EcoNews Vol. 46, No. 6 - Dec 2016/Jan 2017

45 Years of Environmental News

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Arcata, California

Vol. 46, No. 6

Dec 2016/Jan 2017

 Published by the Northcoast Environmental Center Since 1971

Year in Review | Wiyot Wetlands Program | #NoDAPL Protest | HSU WRRAP Preserving Oak Woodlands | Marine Terminal II Opening | Kin to the Earth: Mark Lovelace

News From the Center Trump: An Environmental Calamity

What is certain is that the loser of the popular vote by a wide margin will be sworn in as President. Now that the Party of Trump controls both the House, Senate and soon the courts, their mission is clear: roll back all environmental regulations.

Climate Change

Trump is appointing climatedeniers to top cabinet posts. Striking down President Obama’s climate legacy—the Clean Power Plan, the Paris Climate Agreement, increased fuel economy standards, limitations on coal leases on public lands, etc.— is the Trump Administration’s top environmental priority. Drill baby, drill and mine baby, mine will be the chorus of the Trump Administration.

Environmental Laws

Congressional Republicans have often attacked portions of environmental laws through “riders” attached to must-pass legislation, like the budget. Full frontal attacks on environmental laws have been off the table, as they would clearly get vetoed.

In the new Trump reality, expect to see a systematic dismantling of NEPA,

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415 I Street, Arcata, CA 95521 PO Box 4259, Arcata, CA 95518 707- 822-6918 www.yournec.org EcoNews is the official bi-monthly publication of the Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC), a non-profit organization. Third class postage paid in Arcata. ISSN No. 0885-7237. EcoNews is mailed to our members and distributed free throughout the Northern California and Southern Oregon bioregion. The subscription rate is $35 per year.

The ideas and views expressed in EcoNews are not necessarily those of the NEC.

the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Endangered Species Act. While it is unlikely that any of these laws will be outright repealed, they will most likely be in effect in “name only” with principal protections and remedies striped away.

Public Lands

While Trump says he is opposed to selling off our public lands, many Congressional Republicans have giving away public lands as their top priority. One way that this may play out would be to turn over our public lands to be managed by industry.

Imagine Sierra Pacific Industries managing our national forests! You get the concept. Trump has stated his priority is to open more federal lands to mining and has stated that his presidency would create a resurgence in the logging industry. Look for proindustry agency heads aggressively pursuing a logging/mining/grazing/ extraction agenda.

the US Forest Service to the National Marine Fisheries Service to the Bureau of Land Management, are already drastically understaffed because of years of underfunding.

Sweeping staff reductions will only further frustrations with the slow pace of the government, in turn providing the “evidence” that government is broken! (Thanks Grover Norquist.)

A Renewed Fight Over Offshore Oil Drilling

Trump has pledged to shrink the size of government through a hiring freeze on federal employees and drive them out by stripping away their benefits and employment protections.

Our public resource agencies, from

The threat to the North Coast from oil rigs looms large and the fight is already underway. California is losing its most prominent environmental champion with Sen. Barbara Boxer’s retirement after 34 years on Capitol Hill. Succeeding her in the Senate will be California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who is great and has sound environmental

Editor/Layout: Morgan Corviday morgan@yournec.org

NEC Board Of Directors

Defunding the Government

Advertising: ads@yournec.org Proofreaders: Karen Schatz, Midge Brown, Kris Diamond, Rebekah Staub Authors: Larry Glass, Dan Sealy, Jennifer Kalt, Delia Bense-Kang, Felice Pace, Rob DiPerna, Anne Maher, Margaret Gainer, Dan Ehresman, Bella Waters, Jenna Cyprus, Emma Held, Chris Clarke, Adam Canter, Douglas Bevington, Natalya Estrada, Deirdre Fulton.

Cover Photo: Sign of the times at the #NoDAPL protest on Woodley Island, Nov. 15, 2016. Photo: Morgan Corviday.

NEC Staff

Executive Director: Larry Glass, larry@yournec.org Administrative/Development Director: Bella Waters, bella@yournec.org EcoNews Editor, Web Director: Morgan Corviday, morgan@yournec.org MPA Outreach Coordinator: Delia Bense-Kang, delia@yournec.org Coastal Cleanup Coordinator: Madison Peters, madison@yournec.org Office Associate: Anne Maher, anne@yournec.org

President - Larry Glass, Safe Alternatives for our Forest Environment, larry@yournec.org Vice-President - Dan Sealy, At-Large, rangerdans@msn.com Secretary - Jennifer Kalt, Humboldt Baykeeper, jkalt@humboldtbaykeeper.org Treasurer - Chris Jenican Beresford, AtLarge, thegang7@pacbell.net Gary Falxa, Calfornia Native Plant Society, gfalxa@suddenlink.net CJ Ralph, Redwood Region Audubon Society, cjralph@humboldt1.com Richard Kreis, Sierra Club, North Group. rgkreis@gmail.com Alicia Hamann, Friends of the Eel River, alicia@eelriver.org Tom Wheeler, Environmental Protection Information Center, tom@wildcalifornia.org Bob Morris, Trinity County Representative, At-Large, bob.morris@wildblue.net

Humboldt Baykeeper

Fiscally sponsored by the NEC Director: Jennifer Kalt, jkalt@humboldtbaykeeper.org Bay Tours Coordinator: Jasmin Segura, jasmin@humboldtbaykeeper.org

credentials, but as a Senate newcomer will certainly not have a party leadership post like Boxer.

Because of these real and serious threats, and more nightmares that haven’t even been revealed yet, constant vigilance and organizing will be required. With your help the Northcoast Environmental Center will be at the forefront of these battles locally.

Larry Glass, Executive Director with input from Tom Wheeler

NEC Member Groups Humboldt Baykeeper

www.humboldtbaykeeper.org 707-825-1020

Sierra Club,North Group, Redwood Chapter www.redwood.sierraclub.org/north/

California Native Plant Society North Coast Chapter www.northcoastcnps.org

Redwood Region Audubon Society www.rras.org, rras@rras.org

Friends of the Eel River www.eelriver.org, foer@eelriver.org 707-822-3342

Safe Alternatives for our Forest Environment (SAFE) www.safealt.org

Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)

www.wildcalifornia.org, epic@wildcalifornia.org 707-822-7711

NEC Affiliate Members Friends of Del Norte www.fodn.org

Zero Waste Humboldt

www.zerowastehumboldt.org contact@zerowastehumboldt.org

New Year—New Headquarters

Minutes after our November board meeting, staff received an email stating that the entire wing of our building had been given 90 days to vacate so that Greenway Partners could accommodate the needs of another building tenant. Our wing of the building not only housed the NEC, but also Humboldt Baykeeper, Friends of the Eel River, a couple of small businesses and common meeting space. We were also required to vacate our storage space and EcoNews Report studio room downstairs—no small feat!

Fortunately, we found a great space at 415 I Street in Arcata in the Cooper Building, next to the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples and Richard’s Goat Tavern. This new space will allow us to continue our communal work environment, host an office for Humboldt Baykeeper and host meetings for our member groups. The added bonus of this convenient location will be increased visibility in our community.

With this move the NEC will be well positioned to continue our important work and we invite you to visit soon to check out our new headquarters! Stop in to discuss environmental issues, peruse the collection of environmentally-focused books, brochures and pamphlets, drop off donations or purchase NEC and Baykeeper logo’d shirts and hoodies for holiday gifts!

Also, mark your calendars to join us for an Open House in our new space on Thursday, January 26 from 5-7pm, featuring drinks, snacks and good conversation with your local environmentalist friends. We hope to see you there!

Bella Waters, Administrative & Development Director

Write a Letter to the Editor!

Letters should be 300 words or less, be relevant to EcoNews readers and material covered in EcoNews, and must include the writer’s address and phone number.

Letters may be edited and shortened for space. The NEC reserves the right to reject any submitted material for any reason (e.g., size, content, writing style, etc.).

Send letters to editor@yournec.org.

NEW NEC SHIRTS! Perfect for Holiday Gifts!

Shirts will be available in early December.

Call us at 707-822-6918 for more information!

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2016: A Year in Review Wiyot Tribe Wetland Protection Plan #NoDAPL Protests CA on Our Own / Student Focus Preserving Oak Woodlands New Chapter for Old Pulp Mill Lost Crabbing Gear Rules No Butts About It Kin to the Earth: Mark Lovelace Take Action for Eel River Eye on Washington Zero Waste Humboldt Humboldt Baykeeper EPIC Sierra Club, North Group California Native Plant Society Creature Feature: Albino Redwood Kids’ Page: Presidential Pets

Thank you to Maureen McGarry and Madison Peters for their creativity in crafting amazing animal sculptures out of cigarette butts collected by Adopt-a-Block volunteers.

The sculptures will help to advocate for cleaner Arcata streets.

Interested in our regional environmental history?

DONATE to our EcoNews Archive project!

Visit www.yournec.org/donate, specify the Archive!

Catch the NEC’s EcoNews Report

Every Thursday, 1:30pm on KHSU - 90.5FM Tune in for a half hour of environmental interviews and discussion on a variety of topics on the EcoNews Report!

Featuring rotating cast of NEC and Member Group representatives.

Past shows are archived on our website for download or streaming

Heartfelt thanks to our long-term supporters, Scott Sway and Alex Stillman, as well as two anonymous donors, who generously offered to fund the next round of water quality testing at NEC’s Ninth Street property. This will help NEC move forward with the sale of the property, where our former headquarters burned down in 2001, revealing contamination from a drycleaning business.

And many thanks to Bella & Orion Waters, Chris & Richard Beresford, Brian VInyard, Dan Sealy, Larry Glass, Madison Peters, Delia Bense-Kang, Jennifer Kalt, Gary Falxa, Jasmine Segura, Morgan Corviday and Obie dog for helping us move

www.yournec.org/econews-report EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

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the Northcoast Environmental Center

2016

Year in Review Coastal Programs and MPA Outreach

Our dynamic MPA Outreach Coordinator Delia Bense-Kang has brought our community weekly “Coastal Currents,” airing on KHUM 104.7 each Wednesday at noon, and “Your Week in Ocean,” a weekly posting on the Lost Coast Outpost.

In partnership with Surfrider Humboldt and Humboldt Baykeeper, we continue to host Ocean Night, a monthly event featuring oceanrelated environmental documentaries and surf films. Ocean Night celebrated its seventh anniversary this past October and has become a popular social event in the community.

Attendance continues to increase, averaging about 150 people per event. We strive to create a community-oriented and fun environment by featuring guest presentations and a raffle of local goodies. Join us at Ocean Night—usually on the first Thursday of each month at the Arcata Theater Lounge. (Join us for 1st Annual Black and White Ocean Night on Saturday, December 10! See the back page for more info.)

Another Coastal Cleanup Day Success!

After founding the event in 1979, the NEC’s Coastal Cleanup Day this year was a huge success—with double the number of volunteers compared to last year. Over 700 volunteers cleaned 61 sites in Humboldt County, resulting in the removal of over seven tons of trash. We appreciate the support of our members and sponsors for this annual event.

We also send a huge thanks to Madison Peters for doing such a fabulous job coordinating this important event!

Taking Action for Clean Beaches and Trash-free Seas

Our ongoing Adopt-a-Beach program connects community members with their favorite beaches to keep them clean on a regular basis.

To date we have eleven beaches adopted by community members and groups. Call us to adopt your favorite beach today!

Restoring Forest Ecosystems and Building Fire Resiliency

The NEC, its board members and member organizations are working with communities, tribes and our congressional representatives to earn support for new federal legislation that would begin to restore the forests of more than 700,000 acres in the South Fork Trinity/Mad River Special Restoration Area in the ShastaTrinity and Six Rivers National Forests. We are also directly engaged with Congressman Jared Huffman’s office in helping to promulgate a comprehensive public lands bill that could add approximately 300,000 acres of recognized wilderness and over 400 miles of waterways to the Wild & Scenic Rivers program. It could also provide opportunities for recreation, restoration, fire management and sustainable use for our working forests.

Safeguarding Watersheds, Promoting Healthy Communities

Now that the Water Board regulations and state laws are in place, the “Emerald Counties” have put forward ordinances in an attempt to regulate cannabis cultivation. Much work remains to be done by the environmental community to push for strict new enforcement of these regulations. We know that without any serious enforcement, unregulated cultivation will continue to thrive and have severe negative impacts on our watersheds. The NEC will continue to try to tighten loopholes in the new ordinances to ensure our environment is protected.

Keepin’ the Butts off the Ground

The NEC, Humboldt Baykeeper and Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) have partnered to keep cigarette butts off Arcata streets and creeks through our new Adopt-a-Block program.

The program had a mighty start with eight groups picking up cigarette butts around town. Read more about this program on page 10.

Supporting NEC Member Organizations

One of the NEC’s central functions is to support our region’s hard-working conservation groups. We are proud to work with our Member and Affiliate Member groups who are at the forefront of environmental education, celebration and action! We are also proud to act as Humboldt Baykeeper’s fiscal sponsor so they can continue to safeguard Humboldt Bay through citizen-science, advocacy, education, and enforcement of laws to fight pollution.

Jen Kalt, Executive Director of Humboldt Baykeeper and Jasmin Segura, Bay Explorations Coordinator, continue to share their expertise on the Bay and have expanded their bay tours to include guided walks along the Hikshari’ Trail and kayak tours of Elk River.

