EcoNews Feb/March 2011

Forget Your Cloth Grocery Bags?

It will cost you!

Arcata, California

Catch the Jacoby Creek Buzz!

Vol. 41, No. I

Meet Humboldt’s Gray Whales!

February/March 2011

ECONEWS

Informing The North Coast On Environmental Issues Since 1971

Will The

Humboldt Marten Go

Extinct?

Fish And Wildlife Will Soon Decide.

Sierra Pacific To Cut Northern Spotted Owl Habitat Environmental Groups Challenge Cap And Trade Will Endangered Wolves Lose Protection?

Marine Life Protection Act Update Whale Poop Fosters Healthy Fish Populations EPA Approves Pollution Caps For The Klamath

Northcoast Environmental Center

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 Fish are Foul Trout in the St. Lawrence seaway around Montreal are chilling.

That’s because they’re taking, involuntarily, big doses of Prozac and Paxil.

About 50 native brook trout were exposed to Montreal’s sewage for three months. After screening their livers, brains and muscle, researchers found several well-known antidepressants.

The levels of the drugs were so tiny, they posed no risk--right now--to human consumers of fish. But the bigger question is whether fish health and ecology are being affected by effluent from a city where 500 million antidepressant pills are consumed each year--a level comparable to other big cities.

Here at the NEC, we’ve been warning about fish health for decades. If it isn’t about rapidly declining numbers, it’s about the robustness of wild stocks, or the affects of dams, or oil spills, or even Prozac.

But instead of getting depressed yourselves, you can support the NEC in its fight for clean water.

Your entire family can sign on for a mere $50. That may be less expensive than a steady diet of Paxil.

Thank you.

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ECONEWS

The Newsletter of the Northcoast Environmental Center

The Humboldt Marten’s Last Fight

By Amy Coombs

The Humboldt marten (Martes americana humboldtensis) was thought extinct until 1996, when a single paw print was discovered in Six Rivers National Forest, near the border between California and Oregon.

It’s now believed that 50 to 100 of the catsized tree dwellers inhabit the towering forests of the north coast, but without protection, the animals face certain extinction. U.S. Fish and Wildlife is now considering the marten for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Their decision will determine whether a local logging company can harm some of the last remaining martens.

Last September environmental groups petitioned for the Humboldt marten to be granted expedited endangered species listing.

Less than a month later, U.S. Fish and Wildlife responded, saying they would delay review.

“Our listing and critical habitat funding for fiscal year 2011 is committed,” wrote deputy director Alexander Pitts. At the time U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had been courtordered to clear its backlog. During the Bush Administration, listings and critical habitat designations were halted.

Humboldt Marten. Photo: Center for Biological Diversity.

“This legacy is impacting the Humboldt marten,” says Tierra Curry, of the Tucson, Ariz.based Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), which filed the petition. “During the Bush Administration people were hired who oppose endangered species listing, and the Obama administration didn’t clean house,” she says.

On Feb. 3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Jeff Waters announced by e-mail that the petition to list the Humboldt marten would be reconsidered. Review may be completed before the end of the year, but this is not a hard deadline. While the Endangered Species Act requires decisions to be made within 90 days, there is an escape hatch in the wording that adds “to the maximum extent practicable.”

Curry says CBD will take the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to court if it doesn’t rule in a timely fashion. “Unfortunately they have a long grace period,” she says. “And the marten’s situation is dire.” As for funding, Curry believes

it’s a smokescreen. “The Fish and Wildlife Service’s budget for protecting species has increased dramatically in recent years with little additional output to show for it,” she says.

“It’s my guess that U.S. Fish and Wildlife is under pressure to stall, as protection will pressure logging corporations and public land managers to change their practices,” says Scott Greacen, of the Environmental Protection Information Center, which joined CBD in the petition.

Last year EPIC received word that Green Diamond —one of the largest logging companies still clearcutting on the north coast—might receive an incidental take permit for Humboldt martens under a new habitat plan that Fish and Wildlife is preparing. The term “take” is used to describe displacement, harm or death caused by habitat destruction or direct action.

