Billionaire Timber Baron Red Emmerson and Sierra Pacific Industries Asked to Stop Logging Spotted Owl Habitat

Conservation plan needed to end violations of federal law and promote the recovery of native forests

Today the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) delivered a formal Notice of Intent to Sue Letter to the billionaire Archie Aldis “Red” Emmerson and his company, Sierra Pacific Industries, Inc., for harming Northern Spotted Owls in violation of the Endangered Species Act.  By clearcut logging within known spotted owl territories, the company is engaged in openly hostile actions against individual spotted owls and their young, seemingly designed to eliminate the owl from its lands. The notice letter is required under the law and begins a process that allows EPIC to file a lawsuit after a period of 60 days.

Billionaire Red Emmerson is listed by Forbes as having a net worth of at least two and half billion dollars.  Emmerson’s Sierra Pacific Industries is the largest landowner in the state of California with roughly 2 million acres under its ownership.

“Why does a billionaire need to kill spotted owls?” questioned Andrew Orahoske, conservation director for the Environmental Protection Information Center.  “Small landowners don’t have a chance competing with Sierra Pacific Industries, and yet many small landowners conserve spotted owls on their properties.  Red Emmerson owes it to everyone to protect the spotted owl” concluded Orahoske.

The Northern Spotted Owl is dependent on late-successional and old-growth forests.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the owl as a threatened species in 1990 due to extensive habitat loss from intensive logging of native forests.  Since that time, population analyses have documented range-wide declines that are attributed to the continued loss of habitat from logging on private lands and from the invasion of a non-native competitor, the Barred Owl.  Clearcut logging fragments older forest stands and exacerbates the threat posed by Barred Owl invasion into forests occupied by Northern Spotted Owl.  Indeed, researchers have found a direct correlation between the likelihood of Barred Owl invasion of Spotted Owl territories and the lack of older forest.

“The high rates and intensities of clearcut logging on Sierra Pacific’s lands are completely out of line with protecting spotted owls,” stated Rob DiPerna, forestry reform advocate for EPIC.  “This conflict is completely avoidable, if only Sierra Pacific would simply respect the forests.”

Between 2009 and 2011 alone, Sierra Pacific Industries’ submitted logging plans that threaten to destroy over 5,500 acres of suitable habitat within known spotted owl territories.  Sierra Pacific is currently operating without an approved “take” permit that is required under the law for supervising industrial activities within a protected species habitat.  Instead, Sierra Pacific is operating outside of the law and engaging in the systematic liquidation of spotted owl habitat.  If necessary, EPIC is prepared to take Sierra Pacific to court to stop these atrocious acts.

The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) works to protect and restore ancient forests, watersheds, coastal estuaries and native species in northern California. EPIC uses an integrated, science-based approach, combining public education, citizen advocacy and strategic litigation.

EPIC Press Release

Government Delay, Drought Prompts Renewed Push for Protection of Klamath River Chinook Salmon

EPIC, Oregon Wild and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice of intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service today for failing to decide, as legally required, whether upper Klamath River chinook salmon deserve protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. In response to a January 28, 2011 petition from the groups, the Fisheries Service determined in April 2011 that the salmon may warrant protection and began a status review that was supposed to be completed within one year of the petition. The petition review comes at a perilous time for Klamath salmon as fears of a major drought linger.

“Klamath River chinook have suffered severe declines in the face of a century of dam building, logging, hatcheries, massive water withdrawal and pollution,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These magnificent fish need Endangered Species Act protection if they’re going to have any chance at survival and recovery. We very much hope protection will be provided in the next 60 days so we won’t have to file suit.”

The groups’ petition requested protection first and foremost for spring-run chinook, once the most abundant run of Klamath chinook but now near extinction. Biologists now count just 300 to 3,000 wild-spawning spring chinook each year. These fish are marvels of evolution, living most of their lives in the Pacific Ocean only to return to the river in the spring with enough fat reserves to survive without eating until early fall, when it’s time for them to spawn. They have long been prized as one of the best-tasting salmon species and historically the most economically important Klamath fish.

“We’ve seen chinook numbers dwindle to the point of crisis and with a looming drought year, we can’t wait any longer to figure out a plan to make sure these fish don’t go extinct,” said Steve Pederey, conservation director with Oregon Wild.