Second Annual Tim McKay Memorial Bird-a-thon

Competing teams raising over $5,000 in this year’s Bird-a-thon for the NEC and Redwood Region Audubon Society. Hundreds of different species were spotted by the teams in only 24 hours by these teams. Plans for the May 2017 Bird-a-thon are in the works, so start brushing up on your birding skills and watch for more information in upcoming EcoNews.

The Klamath Dams are Coming Down

After decades of dam removal requests, state, federal and Native American tribal representatives joined dam owner PacificCorp, conservation organizations and water users to sign an historic agreement to remove four Klamath River dams by 2020.

Legacies Continue

The importance of the NEC’s 45-year legacy has become ever more poignant as we remember and celebrate leaders who have passed. We have been proud to recognize the lives and work of Sid Dominitz (former EcoNews editor), Lucille Vinyard, Susie Van Kirk and Diane Beck this year in Kin to the Earth features, Bouquets and other EcoNews articles.

EcoNews has been informing the North Coast about our bioregion’s environmental news since 1971! Your continued support helps us keep EcoNews in print and in your hands!

And, the NEC’s weekly radio show, the EcoNews Report, continues to be broadcast on KHSU 90.5 FM every Thursday at 1:30pm.

Big thank you to those behind the scenes of the NEC: to our EcoNews editor Morgan Corviday and volunteer crew Rebekah Staub, Karen Schatz, Midge Brown, and Kris Diamond; to our ever-reliable EcoNews Report engineer Fred McLaughlin; to our amazing office crew—Madison Peters, Delia Benise-Kang, Anne Maher and Bella Waters; and to our dynamic administrative duo—Anita GilbrideRead and Chris Beresford.

Thanks again to the NEC board whose direction guide this organization forward: Larry Glass, Dan Sealy, Chris Beresford, Jennifer Kalt, Bob Morris, CJ Ralph, Richard Kreis, Gary Falxa, Tom Wheeler and Alicia Hamann.

The Year Ahead

We are starting off the new year with a new office space which provides greater opportnity for community engagement and outreach! Come to our Open House on January 26 to check out our new space (see back cover for more information).

We are so proud to work and collaborate with so many committed individuals, businesses and organizations towards a more resilient future for all. Your help is needed to continue this great work, whether it’s a financial donation, participation in our programs or attending our upcoming auction/ dinner in March.

Together, we’ll continue to take action on vital environmental issues affecting the North Coast.

Thank you for your support!

What issues are important to you? Write nec@yournec.org, call at 822-6918, find us on Facebook, or stop by the new office!

Invest in the Future Join our Monthly Giving Program For more information, call the NEC at 707-822-6918

From 1971 to the Future!

NEC Crew Appreciation

What’s next?

2017

Wiyot Tribe Develops Wetlands Protection Program Plan Adam Canter, Botanist, Wiyot Natural Resource Department The Wiyot Tribe—whose ancestral territory is along the shores and tributaries of Humboldt Bay (Wigi) and the lower reaches of the Eel (Wi’yat) and Mad Rivers (Batawat)—have been the caretakers of these lands and watercourses for over a thousand years. The Wiyot Tribe and its Natural Resource Department (WNRD) carries on this role as one of the many caretakers of the Humboldt Bay area, to ensure that its people and future generations can experience, enjoy, and rely on the natural bounty we are blessed with on what has become known as the North Coast of California.

The WNRD recently took another step in helping to preserve important natural resources and the ecosystem services they provide by completing a robust Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Water Act (CWA) § 104(b)(3), Wetlands Protection Program Development Grant (WPDG). Restoration and protection of our coastal wetlands is a victory for all of us who live around Humboldt Bay, as these wetlands help to ensure our bay is clean and help to mitigate impacts from climate change and rising sea levels.

CWA 104 helps Tribes and other land managers to fund studies and biological investigations that support the prevention of water pollution—a primary goal of the Clean Water Act. The grant specifically helps the Tribe build its capacity to prevent and assess water pollution by increasing the quality and quantity of its wetlands. The funding of the evaluation of the Tribe’s wetland resources and establishment of a program to protect, manage, and restore its wetlands will help the Tribe achieve water quality goals.

First, wetland areas needed to be identified and determined through a process of wetland delineation, which is regulated, guided, and verified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. WNRD staff gained training in this methodology as well as the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) for wetlands, which provides a score card for a wetlands functionality and health. Wetlands were found on all three of the Tribe’s properties, which include the Table Bluff Reservation, Indian Island in Humboldt Bay, and Cock Robin Island in the Eel River estuary.

This process resulted in the creation of the Wiyot Wetlands Program Plan (WPP)—a five-year plan that will guide the WNRD’s wetland restoration

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Don’t Get Burned

by Misinformation about Dead Trees Douglas Bevington

This article was originally published online by EcoWatch.com and is reprinted with permission.

EcoNews Editor’s note: The U.S. Forest Service recently announced a count of 102 million dead trees across 7.7 million acres of California forest following an aerial survey. After six years of drought, 62 million trees died this year alone.

In California, dead trees are big news. Drought stress has weakened trees' natural defenses to native bark beetles, resulting in a pulse of tree mortality.

There has been little mention, however, of the ecological importance of dead trees.

Dead Trees are Vital Humboldt Bay owl’s clover on Indian Island. Photo: Adam Canter.

and protection activities, including the restoration of the Table Bluff Reservation wetland buffer, where the WNRD plans to use native plants and sheet mulching methodology to shade out and exclude non-native species that are invading the wetland and affecting its hydrology. Native plantings will focus on plant species of cultural significance to the Wiyot people.

One initial step is to develop a native plant nursery as a conservation tool and resource. Continuation of invasive Spartina treatment on the Indian Island saltmarsh and the establishment of water quality monitoring stations at both Indian and Cock Robin Islands are other actions listed in the plan. A WPP is meant to be an adaptive working document that can be modified as lessons are learned from field applications.

A wetlands field operations manual for present and future WNRD staff and a Wiyot Wetlands Field Guide were also created. The field guide is an educational guide to the Tribe’s wetlands and wetlands around Humboldt Bay, wetland issues and promotes the use of native plants for landscaping.

The guide will be available to local interpretative centers, like the Arcata Marsh.

Gaining a general snapshot and understanding of the Tribe’s wetland resources, and recognizing how important they are to the ecological health of our region and home were the most important results of this process. The WRND hopes to take this baseline data and use it to better care for its wetland resources for future generations, a role that it has been honoring since time immemorial.

For more information on the Table Bluff Reservation wetland, Indian Island, and Cock Robin Island, visit this article online at www.yournec.org/econews/content/wiyotwetlands. www.yournec.org

Dead trees can remain standing for decades or more and a standing dead tree—known as a "snag"— provides great habitat for wildlife. Birds and mammals make their homes in openings carved within snags, while wood-boring insects that feed on snags provide the foundation of the food chain for a larger web of forest life, akin to plankton in the ocean. When a tree becomes a snag, it actually reaches a pinnacle of its beneficial role in the ecosystem. In other words, snags are a vital and vibrant part of the forest.

“Snag forests” produce some of the highest levels of native biodiversity of any forest type. Some forest animals, such as black-backed woodpeckers, depend on finding places with large swaths of snags.

Unfortunately for them, unlogged snag forests have become quite rare.

The Deficit of Dead Trees

From the perspective of the timber industry, a snag in the forest is a waste, so timber companies and the Forest Service have spent decades cutting down snags as quickly as possible. As a result, there is now a significant lack of snags in our forests and this shortage is harming woodpeckers, owls and other forest wildlife.

The total effect of the recent pulse of tree mortality has been to add an average of only two snags per acre.

To put that number in perspective, forest animals that live in snags generally need at least four to eight snags per acre to provide sufficient habitat and some species require even more snags. For example, California spotted owls use forests with eight to twelve snags to nest and rest and they prefer even higher levels of snags in the areas where they gather their food. And black-backed woodpeckers depend on snag forests with at least several dozen dead trees per acre.

These points and many others were addressed in a letter from scientists to California Governor Brown in February.

Continued on page 20

Dec 2016/Jan 2017

EcoNews

We’re On Our Own: California’s Environment and a Trump Presidency Chris Clarke

HSU: WRRAP Anne Maher Introducing a new student column in EcoNews! This will be a space for student groups to share their accomplishments, goals, events and what they’re doing for their campus and the local community. If you are a member of a student group or know someone who is, feel free to let us know if you are interested in sharing about it.

This issue features the Waste Reduction and Resource Awareness Program (WRRAP), a student organization focusing on consumption and waste reduction principles. This group, having begun in 1987 as the Campus Recycling Program run entirely by volunteers, used funds from recycled cans to purchase a truck and begin diverting HSU’s waste.

Today, WRRAP is student-funded and studentrun. WRRAP’s five branches—Compost, ROSE, Education, Zero Waste, and Take Back the Tap—all play a different role in diverting thousands of pounds of waste from HSU every year.

The Compost branch provides compost buckets to buildings and offices, and collects it regularly to be composted in WRRAP’s Earth Tub. Workshops on how to use your finished compost and how to compost at home are regularly held to educate students and those who live on campus. Up to 500 pounds per week is turned to compost by the Compost Squad.

ROSE is the Reusable Office Supply Exchange, found next to the WRRAP office on campus. Here, students and faculty can donate unwanted office or similar supplies that others can then take for free, saving students up to $8,000 every year.

The Education branch works to inform students and faculty on waste, and holds several events every year. The Clothing Swap is one of the most popular— allowing students to bring in unwanted clothing and exchange it for free with other students. Education also works with many campus organizations, including the Humboldt Orientation Program (HOP) that brings in new students, and Housing, to teach new freshmen on how to sort waste properly. This branch also manages...

Continued on page 20

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Exerpted from an article originally published online by KCET.org, reprinted with the author’s permission.

Commentary: It’s always a bad sign when the most hopeful argument you can come up with is that maybe the person you’re worried about doesn’t actually mean what they say. It’s a rationalization that props up bad marriages and keeps people in bad jobs, the kind of argument that prompts therapists to offer aphorisms like “When someone tells you who they are, believe them.”

Based on what Trump has told us about himself thus far, we should expect the views of scientists and other experts to be deprecated in policymaking, likely to an unprecedented degree.

Science denial doesn’t just affect policy on climate change—without scientific accuracy, there is no environmental protection. Deny science and you deny sensible environmental policy. We can assume that despite the best efforts of career agency staff, the federal government will increasingly be AWOL on protecting the environment.

If there’s any glimmer of silver lining in all this, it’s that California has plenty of examples of how it can protect the environment when the feds don’t.

On many occasions, as previous administrations fell short in their environmental protection obligations, California has taken the lead to set sane environmental policies.

While gridlock on the Hill thwarted federal policymaking on climate change, for instance, California passed landmark greenhouse gas reduction laws including a carbon cap-and-trade program, an increasing commitment to decarbonize the state’s power supply, and a gubernatorial plan to cut vehicle fossil fuel use in half by 2030.

Want another example? As the feds worked to strip Endangered Species Act protection from gray wolves, California listed the wolf as Endangered under California Endangered Species Act. Another: The National Environmental Policy Act, the nation’s farthest-reaching environmental law, requires that federal agencies research and describe the likely environmental impact for a range of different versions of projects they’re evaluating. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does the same, but then also requires the lead agency evaluating the project to choose the least-damaging version.

In arenas from waste reduction to water pollution, California has routinely done the federal government one better at environmental protection, for decades. The state has even signed quasinational agreements with other governments, like its pact to harmonize the cap and trade market with four Canadian provinces, that have made California a major international player in environmental protection.

It’s not that California has a perfect green record.

Far from it, as evidenced (for example) by our current governor’s repeated attempts to erode CEQA’s power.

The decades-long push to reengineer the Delta for the benefit of agribusiness likewise shows that California’s government can be every bit as venal as the feds.

There are also ways in which a recalcitrant Trump White House could work to undo Golden State moves to protect the planet. Trump could order the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make it very hard for California utilities not to buy power from coal-fired plants, for example. If California manages to craft a Delta environmental policy that protects wildlife, Trump could undo it all with a phone call to the Bureau of Reclamation.

And if Trump really decides to pander to his core constituency, he could support ongoing efforts to privatize federal lands. There are 45 million acres of federal lands in California: almost half the state.

And it would seem some in Sacramento are thinking along these lines already, not just in terms of environmental protection but of human rights as well. In a joint statement released the day after the election, California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon called the Trump election “clearly inconsistent with the values of the people of California,” adding: “California has long set an example for other states to follow. And California will defend its people and our progress. We are not going to allow one election to reverse generations of progress at the height of our historic diversity, scientific advancement, economic output, and sense of global responsibility.”

But at least we’ve got a model for how to proceed in the absence of the feds. When federal agencies from the Fish and Wildlife Service to the Geological Survey to the Army Corps of Engineers find their environmental missions changed under Trump, it may come in very handy that California has some practice in going it alone.

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Dec 2016/Jan 2017

EcoNews

Community Preserving Oak Woodlands Energy and Through Partnership and Policy Choice Local Biomass

Dan Ehresman, Project Manager, Northcoast Regional Land Trust Northern California is home to a diverse array of habitat types—from our coastal redwoods, maritime chaparral, coastal prairies, riparian woodlands and mixed conifer forests—but when it comes to plant and wildlife diversity, our region’s oak woodlands rank at the top of the list.

