In a close vote, the Board of Supervisors denied the controversial Terra-Gen Project. The project has drawn considerable opposition from a variety of perspectives. Conservation groups expressed their dismay at the significant and unavoidable impacts to wildlife, some of which we have detailed here. The Wiyot Tribe and others expressed their opposition because of impacts to culturally significant areas, and their rallying cry of Tsakiyuwit!, the historical name for their sacred space, was the clearest defining issue of the debate. Supervisors Sungnome, Fennell, Bass, and Wilson voted against the project, with Supervisors Wilson indicating his preference for a smaller project that would be moved off Bear River Ridge, something that the project developer could not agree to. Supervisor Bohn voted in favor of the project.
In rejecting the project, Humboldt needs to take seriously its obligations to develop local clean energy—and soon. However, these obligations must be taken with careful consideration and respect to the tribes that have been stewards of this land for millenia.
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