The Klamath Basin was once the third-largest producer of salmon and steelhead on the West Coast, but now produces fewer and fewer wild fish as a result of dams, habitat degradation and other factors. Overall, at least 300 miles of spawning habitat in the Klamath Basin have been made inaccessible by dams. Because of declines in the overall numbers of returning wild chinook, the petition also asked the Fisheries Service to consider protecting wild fall-run chinook.

“Chinook salmon are essential for sustaining wildlife and cultures in the Klamath Basin,” said Andrew Orahoske, conservation director for the Environmental Protection Information Center. “These amazing salmon are a vital, life-giving force to river communities and deserve to be protected for future generations.”

Recent river management has exacerbated the chinook’s plight. In the fall of 2002, Klamath River chinook suffered one of the worst fish kills in Northwest history when as many as 70,000 adult salmon died before spawning. Excessive water withdrawals, primarily from the federally run Klamath Irrigation Project, resulted in low flows and warm water temperatures that allowed disease to develop and spread quickly. Continued low flows and warm temperatures are key drivers of an ongoing disease crisis in the river that has sharply reduced survival of juvenile wild fish on their way to the ocean.

The federal delay in reviewing the Endangered Species Act petition for Klamath chinook comes at a dangerous time. Lower than normal snowpack in the region’s mountains has prompted worries that the water year could be even worse than the drought that precipitated the 2002 fish kill. The petitioners are hopeful that Endangered Species Act protections can help to shield Klamath chinook from the potentially disastrous effects of low river flows.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Oregon Wild, Environmental Protection Information Center and The Larch Company filed the notice of intent.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Since 1974, Oregon Wild has worked to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) works to protect and restore ancient forests, watersheds, coastal estuaries and native species in Northern California. EPIC uses an integrated, science-based approach, combining public education, citizen advocacy and strategic litigation.

The Larch Company is a for-profit, non-membership conservation organization that represents species who cannot talk and the human generations to come.

Background Information Sources:

http://www.wildcalifornia.org/blog/epic-petitions-for-klamath-chinook-protections/

http://www.wildcalifornia.org/blog/protect-chinook-salmon-on-the-klamath-and-trinity-rivers/

http://www.wildcalifornia.org/blog/dewatering-results-in-record-fish-kills/

Press Release

Notice Letter

Felice Pace pointing out bovine waste immediately adjacent Summit Lake, Shackleford Allotment.

As 2012 rushes forward, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) continues to work around the clock to protect and restore Northern California’s treasured environmental resources. Not surprisingly, certain high-profile matters rightfully capture the public imagination and spotlight. From its flagship Save Richardson Grove Campaign, to its efforts to safeguard Northern Spotted Owl habitat, to its endless monitoring of timber harvest plans on private industrial forestlands, EPIC has proven itself to be an effective, hardworking, and enduring champion of Northern California’s beloved flora and fauna.

In the midst of these preeminent initiatives, it’s not hard to overlook EPIC’s work on less eye-catching sources of environmental degradation. Among the many unsung endeavors is EPIC’s effort, in cooperation with the Klamath Forest Alliance (KFA), to reform livestock grazing in the Klamath National Forest. Felice Pace of KFA spearheaded the collaboration in 2010. A longtime environmentalist, wildlands explorer, and resident of Scott Valley, Pace has witnessed firsthand for over 35 years the environmental impacts of public lands grazing.

Appalled by the conditions, Pace took matters into his own hands. He would begin conducting compliance monitoring across select grazing allotments in the Trinity Alps, Marble Mountain, and Russian Wilderness Areas of Klamath National Forest.

Streambank trampled by cattle resulting in reduced riparian vegetation, streambank instability and sedimentation, Shackleford Allotment.

Before we proceed, let me briefly sketch a picture of how public lands grazing works.

An individual or permittee pays a small fee – often below market value – to the United States Forest Service (USFS) in order to gain access to a piece of land or allotment on which they will have exclusive rights to grazing. On the one hand, the FS acts as the representative of the government and is thus responsible for implementing and enforcing applicable laws, regulations, and rules. On the other hand, the permittee is responsible for managing their cattle in a manner that is consistent with the terms and conditions of their contract.

However, with inadequate enforcement by the USFS, the permittees are not held accountable and our natural resources are degraded. Hence, the need for a third party to hold the FS accountable.

