
deadline of December 31 of this year.
Regulations Reduce Pollution
“Total Maximum Daily Load refers to the maximum
amount of nitrates, phosphates and sediments allowed
in the water,” said Tucker. The new TMDLs call for a
90 percent reduction in pollution from nitrogen and
phosphate. Water temperature will also be regulated,
as will suction dredging operations in cold water refuge
ECONEWS October/November 2010
areas crucial to fish migration.
PacifiCorp fought hard to prevent the TMDL
ruling, attacking the science behind the regulations.
However, the company has signed onto the multi-party
agreements that propose dam removal at four sites on
the lower Klamath by 2020.
The U.S. Secretary of the Interior will determine
by 2012 if the dam-removal agreements are in the
best public interest. The agreements were signed last
February by various parties, including the states of
Oregon and California. Additionally, funding for the
twin agreements is in question since dam removal and
river restoration were to be partially paid for by the
California Water Bond, now shelved until 2012.
Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director of PCFFA, said
that PacifiCorp will need to renew its license to operate the
dams if the dam-removal agreements are derailed. Federal
law requires state water quality certification before a license
can be issued, he said, and the company will have to meet
these new water quality standards.
“PacifiCorp wants to wriggle out from under any
and all regulations even if the dam removal deal
goes through,” said Erica Terrence, lower Klamath
coordinator for Klamath Riverkeeper. “If the settlement
falls apart, these rules might force dam removal as an
outcome anyway. But even if they take the dams out, we
still need pollution rules in place to clean up the water,”
she added.
Tucker agreed. “If the dam deal falls through, these
TMDLs become the blueprint for restoration,” he said.
Tucker and Spain said the TMDLs will almost
certainly be approved by the U.S. EPA before the
December 31 deadline, despite PacifiCorp’s objections.
“There have been two separate levels of scientific peer
review,” said Spain. “The EPA has been consulted and
involved in every step of the process.”
“[PacifiCorp] is committed to dam removal at this
point,” Spain added. “But policies change, companies
get bought and sold.” These rules are a strong backstop
against PacifiCorp wanting out of the dam removal
agreements, he said. “They will face very stringent
water standards.”
How Will They Work?
“The TMDLS are technical standards,” Spain said.
“What really makes the difference is the implementation
plan.” It is also crucial that the TMDLs in the upper
Klamath Basin – located in Oregon – are as stringent as
those here in California.
www.yournec.org
Algae floats thick on the water
near Copco dam.
The water on the Klamath River is
green with algae near Iron Gate
dam in late summer. New pollution
standards address these severe water
quality standards.
Photos: Greg King.
“The two states have cooperated very closely on the
formulation of these TMDLs,” said Spain.
This cooperation between state agencies is key, said Matt
St. John of the North Coast Regional Water Board, since
the majority of nutrient pollution originates in Oregon.
“We have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
signed by our agency and the Oregon Department of
water quality,” St. John said. The agreement lays out the
agreements and commitments between the agencies to
implement the TMDLs within both states and across
state lines.
Additionally, the North Coast Regional Water Board
has developed a detailed Implementation Action Plan
that specifies responsible parties and deadlines for
various steps that need to be taken. For example, the
Regional Water Board must develop conditional waivers
that require compliance with the new TMDL allocations
for agricultural activities by December 2012.
“We believe the action plan lays out a strategy that
allows the important cleanup to begin to occur,” St.
John said.
“When they’re adopted into a state basin plan they
then have legal teeth,” Spain said. Everybody who is
using the river is assigned a “load” – so much oxygen,
temperature, and you’ve got to test that water and you
can’t exceed certain pollution standards.”
“The best thing we can do is give the fish a clean
place to live,” Spain added. “That’s what the TMDLs are
all about.”
13
Kin To The Earth
Environmental Folk Hero Leaves Legacy
By Kerul Dyer
The environmental movement lost a hero when
adventurer, wilderness advocate and bona fide
folksinger James “Walkin’ Jim” Stoltz died in September.
After decades of trekking across North America’s wild
country, he has left a legacy of photographs and poems
that document his backcountry journeys, along with
original songs inspired from his experiences.
Stoltz offered dynamic performances and
recordings over the course of 35 years including
eight albums and one music video for children, called
“Come Walk With Me.” He integrated his photography
and poems into multi-media presentations to
encourage audience members to move from their seats
to the wild places across the continental divide – from
Yosemite to the Yukon.
As an activist,
poet, photographer,
musician and friend,
Stoltz reached out
to people to share
his love for the
wilds and spread
environmental
awareness. The
Environmental
Protection Agency
granted him its
“Outstanding
Achievement
Award” for his
advocacy for nature
and wilderness
across North
America.
Stoltz
empowered people
to get involved in protecting the wild places they
loved from corporate industry. He co-founded
14
the Last, Best Place Wildlands Campaign, as well
as Musicians United to Sustain the Environment
(MUSE). He is well known for his advocacy for
designated Wilderness Areas and bills designed to
increase protections for wild places. On his web site,
Stoltz wrote some heartfelt encouragement to viewers
to take a stand for the wilderness:
“The folks in Congress do not know wilderness. They
do not know the value of an unblemished skyline, or the
sight of a grizzly bear galloping across a mountainside.