In addition to supporting an extremely Conifers encroaching on oak woodland habitat, Chalk Mountain. Photo: Courtesy of Northcoast high level of biodiversity, Regional Land Trust. oak woodlands control few months have brought some exciting news. sediment erosion, protect water quality, provide On September 24, Governor Edmund G. forage and shade for rangeland animals and, because Brown Jr. signed AB 1958 updating the Forest they are drought- and fire-adapted, are important as Practice Act to allow for restoration of Northern climate refugia.

California’s oak woodlands. The bill was introduced Unfortunately, as readers may be aware, oak

by Assemblymember Jim Wood and proudly cowoodlands face a serious threat. Since fire suppression sponsored by the Northcoast Regional Land Trust became the norm in the mid-1900’s, conifers have and The Buckeye. been encroaching on, outcompeting and slowly Prior to passage of AB 1958, landowners who killing older California black oak and Oregon white wanted to remove encroaching conifers from oak oak trees that comprise the pastoral woodland stands and sell any of the merchantable timber mosaic. For the better part of the past decade, the were required to restock the area with more Northcoast Regional Land Trust (NRLT) has worked conifers—thereby defeating the purpose for those with private landowners and agency partners to interested in oak woodland restoration. The new protect this ecologically significant habitat type. law clarifies that removal of encroaching conifer Aside from direct protections afforded by trees from oak woodlands does not constitute a conservation easements, NRLT has been working conversion of forestland. It also creates a seven year with project partners on two initiatives aimed at pilot exemption to the Timber Harvest Plan (THP) providing landowners the tools they need to restore process that allows landowners to harvest smaller oak woodland stands. Although NRLT rarely jumps diameter conifers removed as part of oak woodland into the fray of policy, conservation of this unique restoration activities. Although the oak exemption is habitat is a timely issue that has a broad base of now law, landowners... support. And thanks to this broad support, the last Continued on page 19

Richard Engel Redwood Coast Energy Authority Humboldt County is in the process of launching a Community Choice Energy program, with the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA) taking the lead. Other California communities, including Marin, Sonoma, and San Francisco Counties, are already operating such programs. Community Choice Energy (CCE) allows residents and businesses to buy their electricity through local government, using an energy supply mix that meets local community values.

Some key goals of CCE programs are to maximize use of local renewable energy, keep electricity prices at or below rates charged by the existing utility, and spur local economic development. For example, Sonoma County’s program is using geothermal power from the nearby Geysers energy facility, supporting local job retention through clean power production.

Here in Humboldt County, energy will eventually be drawn from a wide portfolio of clean energy sources, including solar, biomass, wind, ocean waves, and hydropower. Forest-derived biomass (mill waste, small diameter trees, shrubs, bushes, diseased trees, or materials from fuel hazard reduction thinning) is of special interest in the near term, as the resource is locally abundant and the county already has three bioenergy plants providing local jobs. These power plants burn woody material to make heat to boil water and the steam is used to make electricity.

Other renewable energy technologies also have great potential, but they will take longer to bring on-line and in some cases may cost more than biomass power.

There are many important questions being raised about biomass energy. Is biomass really renewable? Is it low-carbon energy? Will it worsen our air quality? Will biomass energy drive increased logging? What about waste disposal? These environmental issues are raised alongside an interest in supporting local biomass jobs.

RCEA is taking these concerns seriously and wants to communicate openly with the public as we choose an optimal power mix, now and in the future.

For more information on biomass renewability, carbon output, air quality, availability and mill waste, visit this article on the NEC website at www.yournec.org/ econews/content/CCE-biomass. Visit RCEA online at www.redwoodenergy.org or call them at 707-269-1700.

Carol Ann Conners 707-725-3400 654 Main Street, Fortuna carol@pattersonconners.com CA License #0E79262

EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

www.yournec.org

8

New Rules for Retrieving Lost Crabbing Gear Michelle D. Smith Nothing says “holidays” in California quite like fresh, local Dungeness crab. And now crab fishermen, consumers and whale conservationists can all enjoy some satisfaction knowing that lost and derelict fishing gear will be removed from coastal waters and returned to its proper place in the gear piles of crabbers waiting for their next season. On Sept. 23, Governor Brown signed the Whale Protection and Crab Gear Retrieval Act (SB 1287). This bill has widespread support from both environmental organizations and commercial fishing interests alike.

Developed out of a project originally undertaken

by UC Davis and the Humboldt Fisherman’s Marketing Association, the Act serves multitudes of purposes: protection of whales from unintended entanglement in gear that has gone missing, reduction in marine debris, return of expensive gear to their owners, and reduction in navigational and fishing obstructions. Prior to passage of this Act, it was unlawful for anyone to conduct large-scale gear retrieval activities due to the prohibitions on handling someone else’s commercial gear and also on handling commercial fishing gear after the close of the season. This law will allow for the organized collection and retrieval of lost gear after the close of the season—a time when conditions for such activity are conducive—and will cover the expenses incurred by charging a fee to the gear’s owner that must be paid in order to crab in the following season.

Fins wrapped in ropes and whales dragging pots and buoys are disturbing sights to anyone with a love of the ocean—whale watchers and commercial fishermen alike. Whales are an iconic representation of wild nature and the health of our oceans. Once at an all time low, the numbers of humpback whales seem to be rebounding, up from around 500 in the 1980s to around 2,000 today.

The passage of this Bill was preceded by a year of both unprecedented and unfortunate occurrences for Dungeness crab fishermen and whales off the California coast. The Dungeness crab fishing season was delayed from its traditional opening date of midNovember on the Central Coast to finally opening on the North Coast after May—the latest in history. The year also saw unprecedented numbers of whales close to the California shoreline during the spring migrations.

These two occurrences were possibly the result of an El Niño weather pattern that resulted in warmer ocean waters off the west coast of North America, exacerbated by “the Blob,” a large and persistent patch of warm water...

Continued on page 19

9

New Chapter for Old Pulp Mill Delia Bense-Kang The most iconic landmark on Humboldt Bay can finally stop being called “the old pulp mill site” and start its new life as the National Marine Research and Innovation Park with the grand opening of Redwood Marine Terminal II. For over 50 years, the site has stood as a reminder of the timber industry era, symbol of the Surfrider Foundation Clean Water Act lawsuit and, more recently, seemed destined to become a zombie apocalypse theme park. Now, thanks to the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District, State, Federal, and economic agencies, Humboldt County, the Environmental Protection Agency, Coast Guard, contractors, public and private groups, and countless others, the site is entering a new chapter in its long legacy.

First established in 1964, the Louisiana Pacific Corporation (L-P) and Simpson Paper Company pulp mills were part of the timber industry heyday.

While the mills were economically beneficial and provided many jobs, they were also environmentally taxing. Both mills operated by use of the “kraft” bleaching process, which used multiple chlorine compounds and resulted in discharge of 40 million gallons of chlorinated dioxins and other pollutants into the Pacific Ocean per day.

Local surfers and beachgoers complained of filthy smelling water, skin and eye irritation, nausea, and bacterial illnesses. Samples taken from fish and crab in the nearby water showed traces of the toxic chemicals dioxin and furan. In 1989, community members organized through the Surfrider Foundation and used the Clean Water Act citizens’ lawsuit provision to take legal action against the L-P and Simpson mills. The case quickly gained national recognition and the support of the Environmental Protection Agency.

A settlement was reached in 1991 in which the mills agreed to reduce the toxicity of their effluent

discharge, and pay what was then the third largest fine under the Clean Water Act. Following the settlement, Simpson decided to move the operations to Chile, but L-P stayed and became the first mill in North America to produce chlorine-free paper. “Surfrider Foundation’s Humboldt Pulp Mill Clean Water Act victory in 1991 was a landmark win for coastal water quality around the nation,” stated Surfrider Legal Director Angela Howe. “We hope the new project continues to ensure environmental protection for this area and honor the area’s natural resources.”

L-P sold the mill in the 1990s and it went through several owners, Freshwater Tissue Co. being the final owner. Freshwater bought the mill in 2009, and had plans of producing eco-friendly toilet paper. The company received unprecedented environmental and labor support, but was unable to re-start due to lack of funding, and announced its permanent closure in 2010.

It appeared the mill site was destined to become a set for apocalypse films, and a ticking time bomb for bay contamination. Then in 2013, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District purchased the 72-acre industrial site for one dollar.

Much of the reason the Harbor District took on the project of cleaning and renovating the site can be attributed to its Executive Director, Jack Crider, who saw an opportunity to do something for the community.

And do something they have. The Harbor District saw opportunity in the site’s existing assets including warehouse space, a water clarification system, and an ocean outfall line. Their vision: repurpose the site into a National Marine Innovation and Research Park with focus areas in sustainable aquaculture, research, renewable energy, light industry, and functioning waterfront.

Since 2013, the Harbor District has completed Phase 1 and Phase 2...

Continued on page 19

A view of open warehouse space during the grand opening of the Redwood Marine Terminal II on October 14, 2016.

Photo: Delia Bense-Kang.

www.yournec.org

Dec 2016/Jan 2017

EcoNews

Extreme Weather No Butts About It, Adopt-a-Block On the Rise Will Help Keep Arcata Clean Jenna Cyprus

Thanks to new data, research, and studies speaking to the veracity of global warming and human-induced climate change, some of the staunchest resisters are now coming to their senses and recognizing the very real issues our world faces in the coming decades.

Last year, hurricane research conducted by Florida State geography professor Jim Elsner and Namyoung Kang, deputy director of the National Typhoon Center in South Korea was published in Nature Climate Change. The research found that warmer ocean temperatures—induced by manmade climate change—are fueling stronger hurricanes.

“We’re seeing fewer hurricanes, but the ones we do see are more intense,” Elsner said. “When one comes, all hell can break loose.”

Heat waves are also getting stronger and becoming more prolonged.

Month after month, we’re seeing records shattered for the hottest months in recorded history. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded an unprecedented 16 straight months of record-setting temperatures through October of this year.

“There has never been a run of hot months like this in the 1,641 months (or 136-plus years) of data at NOAA’s disposal,” says Brian Kahn of Climate Central. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) states that 16 of the 17 hottest years have occurred after the year 2000, and that 2016 will likely be the hottest year on record.

“The scary thing is that we are moving into an era where it will be a surprise when each new month or year isn’t one of the hottest on record,” says Chris Field, climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution.

It’s not always easy to identify the relationships and understand cause and effect, but the connections are becoming increasingly clear. There are four major things that scientists and researchers look for when studying changes in extreme weather and climate events: frequency, intensity, duration, and timing.

“There have been changes in some types of extreme weather events in the United States over the last several decades, including more intense and frequent heat waves, less frequent and intense cold waves, and regional changes in floods, droughts, and wildfires,” the EPA notes. “This rise in extreme weather events fits a pattern you can expect with a warming planet.”

While some have said we have 20-50 years to reverse course, others are now saying that we could see dramatic effects in less than five years. The time to take action is now, or else we can expect to see the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events increase in the months to come.

EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

Anne Maher It’s hard not to notice the cigarettes and other trash that easily accumulate in our gutters and sidewalks in the Humboldt Bay region, and recognize that they will soon be washed into its sensitive coastal ecosystem. While a 2009 Keep America Beautiful study found that 77 percent of individuals do not consider cigarette butts litter, 95 percent of the filters from those cigarettes are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic that does not biodegrade. Wildlife can mistake the butts for food, and birds have been shown to build them into their nests, creating a toxic structure.

Adopt-a-block is here to help!

RSVP’s Maureen McGarry and the NEC’s Madison Peters created sculptures entirely constructed of used cigarette butts collected by Adopt-a-Block volunteers.

The sculptures (pictured below) depict some of the animals put at risk by cigarette butts. After seeing the sculptures at the North Country Fair, HSU student Jensen Green observed, “It was pretty impressive, and disturbing at the same time. It really opens up your eyes to how many cigarettes get thrown on the streets instead of thrown out properly.”

Through this program, the NEC hopes to decrease the ongoing problem of toxic litter in our watersheds. If you are interested in helping keep cigarettes and other trash off our streets and from washing into Humboldt Bay, contact the NEC at 8226918 to become an Adopt-a-Block volunteer today!

The NEC has formally adopted this program as the primary coordinator, co-hosting the program with Humboldt Baykeeper and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

Adopt-a-Block allows community members to get involved and help clean up our streets, cities, and bay.

A group, organization, or individual can choose any stretch of road in Arcata that they want, and pledge to clean it once a month. The cigarette butts collected can be brought into the NEC office, where we will keep track of the waste collected off of Arcata’s streets. With 33 percent of storm drain litter being made up of tobacco products, this work can create a significant difference.

The cigarette butts collected from this program have also contributed to art— Cigarette butt sculptures on display at the 2016 North Country Fair on the Arcata Plaza.

www.yournec.org

10

Kin to the Earth:

Mark Lovelace contemplates the future. Photo: Bob Doran.

Jennifer Kalt Mark Lovelace was elected to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors in 2008 to represent the 3rd District, including Arcata, Manila, and Bayside. In 2012, voters re-elected Lovelace with over 67 percent of the vote. In August 2015, Lovelace announced he would not seek re-election, and last June, Humboldt Bay Harbor District Commissioner Mike Wilson was elected to the seat. Mark’s term will end on December 31.

