Thanks to the generous support of the Klamath-Salmon Media Collaborative, a local media effort from Orleans, California, we now offer this brief but informative video about the campaign to protect Richardson Grove State Park. Please share the video far and wide, to build our movement to stop Caltrans from damaging this important gateway.
From everyone here at EPIC, thanks Stormy!
Landmark Ninth Circuit Ruling: EPIC Got It Right In Our Bear Creek Case: Culverts and Ditches Along Logging Roads Are ‘Point Sources’ of Water Pollution, and must be regulated under a permit system.
On August 17, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a landmark ruling in a case from Oregon titled NEDC v Brown. The Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) is the environmental advocacy group staffed by law students at the Lewis and Clark Law School .
NEDC sued Brown, the Oregon Board of Forestry, and a handful of Oregon timber companies, among others, for their failure to obtain permits required under the federal Clean Water Act for discharges of a pollutant from a ‘point source;’ the key issue in the case is whether the culverts and ditches along the logging roads at issue are in fact ‘point sources’ under the law. In the Oregon case, the district court ruled they were not, and dismissed the case, agreeing with the timber companies, the Oregon officials, and the federal EPA.
However, in 2003, Judge Patel of the Northern District of California came to the opposite conclusion in a case that attorney Mike Lozeau argued with great skill on EPIC’s behalf against the Pacific Lumber Company. (more…)
California State Parks has released this image of the area proposed to be removed from Tolowa Dunes State Park.
State Parks Director Ruth Coleman appears determined to downgrade protection for this ecologically unique and culturally sensitive area at the behest of a few waterfowl hunters. Director Coleman has indicated that it is her intent to open ponds and sloughs in the northern section of the Park to waterfowl hunting before the end of 2010, and is pursuing their reclassification from “Park” to “State Recreation Area.” To send a letter opposing the reclassification, click here.
It seems unprecedented to rip out a piece of a Park that has already been designated. It will invite similar demands from small user groups for many units of California’s State Parks system.
The Lake Earl Wildlife Area, adjacent to Tolowa Dunes, already provides nearly 5000 acres for waterfowl hunting including marshes and sloughs along some 60 miles of shoreline. In other words, ample and diverse hunting opportunities are already available next door and there is no need for additional hunting areas. It isn’t fair either, because it upsets the balance intended by the legislature between the Wildlife Area and the State Park. The Park’s dune ponds and sloughs in fact provide the only refuge on this coast for birds during the hunting season.
The hunting area is proposed next to Yontocket where 450 men, women and children of the Tolowa tribe were slaughtered by militias in 1853, the second largest single massacre of native people in U.S. history. Hunting is proposed in Yontocket slough, where Tolowa tried to hide underwater and which “was just red with blood, with people floating around all over.” (Gould 1966b:33) Most of the northern section of the Park, including the areas proposed for hunting, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 by the Tolowa people because of the many places of cultural, religious and ritual importance. Some tribal members now view carrying or shooting guns in this area as an act of desecration.
The State Park was established not only for its cultural significance but also its ecological importance. The Tolowa Coast is a hot spot of biodiversity deserving greatly increased protection — and not less. It provides refuge for 315 bird, 500 plant, 400 mushroom and fungi, 21 fish, and 50 land mammal species as well as many threatened and sensitive species, including the threatened Western snowy plover and Oregon Silverspot butterfly and endangered Tidewater goby. It is a globally designated “Important Bird Area.”
Dune Ponds in TDSP, looking S. to Lake Earl, 2003
State Parks officials have said that this proposal poses no user conflicts and no environmental impacts. If you feel differently and would like to help, please write a short letter. State your opposition to any reclassification or giveaway of Tolowa Dunes State Park for hunting, and describe how hunting will interfere with your enjoyment of this Park. For example, hunting can scare people away from the dunes, displace birds and animals from their homes, conflict with bird and wildlife watching, disrupt peaceful enjoyment of nature, and show disrespect to the Tolowa and their ancestors.