They can’t grasp the importance of a spotted owl or for
that matter a lowly prairie dog. They’ve never felt the
power of the old growth forests or the silence of the Utah
canyons. You need to tell them about these things. You
must share your feelings about life and nature and how
precious they are. Those who are making the decisions
need to know.”
“He was the sweetest guy in the world,” said Dana
Lyons, songwriter and activist and Stoltz’s good friend.
“Walkin’ Jim just has a very gentle, beautiful soul. He
worked tirelessly to protect the wilderness, and help
inspire people to go out into the wilderness and work to
protect it.”
One of Jim’s most famous songs, “Forever Wild,”
has become common at campfires across the Pacific
Northwest. The song became political history when
legendary activist and FBI target Peg Millet sang it,
rather than speak to a judge during a sentencing hearing
for her involvement in a controversial environmental
action in Arizona.
“While people know the song and have popularized
it by learning and singing it, most people don’t know
who wrote it,“ said Lyons, adding that this is what makes
Stoltz’s music bona fide folk. “That’s the definition of a
folksong,” he said.
Over the course of his life, Jim walked about 28,000
miles on long distance trips. While wading across rivers
and walking across ridge tops, Jim composed the tunes
www.yournec.org
Walkin’ Jim Stoltz
that would be taken up by a generation of activsts. A
growing collection of these can be found on
www.walkingjim.com.
In an effort to share his work and its message
about defending endangered ecosystems, Stoltz
organized a 45-state outreach tour. During that time
he performed in Humboldt County, a stop organized
by internationally acclaimed Earth First! Activist
Darryl Cherney.
“Jim was a great inspiration to me and I based my
traveling slide show on his – even having a foot pedal
like his designed me for so I could sing and show
slides like Jim,” said Cherney. “What a magnificent
contribution to our planet he has been.”
October/November 2010 ECONEWS
FIN-ISHED: A Brazilian fish exporter is being sued
for $790 million over allegations it illegally sold the fins
of 280,000 sharks since last year to meet demand in
Asia, where they are a culinary delicacy.
“This represents only a fraction of the sharks that
are illegally killed off Brazil’s northeast coast. The
massive and illegal fishing is doing irreversible harm to
the ocean’s ecosystem, because sharks are at the top of
the food chain,” said a spokesman for Brazil’s national
environmental fund, which will get any money awarded
by the courts.
Eco-Mania
A monthly melange of
salient sillies....
IT’S THE BERRIES: Cranberry juice, that old folk
remedy, really does effectively prevent urinary track
infections (UTIs), according to a study at Worcester
Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
Researchers discovered that the juice prevented E.
coli, the most common cause of UTIs, from sticking
together to form biofilms, thin, slimy layers that allow
bacteria to thrive. This creates a better chance of
flushing E. coli out of the urinary track. UTIs account
for eight million doctor visits a year.
❂
❂
TAKE A SLUG AT PAIN: Australian scientists
have developed a medication isolated from the saliva of
sea snails that they think could relieve the most severe
forms of pain as effectively as morphine – but without
risking addiction.
Sea snail saliva contains chemicals that help the
slow-moving creatures catch passing prey with needlelike teeth that shoot from their mouths like harpoons.
Now Australian scientists have used one of the
chemicals to develop a painkiller that can be swallowed
in pill form.
SLURP: An ice cream truck exclusively for dogs
made its first appearance at a pet festival in London’s
Regents Park this summer.
The canine-friendly ice cream, created by a team
of scientists, comes in two flavors: a ham and chicken
sorbet topped with a biscuit bone, served in a cone, and
dog biscuits and ice cream topped with a biscuit bone.
❂
NO MAIDS NEEDED: Japanese scientists have
come up with a way to keep grime off large-scale solar
power installations: self-dusting solar panels.
Using technology developed for missions to Mars,
they developed a transparent, electrically sensitive
material that’s placed on glass or a plastic sheet covering
the panels. Sensors monitor dust levels and when dirt
reaches a critical level, an electric charge sends out a
dust-repelling wave that cascades the dust away within
minutes.
❂
ANIMAL FACTOIDS: A cat has 32 muscles in each
ear, a goldfish has a memory span of three seconds,
a shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes,
a snail can sleep for three years and there are more
chickens in the world than people.
❂
JEOPARDY: A global shortage of medical isotopes
spells trouble for the more than 50,000 diagnostic and
therapeutic procedures done every day on U.S. patients
using the tiny amounts of radioactive substances.
The national meeting of the American Chemical
Society heard a report that, because of the shortage,
doctors may be forced to resort to tests that are less
accurate, involve higher radiation doses and are both
more invasive and more expensive.
Isotopes injected into the body can enable doctors
to see whether the heart has adequate blood flow
or cancer has spread to a patient’s bones, and help
diagnose gall bladder, kidney and brain disorders.