Before running for Supervisor, Mark spent many years advocating for a wide range of environmental and social issues, including land use and planning, affordable housing, economic development, active transportation, and forest management. He is perhaps best known for his leadership in creating Arcata’s Sunny Brae Community Forest, 171 acres of redwood forest once slated for clearcutting which was acquired by the City in 2006 as an addition to the Arcata Community Forest.

In 2003, Mark became the President of the Humboldt Watershed Council (HWC), where he advocated for less destructive logging practices and more protection from logging-related flooding and erosion for residents in Elk River and Freshwater Creek.

11

Mark Lovelace Preserving Oak Woodlands Through Partnership and Policy

Elk River resident and HWC member Kristi development, particularly at Eureka’s Balloon Track.

Wrigley recalls that Mark was always very prepared.

As Supervisor, Mark played a role in a long list “He did his homework and everyone else’s too. He of accomplishments, including working with Green knew the facts and had the figures to support them.

Diamond Resource Company, the Trust for Public He was brave and courageous, and spoke directly Land, state agencies and funders to establish the to the entrenched supporters of Maxxam and their 1,000 acre McKay Tract Community Forest, securing logging with the same tenacious sincerity as he did the County’s long-sought right to 50,000 acre feet of his choir of supporters.” water from the Trinity She continues, “He was River, and reviving “Though I’ll be stepping down from the then as he is today, prepared, the Coastal Counties Board, I’ll continue to be involved in knowledgeable, ready to listen Association.

County issues, just as I was for many and learn and then speak Sarah Christie, years before running for the Board. up for the well-being of all, California Coastal “There are many ways to contribute to especially the ordinary citizen.

C o m m i s s i o n this community. Serving in public office He collected, compiled and Legislative Director organized a huge volume of states, “Mark has is just one of them.” - Mark Lovelace information on Maxxam’s always been a strong history and sordid logging in Humboldt County. voice for coastal protection, and he was an active He knew the truth, he had the facts and he always member of California State Association of Counties’ stood up for the public good. We are all better Coastal Counties Group. Mark served on the Coastal prepared to deal with today’s’ shortcomings because Commission’s Local Government Working Group from Mark was there, always on topic arguing for better 2012-2014, which was key to enhancing the coastal policy, not just participating in partisan politics. management partnership between the Commission He was spot on when it came to addressing and and local governments. He always recognized the explaining Maxxam’s and all loggings’ horrific effect mutual benefits in state/local collaboration, and looked on water quality while he was president of Humboldt for ways to advance our shared mission and goals. As Watershed Council. I will always be grateful an elected official he was committed finding ways to for his leadership.” improve the Local Coastal Programs process to achieve During the Pacific Lumber Company/Maxxam a more effective, predictable and efficient public bankruptcy, Mark was often the lone Humboldt outcome. Mark’s work was essential in supporting County resident attending proceedings in Corpus the successful efforts in Sacramento in 2013-14 to reChristi, Texas. Mark wasn’t just concerned with the establish an annual grant program to help fund local forest and streams being destroyed by irresponsible coastal planning. Coastal cities and counties will be logging practices; in 2007, he helped organize a reaping those benefits long after Mark has left office.” workshop for Pacific Lumber employees to help Mark also worked diligently as Supervisor to answer their questions about how the bankruptcy advance the statewide discussion around marijuana would affect them. regulation and pushing for removal of the four lower Mark also helped found the Healthy Humboldt dams on the Klamath River.

Coalition to advocate for sustainable natural “Though I’ll be stepping down from the Board, resource management, housing, and transportation I’ll continue to be involved in County issues, just as policies in the Humboldt County General Plan I was for many years before running for the Board,” Update, a process that is currently in its 17th year. said Lovelace. “There are many ways to contribute Mark also helped found Citizens for Real Economic to this community. Serving in public office is just Growth, a group focused on responsible economic one of them.”

Invest in the Future Join our Legacy Giving Program For more information, call the NEC at 707-822-6918 www.yournec.org

Dec 2016/Jan 2017

EcoNews

S

The

andpiper

DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017

Redwood Region Audubon Society www.rras.org Every Saturday: Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary.

These are our famous rain-or-shine docent-led field trips at the Marsh. Bring your binocular(s) and have a great morning birding! Meet in the parking lot at the end of South I Street (Klopp Lake) in Arcata at 8:30 a.m. Trips end around 11 a.m. December 3: Larry Karsteadt; December 10: Gary Friedrichsen; December 17: Joe Ceriani; December 24: Christine Keil; December 31: Jim Clark.

Arcata Marsh, © Gary Bloom�ield

Southern Humboldt Community Park. This monthly walk is taking a break until further notice. Look for this walk to happen occasionally, with the next one tentatively planned for February. Please thank Jay Sooter and John Gaffin for the hours they spent over the years leading this walk down in Southern Humboldt!

FIELD TRIPS

Sunday, December 11: Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This is a wonderful 2- to 3-hour trip for people wanting to learn the birds of the Humboldt Bay area. It takes a leisurely pace with emphasis on enjoying the birds! Beginners are more than welcome.

Meet at the Refuge Visitor Center at 9 a.m. Call Jude Power ([707]-822-3613) for more information.

Sunday, December 18: Eureka Waterfront. Meet at 9 a.m. at the foot of W. Del Norte St., where we will scope for birds off the public dock until everyone assembles.

We will then drive to the base of the Hikshari’ Trail at Truesdale Street and bird along the trail to the Elk River Wildlife Sanctuary. Leader: Ralph Bucher ([707]-4991247; thebook@reninet.com).

Saturday, January 7: Winter Rarities. We will start in Arcata and end in the Ferndale area, concentrating on looking for rarities that were found on the Arcata and Centerville Christmas Bird Counts while also enjoying the species we expect to see along the way. Most years we see around 90 to 100 species total and sometimes even find our own rarity! Rob Fowler ([707]-839-3493; migratoriusfwlr@gmail.com) will lead. We will meet at

DECEMBER PROGRAM & POTLUCK: FRIDAY, DEC 9 Bird Counts: The Birds You’ll Find in Humboldt’s Winter Habitats Are you thinking of joining a Christmas Bird Count team this year? Do you wonder if you’ll be a help or a hindrance as the team tries to ID every bird? Would you like to know which species are here in winter and which you can expect to see in different habitats? Then this program is for you!

Jude Power, local birder and �ield trip leader, will show examples Saturday, February 28 TH of the main habitat types in Humboldt and Del Norte counties and which bird species the CBC teams will likely �ind in them. Feeder watchers will also �ind Jude’s talk helpful. Bring photo Harvey a dish to share; we by willDerek provide drinks, plates, and utensils.

White-tailed Kite, © Ken Burton photo by Karen Pope

Annual Banquet

7:30 a.m. at the Arcata Marsh G Street parking lot. Bring a lunch; the trip is expected to end around 4 p.m. Dress warmly; heavy rain cancels.

Sunday, January 8: Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. See December 11.

Sunday, January 15: Eureka Waterfront. See December 18.

Loleta/Ferndale Winter Raptor Survey Route. This will be the 10th consecutive winter of raptor surveys in the Loleta/Ferndale area. Tentative survey dates are December 3, January 7, and February 4, weather permitting. If you have not participated before and would like more information, please contact Ken Burton at shrikethree@gmail.com.

See Last Page for Christmas Bird Count Information!

For carpooling on our more far-reaching field trips, we suggest donating gas money to the drivers. A good rule of thumb is $5 per ½-hour drive time to field trip destination.

JANUARY PROGRAM: FRIDAY, JAN 13 13 The Wonders of Arctic Shorebirds: A LOOK INTO BREEDING ECOLOGY AND CHANGING ECOSYSTEMS

Alaska is the summer home to millions of breeding shorebirds, and the array of species exhibit incredibly diverse life histories. Despite population declines, the huge numbers of breeding shorebirds in the Arctic coastal plain of Alaska make them ideal subjects for investigating impacts of environmental change.

Aaron Gottesman, HSU Wildlife graduate student, will share his Photo by Aaron Gottesman. experience working in Alaska conducting shorebird biology and breeding ecologies and the potential climate change research. He will implications of climate change to these highlight the wonders of shorebird populations.

Programs start at 7:30 p.m. (potluck at 6:30 for December) at Six Rivers Masonic Lodge, 251 Bayside Road, Arcata Bring a mug to enjoy shade-grown coffee, and come fragrance free.

OFFICERS President— Hal Genger …………........... 707-499-0887 Vice President— Jim Clark …………….. 707-445-8311 Secretary Pro Tem — Ken Burton...... 707-499-1146 Treasurer—Syn-dee Noel........................ 707-442-8862 DIRECTORS AT LARGE Ralph Bucher …........................................ 707-443-6944 Jill Demers …………………........…………… 707-667-6163 Harriet Hill…………………………….......…. 707-267-4055 Chet Ogan …..............................................… 707-442-9353 Susan Penn..................................….......…. 707-443-9660 C.J. Ralph ..............................................….. 707-822-2015 Denise Seeger .......................................... 707-444-2399 OTHER CHAPTER LEADERS Conservation — Jim Clark .............…... 707-445-8311 Eductn/Schlrshps — Denise Seeger ..707-444-2399 eBird Liaison — Rob Fowler ………..... 707-839-3493 Facebook — Cindy Moyer…………..…… 707-822-1886 — Rob Fowler ……………..…. 707-839-3493 Field Notes ................................................ HELP NEEDED Field Trips— Rob Fowler ………......….. 707-839-3493 Finance— Syn-dee Noel .........................707-442-8862 Historian — John Hewston .................. 707-822-5288 Membership — Susan Penn.…..............707-443-9660 NEC Representative — C.J. Ralph........ 707-822-2015 Nominating – Jim Clark …..................... 707-445-8311 Programs — Ken Burton .......................707-499-1146 Publications — C.J. Ralph...................... 707-822-2015 Publicity — Harriet Hill......................... 707-267-4055 Sandpiper (Editor)—Jan Andersen … 707-616-3888 Sandpiper (Layout)- Gary Bloom�ield ..707-362-1226 Volunteer Coordinator- Susan Penn.....707-443-9660 Website — Susan Penn............................707-443-9660 Lake Earl Branch — Sue Calla............... 707-465-6191 RRAS Web Page...........................…....…..... www.rras.org Arcata Bird Alert ......................................914-352-0133 The Sandpiper is published six times each year by Redwood Region Audubon Society P.O. Box 1054, Eureka, CA 95502.

Thinking of Joining the National Audubon Society?

If so, please use the coupon below. By sending in your membership on this form, rather than replying to solicitations from National Audubon, $20 is sent directly to RRAS. This is how NAS rewards local chapters for recruiting national members. (Otherwise, the RRAS dues share per new member is only a couple of dollars.) Thank you.

Chapter Membership Application

Yes, I’d like to join.

Please enroll me as a member of the National Audubon Society and of my local chapter. Please send AUDUBON magazine and my membership card to the address below.

My check for $20 is enclosed. (Introductory offer)

NAME_______________________________ ADDRESS___________________________ ______________________________ STATE____________ZIP______________ email ______________________________ Local Chapter Code: C24

CITY

Please make checks to the National Audubon Society.

Send this application and your check to:

National Audubon Society P.O. Box 422250 Palm Coast, FL 32142-2250 ----------LOCAL CHAPTER----------

REdWOOD REGION AUDUBON SOCIETY P.O. BOX 1054, EUREKA, CA 95502

President’s Column

By Hal Genger The Redwood Region Audubon Society’s mission is to support the health of birds and the environment.

We are a hard-working group of volunteers whose relentless work keeps this mission in the public eye.

Every volunteer is important; thank you all for that you do for RRAS! I especially want to think the RRAS board members, who make my job easier and keep this organization functioning. Thank you! Some board members are �inishing their terms, and RRAS is looking for people to take over the positions of president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Again, thank you all for your time and energy! Please contact the nomination committee (CJ Ralph, me, Ken Burton, or Jim Clark) if you are interested in any of these positions or have a suggestion of someone who might be a good �it.

Jim Clark and Chet Ogan co-chair the Conservation Committee and are involved in many of the local environmental issues as well as keeping us connected with what California and National Audubon Society are involved with. Thank you both and your committee members.

Rob Fowler chairs the Field Trip Committee. Thanks, Rob, for setting up these trips and leading some of them yourself; we all appreciate you! I especially want to thank all you leaders who show up at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary every Saturday, not knowing what the weather will be like, who will show up, or what special birds you might see. Thanks! I want to thank Jude Power and David Fix for their monthly Humboldt Bay Wildlife Refuge trip and Ralph Bucher for his monthly Eureka Waterfront trip. Thank you!

By Jim Clark

Susan Penn is chair of the Membership Committee and with the help of Kate Lowe and others has the monthly challenge of deciphering statistics regarding our membership numbers from National Audubon. Thank you for your persistence!

Denise Seeger chairs the Education Committee and works with the local schools to incorporate information on birds and the environment to the future bird-watching community. She obtained a grant from California Audubon to help maintain the extensive bird collection at Eureka High School and make it more accessible to others. Chet Ogan and Tamar Danufsky are also active participants in this grant. Thank you all!

Finally, I want to thank all those who participate in the publication of The Sandpiper. Thanks to all of you authors and picture takers! I especially want to thank Jan Andersen, who edits The Sandpiper, sets the deadlines, gives kindly reminders, and helps to usher the �inal issue.