Click here to send a message requesting the protection of Tolowa Dunes State Park
Similar to the Richardson Grove highway widening project, Caltrans has submitted a proposal for an STAA expansion along Highways 199 and 197 through the old growth redwoods adjacent to the middle fork of the Smith River. The project is more severe than Richardson Grove in that it includes seven locations along the Smith River, which has a national designation as a wild and scenic river. Some of the proposed alternatives include: the removal of several large old growth trees; replacement of several culverts, removal of a bridge that was built in the 1920′s, and installation of a 400 foot long retaining wall along the scenic highway.
Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Assessment are due on Monday August 23, 2010. All comments should be emailed to kimberley_hayler@dot.ca.gov.
Click here to take an action to stop this unnecessary project!
If you have been wondering the origin of the small logs being hauled through the residential neighborhood in the Jacoby Creek area of Bayside, look no further than Green Diamond’s 2008 logging plans. Two Green Diamond clearcut logging plans, approved last year and filed to begin operations at the end of July, are underway.
While there are a total of three active Green Diamond clearcut plans within Jacoby Creek watershed, two (1-08-145 and 1-08 153) have had “start-ups” filed with the California Department of Forestry and Fire (CalFire) in the last several weeks. Green Diamond has prepared to clearcut in very young stands in this area, underscoring the problems of short rotation, clearcut based logging operations. Aside from the almost exclusive use of clearcutting, the units to be cut are surrounded by areas plagued by years of clearcut logging. As is required under the California Environmental Quality Act, the list of historic plans within the planning documents has been included, and is daunting. (See graphic below)
It may be a bit difficult to understand how much logging has occurred in this region until you examine the attached maps showing a century of clearcut logging and roadbuilding that has increased the slope instability and damaged the watershed. What’s unique about these logging plans is that they are in such close proximity to residents along Jacoby Creek, including a certified organic farm.
To find out more about these plans or other private industrial logging operations, contact Calfire in Fortuna at (707) 725-4413 or visit the Forest Practice section of their website. Click here to see what local redwood forest defence activists are doing to save this place.
by Rob DiPerna
Green Diamond is currently operating on two adjacent Timber Harvest Plans (THPs) in the its Jacoby Creek ownership. THP 1-08-145 and THP 1-08-153 are both located along the property line with units adjacent to residences.
The stands in these plans average a paltry 50 years old. The tree size in these stands averages less than two feet in diameter. These largely young, homogenous stands have already been the subject of several overlapping logging entries in the last 10-12 years. Both plans were subject to selection and commercial thinning operations under four overlapping THPs.
These THPs contain Steep Streamside Slopes as defined in Green Diamond’s Aquatic Conservation Plan (AHCP) on Class I (fish-bearing) and Class II (non-fish-bearing but support amphibians) watercourses. Green Diamond will conduct selection-logging operations within the outer zone of these steep streamside slopes. Selection logging is also proposed in the Riparian Management Zones as defined in the AHCP, with the exception of Units C and D of THP 1-08-153. These RMZs do not contain enough overstory canopy for Green Diamond to conduct further operations, likely as a result of the previous, overlapping harvest entries. (more…)
The Klamath National Forest withdrew the decision notice for the High Bar Mine proposal rather than address EPIC and our allies’ appeal to the ill-conceived mining project. Now the agency plans to re-do the NEPA documents, for the third time. The mining operation proposal threatens McNiel Creek, a key cold water tributary crucial for the Salmon River’s fish runs.