ECONEWS October/November 2010
THE GREEN WAY TO GO: Want to leave a light
footprint when you die?
Consider “aquamation”, a new eco-alternative to
burial and cremation.
With land for burials in short supply and cremation
producing around 150 kilograms of carbon dioxide
per body – and as much as 200 micrograms of toxic
mercury aquamation is being touted as the greenest
method for disposing of mortal remains.
The corpse is placed into a steel container and
potassium is added, followed by water heated to 93 °C.
The flesh and organs are completely decomposed in four
hours, leaving bones as the only solid remains, just as in
cremation, except aquamation uses only 10 percent of
the energy of a conventional cremation and releases no
toxic emissions.
DRINK AND DRIVE: A new whiskey biofuel that
can be used to power cars has been developed by
scientists in Scotland.
Researchers made the fuel from whiskey
byproducts, combining the liquid from copper distillery
equipment with spent grains to produce butanol.
Scottish scientists said butanol is superior to ethanol,
with 25% more energy per unit volume. The biofuel
also can be introduced to unmodified engines with any
gasoline blend.
❂
SPUD-BOOSTERS: Japanese scientists also have
found two simple, inexpensive ways of increasing
the amounts of healthful antioxidant substances in
potatoes.
One involves giving spuds an electric shock,
and the other involves zapping them with the highfrequency waves of ultrasound. The scientists at Obihiro
University discovered that treating the potatoes for 5
to 30 minutes increased the amounts of antioxidants –
including phenolsand chlorogenic acid – by as much as
50 percent.
www.yournec.org
URINE OR YOU’RE OUT: Urine is one of the most
abundant waste materials, with nearly seven billion
people producing roughly ten billion liters of it every
day – notwithstanding all the animals.
That’s why Gerardine Botte, a chemical engineer
at Ohio University, used urine instead of water as a
possible source of hydrogen for use in fuel cells. Her
team has generated hydrogen from urine, using an
electrolytic cell with cheap nickel-based electrodes, for
only a quarter of the voltage needed to split water. She
says an office building where 200 or 300 people work –
and pee – could produce about two kilowatts of power.
15
CNPS HAPPENINGS
News and Events from the North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society
Beginners and experts, non-members and members,
are all welcome at our programs and on our outings.
Almost all of our events are free. All of our events are
made possible by volunteer effort.
EVENING PROGRAMS
Second Wednesday evening, September through May.
Refreshments at 7 p.m.; program at 7:30 p.m. at the Six
Rivers Masonic Lodge, 251 Bayside Road, near 7th and
Union, Arcata.
October 13, 2010, Wednesday, “Unexpected delights:
The people, fruit stands, and flora of Jamaica.”
Botanist, explorer, photographer, and pollination
biologist Dr. Michael Mesler shares some botanical
fun from a recent trip to Jamaica. He will present
photographic impressions of the crazy-quilt Jamaican
cultural and botanical landscapes and tell a little about
his coffee pollination project.
November 10, 2010, Wednesday, “Experience the beauty
of an Oak Woodland in spring.”
Kathy Dilley and Donna Wildearth will share pictures
from their trip to Cache Creek and Bear Valley (off
Hwy. 20), where they saw masses of Indian warrior,
monumental manzanitas, a glorious field of cream cups
and gilias, and two CNPS listed plants.”
December 8, 2010, Wednesday. Native Plant Show
and Tell, Members Night.
An informal evening for anyone to share photos,
artifacts, readings, or food relating to native plants and
their habitats. Tell Kim Imper, coordinator, dimper@
suddenlink.net, 444-2756, what you’d like to share.
CHAPTER PICNIC
October 9, Saturday. Chapter Picnic and Book Sale.
12 noon - 5 p.m. (more or less.)
Dune plants spotted on a CNPS hike. Photos: Sylvia Ann White
Home of Carol and C.J.Ralph on Arcata Bottom.
Members and friends are invited to share good food
and good company around a campfire between the
dune forest and the Mad River Slough. Bring a dish to
share, your own item to BBQ, your own beverage, and
eating gear. Fire ready for BBQ at 1; eat 1-2:30; then
walk in the Lanphere Dunes or the Ralphs’ agricultural
wetlands. Meanwhile (in the Ralphs’ house) will be a
botanical book sale. Bring any botanical books you can
donate to the chapter to sell. Please tell Carol you are
coming (and ask directions): 822-2015.
Street. Co-sponsored by Friends of the Arcata Marsh. 826-2359.
November 7, Sunday. Horse Mountain day hike.
Grand vistas, diverse shrubs, and a study of seed pods
will entertain us on a 2- to 4-mile hike on this popular,
nearby ridge in Six Rivers National Forest. We will
test a proposed route for a trail in this area. If the day
is too wintry at this 4,400-foot elevation, we will opt
for someplace lower. It’s a day to be outside with the
plants! Meet at 8:30 a.m. at Pacific Union School (3001
Janes Rd., Arcata). Bring lunch and water. Dress for the
weather! Return late afternoon. Information: 822-2015.
