ACTION ALERT: Caltrans Violates Agreement and Cuts Trees in Richardson Grove State Park

Caltrans has begun work on the Richardson Grove Project. We need your help. Contact Governor Newsom, Caltrans Director Dina El-Tawansy, and Regional Director Matt Brady to demand that the agency halt this harmful project.

Broken Promises

On January 20, 2026, members of the public approached EPIC concerned about some work in Richardson Grove State Park. EPIC did not think anything of this. Caltrans has to do work within the Park at times—you can’t wear a reflective vest in the grove without someone alerting EPIC! And besides, Caltrans had agreed to provide EPIC with 45 days' notice before the start of work on the project. EPIC contacted Caltrans to seek clarification, only to have the agency ghost us. Finally, their attorneys wrote to EPIC: tree removal to facilitate the project had begun. EPIC has come to learn that other agencies were likewise caught off guard by Caltrans.

The Richardson Grove Project has been mired by a lack of trust and transparency. Caltrans has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the obvious: cutting and paving over the shallow root system of old-growth redwood trees would affect the health, vigor, and longevity of these trees. Multiple courts have ordered the agency to redo portions of their analysis. Each time, the agency digs its heels in deeper.

Construction Rush to Beat the Birds…and Court?

Based on reports from motorists, it appears that Caltrans has removed at least two small-diameter trees. (The actual damage done isn’t clear; Caltrans has not informed EPIC of the extent of its work.) In statements to the media and to EPIC, Caltrans claims that this tree removal is necessary to stop birds from nesting, something that could delay other construction activities. While this explanation gives some inherent sinister flavor—let’s cut trees to stop birds from nesting!—there is likely something more to this story. 

The timing also suggests that Caltrans is trying to beat the courts. In the most recent state litigation, EPIC is appealing a judgment from the Humboldt County Superior Court. There is no ongoing injunction preventing project construction during this appeal. Oral arguments before the First Appellate District were expected this spring. And EPIC feels darn good about our appeal. Loses in lower courts happen. Our original 2010 lawsuit was initially lost at the Humboldt County Superior Court, only to be reversed on appeal. 

Our attorneys are now working to expedite oral arguments on appeal and have alerted the court to Caltrans’s chicanery.

Click here to tell Governor Newsom, Director El-Tawansy, and Director Brady to put an end to this harmful project, once and for all!