A little background
Under the terms of the antiquated 1872 mining law, Wabuska Mining LLC has proposed to develop the High Bar Placer Mine in the McNeal watershed near the Salmon River in Trinity County. An Environmental Assessment has been prepared to analyze the project known as High Mar Mine Phase 2, which includes the following activities:
• Removal of approximately 1.75 acres of surface vegetation (and piling for later burning by Forest Service personnel) in preparation for excavation and milling operations,
• Excavation and stockpiling of approximately 19,000 cubic yards of topsoil and overburden soil,
• Excavation of approximately 24,500 cubic yards of ore material for on-site milling,
• Ore milling at the High Bar Placer Mine, including housing of mill personnel,
• Development of a water line for milling purposes from McNeal Creek,
• Continued use and maintenance of the existing non-system access road,
• Reclamation of the mined sites, with a Reclamation Bond to be paid to the Forest Service by the claimant/operator should claimant/operator fail to reclaim the site.
It is interesting to note that in a recent Best Management Practices Water Quality Monitoring Report, the Klamath National Forest assessed the High Bar Mine and access road and determined that the development that has occurred at this location up until this point did not include adequate measures, as layed out in the permit process, to reduce environmental impacts. Clearly outlined “erosion control measures had not been implemented, and removed vegetation had not been properly treated…”
EPIC wants to republish the following letter to the editor by Jere Bob Bowden of Ferndale that appeared in the Times Standard today.
Save Richardson Grove
Letter to the Editor
Posted: 08/06/2010 01:15:38 AM PDT
Recently, I drove home to Ferndale from Sonoma County. Since the last time I made this 101 drive, someone had stretched a banner between two redwood trees at the southern entrance to Richardson Grove. Just before plunging into the dark woods, the words “Save Richardson Grove” flashed by. I paid close attention to what I was seeing, thanks to that sign.
Some time ago, I attended Caltrans’ elaborate presentation which was held at River Lodge in Fortuna. The layout of designs and options displayed at that meeting came to mind as I slowed down and made my way through the forest. I could visualize exactly what Caltrans is “offering” to us, and I did not like what I could imagine.
The entire journey from south entrance to north entrance through the grove is not long. What Caltrans proposes will rip the heart out of this park — a park which (as we all know) belongs to the citizens of the state of California.
Richardson Grove does not belong to Caltrans, nor to the trucking industry, nor to the various chambers of commerce in Humboldt County.
Will it be possible to stop this project in a traditional and systematic way? Will public commentaries have been persuasive? Or will it be necessary for several thousands of people to stand in silence next to the silent trees who are unable to defend themselves?
We had a Redwood Summer years ago. Another one could be arranged to save Richardson Grove, if required.
Jere Bob Bowden
A bird's eye view of the Maple Creek watershed.
Green Diamond Resource Company (GDR) has been intensively working to churn out dozen of new logging plans for 2010. Thus far in 2010, GDR has filed 37 THPs covering thousands of acres. Nearly all of these plans call for a vast majority of logging operations to be conducted by clearcut.
Most of these proposed new logging plans are concentrated in a few, heavily impacted watersheds. For example, six of these new THPs are slated to conduct clearcut logging in Little River, four of which are proposed in the Headwaters region, a watershed area that has been heavily impacted by past and current clearcutting. Little River Still provides habitat for salmon and steelhead populations. (more…)
Now that EPIC and our allies have filed a lawsuit against Caltrans for the Richardson Grove project, we are going through the statutory requirements right now, which include mandatory settlement discussions and the preparation of the entire administrative record. As far as we know, the project is not going to begin for some time. According to Diane Feinstien’s office, “construction is proposed to begin in the winter of 2011.”
On June 30, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) approved a resolution to provide “approval for consideration for funding” of the the recommendation that the project be funded. It is interesting to note that nowhere in the resoultion language did the words “park” or Richardson Grove” or “Old Growth redwoods” appear. Perhaps this is the reason that with so many people paying close attention to procedures related to the project, no one caught that the item appeared on the CTC’s agenda. According to the Memorandum that laid out the resolution, the “total estimated project cost is $10,053,000 for capital and support.” This is approximately one third more expensive than earlier estimates.