Please watch for later additions on our Web site
(www.northcoastcnps.org) or sign up for e-mail
announcements Northcoast_CNPS-subscribe@
yahoogroups.com). Everyone is welcome. No
botanical knowledge required. We are out there to
share and enjoy.
FIELD TRIPS AND PLANT WALKS
October 30, Saturday. 2-4 p.m. “Going to Seed:
Late Fall Plants at the Arcata Marsh”.This is a walk
with lively naturalist Jenny Hanson on the paths of
Arcata Marsh. Meet many common native and nonnative species and see the results of their flowering. Meet at the Marsh Interpretive Center, 569 South G
NORTH GROUP NEWS
A List of Events & Conservation Updates From the North Group Redwood Chapter Sierra Club
Last Call for ExCom Candidates
If you’re interested in serving on North Group
Executive Committee, which meets every second
Tuesday from 7‑9 p.m. at Eureka’s Adorni Center,
contact Ned at 707-826-2417 or [email protected].
Candidate statements are due by October 21 to be
included on the ballot for the 2-year term that begins in
January.
Reminder: $5 ECONEWS Subscription Cost
If you are not an NEC member and wish to continue
receiving a printed copy of the ECONEWS (6 issues/
year) once NEC starts charging its member groups,
please send ASAP a check for $5 payable to North
Group Sierra Club, POB 238, Arcata 95518.
Political Endorsements & Ballot Initiatives
For the November 2 election, the national Sierra
Club has endorsed Paul Gallegos for Humboldt County
District Attorney and Patrick Cleary for Fifth District
Humboldt County Supervisor. Additional endorsements
were pending at column deadline.
Regarding state ballot initiatives, Sierra Club
California supports Proposition 21, the State Parks
and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010,
that would provide a stable, reliable, and adequate
source of funding to protect state parks and conserve
wildlife. Sierra Club California opposes Proposition
23, which would halt clean energy efforts and pollution
control standards aimed at cleaning up our air and
atmosphere for our kids and future generations. For
more information, go to www.sierraclubcalifornia.org/
elections.html.
New Hike Leader
Bill Knight of McKinleyville is North Group’s most
recently qualified hike leader. Bill tells us that he has
hiked extensively over most of his life, from short day
hikes to long backpacking trips. His interest in the
complex, varying natural environment encountered
during these hikes meshes with his career as a
consulting environmental engineer. Welcome, Bill!
Camper Essays
This summer, due to the generosity of our members,
North Group was able to support five local children to
attend overnight camps at Redwood State and National
16
Parks and four to
attend weeklong
day camps
(alternative
energy, forestry,
and aquatics)
through
the Arcata
Recreation
Department.
Campers were
required to
submit an essay
about their
experiences.
Here are
excerpts from
those essays:
“Camp taught
us to respect
animals, people, North Group hike to Whiskey Prairie led by Susan Whiteside in April of 2008. Photo: Scott Wagner
trees, and all living
Indian (Tsurai) Beach. No dogs. Meet noon Trinidad
things; to help others; be kind; and be quiet while others State Beach parking lot on Stagecoach Road near school.
were talking”… “I had a wonderful time at the camp
Leader Bill, 707-839-5971. Rain cancels.
and made a lot of new friends, even the birds in the
October 23 – Table Bluff /Mouth of Eel River.
nest next to the bathrooms”… “Our field study looked
9 miles, medium difficulty. Begin below Table Bluff,
at whether the circumference of the redwood tree had
follow beach south 4.5 miles, return along dunes and
anything to do with its height”… “Anemones and starfish McNulty Slough. Carpools meet Herrick Park & Ride 9
are called ‘potty mouths’ because they eat and poop out
a.m. or beach below Table Bluff 9:30 a.m. Leader Xandra,
of the same hole”… “The process and creation of the
707-441-0702. Rain or tsunami warning cancels.
state parks took a great deal of time but I know it was
November 6 – Headwaters Forest Eureka. 11 miles,
worth it because I enjoy camping so much.”
medium difficulty. Begin at parking lot at end of Elk
River Road trailhead. Level for 3 miles, next 2 miles
Outings & Meetings
steep climb and loop through beautiful old-growth
October 12 – Executive Committee Meeting.
section. Return along same route. Meet 9 a.m. Herrick
Discuss local conservation issues 8-9 p.m. following
Park & Ride or trailhead 9:30 a.m. No dogs. Leader
business meeting 7-8 p.m. Adorni Center, Eureka. Info:
Xandra, 707-441-0702.
Gregg, 707-826-3740.
November 9 – Executive Committee Meeting.
October 16 – Centerville Beach/Mouth of Eel
[See October 12 listing.]
River. 11 miles, medium difficulty. Hike beach north
November 13 – Table Bluff/South Spit. 9 miles,
from Centerville Beach County Carpools meet Herrick
Park & Ride 9 a.m. or at beach 9:45 a.m. Leader Xandra, easy. Begin below Table Bluff, follow road to South Spit
4.5 miles between ocean and bay. Return along beach.