If the marten were listed as endangered, Green Diamond could not be allowed to take any of the animals, according to the federal Endangered Species Act. If the marten is listed as threatened, permits for habitat disruption can be obtained, and martens may be harmed.

“It’s not necessarily a good sign that U.S. Fish and Wildlife is including the marten in the new plan. You can’t take an endangered species, so this may be a sign they contribute to a wildlife corridor—if it became will opt for the lesser so inclined. As logging removes trees and tears status of threatened,” apart shrub cover, it is difficult to restore and says Greacen. “Ironically, conserve habitat on harvested lands. Aggressive they do apparently have harvesting can also encourage the rapid growth the resources to look of small trees, creating a darker forest floor that into the marten’s status, is inhospitable to dense shrubs.

Conservation efforts might also connect as this habitat planning the Humboldt marten to a genetically similar process shows.”

The Humboldt population in southwest Oregon. Slauson marten is currently is exploring whether these two populations scattered across less represent the same subspecies. “Regardless, than 400 square miles the martens in Coastal California will still need of Six Rivers National immediate conservation action. But if they are Forest, northwest of similar, one option to consider is translocating Orleans. In 2009 a martens from coastal Oregon,” says Slauson. single marten was It might also be possible to connect the two found in Prairie Creek populations through corridors of forest Redwoods State Park. blanketed with dense shrub.

Between 2002 and 2008 the Humboldt Prairie Creek is one of the best locations marten’s occupied range declined by over 40 for the re-establishment percent. “I did the population estimate, and of another marten there is a high degree of certainty that there are population, however a corridor would likely need less than 100 Humboldt martens,” says Slauson.

The population in southwest Oregon isn’t likely to be created to allow the animals to migrate.

“The problem is that the marten doing much better.

Green Diamond did not return calls. population has few places to expand to. One of the best management solutions is to improve Three U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contacts habitat connectivity to facilitate passage were phoned, but due to field research conducted between old growth in Six Rivers and Prairie during the weeks prior to publication, they Creek,” says Keith Slauson, of the Forest Service. could not be reached.

“There just isn’t that much fog-influenced, coastal old growth forest left in California, and a single marten needs about a square mile.

Martens rest high above the forest floor in the cavities of old growth trees, but they are equally dependent on the dense shrub cover that blankets mature forests. Along the fog belt, fires are sometimes less frequent, and shrubs grows into a protective layer where martens can look for food, safe from predators.

Green Diamond has detected a few resident martens on their land. The company also owns large tracts of land adjacent to marten habitat, positioning the company to

Inside This Issue

Parcel 4 Needs A Makeover.....................3

Eco-Mania................................................13

Will Wolves Lose Protection?..................4

Catch The Jacoby CreekBuzz?................14

Kid’s Page...................................................7

New Criteria For The Klamath...............16

AB 32 Stalled For Harming The Poor...12

How Many Humans Will There Be?......19

Will city zoning laws prevent restoration?

The loss will weaken the Endangered Species Act. Meet Humboldt’s coastal giant salamander.

A winning lawsuit shows harms of Cap and Trade.

A Monthly Melange of Salient Sillies.

See the life winter brings to the water and banks.

Will the water quality standards reduce pollution?

Family planning budget cuts and the enviornment.

A juvenile male Humboldt Marten. Photo: Keith Slauson.

ECONEWS

is the official bi-monthly publication of the Northcoast Environmental Center, a non-profit organization, 791 Eighth Street, Arcata, CA 95521; (707) 822-6918; Fax (707) 822-6980. Third class postage paid in Arcata. ISSN No. 0885-7237. ECONEWS is mailed free to our members and distributed free throughout the Northern California/Southern Oregon bioregion. The subscription rate is $35 per year.