In related news, CalTrans has proposed another project like the one through Richardson Grove, that would allow STAA access on Highway 199 and 197. This project damage old growth redwoods in Del Norte County and would occur in nine locations along the Wild and Scenic Smith River. Public comments on the project will be accepted by District 1 Caltrans until August 23. To read the project Environmental Impact Report, click here.
EPIC volunteers have put together activist packets that we intend on distributing to motivated individuals to spread the word and gain support to save Richardson Grove. Packets include brochures, stickers, post cards, petitions, T-Shirts and other Richardson Grove paraphernalia. Please call or email the EPIC office if you have the time and energy to reach out to your family, friends and neighbors about the campaign to save Richardson Grove.
We’d love to raise the visibility of the pending devastation of our environment and way of life to those outside our immediate area. We have had a couple of articles published in the San Francisco Chronicle. We’d like to see more letters to the editor and op-eds written to the Chronicle and other newspapers such as the San Jose Mercury News, the Santa Rose Press Democrat, the the Marin
Independent, as well as environmentally and progressively oriented magazines and campus newspapers.
Naturally, donations for the cost of the lawsuit are badly needed. Please donate what you can.
By Richard Gienger
Sally Bell Grove soon after two clearcuts were completed on either side of the grove.
We should, here in 2010, take notice, reflect, and refresh at a wellspring of inspiration on occasion of the 25th anniversary of the landmark, precedent-setting EPIC v. Johnson appeal court decision in 1985. From a statewide, and even national perspective, EPIC v. Johnson marked a significant milestone in environmental protection, much of which was initiated by environmental laws passed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In California this included the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the Forest Practices Act (FPA), and California Endangered Species Act (CESA). There were federal legislative counterparts with some direct cross-over, notably the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (1969) affecting the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972.
During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, the turmoil of politics and natural resources was intense in the Redwood Region of California (and lingers today), especially from Santa Cruz to the Oregon border. Damage from the huge floods in 1955 and 1964 were greatly increased from the horrific impacts of the post WWII logging boom (which was basically unconstrained & pushed by the ad valorem tax on standing timber). The old “Forest Practice Act” was thrown out for being unconstitutional (no rules unless the large landowners agreed). A number of counties struggled to have their own rules. The effort to protect an adequate National Redwood Park was a huge local, regional, and national issue. The general move to constrain unbridled ‘boom & bust’ resource economies to respond to environmental considerations like conservation for the future with protection for wildlife, remnant old-growth forests, and the beneficial uses of water — set the stage for dramatic, stressful, and from time to time, violent manifestations of significant social and cultural change. I don’t have the time and space to detail all the important legal cases, other events, and situations leading up to the July 25th, 1985 EPIC v. Johnson decision, or the cases, events, and situations in the last 25 years — but I will try and give a coherent summary of the decision and related matters from a local “Mateel” perspective, and through the experience of a participant, from time to time, in various activist and watershed restoration efforts.
The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) was founded in 1976 or 1977, depending on the person you talk to. It formally was accepted as a 501(3)(c) several years later. It’s formation was catalyzed by the region’s opposition to the aerial spraying of phenoxy herbicides (2,4,5T & 2,4D: components of the ‘Agent Orange’ defoliant used in Vietnam) on forestlands surrounding or adjacent to human communities. The specific instigating situation for Northern Mendocino and Southern Humboldt Counties was the attempt by the Barnum Timber Company (BTC) to aerially spray its timberland, mainly in the Sprowel Creek Watershed west of the town of Garberville. Due to vocal and written opposition encouraged by EPIC, and spontaneous direct action by various individuals, such as removal of truck keys from the truck hauling an herbicide application helicopter through Garberville, and contamination of barrels of herbicide near an herbicide application site — BTC was prompted to cancel its proposed aerial application of herbicides. (more…)
Green Diamond’s clearcut management practices lead to the use of herbicides to control competing vegetation after re-planting. Although herbicides are used regularly on private industrial forest lands, Cal Fire has no authority to regulate their use. Green Diamond and other companies must report their pesticide use to the Department of pesticide regulation, but no other regulatory mechanism exists to monitor the use of herbicides.