707-441-0702. Rain or tsunami warning cancels.
Carpools meet Herrick Park & Ride lot 9 a.m. or beach
October 17 – Trinidad. 8 miles, medium difficulty.
below Table Bluff 9:30 a.m. Leader Xandra, 707-441Scenic loops around Elk Head, Trinidad Head, and
0702. Rain or tsunami warning cancels.
www.yournec.org
October/November ECONEWS
!
Forest Restoration Act Vetoed
By Amy Coombs
“It didn’t even seem like the
After a turbulent journey through
Governor read the bill. He was
the legislature, Assembly Bill 2575
not in the loop. The veto message
(AB 2575) was vetoed in the final
was prejudicial,” said Gienger. “We
hours of September. In an attempt
established criteria for the pilot
to address the cumulative effects
projects to help them take a more
of logging on a watershed, the
restoration-oriented focus, and to get
bill defined standards for forest
more out of the restoration efforts.
restoration projects planned by the
We want them to actually apply the
California Department of Forestry.
coho recovery strategy,” he said.
The Senate approved the bill in
Original language required
late August, and it was sent to the
timber harvest plans to be organized
Governor’s office for enrollment.
online according to their watershed,
Proponents waited with baited
allowing foresters to easily study
breath as September came to a close,
current and past harvests in their
knowing that if the bill was neither
area. This criteria was dropped
signed nor vetoed by October, it
during the legislative process due to
would become law by default. After
cost concerns.
nearly a month of silence, Governor
“In reality, the timber harvest
Schwarzenegger signed a veto letter
plan does a poor job of evaluating
on the last day of the month.
the cumulative effects of logging
Called the “Comprehensive Forest
on a watershed,” said Ken Hoffman,
Land Recovery and Restoration
who recently retired as the program
Act,” the bill established additional
manager for Habitat Conservation
criteria for those who want to
at the California Department of Fish
deviate from good forestry practices.
and Game.
The Department of Forestry’s
Some drainages have been cut
Anadromous Salmonid Protection
multiple times, and old culverts are
Rules (ASP Rules) went into
beginning to fall apart. Mitigation is
effect this year, allowing foresters
expensive, and usually only occurs
to sometimes exceed the Forest
on sites proposed for logging.
Practice Rules, so long as their
Google Earth imagery of Sierra Pacific clear-cut logging near Mt. Lassen. One harvest can exacerbate the cumulative
impacts of previous logging.
“Foresters often can’t even get
actions increase protections for
onto adjacent properties to evaluate
salmon and steel head trout.
and Sonoma), the bill listed scientific criteria for the
other sites for cumulative effects,
AB 2575 aimed to set criteria for
pilot projects, requiring reproducible, quantitative
much less coordinate a mitigation effort,” said Hoffman.
these so-called increased protections. For example,
methods to be used when evaluating the starting
“In my 20 years of experience, I saw thousands of timber
rules currently require that a set number of large trees
characteristics of the ecosystem, and the results.
harvest plans, and never were cumulative adverse
be left near streams, but some argue it might make
The bill did not require additional money to be
impacts indicated, even though in reality they were very
sense to cut one or two to form pools for coho salmon.
spent on the pilot projects; they rely on current agency
much a problem.”
“Logging companies believe they should be given
budgets. Yet to appease concerns over funding, the bill’s
While AB 2575 never tackled the larger problems
some extra slack in this case, and possibly be allowed to
authors drafted language requiring pilot projects to take associated with cumulative effects reporting and timber
cut a couple of extra trees to pay for the process,” said
place on private land, with any additional costs picked
harvest plan review, Gienger said the additional criteria
Richard Gienger, a restoration consultant who teamed
up by landowners. Only if no private landowner could
for restoration projects would have helped.
up with the San Francisco-based Forest Forever to help
be found would a pilot project be held on state lands.
“The guidance for general cumulative impacts
write the bill. “The pilot projects will determine how
would have remained the same,” said Gienger, “but by
they go about this kind of stuff, and AB 2575 would have “AB 2575 would have cost very little,” said Gienger.
Yet in his veto letter, the Governor said “agencies would structuring a better guidance for the pilot projects, we
ensured everything is transparent and that companies
be
forced to redirect scarce budget dollars and substantial may have changed the general way cumulative impacts are
make decisions based on the health of the watershed,
numbers
of staff from existing program priorities…”
evaluated and considered within the logging community.”
with impacts from historic and recent logging in mind.”
Restricting
pilot projects to state lands also “makes
Gienger hopes to take a second crack at the bill
Authored by Assembly Members Wesley Chesbro
no sense,” said Schwarzenegger.
next year.
(D-North Coast) and Noreen Evans (D-Napa, Solano,
www.markwheetley.com
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ECONEWS!
Photo © Sam Camp / campphoto.com
ECONEWS October/November 2010
www.yournec.org
17
The Good News Page
New Air Pollution Protections Adopted
Protections Upheld
For Wild Steelhead
Although an influential group of irrigators have
argued for removal of endangered species protections,
a court has rejected an attempt to strip protected status
from wild steelhead trout in California’s Central Valley.