Editor: Amy Coombs, amy@yournec.org Layout and Design: Morgan Corviday Advertising: NEC Staff, ads@yournec.org Proofreaders: Karen Schatz, Midge Brown Staff Photographer: Sam Camp Writers: F. Thomas Cardenas, Abe Walston, Sarah Marnick, Jen Kalt, Beth Werner, Sue Leskiw, Sid Dominitz, Mitch Merry, Colleen Clifford, Amy Coombs, Robert “Bobcat” Brothers, Bob Wunner, Kery Topel, Kerul Dyer, Alegria De La Cruz, David Simpson Artists: Terry Torgerson Cover Art: Pine marten, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

NEC Mission

To promote understanding of the relations between people and the biosphere and to conserve, protect and celebrate terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems of northern California and southern Oregon.

NEC Board Of Directors California Native Plant Society Jen Kalt (Secretary) jkalt@asis.com Redwood Region Audubon Society Ken Burton brdnrd@sbcglobal.net Sierra Club North Group, Redwood Chapter Diane Fairchild Beck dfbeck@northcoast.com Humboldt Baykeeper Pete Nichols (President) pete@humboldtbaykeeper.org Safe Alternatives For Our Forest Environment Larry Glass lglass@foggy.net At-Large Martin Swett (Treasurer) mswett@pacific.net Bob Morris (Trinity County Representive) bob.morris@wildblue.net

NEC Affiliate Groups

Environmental Protection Information Center Friends of Del Norte Volunteer submissions are welcome! Full articles of 500 words or fewer may be submitted by the 15th of each month, preferably by e-mail. Longer articles should be pitched to the editor, contact amy@yournec.org or call 707-822-6918. Include your phone number and e-mail with all submissions.

News From the Center

Have you looked around lately?

You live in an amazing place.

We are so fortunate to call the north coast our home and to be surrounded by people who truly care about the safety and health of our environment.

Right now, groups are working to save agricultural lands from development, protect the health of our waters, build safe routes for alternative transportation, spread awareness of energy

efficiency techniques, and protect our forests and threatened species.

You’re reading ECONEWS, so you’re likely well aware of all the energy that goes into keeping the north coast beautiful. I encourage you to consider donating a little more of your time and resources to supporting the many groups doing good work. Please, once you’ve finished reading this copy of ECONEWS, pass it on and help us spread awareness.

Letters to the Editor Dear ECONEWS,

I love that you print information about how to write to companies that aren’t serving the community and environment.

I like that you give people action plans on what they can do to make a difference. I usually do it!

In the last issue you told us to write to Ralph Iannuzzi about the billboards. The billboards have bothered me since I moved here, and it’s fantastic that I now have the option and ability to do something about it!

It would be nice to have more of these action options.

This is just a suggestion from a dedicated reader.

You’re doing a great job!

Keep up the amazing work and awesome stories. You have at least one dedicated reader, and I always bring my copy with me to class to get others involved and excited about what’s going on, environmentally!

My name is Suzette Turner, and I’ve been reading ECONEWS since I found my first issue in the Jacoby Storehouse back in September. It turned me on to the local environmental news and initiated my interest in environmentalism. I’ve been more involved in the community ever since.

I voted for the first time this year, and joined Greenpeace.

This was after realizing I could do something about the environment and make an impact by being involved. This was all sparked by your amazing stories in ECONEWS. Your magazine is extremely helpful and interesting, and I usually read the entire thing from back to front. I love all of the information it provides! It’s an amazing resource for this community, and the perfect example of how conscious and involved most people are here Sincerely, Suzette Turner in Humboldt County.

By Tara Stetz All of us here at the NEC wish you a vibrant spring and hope to see more of you. Visit us at our office in the Jacoby Storehouse during the week and be sure to enjoy some refreshments on us at the next Arts! Arcata.

Lastly, please enjoy reading this issue of ECONEWS and send thankful thoughts to Morgan Corviday, our new Layout Designer. We are so happy to have her on board!

Bouquets Bureau of Land Management, designator of 11,000 acres of wilderness along the South Fork of the Eel River. Five years after legislation considered the site for protection, the seven-mile long span of coast redwoods, Douglas fir and tan oak will now be preserved. We salute you, and so do the salmon and steelhead trout which swim in the nearby waters of the Eel.