Based on the DPR records, Green Diamond has applied herbicides over approximately 1,718 acres of its property between January 27th to May 5th of 2010. The amount of chemicals used adds up to a whopping 25,958.25 gallons. This includes the use of 3,128 gallons of Imazapyr and 1,377 gallons of Atrazine.
Green Diamond’s herbicide use thus far in 2010, has been spread all over their ownership. Significant amounts of herbicides have been used in Pecwan Creek, just down river from where the Trinity flows into the Klamath River. Little River, Mad River, and Maple Creek watersheds have also been heavily impacted by the use of herbicides. These records only represent a fraction of what the timber company has applied to their lands.
Green Diamond’s herbicide use results from intensive clearcut logging of old timber harvest plans. However, Green Diamond has also used herbicides in selection and commercially thinned areas as well. Green Diamond’s approach of plantation forestry necessitates that herbicides be used to aggressively grow only the two tree species desired and eliminate competition.
While many of the herbicides used by Green Diamond are not considered restricted chemicals, they are nevertheless a threat to water, wildlife, and people. Green Diamond claims that no long-term effects from its use of herbicides have or will occur. However, Green Diamond’s own research suggests that many of the herbicides being used are persistent, mobile, and potentially dangerous.
Green Diamond’s mandate under the Forest Practice Rules Maximum Sustained Production provisions dictates clearcutting, broadcast burning, and the use of herbicides. While Green Diamond claims that it intends to reduce the use of herbicides on its property, it is hard to fathom how this will be possible, given the intensive even-aged management regime employed by Green Diamond and required by the Forest Practice Rules.
Here are two examples of peer-reviewed scientific studies concerning the hazards of atrazine to the environment:
Hermaphroditic, demasculinized frogs after exposure to the herbicides atrazine at low ecologically relevant doses by Hayes et. al
Changes in testicular morphology and steriodogenesis in adult rats exposed to atrazine by Bolivar Victor-Costa et. al
At long last, the needed removal of four dams along the Klamath River including the Iron Gate, Copco 1 and 2 and John C. Boyle could be removed in the next decade, allowing fish passage through the otherwise blocked river. This access could dramatically improve the health of the mighty Klamath, and allow river communities to rebound as well. The Klamath has been an item of international debate over the last several years, and has resulted in the signing of the controversial Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and Klamath Hydroelectric Agreement.
In preparation for a U.S. Secretarial finding on whether dam removal is in the best interests of the American public and the citizens of California, the Department of Interior and California Department of Fish and Game are coming to the Arcata Community Center this Wednesday, July 14 at 6 p.m. and to Orleans on Thursday to gather public input on the environmental impacts of the Klamath dams.
Even under the watch of the US Fish and Wildlife Service Technical Assistance process, SPI conducted significant and damaging logging around its Northern Spotted Owl Activity Centers. As a result, Northern Spotted Owls have been nearly extirpated from SPI lands. Many of the owls now impacted by SPI’s operations reside on US Forest Service lands or other properties adjacent to SPI.
Since the US Fish and Wildlife Service turned over the Technical Assistance duties for Northern Spotted Owls to Cal Fire in 2008, SPI has filed and executed numerous THPs using the sub-par standards of the California Forest Practice Rules instead of employing the guidance of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. These antiquated Forest Practice Rules allow SPI to employ inferior habitat typing definitions and allows much more logging in and around Northern Spotted Owl Activity Centers than do the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s take avoidance guidelines.
In 2010, SPI is once again planning to log suitable Northern Spotted Owl habitat within close proximity of NSO Activity Centers. The latest two THPs, 2-10-011TRI and 2-10-019TRI both propose intensive clearcut logging operations near known Northern Spotted Owl Activity Centers. (more…)
Green Diamond’s application for a new Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) is now past the scoping stage. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and Green Diamond are now in process of writing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The EIS drafting process involves the development of alternatives to the proposed action, ie. an HCP with corresponding Incidental Take Permits (ITPs). These alternatives must include a no action alternative, i.e. maintaining the status quo.