As a rookie intern with EPIC, I started working with Pace to reform the way in which this process manifested. We began by submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to the USFS soliciting myriad documents relating to each grazing allotment. Upon receiving this trove of information, we reviewed the documents bearing two chief objectives in mind: 1) learn the rules of the road; 2) identify any aberration from those rules. As relative outsiders, we had to educate ourselves in order to be effective agents of reform.

Cattle waste adjacent stream between Lower and Upper East Boulder Lake, Mill Creek Allotment.

Thereafter digesting this information, we selected particular grazing allotments on which to conduct compliance monitoring. This is truly when the fun begins.

During 2011, Pace and I spent many days hiking throughout the awe-inspiring landscapes of the Klamath National Forest. With only the bare essentials crammed into our backpacks – save the chocolate and cheese – we trudged up and down mountains, traversed streams, wandered through old-growth forests, and glided across rolling pastures. The extensive diversity and distinct beauty of the Klamath National Forest is spectacular to behold. Our objective was straightforward: identify patterns of degradation and mismanagement that are not permitted within the contours of applicable environmental protections, and thereafter present our findings to the FS so as to stimulate reform that ensured more controlled grazing practices. Initially this process of identifying unacceptable environmental conditions was challenging; however, with practice and guidance from Pace, the task progressively became second nature. In essence, we sought to illuminate in-the-field conditions in order to hold accountable responsible parties for ecological injuries as well as excite a grazing management regime that manifestly safeguards our natural resources.

Bovine waste in wetland with surface scum near Upper East Boulder Lake, Mill Creek Allotment

Our findings suggest a rather entrenched mismanagement regime that unfortunately renders at risk certain natural resources. The most ubiquitous and worrisome observations included: 1) cattle waste having been directly deposited in wetlands and/or adjacent waterbodies; 2) cattle trampling streambanks leading to erosion and sediment pollution; 3) overutilization of vegetation in preferred meadows; 4) mechanical damage to vegetation in wet pastures and wetlands; 5) browse lines on willow and alder brush stands. The signature shortcoming of the existing management regime is the absence of a rule requiring regular range riding and herding by permittees. Our research suggests this regulatory inadequacy permits cattle to concentrate in preferred – often-unsuitable – locations for extended durations of time. This inevitably translates into concentrated ecological injuries. It’s a rather straightforward concept: if cattle are left to their own devices, they will adhere to their inherent preferences, notwithstanding environmental implications. In order to mitigate these impacts, we recommend the FS implements a mandatory minimum herding requirement for all permittees as well as require all permittees to keep and submit to the FS an annual management log. We believe the former measure alone would curtail the degree to which livestock grazing negatively impacts natural resources, whereas the latter would provide greater transparency and accountability.

Browse line on willow stand in Back Meadows, Big Meadows Grazing Allotment.

The politics of public lands grazing are not cut-and-dry. They are historically rooted in the contentious competition between the attainment of multiple-use objectives. Among these competing values are recreation, riparian management, wildlife habitat, endangered species management, and cultural resource protection. Understandably, stakeholders representing these various interests engage the decision-making process in order to buttress their particular use.

Meanwhile, the government strives to create a legal environment whereby multiple-use objectives are achieved. This balancing act, we recognize, is incredibly challenging and requires significant resources and commitment even in times of budget shortfalls and staff downsizing.

Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of government to adequately implement and enforce regulations that are on the books. This feature is cut-and-dry.

Victor Reuther overlooking Upper Albert Lake, Etna Creek Allotment.

At the end of the day, even environmental protection regulations crafted to perfection will fall short of safeguarding our natural resources if not adequately enforced. This realization is at the heart of our initiative. In the imperfect world in which we reside, civil society must learn to take matters into its own hands. As concerned critics of the existing grazing system in the Klamath National Forest, our vision isn’t one of eliminating grazing, but rather, ensures that an adequate enforcement regime exists so as not to leave vulnerable our precious natural resources. We believe it is the responsibility of mankind to safeguard the world’s treasured environmental diversity for future generations of all flora and fauna.

Victor Reuther has been interning with EPIC since September 2011. He is a recent graduate of Humboldt State University where he studied Political Science.  He will be attending law school this fall.