Thanks also to Sue Leskiw who proofreads it and Gary Bloom�ield who does the layout. Thank you all for your team efforts!

RRAS is always in need of more volunteers. We especially need someone to help Harriet Hill with publicity, and we are still looking for someone to take over as the editor of The Sandpiper. Please let me (or any board member) know if you are interested in volunteering. Your service would be greatly appreciated.

2016 Audubon Assembly Report

On November 4, 5, and 6, Harriet Hill, Donna Clark, and I attended the Audubon California Assembly at Tenaya Lodge, near Yosemite. Topics included networking and partnering, water for birds, increasing chapter capacity through fundraising and diversity, protecting California’s priority bird species, building bird-friendly communities, climate change, and using social media.

It was also great to share chapter experiences with old and new acquaintances, both in the sessions and informally.

In addition to the detailed information that is too lengthy to report here, I took 3 concepts away from the Assembly: 1. The relationship between our chapter and Audubon California is more important on a functional level than our relationship with National Audubon Society.

California is fortunate to have such a good state organization.

2. There is a huge �iscal dichotomy between large urban/suburban chapters and small rural ones, but there are no barriers to partnerships between and among them.

3. As diverse as the sessions were, the common goal was bird conservation: now, tomorrow, and into the future.

The last day of the conference was celebrated by 5 �ield trips in and around Yosemite. Our �ield trip to Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome produced great views of, among other species, Black-backed Woodpecker,

artwork © 2016 Aamy Granfield

CHAPTER LEADERS

Sooty Grouse, and for some lucky bushwhackers, Pine Grosbeak.

The Assembly embodied how a chapter should function: intense work related to conservation, complemented by celebratory birding. And for me, even “the big one that got away.”

New Members

RRAS welcomes the following new members and subscribers: Arcata — Robin Chanin, Elizabeth Drabkin, Eugenia Ghisetti, Dave Kajtaniak, Samuel Vassallo Bayside — Hollis Blackwood Blue Lake — Scott Frazer Carlotta — Walt Ringer Crescent City — Patti Lambert, Nancy Traver Cutten — Margaret Reuter, Dolores Terry Eureka — Cara Gore, Robert Hewitt, Larry Holsen, Richard Johnson, Annie Twist Lubke, Cassie Moulton, Margaret Stofsky Garberville — Oceana Madrone Klamath — Richard Wendt Loleta — Cynthia Hammond McKinleyville —Robin Fellner, Diane Swartz Redway — Marjorie Jackson, Jayden Paine Scotia — Hilary Schwartz Trinidad — Simona Carini, Ronnie Melin Willow Creek — Sudheer Baba Zenia — Michelle Jewett We look forward to seeing you on �ield trips and at our monthly programs.

22nd Annual

22nd Annual

GODW I T GD ODW A YS I T D A YS SPRING MIGRAT ION BIRD FEST IVAL

artwork © 2016 Aamy Granfield

artwork © 2016 Aamy Granfield

A SPRING p r i l 1 9 - 2 MIGRAT 5 , 2 0 1 7 ION 2017 Keynote Speaker: BIRD FEST IVAL D r. B r i d g e t S t u t c h b u r y

Godwit Days G ODWI T DA YS PO BoxA 4978 r c ata, Calif or nia Arcata, CA A p r i l 95518 19-25, 2017

GODW I T D A YS

• Nearly 100 events to choose from: great variety of interesting field trips, lectures, workshops, boat and kayak excursions, and banquet.

• Humboldt “Big Day” - over 100 bird species on a single day.

• Keynote: Dr. Bridget Stutchbury, Distinguished Research Professor/Author • Featured Speaker: Noah Strycker, 2015 International Big Year/Author • 235+ cumulative bird species recorded during past festivals.

• Free activities: vendors and exhibit booths, optics, art show, live birds of prey, student art competition, family nature 2 activities.

017 Keynote Speaker:

A p r i lA r c1a t9a , - 2 5 , 2 0 1 7 Humboldt County, California

www.godwitdays.org 2017 Keynote Speaker:

D r. B r i d g e t S t u t c h b u r y

SPRING MIGRAT ION BIRD FEST IVAL

April 19-25, 2017

D r. B r i d g e t S t u t c h b u r y

Arcata, www.godwitdays.org Humboldt County, California

www.godwitdays.org

A r c a t a , EVENTS RRAS TO SPONSOR 3 EDUCATIONAL Humboldt County, California FOR CHILDREN THIS SPRING

By Sue Leskiw

www.godwitdays.org

Did you know that for over a decade, our chapter has been offering cash prizes to local school kids?

The longest-running event—13 years and counting— is the Student Bird Art Contest at Godwit Days, which RRAS cosponsors with Friends of the Arcata Marsh. I’m sure many of you have noticed the results, whether they be whimsical, abstract, detailed, or lifelike portrayals of local avian species that we post throughout the Arcata Community Center during the April festival. Nearly 7,000 pieces of bird art (pencil, pen, and chalk drawings; watercolor and oil paintings; collages; other media such as felting, cross-stitching, and clay) have been received from Humboldt County schoolchildren in grades K through 12. What began in 2004 with 143 entries and 13 prize winners grew to 980 entries and 38 prize winners (plus a bunch of honorable mentions) in 2016.

Our second-longest underwriting is of an award at the Humboldt County Science Fair. For the last 12 years, RRAS members have perused the projects displayed in mid-March at HSU to �ind the best one (or 2 or even 3) related to birds or their habitat.

The �inal event sponsored by RRAS is the Nature Writing Contest, for students in grades 4 through 12.

In its 11th year in 2016, the number of participants skyrocketed to nearly 150 prose and poetry submissions. The winning piece in each age group has appeared in The Sandpiper, creating published authors of these youngsters early in their writing careers.

Tom and I have been involved in these 3 projects from the beginning and appreciate the continued support of the chapter. Details on entering the upcoming art and writing contests will appear in the February/ March 2017 issue of The Sandpiper and will be posted at www.rras.org.

Student Bird Art at Godwit Days

G E T I N V O LV E D !

Most of our volunteer needs are for occasional, brief tasks or events. The following are ongoing tasks: Sandpiper Editor

What is it? The Sandpiper is published 6 times a year, with deadlines set by the editor of the EcoNews.

Qualifications: Facility with English grammar; ability to meet deadlines; bird knowledge a plus.

What’s involved: Notify contributors of publication dates; edit lightly when needed; interact with layout person until final issue; attend monthly board meetings.

Time required: 2-3 hours every other month, plus monthly board meetings.

Benefits: Great for building skills and resume, intimate knowledge of RRAS’s environmental and birding activities, community building.

Publicity Assistant

Qualifications: Good writing, grammar, and editing skills; computer literacy.

What’s involved: Once or twice annually, take over the monthly preparation and e-mailing of Public Service Announcements for RRAS as well as inputting some PSAs directly onto various websites.

Needed mainly when Publicity Chair is out of town for extended periods.

Time required: About 12-16 hours yearly.

Benefits: Building PR skills for interacting with local media, an important skill for anyone planning or wanting to work with nonprofit environmental organizations.

Please contact Susan Penn, Volunteer Coordinator, at (707) 443-9660 or susanpenn60@gmail.com if you’re interested in either position.

Join Us for 116th Annual CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT Every year since 1900, North American birders have been organizing in teams to spend the day counting birds. Originated by the precursor of the National Audubon Society (NAS), it is one of the most successful volunteer citizen-science efforts going on today. The sheer amount of data and manpower hours accumulated could never be achieved without volunteers. The results are published online by the NAS and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and available to researchers for studying winter ranges in bird populations and documenting the effects of climate change and habitat loss on particular species.

Alan Barron (flockfinder@yahoo.com; [707] 954-7668) and Gary Lester ([707] 8393373).

Another way to participate is to tally the birds that visit your feeders during the day and send your results to the contact person for your area. For an overview on the birds you may see, attend the RRAS program December 9, with a potluck dinner starting at 6:30 p.m. (See page 1 for details.).

Tall Trees: Monday, January 2: Count circle: from Big Lagoon to Orick and Lyons Ranch. Contact/compiler: Ken Burton (shrikethree@gmail.com; [707] 499-1146).

Locally, RRAS sponsors 5 Christmas bird counts, listed below. To participate, you can team up with birding friends or contact a compiler in your area or area where you’d like to spend the day birding, who will match you with others based on your birding identification skills. Lacking bird ID skills?

You can still be a big help and are welcome.

Arcata: Saturday, December 17. Count circle: centered on Arcata, stretching north to McKinleyville south of Murray Road, west to Samoa and Manila, east to Bayside up to the Baywood Golf Course, and south including Freshwater and to Eureka along the waterfront to the Elk River. Contact/ compiler: Tony Kurz (tonyk_71220@ hotmail.com; [559] 333-0893).

Del Norte County: Sunday, December 18.

Count circle: includes Crescent City, Smith River, Fort Dick, Lake Earl, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park/Redwood National Park, and the western portion of the Smith River National Recreation Area. Contacts:

Willow Creek: Monday, December 26 (subject to change, depending on weather): Count circle: centered on Willow Creek, includes Horse Mountain, portions of the South Fork & Main Stem of the Trinity River, Salyer, and the southern Hoopa Valley.

Contact/compiler: Melissa Dougherty (nevrdoughn@gmail.com; [530] 859-1874).

Centerville Beach to King Salmon: Saturday, December 31. Count circle: centered on Loleta, divided into sectors of 1) Fields Landing, King Salmon, and College of the Redwoods; 2) Table Bluff; 3) Loleta; 4) Fortuna; 5) Ferndale; 6) Centerville Rd; 7) Port Kenyon Rd; 8) Grizzly Bluff Rd; 9) South Spit; 10) Centerville Beach; 11) Elk River Valley; 12) Humboldt Hill; and 13) Salt River. Contact/compiler: Sean McAllister (whiteouters@gmail.com; [707] 496-8790).

Recent Rarities

Remember to check for and report rare birds in Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties on the Rare Bird Alert Line at:

(914) 352-0133

Black-throated Sparrow, 9/30/2016 Mattole River Mouth, HUM, © Lizzie Feucht

Eastern Phoebe, 10/17/2016, Freshwater Farms Reserve, HUM, © Lizzie Feucht

Summer Tanager, Horse Pasture Patch on North Spit, Hum Co., 9/10/2016 ©Tony Kurz

The

EcoNews Report Report

Every Thursday at 1:30 p.m., KHSU (90.5 FM, khsu.org) airs the NEC’s weekly half-hour EcoNews Report radio show.

Each show features a rotating roster of hosts interviewing guests and experts on a variety of environmental topics.

Past shows are archived on our website for listening anytime. The last five years of EcoNews Reports are available on our website (four shows per month, 12 months per year— that’s nearly 250 shows online!).

Here’s a selection of some recent EcoNews Reports: November 24—Delia Bense-Kang of the NEC interviews Dan Jacobson about the election results of the Yes on 67 Plastic Bag Ban in California.

November 17—Jennifer Kalt of Humboldt Baykeeper interviews Tom Wheeler of EPIC and Mark Lovelace, Humboldt County Supervisor, about the outcome of the presidential election and its expected undermining of environment protections.

November 10—Tom Wheeler of EPIC interviews Erin Kelly and Emily Sinkhorn about their adventures on the Bigfoot Trail.

November 3—Scott Greacen of Friends of the Eel River interviews Danial Barton and Scott Bellows about the recent verdict in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation trial.

October 13—Scott Greacen interviews Larry Glass about cannabis legalization and regulations and the impacts on watersheds and wildlife in Humboldt and Trinity Counties, and statewide with Prop 64.

October 6—Larry Glass of the NEC interviews Scott Sway, former NEC Board Member and well-known wolf advocate, about wolf natural history and reintroduction efforts for Wolf Awareness Week.

September 22—Tom Wheeler interviews Natalynne DeLapp, Executive Director of EPIC, about the ESA listing of the northern spotted owl and the anniversary of the Headwaters Forest protests.

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EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

Take Action

for the Eel River and Russian River Watersheds Under orders from the State Water Board and federal fisheries managers, the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) is rewriting the rules that govern stream flows in the Russian River watershed.

This is important to Friends of the Eel River (FOER) because water diverted from the upper mainstem Eel River through the Potter Valley Project has long been used to cover up the overallocation of water and mismanagement of the Russian River’s own flows.

Our Eel River salmon, steelhead, and lamprey need the Potter Valley Project dams removed so they can reach their prime spawning and rearing habitat. The Scott Dam has blocked all fish migration for more than a century.

Fortunately, federal biologists have ordered the SCWA to lower flows in the Russian River system. It seems that using the river as an irrigation ditch isn’t all that good for fish. This largely undercuts the old arguments about how Russian River irrigators could never get by without water diverted from our Eel River.

But of course, neither Russian River water users nor the agencies that manage water deliveries in the basin are at all eager to either clean up their own act, or to give our Eel River water back.

Though FOER has asked SCWA repeatedly to take a hard look at what Russian River flows would be without any Eel River diversions, they’ve refused to do so.

Instead, they’ve buried the question in reams of technical analyses, then claimed that they can’t seriously consider giving up diversions from the Eel because there wouldn’t be much

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water available in dry years. But guess what, SCWA? Nobody has much water in dry years.