Green Diamond plans to seek HCP coverage for the Northern Spotted Owl. Other possible species to be covered by this HCP include Pacific Fisher, Humboldt Marten, Red Tree Voles, and Sonoma Tree Voles. Green Diamond’s current NSO HCP is antiquated, allows incidental take of NSO, and allows intensive management around NSO activity centers. The old HCP did not anticipate, and thus did not address, the now critical situation involving impacts to NSO from Barred Owls.
The updated HCP would center on Green Diamond’s new proposals for managing Northern Spotted Owls. These proposals include an element for Barred Owl tracking and management. The HCP would propose to require Green Diamond to maintain 50 pairs of NSOs. Central to Green Diamond’s NSO conservation strategy is the reliance upon the creation of NSO habitat within riparian management zones (RMZs) established under the Green Diamond AHCP. Green Diamond is contending that these RMZ areas will develop into suitable NSO habitat in the future and that the RMZs will eventually be colonized by NSO. (more…)
Sol Simpson descendant and current Chairman of Green Diamond Resource Company, Colin Moseley (the crown is fake).
Since the fall of the Maxxam/Pacific Lumber Company, Green Diamond Resource Company has become the king of clearcuts in Humboldt County. The famed timber giant is proud of their aggressive ‘even-aged’ i.e. clearcutting policy. In addition, they seriously assert that redwoods are a shade intolerant tree, and thus must grow in the full sun, i.e. plantation clearcuts.
So-called even-aged management is a euphemism for intensive clearcutting, burning, and herbicide use across Green Diamond’s vast landscape. The trees and all vegetation are stripped bare, leaving exposed soils on the hillsides.
Clearcutting increases the risk of soil and debris transmission to watercourses, and increases the risk of significant earth movements when storm conditions are at their most intense. Intensive clearcutting and extensive rains make for a dangerous mix of overland flow, flooding, and landslide activity.
Green Diamond’s method of two-species monoculture depends on clearcutting, broadcast burning, and the use of herbicides to allow its plantation style management to take hold. Thus the natural species diversity within the forest is compromised, and the habitat once present for threatened and endangered species is demolished. The habitat remaining is restricted almost entirely to slim watercourse buffers and serve as the last vestiges of safety and biodiversity on the landscape.
Intensive clearcut logging as practiced by Green Diamond leaves little but barren moonscapes where vibrant, recovering forests once grew. In their place, Green Diamond intends to embark on an endless tree farm. The needs of the species living in these watersheds are relegated to secondary status in the face of Green Diamond’s idea of maximum sustained production; clearcut, burn, herbicide, repeat every 45 years. Under this regime, forests will not recover, species will continue to disappear, and our streams will continue to suffer.
Butterfly Habitat destroyed by ORVs
Over the last two decades, EPIC Staff Attorney Sharron Duggan has assisted Crescent City activists with efforts to protect the Lake Earl and Tolowa Dunes. EPIC is particularly interested in helping to protect Tolowa Dunes State Park and threatened species habitat from off-road vehicle (ORV) abuse.
Take action to stop off-road vehicles from destroying public trust lands that are home to threatened and endangered species. Email the Northern Region of the California Department of Fish and Game, and ask them to protect Tolowa Dunes from this destructive ORV use.
The following history of Tolowa Dunes State Park leading up to this point is courtesy of Friends of Del Norte.