Thanks for taking action to stop a dangerous new bill in the California Senate: SB 455 (Pavley).  This bill would dramatically expand the specific 3-year timber harvest plan required under current law, giving logging companies the option of preparing a very general 20-year plan covering up to 100,000 acres.  Astonishingly, the bill proposes no increased protections over existing law, no restrictions on clearcutting, and fails to meaningfully address cumulative impacts to watersheds and endangered species. Furthermore, the bill fails to provide for necessary public participation to ensure that our forests are managed in compliance with the law.  As EPIC and our members know well, but for the public’s watch-dogging efforts, hundreds of thousands of acres of precious native forests would be lost due to the lax oversight by regulatory agencies.  Nor does the bill provide the kinds of enforcement and monitoring provisions that would protect against abuse.  In exchange, industrial timber giants like Green Diamond Resources Company and Sierra Pacific Industries would be able to lock in 20-year plans for aggressive clearcutting across hundreds of thousands of acres in California.

Richard Gienger, longtime forest activist from southern Humboldt/ northern Mendocino, provided EPIC with his dire assessment of SB 455:

“SB 455 is misguided in so many ways – and takes energy away from the major, and often quite simple, reforms that need to happen on private and state forestlands in California. Instead of making sure that information is usefully organized and easily accessible to actually respond to legacy cumulative effects on all California forestlands, it empowers the large companies to make their own environmental documents in a process that is largely out of reach of the public and public trust agencies. Each huge so-called “watershed THP” would last for a human generation. Instead of improving existing long-term planning processes like the flawed Sustained Yield Plan process, a whole new ‘wheel’ is invented that facilitates a plantation-styled forestry that dooms vast acreages to homogeneous tree farms – with no forests being older than 45 to 55 years old. SB 455 does not ensure a sustained yield of high quality timber products, nor does it provide for recovery of invaluable wildlife, water, and fisheries resources. This is all being pushed forward under the guise of improving “carbon sequestration” on California’s timberlands – with the actual benefits being highly speculative, abysmally small or actually negative, and are not even enumerated in the version being considered by the State Senate on Monday. Despite ostensible good intentions of SB 455 supporters, the contents of the bill are a half-thought-out mistake, which may easily be construed as pandering of the worst sort. The people, forestland, and legislators of California deserve a better effort.”

Humboldt Marten at a bait station for observation in Six Rivers NF.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that the Humboldt marten, a rare forest carnivore found only in coastal old-growth forests in Northern California and southern Oregon, will be reviewed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Environmental Protection Information Center and Center for Biological Diversity petitioned for protection for the marten in 2010. The Humboldt marten is a cat-sized carnivore related to minks and otters. Because nearly all of its old-growth forest habitat has been destroyed by logging, the Humboldt marten is now so rare that it was believed extinct for 50 years.

“Fewer than 100 of these beautiful and secretive mammals survive,” said Tierra Curry, conservation biologist at the Center. “We are thrilled that the marten is moving toward the Endangered Species Act protection that it needs to have a real shot at survival and recovery.”

“Clearcut logging and short rotation forestry has replaced diverse native forests with oversimplified tree plantations across thousands of acres of industrial timberland, driving the Humboldt marten to the brink of extinction,” said Andrew Orahoske, conservation director at EPIC in Arcata. “In order to save this unique carnivore from oblivion, we need to ban this damaging forestry practice and promote the restoration of native forests immediately.”

The historic range of the marten extends from Sonoma County in coastal California north through the coastal mountains of Oregon. The Humboldt marten was rediscovered on the Six Rivers National Forest in 1996. Since that time, researchers have continued to detect 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 two feet long and have large triangular ears and a long tail. They eat small mammals, berries, and birds, and are eaten by larger mammals and raptors

“The Endangered Species Act has been successful at preventing the extinction of 99 percent of listed species. The Humboldt marten is in dire need of this effective protection and we urge the Service to protect it without delay,” said Curry.

Following today’s “positive 90-day” finding, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will now conduct a one-year review of the animal’s status to determine if the marten will be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Contact: Andrew Orahoske, Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC),

(707) 822-7711, andrew@wildcalifornia.org

Tierra Curry, Center for Biological Diversity, (928) 522-3681

Suitable wolf habitat in Northern California and Southern Oregon

Suitable wolf habitat in Idaho, Montana and greater Yellowstone

The questions and answers about wolves returning to California are becoming clearer day by day.  As biologists learn more about wolf behavior in Oregon, this knowledge will be directly applicable to California.  As leading wolf researchers have argued, large predators can make a comeback to California (Carroll et al 2001).   We are now beginning to see the proof.

