Please take a moment to comment on the Off Road routes in Six Rivers National Forest. The Forest Service must manage public lands in an ecologically sustainable manner that protects soil and water resources, streams, stream banks, shorelines, wetlands, fish and wildlife, and the diversity of plant and animal communities. The Travel Management Rule of 2005 mandates all National Forests to A.) Determine the minimum road system needed and to “right size” the road system in order to keep only the roads that they can afford to maintain and B.) Designate roads, trails and areas that are open to motor vehicle use, which would be added to the National Forest Transportation System.
The Six Rivers and Klamath National Forests have recently released their plans for adding and designating OHV routes in our watersheds. (more…)
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Off Road Vehicles: A Threat to Our National Forests
Thursday, March 4th, 2010Chemical Warfare on Native Species
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
New research from UC Berkeley molecular toxicologist Tyrone Hayes highlights longstanding concerns over the effects of the herbicide Atrazine on frogs and other wildlife.
The study “Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis)” was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Hayes’ lab found that 10 percent of male frogs treated with low doses of the herbicide became physically female, while the other 90 percent suffered lowered testosterone levels and fertility. Compared to a clean control group, the treated frogs were less successful in mating.
The ‘feminized’ male frogs were fully capable of mating with male frogs, producing eggs that hatched only males – because both parents were genetically male.
In an interview with the SF Chronicle, Hayes suggested that atrazine may not only be implicated in worldwide declines of amphibians, but other species as well. “There is more and more evidence from other researchers,” he said, “that Atrazine is also damaging the immune systems of fish, reptiles and birds.”
A recent article by the California Native Plant Society’s Jen Kalt in NEC’s EcoNews notes that, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation records, an estimated 12 tons of atrazine was used in Humboldt County forests over the last six years.
Atrazine is heavily used in corn production. In a response to the frog study reported in the Washington Post, Lynne Hoot, with the Maryland Grain Producers Association, noted that atrazine use by corn growers, because “about 70 percent of corn and soybeans grown [in Maryland] are now genetically designed to work better with the herbicide Roundup.
Reassuring? Not so much.
Another recent study identified, for the first time, long-suspected synergistic effects from the key ingredient in Roundup and fish parasites. Fish treated with levels of the herbicide previously believed safe and exposed to common parasites at the same time suffered much higher rates of infection than fish not exposed to the herbicide. To cap it off, the snail species that is host to the parasite produced significantly more parasites when exposed to higher, but still moderate, levels of the herbicide.
The study’s abstract concludes, in uncharacteristically strong language for science, “This is the first study to show that parasites and glyphosate can act synergistically on aquatic vertebrates at environmentally relevant concentrations, and that glyphosate might increase the risk of disease in fish. Our results have important implications when identifying risks to aquatic communities and suggest that threshold levels of glyphosate currently set by regulatory authorities do not adequately protect freshwater systems.”
Related Links:
Panther Fire Salvage Project Threatens Critical Wildlife Habitat
Friday, February 12th, 2010
The Happy Camp District of the Klamath National Forest is planning to log 254 acres of steep post-fire hillsides. The hillsides were burned during the Panther Fire started during a lightning storm in July 2008. A combination of topography and weather resulted in a run that engulfed 13,000 acres, in a single day, on October 1, 2008. (more…)
EPIC and Allies Intend to Sue to Protect Pacific Fisher
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
ARCATA, CA – The Environmental Protection and Information Center (EPIC), the Center for Biological Diversity, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and Sierra Forest Legacy filed a notice of intent to sue the Department of the Interior last week, for its failure to protect the Pacific fisher. The fisher is a relative to the mink and otter with populations in northwest California and southwestern Oregon as well as the Sierra Nevada. (more…)
Del Norte County Encourages Illegal Off-Roading in State Park
Monday, February 1st, 2010
An example of one of the signs the County of Del Norte has put up around Tolowa Dunes State Park and the Lake Earl Wildlife Area.
Take Action Now! Send a letter to California State Parks and the Department of Fish and Game.
It looks like the County of Del Norte likes to disregard the law and play by its own rules. A series of signs designating county roads as combined use—allowing both cars and off highway vehicles (OHVs)—have been placed within the Pacific Shores subdivision providing easy access to adjacent Tolowa Dunes State Park and the Lake Earl Wildlife Area north of Crescent City, California. (more…)
Rebirth of Environmentalism Book Signing
Monday, February 1st, 2010Please join EPIC Friday, February 19 at 7 p.m. at Northtown Books in Arcata, to hear excerpts from Doug Bevington’s new book, The Rebirth of Environmentalism: Grassroots Organizing from the Spotted Owl to the Polar Bear. Admission is free and donations are welcome. (more…)
EPIC to Host Community Forums on Richardson Grove
Monday, February 1st, 2010
In March, Caltrans will release its final plan to widen Highway 101 through Richardson Grove, giving large commercial trucks access to Humboldt County. Make your voice heard before it’s too late!
EPIC and the Coalition to Save Richardson Grove will host two forums to discuss the implications of the controversial project.
February 17 at 6:30, at the Bayside Grange in Arcata
February 24 at 7 p.m. at the Vets Hall in Garberville
Call 707-822-7711 for more information.
Orleans Fuels Reduction: An EPIC Perspective
Monday, January 25th, 2010I work with the Klamath Forest Alliance and EPIC to protect and defend our North Coast Watersheds. Our organizations strongly support the Traditional Ecological Knowledge and cultural management techniques of the Tribes. This is a very brief rendition of a very heated story. The Orleans “Community Fuels Reduction” Project (OCFR) is a tangled mess of broken assurances. (more…)
Redwood Run Biker Party Joins Save Richardson Grove Movement
Monday, January 25th, 2010
You know something big is brewing when environmentalists and bikers are on the same wavelength. Redwood Run, which describes itself as the “Ultimate Old School Biker Party,” is an annual Harley-Davidson motorcycle run that ends in a big shindig at Riverview Ranch in Piercy every June. Well, it seems that bikers love Richardson Grove just as much as they love to ride and party. The Redwood Run website proclaims its opposition to Caltrans’s plans to widen Richardson Grove to accomodate large commercial trucks. The Redwood Run’s assessment of the situation, as described on its website, is pretty right on. As the movement to Save Richardson Grove continues to grow, it is becoming clear that the community as a whole—from environmentalists to bikers to college students to everyday folks on the North Coast—does not want Caltrans to open the North Coast to increased truck traffic and the onslaught of big box retail stores. Take action now by sending Caltrans an electronic letter telling them you oppose the project to widen Richardson Grove.



Over the last week, EPIC has been working with fishing and conservation groups across Northern California and the Pacific Northwest to build resistance to California 