And the fish need it even more than we do.

Further, SCWA needs to face the very strong probability that the Potter Valley Project dams are not going to be relicensed, and will in fact be decommissioned and removed. Russian River water managers may be reluctant to face it, but the reality is increasingly plain. The Potter Valley Project dams do an unreasonably large amount of harm to Eel River fish—which face a rising risk of extinction—in order to deliver tiny amounts of power and water the Russian River doesn’t actually need.

Please join us in writing to the Sonoma County Water Agency.

Please ask them: • Not to use Eel water to cover for mismanagement of the Russian River • To end illegal diversions from the Russian River • To ensure that instream flows are protected from further diversions FOER has prepared sample comments that ask the SCWA to reflect these core concepts— and a few other important ideas—in their modeling of Russian River flows. Maximizing the Russian River’s own flows seems to be the key to managing the watershed within its own means.

Visit the FOER website at

www.bit.ly/fish-flows to submit your comment today!

12

Eye on

Washington Dan Sealy, NEC Legislative Analyst

Welcome to One Party Rule

President Barack Obama, who has been friendly to many conservation issues, used his veto firewall to stop the most destructive anti-environmental legislation for the past eight years. Now the United States will be working in a very different era. President Trump will enjoy majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives. It is not often that the checks and balances between the Executive and Legislative branches are weakened by one party rule, but that is exactly the system conservationists will find themselves in. In stark terms, President-elect Trump has said he will appoint cabinet secretaries that will be charged with reducing environmental regulations that hinder business and resource exploitation. As of the writing of this report, there are a lot of names being floated as possible cabinet members and agency heads but by January, final names will appear.

The appointment of Secretaries to the cabinet is one of the most impactful of Presidential powers along with appointments to the Supreme Court.

Readers should pay close attention to news of

Yes on 67

PASSED

Plastic Bags are Banned in CA!

those nominations.

Some in Washington predict Trump will follow President Reagan’s legacy and nominate secretaries and agency heads who have opposed those very departments and agencies and worked to defund them. For those who are too young to remember, look up James Watt—who was President Reagan’s Secretary of the Interior and an attorney for the anti-public lands movement known as the “Sagebrush Rebellion”—and Anne Gorsuch Burford. Burford was the first female director of the Environmental Protection Agency who resigned in 1983 during a scandal over mismanagement of a $1.6 billion program to clean up hazardous waste dumps. Burford proved to be the classic “fox guarding the henhouse” politician when virtually all of her subordinates at the EPA were chosen from the industries they were charged with overseeing.

The Lame Duck Congress

Coal companies saw prices spike with news of Donald Trump’s shocking presidential victory. At rallies, Trump has held up signs promoting coal extraction.

Kentucky politicians such as Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, who have fought clean air regulations that control coal plant air pollution and the poisonous by-product methylmercury, will be very happy as clean air regulations are likely to be swept away.

Immediately after the election results were clear, the owners of the Keystone XL Pipeline doubled down on their intent to build it. Those behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, at the center of ongoing protests by hundreds of indigenous water protectors in South Dakota, are likewise emboldened by the election results. “We are evaluating ways to engage the new administration on the benefits, the jobs and the tax revenues this project brings to the table,” said Mark Cooper, a spokesman for TransCanada Corp.

Interestingly, the hub of the Keystone XL is in Cushing, Oklahoma, the largest crude oil trading hub in North America. The area experienced a 5.0 earthquake just two days before this election.

That earthquake was just two months after the biggest quake in state history (5.8-magnitude),

approximately 25 miles south of Cushing. The connections between the earthquakes and fracking are so clear that last year the oil-friendly Oklahoma legislature enacted new laws designed to provide protections from fracking induced earthquakes.

President Trump’s First 100 Days

By the time readers see this column, the lame duck session will be nearly over but here are a few priority actions the Trump transition team has suggested they would like to enact early in the next Congress: 1: Cancel the Clean Power Plan and related executive orders.

2: Freeze federal hiring for jobs other than public safety, public health and defense. (Currently vacant or soon-vacated positons will not be filled until a new, reduced budget is passed. So say goodbye to those who enforce regulations.)

Turning a Negative into a Postitive

If nothing else, the election of Donald Trump, the team he will assemble, and the agenda he will push in all likelihood will give progressives and conservationists the clearest target for activist opposition since Watt and the Sagebrush Rebellion.

This, along with the clear danger of climate change and backsliding on environmental regulation, just might energize a whole new generation of activists. The NEC faces this challenge with our legacy of grassroots organization and clear priorities. Northern California is fortunate to have legislative champions in the Senate and House of Representatives. Rep. Huffman has stated his strong, continuing support for conservation legislation, especially to stop climate change. Senator Boxer’s successor, Kamala Harris, has also committed her support for issues important to environmentalists.

It will be imperative that citizens and organizations work together to fend off attacks on the environment from timber management to sustainable energy and climate change solutions. It will be a time of vigilance by conservationists to protect our public lands and our environment. And finally, we along the North Coast of California have some of the most beautiful natural areas in the world to inspire us and renew us.

When the going gets tough—get outside.

Thank You! 13

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Dec 2016/Jan 2017

EcoNews

New Zero Waste Cadre in Local Workforce

Revolution, Hospice of Humboldt, Cali Cubes, Six Rivers Brewery, Blue Lake Casino & Hotel, Northcoast Horticulture Supply, Juliette P. Bohn Consulting, Los

Less is More! Reduce Holiday Gift Waste

Emma Held Who doesn’t love the holidays? The scent of artificial pine wafting from a cheap candle, the quiet rustle of needles floating to the floor from a farmed Douglas-fir tree, the last minute trips to the mall for more presents to outdo yourself from last year.

There is pressure to host a perfect holiday party complete with little plastic toys for the children, lavishly packaged presents and cheesy ornaments.

Why do many of us still celebrate with our families with outmoded wasteful ways? This holiday season, Zero Waste Humboldt offers a few valuable tips for reducing your holiday waste.

Let’s start with gifts. Over time, religious celebrations have metamorphosed into a winter holiday season of gift-giving—where friends and family quantify their love with stuff. All kinds of stuff.

Stuff that doesn’t fit, stuff that won’t work next year, stuff that sometimes you don’t even like. Holidaythemed stuff, stuff that is kitschy at best and only used on the holiday.

On top of the sheer quantity of stuff, is excessive holiday packaging. It comes in paper and plastic and metal and styrofoam and cardboard. Add up all the cost of holiday gift-giving and you’ve got a hard hit on the wallet. Not only do Zero Waste practices encourage creativity, exemplify sincerity and the true spirit of the season, they’re also cost-saving.

This season, give a gift of an experience! A home-

EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

cooked meal, a concert ticket or a movie night are all waste-free options to show your love. Don’t stop there! Offering your services (i.e. babysitting, cleaning, shoveling) are all well-appreciated gifts.

If you must give a tangible gift, give something homemade! Cookie and cake mixes, tea blends, jams/jellies, sugar scrubs, and body lotions are all ideas to get you started. For extra points, wrap it in newspaper, recycled paper, or last year’s wrapping.

Then there’s the dilemma of the holiday card.

Step Number 1: Email it. I do not mean mass email a link to a cheesy holiday cartoon skit that you found online. I mean attach a picture of you and yours, type your holiday wishes and just press send (you can even Bcc everyone on your list and do it all at once). Not only will it save you paper and money, but it saves your recipients from wondering if they should save all 23 of your holiday cards.

Aside from gifts, decorations are one of the hardest things to make Zero Waste. Celebrators all over the country spend countless hours putting up and taking down decorations that 355 days out of the year, sit in storage. Pinecones, branches, squash, and flowers all make beautiful decorations that can get composted or put back outside when you’re through.

We at Zero Waste Humboldt also encourage edible decorations—like gingerbread houses. For more Zero Waste gift giving pointers, email contact@ zerowastehumboldt.org. www.yournec.org

Contact Zero Waste Humboldt contact@zerowastehumboldt.org

Give the Gift of EcoNews!

Margaret Gainer Organized by Zero Waste Humboldt, 24 local individuals representing 16 different public and private workplaces completed the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council’s (USZWBC) Zero Waste Business Associates course. On Monday, October 10, this all-day training at the Humboldt Area Foundation included volume-weight conversion resources and calculations, standard metrics, monitoring tools, and templates for establishing baseline data to track waste reduction, materials reuse, recycling and composting progress over time.

The USZWBC trainers, Gary Liss and Marialyce Pedersen, also presented scorecard and validation procedures used for facilities applying for formal Zero Waste certification.

Staff from Humboldt State University, the Cities of Blue Lake, Arcata, and Eureka, North Coast Co-op, Open Door Clinic, Clearwater Sciences, Compost

Bagels, and HSU Housing & Dining Services participated in this training.

Zero Waste Humboldt will continue to support their waste reduction work with on-line information exchange and regular opportunities for Zero Waste professional development and socializing.

Zero Waste Humboldt will invite the public to join the group in an upcoming quarterly movie night series.

To learn more about Zero Waste training opportunities and technical assistance for your workplace, events planning, or school, email contact@ zerowastehumboldt.org or find us on Facebook for regular announcements.

A Gift Membership to the NEC includes a full year of EcoNews— delivered right to your friend or family member’s mailbox!

Now more than ever, we need to stay informed and take action to protect our natural places!

EcoNews has been the North Coast’s source of environmental news since 1971!

Fill out the form on the back cover of this issue, visit us online at yournec.org/donate or call 822-6918 to find out more.

14

Another Year Keeping Watch on Humboldt Bay Jennifer Kalt, Director As this edition of EcoNews goes to press, we are struggling to make sense of the outcome of our national election. Given a President-elect who has never held public office, and has no track record other than many wildly conflicting statements, perhaps the biggest questions are “what will Donald Trump really do, and how will we stop the worst from happening over the next 2-4 years?”

With so much of what we value under attack at the federal level, many of us will turn to local issues where we can have an impact on our own communities. We will need to act upon our principles by actively engaging, volunteering or donating where we feel we can be most effective.

Trump has made campaign promises to undo landmark environmental laws and unravel the federal agencies that enforce them. We will need to work even harder to fight polluters and protect clean water, to continue our shift away from fossils fuels to renewable energy, and to slow climate change while preparing for sea level rise and ocean acidification.

On the local level, elected representatives in the Humboldt Bay area will be making difficult decisions about planning for sea level rise in the coming year.

Will we take this challenge seriously and come up with real solutions? Or will we kick the can down the road for someone else to deal with?

We rely on our members, volunteers, and funders to help us accomplish our mission of safeguarding coastal resources for the health, enjoyment, and economic security of the Humboldt Bay community.

For more information, visit humboldtbaykeeper.org, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and tune in to the EcoNews Report on KHSU on the 3rd Thursday of each month (90.5 FM).

Identifying the Sources of Bacteria Pollution

We recently completed our fourth sampling event for Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center guide Marcella Ogata-Day leads our kayak tour to Indian the ongoing bacteria source Island for the Coastal Cleanup Day volunteer event. Photo by Jennifer Kalt. identification study in Janes Humboldt Bay Mercury Assessment Creek and Little River. In the coming months, we will In 2011, analyze the results of genetic testing that will pinpoint c o a s t w i d e the primary sources (human, cattle, dog, bird, etc.). sampling found Thanks to experts at the North Coast Regional Water the highest Board, Pacific Watershed Associates, Humboldt mercury levels County Public Health Lab and our funders at in the state in a Environment Now, Rose Foundation, Kurt Feuerman leopard shark from Foundation, Coast Seafood, and Moonstone Beach Humboldt Bay. In Surf Camp, we hope to use the results of our study to July, Humboldt develop solutions to one of our region’s Stream samples from Upper Janes Creek have very low concentrations of Baykeeper received indicator bacteria such as E. coli. This site in the Arcata Community Forest is best worst water quality problems. accessed by mountain bike. Photo by Todd Kraemer. a California EPA Explore the Bay/Explora la Bahí a grant to analyze This year, more than 250 people fish caught by joined us in 2016 for bay tours via local subsistence, kayaks, motorboats, and the Madaket; tribal, and sport interpretive walks along the Hikshari’ fishermen to better Trail; and two kayak-based trash assess the magnitude of mercury contamination in cleanups on Indian Island. Thanks to Humboldt Bay. Working with fisheries biologist Ross the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, the Taylor, local fishermen (picutred above), and charter Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, boat captain Phil Glenn, we launched the mercury and Conservation District, our study in time for the California halibut season. Other volunteer docents, and funding from species we will test include lingcod, bat ray, leopard the California Coastal Conservancy, shark, shiner surfperch, oysters, and several species Humboldt Area Foundation, and of clams that are important to members of the Wiyot Strong Foundation these free tours help Tribe. In 2017, we will interview anglers to assess us share our love and enjoyment of the human health risks associated with the mercury beautiful Humboldt Bay! If you haven’t levels we detect in various species. If you eat sharks had a chance to join a tour yet, or would or bat rays, or know someone who does, we want to like to join us again, our 2017 Bay Tours hear from you! Call us at 825-1020, or send a message will resume in April. to jkalt@humboldtbaykeeper.org.

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Dec 2016/Jan 2017

EcoNews

The Environmental Protection Information Center

ep c

Changing the Game: California’s Forests and Global Climate Change

Rob DiPerna California’s forests can help us fight climate change—if we let them. By recognizing the value of healthy, intact forests, we can use regulations and incentives to invest in the preservation and restoration of our forests, not only curbing climate change, but preserving clean air and water while protecting and restoring native habitat and biodiversity.

