Santa’s 2020 Naughty and Nice List
We here at EPIC are close with Kris Kringle. (He is an environmentalist after all, using reindeer to power his sleigh instead of fossil fuels.) We are so close that EPIC has an exclusive sneak preview at his naughty and nice list. To those on the nice list, we are incredibly grateful to all of those that work hard to protect our habitat, Earth. Thank you for your generosity, kindness, and inspiration this year. We look forward to a brighter future ahead.
To those on the naughty list… well, Santa usually gives out coal to bad boys and girls, but given their track records, these foes of the environment would probably just try to sell it to coal power plants.
Nice
EPIC Members: Our members are the best. 2020 was a no-good, very bad year, but you have stood by EPIC and your generosity has kept our doors open, lights on, and staff working. Thank you for supporting us ❤️
Deb Haaland: One of the first Native American women elected to the United States Congress, Deb Haaland has spent her legislative career forwarding environmental protection, from leading the federal charge on the 30×30 effort (to permanently protect 30% of the land and water in the U.S. by 2030) to fighting back against oil and gas leases on public lands. President-elect Joe Biden has announced that he is nominating Deb to lead the Department of the Interior. We couldn’t think of a better pick.
Supervisors Mike Wilson and Steve Madrone: Mike and Steve are a powerful duo on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. Both smart, sciency dudes–Mike is an environmental engineer and Steve is a leader in restoration ecology–they put in the hard work at the Board to push the county to be more environmentally responsible.
Eileen Cooper and the Friends of Del Norte: Our dear friend, Eileen Cooper, passed away in 2020. She was a force to be reckoned with in Del Norte County, with a crisp memory of the intricacies of the Coastal Act and an activist’s passion for community organizing. Eileen was also one of the prime movers in the Friends of Del Norte, a scrappy group of environmentalists committed to protecting Del Norte’s wildlife and wild places. Before she passed, Eileen established the EPIC Del Norte Chapter at the Humboldt Area Foundation to ensure that EPIC’s work in the county would be funded into the future.
Mark Andre: Since 1984, Mark Andre has been in charge of the Arcata Community Forest. Through his vision and leadership, Mark has demonstrated modern sustainable forestry on the Arcata Community Forest, both improving wildlife habitat and recreation on the forest while also producing saw timber. When people ask us what sort of logging we support, we can always point to Mark’s work. Mark is retiring from the City of Arcata at the end of 2020 so there is no better time than now to recognize his good work. Thanks Mark!
Naughty
William Perry Pendley: Santa doesn’t take kind to people hurting his reindeer. As the acting head of the Bureau of Livestock and Mining Bureau of Land Management, Pendley has greenlighted oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska (the sister to the more famous Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, which the Trump administration is also trying to drill). This last minute rush to issue drilling leases is intended to tie the hands of the incoming Biden administration and give the oil industry one last gift. Drilling in the Reserve will put at risk over a half-million reindeer and the largest concentrations of grizzly bears and wolverines in the Alaska Artic. Santa would give Pendley coal, but he would be too pleased.
Senator Dianne Feinstein: From shouting down schoolchildren concerned with climate change to her atrocious federal wildfire legislation, Senator Feinstein is bad for the environment.
Leadership at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife: To say we are disappointed in the leadership of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is to understate our feelings. We are livid. We are disheartened. We want change. The Department charged with the protection of our wildlife, from giving sweetheart deals to Green Diamond to hiding information about a new disease in elk (before a vote on expanding elk hunting) to shady backroom deals with private developers, it appears that the higher you rise within the agency is correlated to the extent you are willing to sell out wildlife. (The staff scientists–the nerdy grunts that do the hard work of the Department–are decidedly on Santa’s good list. Perhaps for Christmas, they will get less political interference from their bosses.)
Climate Deniers at CAL FIRE: CAL FIRE has a nasty habitat of endorsing climate skepticism in THPs. We put Green Diamond on blast earlier this year for questioning the science of climate change, which was approved by the agency. We were even more disappointed to find that CAL FIRE embraces climate skepticism in their own management of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Shame!
A sneak peek into Santa’s naughty and nice list is a good reminder that someone is always watching, so be good for goodness sakes!
And don’t let those naughty kids get away with it, donate to your favorite forest watchdog organization today here.
Happy Holidays from EPIC!