“Affected agency officials and citizens were astonished when the route was posted with signs in January 2010, and the County began handing out ORV route maps. Word spread quickly up and down the coast that there was a new ORV riding area in Del Norte County, and damage to public trust lands and other habitat increased immediately. State fencing was vandalized. We began to monitor and photograph attributable damage to sensitive Silvery phacelia plant colonies, to habitats of threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly (see photo above), Western snowy plover, and endangered Tidewater goby. Seaside hoary elfin butterfly (a lapsed proposed federal candidate) habitat has been destroyed as well. (more…)
Northern Spotted Owl
Twenty years after the Northern Spotted Owl was listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, a plethora of news stories regarding the implications of the policy have appeared across media outlets, including the New York Times. Last week, EPIC’s Executive Director, Scott Greacen, submitted a letter to the editor of the New York Times in response to the shallow coverage the newspaper published. Below we have posted a long version of the letter. To read the article in it’s entirety, click here.
To the editor –
So seldom does our society review and reassess big decisions we’ve made, especially about conservation, that it’s especially important that we do a good job when we do take a rare look back in the mirror.
It’s thus particularly painful to read Jonathan Raban’s “Losing the Owl, Saving the Forest” (NYT June 25 2010), in which the author stitches together a patchwork of half-examined stereotypes and long-refuted myths to conclude that the effort to protect old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest as habitat for the threatened Northern spotted owl has been a failure. Caught in the tangle of his own misunderstandings, the author fails to illuminate either the serious challenges to the survival and recovery of the owl, and to the larger project of truly sustainable forest management, which still confront us, or the big decisions which still lie before us if we are to save species like the Pacific fisher and the Humboldt marten which also depend on old forests. (more…)
Dewatered Scott River being watered by sprinkler
In conjunction with the Klamath Riverkeeper, the Karuk Tribe and others, EPIC works to protect the health of the Scott River, which serves as a tributary to the Klamath River. Over the last few years– as salmon returns have dropped to extremely dangerous lows–much of the route of this once vibrant home for chinook and coho salmon has dried up in late summer. Visualize a dry riverbed with isolated pools of sitting water with dying or dead stranded fish . Then couple that mental image with overhead irrigation in neighboring fields watering second and third rotation alfalfa. The recent history of clearcut logging, bad road construction and the Klamath Reclamation Project that caused massive diversions from natural flows in the Klamath Basin have made the Scott River one of the hardest hit tributaries in the region.
Right now, one of the most effective actions people can take on this issue is to encourage the US Forest Service to help provide water for fish. The Forest Service has an in-stream water right that is dedicated to fish and wildlife. We need to encourage the Forest Service to use every tool available to help prevent extinction of these fish.
Legally, the Forest Service can put 40 cubic feet per second of water in the Scott River when water demand among alfalfa farmers spikes and the riverbed goes completely dry this fall. But in years past the agency has shied away from asserting its right out of concern that doing so would be too politically contentious in conservative Siskiyou County.
Forest Service officials need to hear from you that fish need water, and that Scott River coho won’t wait for better politics.
Send a one-click letter to remind decision makers at the Forest Service that at this critical juncture they are legally empowered to reclaim enough water for fish to scrape through, and failure to do so could result in extinction.
As the summer progresses, EPIC will continue to provide updates and announcements on this important issue.
Last week, EPIC received a phone call from a concerned community member who explained that PG&E was spraying chemicals on her property, near the well she uses for drinking water. We referred the dangerous situation to our close ally, Californians for Alternatives to Toxics. The following dispatch and action alert has since been distributed by CATS in response to the inquiry.
We encourage everyone to monitor the health of our shared environment. No one knows your back yard better than you. If you witness a crime being committed against the environment, take action by alerting the proper authority.
Courtesy of Californians for Alternatives to Toxics
Last week, a concerned Humboldt County resident contacted Californians for Alternatives to Toxics (CATs) to report PG&E cutting trees and spraying vegetation on her property in Freshwater without the owner’s consent.
Davey Tree Company, working on behalf of PG&E, cut two trees and sprayed Garlon 4, a triclopyr formulation herbicide made by Dow Agro Sciences, near the resident’s year-round springs and well. Triclopyr has been shown to disrupt the normal growth and nutrient cycling properties of microorganisms, fungi and mosses, as well as having moderate toxicity to amphibians.