At EPIC, we intend to advocate for wolves as strongly as we advocate for all native biological diversity in northern California.  That means continuing our important work in defending our forests and wild areas from exploitation and destruction.  Because of this work and the tireless efforts of many individuals to defend and restore our wild landscapes, we can offer something to this wild wandering wolf.   Whether he remains in our region is anyone’s guess, but we hope that he likes what he finds and is joined by more wolves in the near future.

Literature Cited:

Carroll, C., Phillips, M.K., Lopez-Gonzalez, C.A. and N. H. Schumaker.  2006.  Defining recovery goals and strategies for endangered species: the wolf as a case study. Bioscience 56:25-37.  Available at: http://www.klamathconservation.org/docs/carrolletal2001b.pdf

Carroll, C., Noss,R.F., Schumaker, N.H.and P. C. Paquet.  2001.  Is the return of the wolf, wolverine, and grizzly bear to Oregon and California biologically feasible?  Pp. 25-46. In:  Maehr D, Noss RF, Larkin J, Eds. Large Mammal Restoration: Ecological and Sociological Challenges in the 21st Century. Washington (DC): Island Press.

From our deep roots and traditions protecting old-growth forest and promoting new beginnings for restoration in southern Humboldt and Mendocino, to high atop the peaks of the Marble Mountains, Trinity Alps and beyond, EPIC ensures that the voice of each and every organism, great and small, is heard loud and clear.

EPIC continues to champion increased protections for the Northern Spotted Owl.  Over 30 years of rigorous scientific research has made clear that the owl is in imminent threat of extinction.  Consistent documented population decline throughout the owl’s range is a confirmation of many biologists’ worst fears.  Without significant new conservation measures, particularly on private lands, the Northern Spotted Owl will go extinct.  Therefore, we are at a turning point in spotted owl conservation and EPIC is committed to leading the way by garnering increased protections for owls and their habitat.  We will use a combination of traditional advocacy and new strategies. For example, we will explore opportunities for rewarding small landowners that embrace spotted owls on their lands.  A cooperative approach with small landowners is sorely needed, not only for spotted owls, but for the local human community as well.  Simultaneously, EPIC will step up the pressure on destructive industrial logging companies, like Sierra Pacific Industries, that have repeatedly ignored the needs of spotted owls, and the larger community dependent on our forests.

Defending our state parks from all-out-assault has become an even greater task than we ever imagined.  EPIC’s staunch opposition to destructive and wasteful highway developments has galvanized our supporters into a force to respect in courtrooms and beyond.  As the year unfolds, we are confident that Richardson Grove will not only be saved, but fortified in the process.  And in response to this assault, EPIC will demand new conservation measures to lessen the impacts of roads throughout Wild California.  If there is one message to take from Richardson Grove, it is that a new path forward is needed, preferably one that promotes local communities’ intimate connection to state parks and the natural landscape.

Our work on national forests is absolutely foundational, and defines much of the current lay of the land in terms of regional forest and watershed protections.  By enforcing laws that guard our national forests from plunder and ruin, EPIC defends the integrity of these lands and simultaneously promotes restoration.   This work is instrumental in healing past scars and building community resilience.

In reforming private industrial forestlands, EPIC is at the forefront of protecting forests across northwestern California.  Our review of timber harvest plans covers at least six counties, and our comments create beneficial results for endangered species and wild country.  By holding the bad actors accountable, EPIC enforces laws designed to preserve our cherished homes from blight and greed.  The authoritative reach of EPIC’s private forestry watch-dogging is monumental.

We have a lot in store for 2012, and we are all rising to the occasion.  Strong and smart is our direction for the coming year.  Moving forward, we will honor the commitment of our many hardworking supporters, and continue the EPIC tradition of being a lean, witty, and hard-hitting organization that gets results.

Eel River Fog Blankets Forest (Murray Cooper Photo)

It has been several years that EPIC has been standing up to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) proposal to further develop Highway 101 through the ancient redwood gateway in Richardson Grove State Park. Despite receiving heavy public opposition, Caltrans pushed obstinately forward with their plan. This stubbornness resulted in a pair of legal challenges to the Caltrans project, in both of which EPIC has played an integral role. The cases are now steadily heading towards a full hearing on their merits, and the court’s decision can be anticipated on the horizon just beyond the New Year in early 2012.

