Grizzly bears were once native to California, from the redwoods all the way to the Mexican border. Euro-American settlers wiped out the species in roughly 75 years, with the last reported grizzly bear seen near what is now Sequoia National Park in 1924. Despite that literal absence from the state, grizzlies are also still everywhere: from the California state flag, to place names (like Los Osos, meaning “the bears” in Spanish), to college football team mascots, like the Berkeley Golden Bears. A new effort led by the Yurok and Tejon Tribes is proposing to study the feasibility of bringing back our grizzlies to the state. A new bill in the legislature, SB 1305 (Richardson), would direct the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to study potentially reintroducing the species to the state through scientific, socioeconomic, and tribal consultations to assess its feasibility. Tiana Williams-Claussen, Director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department, and Peter Alagona, professor at UC Santa Barbara, join the program to talk about grizzlies in California, both in the past and hopefully the future.

The Trump Administration is taking an axe to the Forest Service. They are “reorganizing” the Forest Service, eliminating Regional Offices and Research Stations. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is virtually gone—and with it opportunities for public engagement. And Trump is pushing to get out the cut, meaning bigger, more impactful projects. Kimberly Baker, Executive Director of the Klamath Forest Alliance, is a watchdog for over 5.3 million acres of Forest Service Land and have commented on virtually every timber sale for 25 years. She joins the program to discuss the damage being done to our public forests.

Alicia Hamann and Scott Greacen of Friends of the Eel River join the show to discuss whether the public should take this threat seriously and what can be done to keep dam removal on track.

The Elk River was once idyllic: baby salmon once grew big and healthy in the slack waters of its estuary, elk once browsed in meadows by the river and returning adult salmon once laid their eggs in cold river gravel, kept shady by old-growth redwoods. The watershed was stewarded by the Wiyot people. And then colonization screwed things up. The lowlands were diked and drained, turned over to cattle. Elk were killed and the meadows swallowed up by conifer encroachment and homesteads, and clearcutting smothered cold water gravel with sediment from logging roads and landslides. The river is unwell — legally recognized as impaired under the Clean Water Act. And absent intervention, it is unlikely to get better anytime soon. That’s where CalTrout comes in. In projects from the river’s headwaters to its mouth, CalTrout is working to recover the function of the river. Katy Gurin and Bill Matsubu of CalTrout join the show to discuss their restoration work.

How should state-owned demonstration forests be managed? For private timber production or for climate, biodiversity, clean water, and other values? That’s the question being considered by the California legislature with AB 2494 (Rogers). AB 2494 proposes a virtual reserval of priorities. Currently, state law directs that these public lands be managed for “maximum sustained timber production” while “giving consideration” to other resource management. Under AB 2494, managing for other resources takes top billing while still allowing for commercial timber production where that production is used as a tool to achieve the resource objectives. EPIC staff Melodie Meyer and Josefina Barrantes join environmental attorney Alex Leumer to discuss.

Scott Greacen of Friends of the Eel River, Matt Simmons of EPIC and Jen Marlow from CalPoly Humboldt — join the show to discuss the legal basis for the God Squad, its invocation by Trump, and the potential for it to be used in the Pacific Northwest.

On this week’s show, your usual host, Tom Wheeler, is in the hot seat to explain EPIC’s long-lasting litigation against Caltrans’ Richardson Grove Project. Sixteen years of litigation, boiled down to a half-hour of radio.

Do-gooder and cafe organizer Wendy Ring joins the show to discuss. The next repair cafe is Sunday, March 15 from 10-2pm at the Adorni Center. Check out future repair dates on Facebook: Facebook.com/HumboldtRepairCafe

Tanner Etherton, Awbrey Yost and Jim Zoellick from Schatz join the show to nerd out over transmission infrastructure planning.

Asm. Rogers joins the show to preview three new and exciting bills

Matt Simmons, Climate Attorney at EPIC, and Scott Greacen, Conservation Director at Friends of the Eel River, join the program.

Environmental activists like guest Steve Blackledge of Environment America have been advocating for the construction of wildlife crossings — physical structures, from big bridges to small culverts — to help mitigate the impact of roads.

Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities (CRTP) joins the program to discuss how street design increases car crashes and pedestrian strikes and how Caltrans could immediately improve safety in Eureka.

Humboldt friends and neighbors perform mini-plays written as part of Climate Change Action Theatre, an international event created to stimulate our climate imaginations.

Ecochaplain Hanna Nielsen joins the show to discuss how to become a more resilient (and more impactful) person.