California’s forests can store carbon dioxide while mitigating the increasingly extreme effects of global climate change.

Incredibly, scientists have shown that deforestation and other logging that depletes forestland productivity are the secondlargest source of global carbon dioxide emissions after fossil fuel combustion. Carbon dioxide emissions from forest resource extraction activities are known to account for as much as 20 percent of annual totals both globally, and in the State of California.

California’s forests are currently emitting more carbon dioxide than they sequester.

Sixty-one percent of the overall reduction in forestland carbon dioxide storage is associated with losses in carbon density per acre— less biomass is growing per-acre today than has grown in the past.

In the redwoods, forest wood fiber and biomass in managed landscapes in the redwoods have been depleted to at most 10-15 percent of historic levels.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. In 2016, research conducted via Humboldt State University found that the coast redwood forests are capable of sequestering more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per-acre than any other forest type on Earth.

California has moved to reduce the state’s carbon footprint and to seek out ways to store more carbon dioxide. In 2006, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 32, the “California Global Warming

EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

overall and individual emissions “caps” each year. For each ton of emissions allowed under a cap, the state issues a permit. Businesses can sell or trade the permits on a secondary market as well. As the cap declines, the number of permits declines and the overall value of the permits, as well as the reductions, increases.

However, the California Board of Forestry and CalFire have been slow to respond to the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with logging. In 2012, the State Legislature enacted AB 1504, legislation designed to light a fire under the Board and Department.

AB 1504 required the forest products industry to go “above and beyond the status quo” to ensure California’s forests serve to sequester more carbon dioxide.

EPIC is engaging in AB 32 implementation at several levels. EPIC has been involved in stakeholder working groups and other discussions surrounding the development of the California Forest Carbon Plan by the Forest Climate Action Team (FCAT), an inter-agency working team tasked with creating the roadmap for forestry in California in the future.

EPIC is also engaging in critical review of existing Forest Practice Rules in preparation for upcoming advocacy at the State Board of Majestic redwoods in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Photo: Rob DiPerna.

Forestry as it works to ensure compliance with AB 32 and other climate legislation. emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 in Protecting the redwoods into the future means order to keep the state on-track to meet the larger addressing global climate change and human 2050 reduction goal. contributions to it. Thankfully, it is the redwoods AB 32 implementation has been placed under the themselves that provide us with the opportunity. charge of the California Air Resources Control Board Change can be arduous and slow. But the din created (ARB). ARB is using a combination of regulation, by everyday citizens and groups like EPIC must innovation, and incentives to attain greenhouse gas accordingly be louder, bolder, and more committed reduction targets in many industry sectors in California. than ever if we are to preserve what remains, and “Cap and Trade,” ARB’s market-based program under work to heal and restore the rest.

AB 32, is predicated upon limiting or “capping” emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse For more info visit www.wildcalifornia.org gasses with individual targets, with reductions in the

Solutions Act.” AB 32 established a state-wide carbon emissions reduction target aimed at reducing emission rates back to 1990 emission levels by the year 2020 and to achieve an 80 percent reduction from 1990 levels by the year 2050. Ten years later, the State legislature passed Senate Bill 32, which calls for reduction in carbon and other greenhouse gas

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16

NORTH GROUP REDWOOD CHAPTER

First Flush Klamath Monitoring Felice Pace, Water Resources Chair First Flush citizen stream monitoring has become popular across the US. It takes place after major storms, including the first sustained wet season storms. In California that typically occurs in October.

First Flush flows contain pollution that was stored in stream sediments, on streambanks and in riparian areas during the dry season. In the Klamath and North Coast ranges, sediment, nutrients and fecal bacteria are the types of pollution typically delivered to streams during First Flush storms. These forms of pollution are associated with logging and agriculture—particularly from badly designed and poorly maintained roads—and when livestock are allowed to graze in and along streams for long periods.

In the Klamath River Basin a few organizations conduct targeted First Flush investigations. For example, EPIC and Klamath Forest Alliance activists monitor streams within the footprint of large wildfires and backfires which have subsequently been subjected to salvage logging.

First Flush 2016:

In mid-October I conducted a First Flush investigation in the lower and middle Klamath River Basin. Most watersheds are dominated by public or industrial forestlands; some have national forest grazing at their headwaters.

Watersheds had received between 4 and 10 inches of rain over the prior seven days. Stream turbidity was visually estimated and photo documented. I also monitored sites in the Scott River Valley that in the past have been used as cattle feedlots. When feedlots are placed along streams, sedimentation, fecal bacteria pollution and riparian shade removal result.

While most streams carried moderate amounts of sediment, I did not find muddy streams or muddy logging trucks on the roads. That’s the result of stronger requirements for private logging roads and twenty-two years of the Aquatic Conservation Strategy (ACS) on federal land. Adopted in 1994, the ACS mandates removal of forest roads which most threaten stream ecosystems. It calls for reconstruction of all roads to render them less prone to landslides and washouts which deliver salmon-killing sediment to streams.

While the road removal mandate has not been fully implemented, a large effort has been made to “stormproof ” forest roads on private and public land.

As a result, while poorly maintained logging roads still deliver too much sediment to streams, they now

17

deliver much less sediment compared to the 1990s.

Three streams carried large amounts of foam indicating either decaying vegetation or manure waste in the water: North Russian Creek in the Salmon River Watershed, Kelsey Creek in the Scott River Watershed and Scott River below the agricultural Scott Valley.

North Russian Creek drains the Etna Creek Grazing Allotment in the Russian Excessive foam in North Russian Creek on the Klamath National Forest. Photo: Felice Pace.

Peak Wilderness; Kelsey You too can be a stream advocate. If you see Creek drains the Big Ridge Grazing Allotment in the pollution in a stream or mud covered logging trucks Marble Mountain Wilderness. on the roads, call the North Coast Water Board at Forest Service officials do not require modern 707-576-2220, file a complaint online at https:// grazing management. Each year unherded cattle oag.ca.gov, or turn the information over to an trample streambanks and wetlands, remove riparian environmental organization. shade and deposit large amounts of manure into and The pollution currently degrading North Coast next to streams for up to six months. Foam in North and Klamath River streams is controllable. Citizen Russian and Kelsey Creeks is the result of bad grazing First Flush monitors can play a critical part in ending management and could be eliminated if Forest Service controllable pollution and restoring healthy streams. managers required responsible grazing management.

Scott River Pollution:

Because standards for water temperature, sediment and nutrients are regularly not met, the North Coast Water Board developed a plan to restore Scott River water quality. The Plan calls for landowners to protect streambanks from trampling, keep manure out of the streams and allow natural riparian vegetation to shade streams. When landowners refuse to keep pollution out of a stream, the Water Board is supposed to step in to enforce the Clean Water Act. Unfortunately, Water Board staff appear reluctant to enforce stream protection requirements. The photo on this page shows one of the Scott Valley sites where Water Board officials fail to require the stream protection needed to restore Public Trust resources, including salmon fisheries.

First Flush Advocacy:

First Flush monitoring is a tool activists use to encourage responsible officials to end stream pollution.

For example, photos including the one above were sent to North Coast Water Board officials with a request that they take enforcement action to end ongoing water quality and riparian degradation at those locations. www.yournec.org

Events

One need not be a Sierra Club member to participate in these outings. Please join us!

Sunday, January 8—North Group Ma-le’l Dunes Hike. Get away from it all, close to the town of Manila on Humboldt Bay. Expansive sand dunes, lush coastal forest, tidelands, the beach. No dogs. Bring water and lunch. Carpools by prior arrangement, or BLM trailhead off SR 255 and Young Lane at 9 a.m. Heavy rain cancels.

Easy hike, 5 miles, very little elevation change. Leader Ned, nedforsyth48@gmail.com, 825-3652.

Opportunities for Activism

The North Group offers you the opportunity to use the clout of the nation’s oldest and largest environmental group to leverage progress on issues which are important to you. And the Club is the only major U.S. environmental organization which is democratically organized. Members vote to nominate and elect the national board as well as chapter and group executive committees.

The North Group Executive Committee invites environmentally conscious citizens who want to work on local, regional or national conservation issues to join us. We currently seek a Conservation Chair and a Forest Management Chair. If you are interested or want more information contact Felice at 707-954-6588.

Dec 2016/Jan 2017

EcoNews

NORTHCOAST CHAPTER

Protecting the Red Mountain Two-Flowered Pea Dave Imper The two-flowered pea (Lathyrus biflorus) is a diminutive, very rare member of the legume family restricted to about two acres on the slope of Red Mountain, a remote part of Humboldt County some 40 miles southeast of Eureka. The species is one of many rare plant species endemic to “serpentine” soils, derived from old seafloor sediments and typically rich in heavy metals. In this case, the population lies just outside Six Rivers National Forest and in particular, the Lassics Wilderness, designated in 2007 in part to protect the unique flora and geology of the Lassics Mountain Range.

Members of the North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) became concerned about the species after it was impacted by unauthorized logging in the 1990s. An opportunity finally presented itself in 2004, when the 40-acre parcel supporting nearly the entire species was purchased by several members of the North Coast Chapter. Population monitoring and research were implemented, while options were explored to ensure its future protection and management.

The two-flowered pea, like many rare plant species, is dependent on periodic disturbance, such as fire, disease or wind damage, to maintain moderately open habitat and suitable growing conditions. Research has indicated the plant requires over-story canopy closure between 55 and 85 percent cover, and when it occurs on south aspects, protection from late summer sun. In that respect the species is very similar to the Lassics lupine (Lupinus

constancei), endemic to two peaks in the Lassics, and recently petitioned for listing as endangered under both the Federal and State Endangered Species Acts. One of the primary justifications for seeking endangered listing for the lupine was the demonstrated inability of the U.S. Forest Service to effectively manage crucial habitat for the species in the face of climate change, ongoing forest encroachment, and other threats.

The logical solution for future protection of twoflowered pea would have been to transfer the property to the Forest Service for addition to the Lassics Wilderness, but the agency’s record in managing the Lassics lupine indicated that was not the best option to ensure future survival of the species. Instead, the parcel sold in 2016, and the proceeds were used to donate a conservation easement to the Northcoast Regional Land Trust, thus protecting key resource values over most of the property. More importantly, a nine acre portion of the property encompassing the population of two-flowered pea became the Red Mountain Two-Flowered Pea Preserve. The conservation easement guarantees our future access to the preserve in perpetuity, in order to manage the pea, including monitoring, research, and habitat restoration. A draft conservation strategy has been prepared to guide those future management activities.

Anyone interested in doing research, or assisting in habitat restoration and monitoring, is encouraged to contact the North Coast Chapter of CNPS.

Grove’s Prairie Field Trip, November 5, 2016 Along the stream in the old growth Douglas-fir grove at Grove’s Prairie, the bright red remains of the fruit of Western Burning Bush (Euonymus occidentalis) still decorated its fallplumaged boughs.

Photo: Carol Ralph.

EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

Editor’s Note: The article Finding Rare Plants on the North Coast: CNPS’s Rare Plant Treasure Hunt Program, published on the CNPS page in the September-October issue was written by Greg O’Connell, not Kate Rowe.

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Two-flowered Pea. Photo: Dave Imper.

Evening Programs

Beginners and experts, non-members and members are all welcome at our programs and on our outings. Almost all of our events are free. All of our events are made possible by volunteer effort.

December 14, 2016—Native Plant Show and Tell.

Join us for an informal evening sharing photos, artifacts, readings, or food relating to native plants and their habitats.

Dana York will discuss botanizing the Castle Crags, Donna Wildearth will share plants she saw in the northern Sierra Nevada this summer, and Greg O’Connell will explore his work monitoring the two-flowered pea. Other surprises are sure to be found this evening.

January 11, 2017—Explore The Mysterious Marble Mountain Wilderness. Dana York, former botanist for Death Valley National Park and Oregon’s Umpqua National Forest, will share some natural wonders of the geologically diverse Marble and Salmon Mountain landscape. The correspondingly diverse flora includes some interesting and beautiful rare plants, such as Subalpine and Silver Firs, Brewer’s Spruce, Klamath Gentian, Sticky-leaf Arnica, Howell’s Tauschia, and Baker’s Globe Mallow. Eye-catching common plants are there too. Beyond the realm of chlorophyll, Dana’s virtual trek will lead into one of the many caves in the Marble Mountains.

The North Coast CNPS chapter does not have any December or January field trips planned, but encourages the community to venture out during the winter months. Northern California provides an opportunity to observe new green life sprout as other green life is going dormant. Also, watch for walks sponsored by other organizations like Friends of the Arcata Marsh, Friends of the Dunes, Redwood Region Audubon Society, Sierra Club, etc. See you in February!

Sign up for e-mail announcements:

Northcoast_CNPS-subscribe@yahoogroups.com For more details and later additions, visit:

WWW.NORTHCOASTCNPS.ORG

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Oak woodlands

Crab gear

Marine Terminal

...will likely have to wait another year or so for the Board of Forestry to adopt their enabling language. If all proceeds as planned, the exemption should be on the books by January 1, 2018. In the interim, this is a great time for land managers to begin thinking about, and planning for, oak woodland restoration activities.