On December 6, 2011, attorneys for EPIC and plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment in federal court.  This filing is an important step in the process that will lead to the summary judgment hearing in the federal court in San Francisco on February 23, 2012.

The motion and supporting memorandum explain the precise legal claims against Caltrans, and illuminates the failure of the agency to follow this nation’s bedrock environmental laws.  EPIC and the plaintiffs request that the court declare Caltrans in violation of laws, and direct the agency to re-examine the Highway 101 widening project through Richardson Grove State Park.  Caltrans’ project threatens irreplaceable and rare majestic old-growth redwoods at risk of significant and, in fact, mortal impacts, while also potentially causing several other significant environmental impacts within the state protected area. The law requires, and the people of California and the nation as a whole deserve, that Caltrans undertake a complete analysis of the Project’s impacts.

Redwood Temperate Rainforest (Murray Cooper Photo)

There is a parallel legal challenge to the Caltrans proposal for Richardson Grove in State Court; the hearing in that case will take place in Eureka, in Humboldt County Superior Court, on March 14, 2012.

EPIC and plaintiffs have stood their ground against Caltrans and project proponents through a long and contentious process.  All of this hard work has produced results by securing a preliminary injunction against the project, raising grassroots support in opposition to Caltrans’ plans that threaten some of the last old-growth redwoods in the world, and putting the incoherence of the State of California’s management of our globally important redwood parks in the spotlight. We are working towards a favorable decision, and aspire to have this be a landmark case in which the Government of the State of California will reexamine it’s priorities and improve it’s policies in terms of directing state agencies and protecting biodiversity. Kudos are due to our citizen coplaintiffs, and to the Center for Biological Diversity and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, for everything they have done on this journey. We extend gratitude to our attorneys for prosecuting this case pro bono and doing an outstanding job, and we thank all of the community members who have been, and will be, supporting us in this important advocacy work.

Document 102- Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment

PetitionersOpeningMemo

Winter light on oak branches. Murray Cooper Photo.

As the year comes to a close, we at the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) are reflecting on the efforts EPIC has undertaken on behalf of Northwest California’s endangered species and wild areas during 2011, and we are grateful to all of the people that have stepped up and joined our effort to protect Wild California.

EPIC has undergone important staffing changes with exceptional smoothness, we have strengthened our advocacy work, and we are succeeding at making EPIC an innovative, effective and independent environmental watchdog organization.

In 2011 we:

–Defended Richardson Grove State Park from unnecessary highway development, halting the ill-advised Caltrans proposal for widening Highway 101 with a Preliminary Injunction granted in Federal Court;

–Put an end to illegal grazing in Tolowa Dunes State Park, as well as engaging parks management to enforce prohibitions against off-highway vehicle use in that park;

–Commented on dozens of Timber Harvest Plans slated for private industrial forestlands across our region, forcing changes in harvest activities that have directly protected the habitat of endangered species like the Northern Spotted Owl and Coho Salmon;

–Monitored and secured changes on numerous commercial timber sales on National Forest lands, and supported legal strategies addressing damaging grazing, logging, mining, and travel management issues that present direct conservation threats to our public lands;

–Advocated for the legal protections of species like the Humboldt Marten, the Pacific Fisher, the Klamath Spring Chinook Salmon, and the Marbled Murrelet through the innovative use of the United States Endangered Species Act;

–Supported local residents grappling with environmental challenges who look to EPIC as a clearinghouse for information on managing environmental issues.

The staff and board of EPIC want to extend Thanks and Appreciation to all of the individuals, businesses, and sister organizations that have contributed money, goods, time, talent, and love to our organization. It is our members that make EPIC a unique expression of the redwood coast community; and it is this foundation of support within our community that keeps EPIC alive and fighting for the natural wonders of our home. Importantly, as we look ahead and prepare for the coming year of 2012, we need our community to dig deep and make a year-end contribution to EPIC today!

The environmental challenges we are facing are multiple and complex, and 2012 promises to break the mold of what we have come to expect in environmental politics.

Valley Fog and Intertwining Forest. Murray Cooper Photo.