The irrigators argued the ocean-going Central
Valley steelhead population should be removed from
the endangered species list. Freshwater rainbow trout
– which never go to sea – might someday replace
extinct steelhead populations, they argued. The two
species are genetically very similar, and the argument
implies replacing one similar species with another has
no impact.
“Steelhead and people need clean water, swimmable
streams, and healthy habitat,” said Steve Mashuda,
an attorney with Earthjustice who represented the
coalition of conservation and fishing groups. “We all
win when we protect and recover wild steelhead and
their habitat.”
Steelhead once returned from the ocean in the
millions every year to the Sacramento and San
Joaquin River systems in the Central Valley. Today,
these fish have disappeared from 95 percent of their
historic habitat, and they continue to face threats from
unchecked water use, blockage by dams, urban sprawl,
and polluted rivers. The Court’s ruling represents the latest rejection of
attempts by big agricultural interests to take more water
out of the San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem. It also
follows a report issued in August by the State Water
Resources Control Board, which found that greater
flows and less water diversions were needed to restore
the estuary and its imperiled fish populations.
18
Mercury and other toxic air pollutants will be
reduced up to 92 percent thanks to new EPA rules for
cement kilns adopted in August. The move will result in
significant pollution reductions of mercury, fine particle
pollution, hydrochloric acid, and total hydrocarbons from
the cement manufacturing industry.
More than 100 cement kilns pump out toxins across
the country. The EPA estimates that cutting air pollution
from the kilns could result in the avoidance of up to 2,500
premature deaths each year. Cutting this air pollution will
result in benefits of up to $18 billion annually, starting in
2013 when the rule takes effect, the agency estimates.
In a separate effort, the EPA also announced that it
was moving towards proposing limits on greenhouse gas
pollution from cement kilns. The agency said that cement
Images courtesy NASA
kilns are the 3rd largest industrial emitters of greenhouse
gases and that there appear to be cost-effective
technologies to curb those emissions.
Modernizing older cement kilns with technologies such
as scrubbers and activated carbon injection will help to
create more jobs for the cement industry and will help
preserve jobs in existing communities.
“We’re glad that EPA saw fit to write a single strict
standard for these pollutants that will apply to every
cement kiln in the U.S.,” said Jim Schermbeck, with the
Dallas, Texas-based group Downwinders At Risk. “All
Americans deserve the same level of protection from
toxic emissions from these facilities, regardless of where
they live.”
Hole in the Ozone No Longer Grows
The ozone holes in the stratosphere over each
of the polar regions have stopped growing due to
the phaseout out of nearly 100 ozone-depleting
substances once used in products like refrigerators
and spray cans, reported United Nations scientists
in September.
The study found that, “Over the past decade, global
ozone and ozone in the Arctic and Antarctic regions
is no longer decreasing but is not yet increasing.” The
ozone layer protects the earth and its inhabitants
from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the Sun.
According to the study, the ozone layer outside the
polar regions will recover to pre-1980 levels before
the middle of this century, but the annual springtime
ozone hole over the Antarctic will likely take much
longer to disappear.
Many ozone depleting chemicals, such as CFCs,
www.yournec.org
chlorofluorocarbons, once present in products such
as refrigerators and spray cans, have been phased
out. But demand for replacement substances called
HCFCs, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and HFCs,
hydrofluorocarbons, has increased, raising alarms
about increased greenhouse gas levels.
The phase out of ozone-destroying chemicals is
required under the Montreal Protocol on Substances
That Deplete the Ozone Layer, an international
agreement written to protect the stratospheric ozone
layer. The agreement achieved universal ratification
just last year. The new report confirms that the
Montreal Protocol is working.
The Montreal Protocol has “provided substantial
co-benefits by reducing climate change,” because
many substances that deplete the ozone layer are also
potent greenhouse gases, according to the report.
October/November 2010 ECONEWS
The Fight For The Grove Continues
“We are determined not to let this protected grove of
old-growth redwoods, and the endangered species that
depend on them, be cut into for the sake of letting a few
more oversized trucks speed through the grove,” said
Peter Galvin, conservation director for CBD, in a press
release. “Caltrans should scrap this misguided project,
which has been opposed by dozens of groups, local
business owners, scientists, elected representatives and
tens of thousands of concerned citizens”
“We can see no other option than to seek help from
the courts to protect this threatened grove,” added
Kerul Dyer, Richardson Grove Campaign coordinator
for EPIC.
Bess Bair, lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, was born
and raised in Southern Humboldt County. She is the
granddaughter of Bess and Fred Hartsook, original
owners of the historic Hartsook Inn, near Richardson
Grove. Bair joined the lawsuit to carry on her centurylong family legacy of protecting the majestic giant
redwoods from harm.
“I know these trees intimately, I was raised among
them,” said Bair. “There are ways to resolve this
situation that do not put these trees at risk, and
preserve them for all Californians.”