Coupled with the legislation, this summer a “special prescription” for oak woodland management was adopted by the California Board of Forestry.

This special prescription provides a THP pathway for landowners who are interested in restoring oak stands that are being outcompeted by larger-diameter conifer trees. With this special prescription all the basic THP preparatory requirements are required including: wildlife surveys, archeological surveys and geologic review.

The prescription eliminates the requirement to replant the stand with conifer seedlings by allowing post-project stocking to be met with two oak species: Oregon white oak and California black oak. The oak special prescription will be available on January 1, 2017.

Taken together, the legislation and the special prescription represent a holistic policy package that is the culmination of many years of work by ecologists, foresters and other oak advocates that will give land stewards the ability to more easily and affordably restore and protect our region’s beautiful and ecologically important oak woodlands.

As more landowners learn about these new tools, it is exciting to think about the potential to restore our region’s oak woodlands and protect the biodiversity, cultural significance and climate resilience that is inherent in this unique habitat type.

We are very grateful to Assemblymember Jim Wood and his staff for introducing and guiding AB 1958 through the process. We also want to recognize and thank in particular Yana Valachovic, her team at the U.C. Cooperative Extension; Mike Miles and the Board of Forestry; landowners and the many oak advocates out there for their leadership, research and outreach on the importance of oak woodland conservation and the policy steps needed to get there.

...that likely brought bait fish and krill close to shore while fueling the largest bloom ever recorded of the domoic acid-causing diatom Pseudo-nitzschia.

This resulted in a dismaying confluence. The high numbers of whales found along the coast occurred during a time when most commercial Dungeness crab fishermen would have normally already brought their pots in and have discontinued fishing until the following year. Domoic acid and the delayed season opening changed that, causing large numbers of fishermen to be forced to fish during an unseasonable time or face losing their homes, businesses, and being unable to feed their families.

This corresponded with an astonishing increase in the number of whale entanglements, with 50 confirmed in 2015 and an additional 40 in the first half of 2016 alone.

It is unknown what the cause of these ocean conditions are, or whether they are a sign of the new normal in this era of global climate change.

Only time and study will provide answers to those questions. For now, we can celebrate successful progress for both whales and fishermen. With the recreational Dungeness crab season opening at its usual time on Nov. 5, and the commercial season not long after, hopes are high for a return to more normal conditions in at least the season ahead.

Dungeness crab fishing is the bread and butter for California’s commercial fishing fleet, with an estimated $90 million industry value. It is also arguably one of the most sustainable of the fisheries: a well-managed resource with little by-catch. The Whale Protection and Crab Gear Retrieval Act is a proactive solution to the problem of lost crabbing gear that will benefit both whales and commercial fishermen.

...of their four-phase plan to transform the site.

Phase 1 removed three million gallons of acids and pulping liquors, which were shipped to a pulp mill in Longview, WA for reuse. Phase 2 then removed 30 steel and plastic tanks and 10,000 tons of caustic sludge. The massive cleanup efforts were made possible with help from many groups including the EPA, Coast Guard, Coast Seafoods, and public and private interest groups. “All groups involved had a shared interest in getting rid of waste that could destroy the bay in one fell swoop,” stated Harbor Commissioner Patrick Higgins. “We took a risk and it was scary,” said Harbor Commissioner and County Supervisor-elect Mike Wilson, “But what was scarier was not doing something.”

Moving forward, Phase 3 will be the removal of the smokestack and tile tanks, and Phase 4, the cleanup of all 30,000 tons of demolition debris. One new tenant, Taylor Mariculture, has already moved into the space. “There’s no good reason we have all this fallow industrial and commercial land around Humboldt Bay except clinging to the past. We need to stop planning through the rearview mirror,” stated Wilson.

There is much more work to be done, but the grand opening of Redwood Marine Terminal II was reason to take a step back and look at all that has been accomplished so far. The site is still far from the artistic rendition of what the National Marine Research and Innovation Park will look like, but closer to being a positive part of the community than it has been in many years.

Continued from page 8

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Dungeness crab being offloaded from F/V Puffin. Photo by Jennifer Kalt, May 2016.

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WRRAP

Continued from page XX ...WRRAP’s interns, who conduct projects throughout campus.

The Zero Waste branch acts as a resource for campus hosts to make their events zero waste certified. Compost and recycling bins, dishware, WRRAP staff to help sort waste, zero waste signs, and a certification can all be provided for free.

Take Back the Tap also assists in campus events by providing water urns and fountains to provide free water if needed. TBTT also hosted HSU’s Kill the Cup last year, a nation-wide competition to eliminate single-use cups and bottles, in which WRRAP won the social media portion. Grants obtained through this branch also contributed to the extensive hydration station system throughout campus.

This year, WRRAP introduced the first annual Zero Waste Conference—open to the university and community. Held for two days in October, the conference sought to bring together a diverse range of individuals and groups to discuss the concept of waste and consumption practices.

Students, professors, scientists, activists, and community members shared live music, lectures, workshops, and forums on the issues surrounding waste. The topics were diverse, and included food insecurity, HSU Dining practices, textile recycling, the impacts of plastic on wildlife, pickling, DIY crafts, and grant writing. The conference ended with a free banquet attended by over 150 people, featuring keynote speakers from Urban Ore and the Story of Stuff.

Through this event, WRRAP was able to involve our community and statewide partners as well as HSU students and faculty in encouraging the conversation around waste and consumption. The conference will be an annual event, so look for the second annual Zero Waste Conference next year!

Dead trees

Continued from page 5 Cashing in on Fear of Fire

Despite the ecological benefits from the recent pulse of tree mortality, logging advocates have been eager to cut down the snags, stoking fears that dead trees will cause severe wildfires. This claim is generally presented by portraying the trees only as "fuel" for fire. Depicting trees solely as "fuel" is a simplistic and misleading approach that reduces the natural complexity of the forest to a single dimension, resulting in erroneous assumptions about what really occurs.

Dr. Dominick DellaSala of the Geos Institute recently published a synthesis of recent research refuting that claim, concluding, "There is now substantial field-based evidence showing that beetle outbreaks do not contribute to severe fires nor do outbreak areas burn more severely when a fire does occur."

These research results are inconvenient for those trying to use tree mortality as a justification for more logging. For example, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who oversees the Forest Service, falsely claimed in a June press release that the tree dieoffs "increase the risk of catastrophic wildfires" and then used that claim to lobby for increased funding for his agency.

The biomass power industry in California is also trying to cash in on this fire scare regarding dead trees. Biomass power facilities generate electricity by burning trees and other vegetation. This process is remarkably inefficient, with biomass burning facilities contributing to global warming by emitting more carbon per unit of energy produced than coal or natural gas facilities. (Moreover, in contrast to biomass power, renewable energy sources that don't burn carbon—such as roof-top solar—have no emissions). Biomass power is also economically inefficient, requiring substantial taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies, as well as regulatory loopholes, to keep biomass facilities in business. Thus, the current use of fear of fire to try to justify subsidized logging of snags to fuel biomass facilities is bad news for the climate and taxpayers, as well as for forest ecosystems.

LNG pipeline

Continued from page 6 ...could be on par with the Dakota Access Pipeline project in Standing Rock. “It’s not just tribal opposition. Fisherman, environmentalists, property owners are all against this sort of thing.

There’s definitely a diverse coalition emerging out of this,” Tucker said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s initial denial of the project was addressed by Veresen’s president and CEO Don Althoff who expressed his disappointment in the decision in a statement in March. “Clearly we are extremely surprised and disappointed by the FERC decision. The FERC appears to be concerned that we have not yet demonstrated sufficient commercial support for the projects. We will continue to advance negotiations with customers to address this concern,” Althoff stated.

According to the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline’s website, planners of the proposed project are committed to adopting design features and operating practices that will exceed already stringent industry and regulatory safety standards which included: remote-controlled shut-off valves monitored 24 hours a day, frequent inspections required by law and regular inspections with highly sophisticated internal tools, thicker steel pipe in certain areas of the pipeline, and mainline valve spacing that exceeds federal standards. Veresen could not be reached for further comment at the time of writing.

Although the LNG pipeline has not been approved, Gensaw said local tribes as well as grassroots organizers are keeping an eye on what they considered a proposed threat to the Klamath River and surrounding rivers.

“We want to stay on top of it and get government attention so they know its not something we want to do,” Gensaw said. “If we stay ahead of the game, we won’t end up like Standing Rock and we won’t need to subject our people to being out there in front of bulldozers.”

A New Understanding of Forest Diversity

Dead trees, including large patches of snags, are a vital part of the forest. While forest protection efforts have historically focused on green trees, forests come in a variety of colors that also deserve protection, including trees with brown needles and trees with blackened bark. Their diversity provides the basis for a diversity of forest life.

Douglas Bevington is the forest program director for Environment Now and the author of The Rebirth of Environmentalism: Grassroots Activism from the Spotted Owl to the Polar Bear (Island Press, 2009).

EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

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Visit Klamath Riverkeeper to sign a petition against the LNG Pipeline

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Tom Wheeler Zombies haunt the redwood forests. These zombies are trees, albino redwoods to be exact, so named because instead of normal green needles, the albino redwood is a shocking white. Lacking chlorophyll, the green compound in leaves that plants use to turn sunlight into carbohydrates, these mutant redwoods should be dead—they cannot produce any food. But they are not. The ashen trees survive by feasting on their brethren... Okay, that’s kind of hyperbole. Scientifically speaking, the albino redwoods obtain sugars from neighboring trees through their root structures.

First documented in 1866, albino redwoods have been a chin-scratcher for scientists. For a long time, scientists have regarded the albino redwood as a parasite, but emerging research suggests that they may play a symbiotic relationship by filtering out heavy metals, such as cadmium, copper, lead, as well as other toxins, much like a liver would do in the body.

The albino redwoods needles have faulty stomata— pores which the plant uses for transpiration—which causes the albino redwood to use far more water than an ordinary redwood. As a result, the albino redwoods are able to draw in and capture much more heavy metals. Their ability to draw in toxins have caused some to speculate that albino redwoods could help clean up contaminated areas.

While their green neighbors may reach heights of over 300 feet—the tallest redwood still standing is “Hyperion,” located in Redwood National Park, towering at 379.1 feet—albino redwoods top out below 60 feet. Albino redwoods will never be more

than runts. One of the larger albino redwoods, known informally as the “Christmas tree,” tops out at just 30 feet.

Although they are rare—there are only 406 known albino redwoods—there are no special protections for albino redwoods. However, because they are so unique and interesting, there is a special emphasis to help protect individual trees. When a chimera redwood—a rare specimen that has DNA of both a normal green and albino redwood and exhibits both traits—planted in Sonoma County by a landscaper 45 years ago in a railroad right of way was threatened to be cut, the local community rallied around the tree until it was replanted in a nearby park.

Want to see an albino redwood? You’ll have to ask around because, like the tallest redwood trees, the precise location of these albinos is a secret for their safety. Heavy foot traffic can damage the roots and unthinking visitors may break off souvenirs.

Above: An albino redwood grows in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Photo: WolfmanSF, Wikemedia CC. Right: Albino Redwood needles in Big Sur, California. Photo: naturetime, Nature Photography by Pam & Richard.

from our back door...

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THE KIDS PAGE

PRESIDENTIAL PETS Did you know every four years American citizens elect a new President of the United States? The President lives in the White House in Washington D.C. where they work to keep our country safe. So far there have been 44 Presidents, and almost all of

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them have had pets in the White House! Dogs, cats, bunnies, and birds have lived in the White House, but some Presidents even had ponies, sheep, badgers, a raccoon, and silkworms! What pets would you have if

by Rebekah Staub you were President?

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1. The Clinton’s cat Socks explores the White House. Photo: Clinton Presidential Library & Museum. 2. Theodore Roosevelt’s son with his blue Macaw. Photo: National Parks Service. 3. Barack Obama plays with his dog Bo. Photo: The White House, Flickr.com, CC. 4. Theodore Roosevelt’s son Quentin on his pony. Photo: Icy2008 at en.wikipedia, CC. 5. Woodrow Wilson kept a herd of sheep on the White House lawn. Photo: Library of Congress. 6. The wife of John Quincy Adams had silkworms.

Photo: Fastily at en.wikipedia, CC. 7. First Lady Grace Coolidge with Rebecca the raccoon. Photo: Library of Congress.

EcoNews Dec 2016/Jan 2017

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Open House at the NEC Come check out the NEC’s new home at 415 I Street, Arcata during our Open House celebration!

Thursday January 26th from 5-7 pm!

Enjoy snacks and drinks with our supporters, staff and board!

Learn about our upcoming programs and volunteer opportunities.

New t-shirts will be available for purchase!

Here are some wish list items for our new space: • area rugs • floor lamps • sink/counter • mini fridge • toaster oven and microwave • bathroom mirror • bathroom shelves

if you would like to donate or help volunteer for our event contact us 707-822-6918 or nec@yournec.org

Dec. 10 Ocean Night Saturday, Arcata Theater Lounge, 6:30pm

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Mail to: NEC, PO Box 4259 Arcata, CA 95518 Thank you! In recognition of your generosity, we

Join Surfrider Humboldt, Northcoast Environmental Center, and Humboldt Baykeeper for our holiday party and year in review at the 1st Annual Black & White Ocean Night!

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Please check here if you would rather remain anonymous.

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