An emerging nationwide social movement addressing the severe inequalities in our society is growing by leaps and bounds, while at the same time the most dangerous and anti-earth political establishment in decades has captured the US Congress, threatening to unravel the very foundation of environmental law that provides protections for water, air, and biodiversity. On the state level, from park closures to the unfunded mandate of regulatory agencies, the signs are clear that many politicians are ready to sacrifice the environment on the altar of economical expediency. There are unimaginable geopolitical events awaiting us in the next year, and the global economy is tottering under the weight of its own surreal unsustainable dependence on the unfettered exploitation of people and natural resources.

This precarious state of affairs is a strong argument for becoming a member of EPIC and for making a significant donation today! Investing in our effective organization is your insurance for having a consistent and visionary voice for the Northwest California environment in a tumultuous political arena and convoluted economic playing field.

We thank you for considering EPIC in your year-end giving, and we thank you for all of the support and dedication that you have provided us this year. We thank the forests and the rivers for the lessons and humility that they teach us, and for the bounty that they provide us. The glorious beauty of the soft golden sun caressing the moss and lichen laden upper branches of an elder oak tree is the aesthetic essence of our drive to contribute our energies to integrating human and natural communities on the North Coast of California. The health and vitality of our futures, and that of our children and grandchildren, is contingent upon our ability to respond to the cries for help from a stressed landscape. Over the years EPIC has gained the trust of our supporters, and now more than ever we need people to pitch in to this collective effort. Make your donation today, and rest assured that the guardian of your wild backyard will be ready to serve you and our planet in the year to come.

THANK YOU!

This historic photo is of a "lost" vehicle at Tolowa Dunes State Park

As the year 2011 starts to draw to a close, the stewardship crisis in the California State Parks System is clearly becoming more acute. The disastrous plan to close specific park units, including a disproportionate number of parks in Northwest California, continues to unfold without any promise of relief, while many other park units not on the closure list face dire conservation threats. Maintenance backlogs continue to pile up through out the system, and there are concerns that the current budget cuts and lack of investment in the Department of Parks and Recreation is going to cause long-term damage to the capacity of parks administration to carry out their obligation to care properly for these natural jewels of global importance.

To respond to this crisis, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) is steadily developing an agile and aggressive State Parks Defense Project as part of our Public Lands Program. The contribution that EPIC is making to the broad community of citizens and organizations that oppose the misguided and inappropriate California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Highway 101 development proposal for Richardson Grove State Park is, without question, our flagship State Park Defense initiative. In conjunction with this important litigation to defend the ancient redwoods in Richardson Grove, EPIC has embarked upon a series of strategies designed to address specific conservation threats to parks through out our region. The following is a brief overview of our assessment and lines of action on a few issues concerning the state parks stewardship crisis.

Richardson Grove State Park and Jedediah Smith State Park

EPIC is positioned to succeed in our legal challenge to the Caltrans Highway 101 widening proposal for RIchardson Grove State Park. The Preliminary Injunction secured in federal court against Caltrans on their Richardson Grove proposal remains in effect until the hearing for summary judgement, which is scheduled for February 23, 2012. Staff and attorneys for EPIC are working hard to prepare briefings and fully develop arguments for this legal strategy, as well as make headway on parallel political and media strategies. We ask members and supporters of EPIC to anticipate the new letter writing actions and public education efforts that will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months. We are excited to put the Richardson Grove issue in the spotlight again, especially as we enter 2012 and get closer to the late February hearing date.

At the same time, our ongoing research confirms that the Caltrans proposal for widening Highway 199/197 through Jedediah Smith State Park threatens the ancient redwoods in that park to a greater degree than in Richardson Grove. We are monitoring that proposal closely, and we are intent on being sure that Caltrans gets the message from our defense of Richardson Grove: Hands Off Our Ancient Redwoods!

State Legislative Hearing Highlights Incompetence in State Park Closure Plan

On November 1 there was a joint legislative hearing by the Assembly Committee for Water, Parks, and Wildlife and the Assembly Committee for Accountability and Administrative Review. During this hearing state legislators had a chance to question representatives of the Department of Parks and Recreation, the agency that is charged with the stewardship of the California State Park System. One predictable result of the hearing has confirmed what EPIC has been saying since the park closure plan was first announced: there is undeniable evidence that park leadership failed in their responsibility to design a coherent and viable formula for the proposed closures. The stunning lack of methodology, the absence of transparency, and the essentially arbitrary and capricious nature of the establishment of the plan for park closure and the list of parks to be closed is shameful, and reflects poorly on Governor Jerry Brown, whose environmental legacy will be written upon the vandalized walls of bathrooms in closed parks across the state.