The proposed highway realignment has bitterly
divided the Humboldt community because of its
potential to bring significant economic benefits to area
businesses that export product. Many business owners
and their supporters, including county supervisors,
have stood up in favor of the highway realignment.
One such business, Cypress Grove Chevre,
was recently purchased by Emmi, a Swiss Dairy
Conglomerate – despite the purported negative
economic impacts caused by the necessity of using nonSTAA trucks to transport the cheese out of the county.
Other area manufacturers have
stated that it is difficult to maintain
competitive pricing while based
Global Energy Event
in Humboldt County because of
“Save The Grove” proponents have organized the Second
the extra expense involved with
Annual 350 Global Energy Event to take place in Richardson
transporting goods in smaller
Grove on Sunday, October 10, from noon till 5 p.m. The event
trucks.
will feature speakers, music and educational activities, and atBut grassroots opposition to the
tendees are encouraged to bring a picnic. This is a part of 350.
highway project continues. When
org’s Global Day of Action intended to send a clear message
a photographer Jack Gescheidt
to politicians about climate change. 350.org is an internacoordinated a nude photograph
tional campaign that’s building a movement to unite the world
illustrating the vulnerability of the
around solutions to the climate crisis.
trees within the project area, he was
rewarded with two misdemeanor
Organizers of the Richardson Grove event invite the public to
While California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) is on track to realign Highway 101 through
Richardson Grove in early 2011, the campaign to
protect Humboldt’s “Redwood Curtain” is heating up.
During the last days of September a second lawsuit was
filed, a city council passed a resolution opposing the
project and a renowned photographer was cited for
taking a provocative image in the grove.
The project proposes to realign a particularly curvy
section of Highway 101 that runs through Richardson
Grove State Park – construction that requires removing
some trees and cutting into the roots of old growth
redwoods. The roadwork would allow oversized STAA
trucks to legally pass through that section of highway.
(See ECONEWS, May/June 2010.)
Established in 1922, Richardson Grove State
Park is home to one of the last protected stands of
accessible old-growth redwoods. It attracts thousands
of visitors from around the world every year. The park
also provides essential habitat for threatened and
endangered species like the marbled murrelet and
Northern spotted owl, and its creeks support runs of
imperiled salmon and steelhead.
The Center For Biological Diversity (CBD) and
the Environmental Protection Information Center
(EPIC) have taken the lead in opposing the project. On
September 27 the two groups joined with Californians
for Alternatives To Toxins and five private citizens
in federal lawsuit against Caltrans challenging the
construction project.
This is the second litigation intended to stop the
controversial project and it cites Caltrans’ failure to
conduct a thorough environmental review, which
violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
“be a part of a global event among the tallest and oldest air
purifiers on Earth: old growth coastal redwoods.”
Speak Up and Speak Out!
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
Senator Barbara Boxer
Washington, D.C.
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-3553 or 415-403-0100
boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/
index.cfm
Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Tel: 202-224-3841 or
415-393-0707
feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.
cfm?FuseAction=ContactUS.
EmailMe
Congressman Mike
Thompson
231 Cannon Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Tel: 202-225-3311
317 3rd Street, Suite 1
Eureka, CA 95501
Phone: 269-9595
mikethompson.house.gov/
contact/e-mail.shtml
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA, 95814
Tel: 916-445-2841
gov.ca.gov/interact#email
Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA
94249-0001
Tel: 916-319-2001
710 E Street, Suite 150
Eureka, CA 95501
Tel: 445-7014
legplcms01.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/
ContactPopup.aspx?district=AD01&
Humboldt County Board of
Supervisors
825 Fifth Street, Room 111
Eureka, CA 95501
(707) 476-2384
co.humboldt.ca.us/board/
California Department of
Forestry
Humboldt-Del Norte Unit HQ (707) 725-4413
118 S. Fortuna Blvd.
Fortuna, 95540-2796
Mailing Address: PO Box 944246,
Sacramento, CA 94244-2460
Physical Address: 1416 Ninth Street,
Sacramento, CA 94244-2460
ECONEWS October/November 2010
North Coast Regional Water
Quality Control Board
5550 Skylane Blvd., Suite A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403-1072
707-576-2220 or 707-523-0135
www.swrcb.ca.gov/northcoast/
about_us/contact_us.shtml
Secretary of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20250
[email protected]
Environmental Protection
Agency
www.epa.gov/epahome/hotline.
htm
Air Pollution Hotline
1-800-952-5588
Humboldt Bay Municipal Water
District
828 Seventh Street/P.O. Box 95
Eureka, CA 95502
Phone: 443-5018
www.hbmwd.com/contact_us
California Coastal Commission
45 Fremont Street, Suite 2000
San Francisco, CA 94105-2219
415-904-5200
710 E Street, Suite 200
Eureka, CA 95501
445-7833 or 445-7834
www.coastal.ca.gov
A truck drives through the redwoods in Richardson Grove.
Photo: Greg King
citations from the California Highway Patrol.