While it is currently unknown exactly where and how much was sprayed, other PG&E rights-of-ways may have been sprayed with Garlon 4 in the Jacoby Creek neighborhood. CATs is currently investigating and attempting to contact PG&E’s vegetation management department who is notoriously difficult to reach.
PG&E cannot spray toxic chemicals on your property without consent. If you see a spray crew in your neighborhood, ask the crew what they are spraying and ask to see a Material Safety Data Sheet (required to be on premise of all pesticide applications). Contact neighbors, your district supervisor and report the spraying to CATs. Late Spring and early Summer is generally a heavy pesticide use time of year. Avoid dead, yellow-looking grass around power poles and utility boxes, and keep children and pets indoors if spraying occurs near you.
Former US Congressmen Pete McCloskey works to protect Richardson Grove.
It’s been one week since EPIC and our allies filed a lawsuit challenging the Caltrans plan to widen Highway 101 through Richardson Grove State Park. In addition, we established the Richardson Grove Legal Fund, and made a fundraising challenge to our supporters to match donations and raise $5000 in one week.
We have seen great success through the announcement of the lawsuit through favorable and extensive media coverage across the state of California. In addition, thanks to supporters like you, we have surpassed our kick-off goal of $5000!
Of course, a lawsuit and state wide campaign depend on continued donations. We sincerely appreciate the support and look forward to continue to provide high quality advocacy work in defense of the Humboldt County and the old growth redwoods in Richardson Grove State Park. If you haven’t already pledged your support, please take a moment and join the effort.
I also encourage you to take a look at the legal challenge that we wrote with our co-plaintiffs and incredible team of first-rate attorneys. The well-crafted words in the complaint layout 14 points to review, the first of which lays out the issue: This is a case of Trees vs Trucks.
In addition to the legal advocacy, we have been busy reaching out in every way possible to build our public campaign. We celebrated with the local community at the Southern Humboldt Arts and Music Festival, and took the message to the Fairfax Festival, with a booth at Ecofest. These adventures returned almost 1000 signed opposition postcards to the Governor, and the material support of selling over 100 Save Richardson Grove t-shirts to supporters.
Lastly, this week we hosted an unconventional format on Tuesday, during KMUD’s Environment Show. During the show, we heard live in the studio from Joanne Rand, Bud Rogers, Jan Bramlett and Jefferson Parsons. These dedicated activists sang songs they had written specifically to support the Save Richardson Grove campaign.
During the show we made a call out to musicians, artists, poets, performers and the like, who want to join in the movement to protect this important place by contributing their important skills to the campaign. To join in this effort and make a creative contribution to the larger campaign, please write kerul @wildcalifornia.org.
Of course, this is only the beginning. If we are to succeed in providing real protection for the ancient trees in Richardson Grove State Park and the long term sustainability of Humboldt County, we must take these seeds and plant them. We are looking into the future to several large, public events, including coordinating with Tree Spirit Project photographer Jack Gescheidt in his effort to organize a photograph, host a large gathering with exciting special guest musicians, and more.
Right now, we are busy preparing activist toolkits for satellite organizers to use to garner support for the campaign across California. We plan to include postcards, colorful brochures, stickers, posters and other materials in the packets. Please write epic@wildcalifornia.org to request yours!
Ongoing funding will be needed to see this campaign through, so the trees are safely protected. If you have not already, you can still help by pledging your support. Again, thanks to all of the donations our supporters have sent in, these are the folks who made it possible to take the first step to filing this lawsuit.
Now that EPIC has sent out our press release the story has hit the headlines. You can view and share various articles by clicking here. Feel free to check them out and leave comments letting them know how you feel about the project.
Thanks for the amazing work everyone!
Kerul Dyer
Save Richardson Grove Campaign coordinator