Interestingly enough, it took six months for the state legislature to come to the same conclusion about the incoherent parks closure plan that EPIC had stated publicly upon first glance. With total confidence that EPIC’s  membership is in strong support of our demand that the California State Park System must be provided the robust public funding that such valuable and irreplaceable ecological and economical assets merit, we will continue to pursue political strategies that do more than bemoan the tragedy of the park closures, but rather generate leverage and momentum to halt any further closures and begin to reverse this tragic course.

Huffman Bill Becomes Law

One of the most celebrated rescue packages for the parks slated for closure is Assembly Bill 42, sponsored by Marin Assemblymember Jared Huffman, which provides legal structure for certain not-for-profit organizations to enter into agreements with the state to assist in the management of park units that are slated for closure. This is clearly an important emergency response that may work smoothly for a few park units, and EPIC is comfortable in seeing this tool used as a short term solution to bridge the stewardship gap presented by the ill-conceived closure plan. There are, however, some very serious dangers present in this bill, and we are concerned about the passivity of decision makers and mainstream environmental interests to settle so easily and rapidly for a solution that for all intents and purposes is a first step towards the privatization of our state parks. Even proponents admit that this strategy will not provide any relief for many of the park units threatened by the increased off-road vehicle use, vandalism, timber theft, poaching, indiscriminate cannabis cultivation, and facilities deterioration that will result from closure. We also have serious reservations about the drain that this type of solution will have on an already severely stressed not-for-profit sector in rural California. EPIC will monitor the implementation and the ramifications of this law closely, as well as pursue appropriate collaboration and consultation with local organizations that do endeavor to step up to the plate for their local parks and do the hard work in safeguarding public assets that the State of California is now shirking.

State Parks Promises to Curb Off-Highway Vehicle Use at Tolowa Dunes

It is important to celebrate our successes this year in defending the natural treasures of our state parks. In particular, EPIC has had excellent success this year in efforts to influence conservation management of the Tolowa Dunes State Park. We succeeded this summer in finally getting the parks administration to terminate an illegal grazing permit, and we have had positive engagement with the park administration that promises to lead to greater enforcement of prohibitions against off-highway vehicle use on the beach and the dunes of Tolowa Dunes. EPIC stands by our position that OHV users have multitudes of locales to pursue their motor sports, yet rare and endangered species like the snowy plover only have so many places to call home. Our message is that off-highway vehicle use is totally inappropriate in Tolowa Dunes State Park. We will continue to work to end inappropriate OHV activity at Tolowa Dunes, and other park units threatened by this activity, and we welcome the conservation oriented management changes by the state parks administration that are an important step towards this objective.

Does this Dark Cloud Have a Silver Lining?

Unfortunately, the list of parks that are on our State Park Defense Project radar screen is tending to get longer, and not shorter. Both up and down stream on the South Fork of the Eel River from Richardson Grove State Park are Benbow Lake and Standish Hickey State Recreations Areas, which are both facing uncertain futures and closure. Our research on the planned closure of Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park has revealed severe inconsistencies between the conservation promise of the famed (and expensive!) Headwaters Deal and the current closure plan. The use of toxic pesticides for ineffective control of invasive species has been a concern at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, as is a proposal by Caltrans to build four new bridges over key fish bearing streams along the Avenue of the Giants. Destructive vehicle use at Usal Beach in the Sinkyone State Wilderness continues to be a major conservation problem at that remote spot. And the economic impacts of the closure of several of the Mendocino Coast parks have also been largely ignored. Responding to these threats, and more, are making up the body of EPIC’s State Park Defense Project as we head into 2012.

Regardless of the challenges present in responding to the current stewardship crisis in our state parks, we at EPIC have come to the conclusion that it is possible that the closure threat and emergency in our redwood parks is what is most needed to get citizens in Northwest California to begin to fully appreciate the profound and immense economic, educational, recreational, and environmental values of our state park system. Once these values are celebrated and held in common by our community it will be a natural step to demand of our political representatives a forward thinking action plan that will have the objective of protecting and preserving our state parks for the future generations. EPIC will be working on these issues strongly in 2012, and we are excited to be a strong voice for our community and our members to demand long-lasting solutions to these problems. Stay tuned for an exciting series of actions in our State Parks Defense Project in the coming year!