Gescheidt brought his photo to the City Council of
Albany, California, and the council voted to approve a
resolution – sponsored by Councilman Robert Lieber –
opposing the Caltrans project. The City of Albany also
sent a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger urging him to
rescind the project.
“California’s State Parks are valuable to all residents,”
said Lieber. “We hope that other cities follow Albany’s
lead.”
So far no city or government official within
Humboldt County has followed suit.
Freshwater Tissue Not A Go:
Pulp Mill Confirms Closing
By Amy Coombs
Just two months after obtaining a
permit to re-open, the Samoa pulp mill
has decided to sell its power plant. The
deal puts a final end to any discussion of
future operation.
In its 43 years, the mill sparked
controversy for releasing pollution and
odors. It also made headlines in the 1990s
for switching to chlorine-free bleach—a
less toxic technique used by only one other
pulp mill in the world.
“If there is no power plant, there
is no mill,” said owner Bob Simpson.
“There is no way we will be able to
afford to replace the plant after it’s
gone.” The equipment is reportedly
worth $130 million, with assembly
prices approaching another $10 million.
While Simpson hasn’t released the
amount of the sale, or the interested
parties, he confirms there are two
different potential buyers. In one case
the new owner will ship the boiler to the
southeast. The other interested party
says it will keep the machinery onsite for
use in a biomass power plant, and lease
the land from Simpson. A third offer to
purchase the power plant was rejected
in March, as negotiations to re-open the
mill were still underway.
Simpson received a permit to reopen the facility in July. Three weeks
later, he received word that the League
of Eurekan’s Against Pollution (LEAP)
successfully appealed the permit to the
State Water Board.
LEAP asked that a series of water
treatment pools be built before the mill
re-opened. According to the permit, water
www.yournec.org
could be discharged directly into the Pacific
Ocean during the three years of treatment
pool construction.
“The secondary water treatment plant
[would have been] built in either case, but
LEAP wanted the mill to delay operations
until the plant was constructed,” says
Simpson. “I couldn’t let the mill sit for this
long because equipment would rust, and we
would lose laid off employees to other jobs.”
The mill closed in October 2008, leaving 1,300
employees out of work.
Previously owned by the Hong Kongbased Lee & Man, a parent company to
Evergreen Pulp, the mill was bought by
Simpson and his two partners when the
economy crashed. At the time Lee & Man
had two mills under construction—one in
China and one in Vietnam.
After realizing they couldn’t fund both
operations and maintain investments in
Humboldt, the company converted pulp
from the Samoa mill to cash, and invested it
into their China facility. Lee & Man walked
away from their site in Vietnam, as well as
the trade debt in Samoa, said Simpson, who
bought the facility using the name Freshwater
Tissue Company.
“We haven’t heard from them since we
acquired the mill in February 2009,” he said.
With the mill’s permit in limbo, Simpson
said equity investors could not be enticed.
Without an equity investment, bank loans
could not be obtained. “Hence the plans to
start making money by selling the power
plant,” said Simpson.
Representatives of LEAP could not be
reached for comment.
19
Northcoast Environmental Center
791 Eighth St., P.O. Box 4259 Arcata, CA 95521
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The city of Minneapolis has
been ordered to pay seven students
an average of about $23,000 each
because they were arrested and
jailed for two days for dressing up
like zombies to protest “mindless
consumerism.”
The seven were wearing white
face powder, fake blood and dark
eye make-up, and were lurching
along stiffly with sound equipment
to amplified music from an iPod,
when they were arrested for carrying
gear that police claimed simulated
“weapons of mass destruction.”
An appeals court ruled that the
police lacked probable cause to arrest
the seven, who said they were merely
performing street theater.
Here at the NEC, we have been
decrying wasteful consumerism
for almost four decades. But we do
believe it is sane economic policy for
you, your relatives, friends – and all
the zombies you know – to become
members of the environmental
center.
What we do isn’t voodoo, but plain hard work to protect the embattled
bioregion of northwestern California, southwestern Oregon and elsewhere.
But it can’t be done without financial support – or volunteers (call
707-822-6918 to sign up; no fake blood or face powder required.)
Please contribute and help keep the environment out of the hands of the
living dead.
Thank you.
Thanks To This Year’s Coastal Cleanup Volunteers!
We couldn’t have done it without you.
We met our goal! More than 1,000 volunteers came
out to clean Humboldt County beaches and inland
waterways on Saturday, September 25. They picked
up more than 5,000 pounds of trash at nearly 50 local
beaches and inland waterways. The Coastal Cleanup
is a community effort that was originated by the
Northcoast Environmental Center in 1978.
Arcata, California
Vol. 40, No. V
October/November 2010
ECONEWS
Informing The North Coast On Environmental Issues Since 1971
Tolowa Dunes Under Fire From Hunters.
Will State Protections Be Weakened?
Also:
Mercury In Ruth Lake Bass
Logging Roads Need Permits
New Pollution Standards For Klamath
October/November 2010 ECONEWS
www.yournec.org
Arcata Photo Studios
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