 Sarah Marnick, NEC volunteer and ECONEWS contributor. Congratulations on finishing school! We will miss you on Fridays, but are ecstatic that the Kids Page will remain on your agenda!  Jim Clark, NEC Board Member of seven years.

Thanks for your many years of diligent service, and thanks in advance for future insights and guidance.

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

Every issue of ECONEWS is printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks. Please Recycle.

About The Cover The Humboldt marten is an evasive creature found only in local forests, and as there may be fewer than 50 in existance, they are rarely seen and photographed. Pictures of the Humbodlt marten are often taken at night. They are blury and taken at odd angles. This pine marten is easier to spot than its cousin, and though the two live in different regions, they are similar in color and size. The pine marten on the cover steals the spotlight on behalf of its humble relative.

Join us Friday April 8 for our fun-filled Arts! Arcata celebration.

Arts! Arcata at the NEC

NEC is pleased to showcase the work of Marsha Mello, a local printmaker known for her detailed depictions of birds, marine animals, amphibians and insects. Her limited-edition prints are done in the age-old intaglio method, drawing images on a copper plate, which is then etched in acid to make permanent lines. Each print is hand-inked, run through a press, then signed and numbered. Mello also works with watercolor and graphite.

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www.yournec.org

February /March 2011 ECONEWS

No-Man’s Land: A Marsh Locked In Legal Stalemate And Overrun By Drug Use It is a dismal little patch. The old mill site known as Parcel 4 is full of rusted out drying kilns and crumbling concrete. Overgrown bushes and shadowy ruins are littered with trash and human waste, a sign that partiers and squatters frequent the site.

Though many people are aware of the area and its shifty residents, few know why Parcel 4 is so forlorn. Why hasn’t this southernmost edge of the Palco Marsh been restored to wetlands like neighboring parcels? Why are the old mills still here, creating an eye sore for those who visit the nearby Bayshore Mall?

Since 2008 the site has been in a legal limbo that prevents restoration and site cleanups. The Redwood Region Audubon Society has been trying to negotiate a solution to the problem with the City of Eureka, who owns the land, but the quagmire has proved more complicated than anyone anticipated.

By F. Thomas Cardenas Yet Parcel 4’s zoning prevents restoration efforts from moving forward.

Restoration and enhancement are considered “inharmonious” uses of industrial sites. Even in natural resource zones, restoration must be conditionally approved. “[The Eureka General Plan] will not allow restoration or enhancement for fish and wildlife due to [Parcel 4’s] industrial zoning,” confirms Lisa Shikany, environmental planner for the City of Eureka.

Rezoning the property would be costly.

It would be a lengthy procedure requiring amendments to the Local Coastal Plan, the City’s General Plan and the zoning grid.

These hurdles are a letdown for easement holders. “The situation is very frustrating,” says Chet Ogan, RRAS conservation committee chair.

“We really want to restore the site.”

“There are the old pirates,” says Harpham.

“They’re old and burned out, and just do their drugs and drink. They’re pretty much harmless other than the mess they leave…. but then there are the crazies that nobody talks to because they talk to themselves, and there are the predators.”

The predators pose the biggest threat. They are typically addicts and ex-cons who prey on the other groups.

Aside from in-fighting, loose dogs are the biggest threat posed by campers. When pedestrians walk the site, they are often inclined to bring their pooches, and this can lead to fights, says Harpham.

Removing the concrete structures to make room for wetlands and birds might help solve this. The newly restored Palco Marsh has seen a drop in transiency and is now frequented by bald eagles and other birds.

What Is Feasible?

Everyone Loses?

While the City maintains that restoration The marshland in Parcel 4 is rich and fertile, and could become a plans are premature, a feasibility study will soon world class birding site if given a explore opportunities for trail development on the property. chance to rebound.

The City of Eureka received a $525,000 “We would like to improve it so the public can enjoy the natural, grant from the CCC in January, which includes and endangered, flora and fauna,” $30,000 specifically for a feasibility study of Parcel 4. The proposed project is designed to says Ogan.

In its 10 acres of wetlands and identify opportunities and constraints for trail five acres of uplands, Parcel 4 development, which is part of the planned supports two rare salt marsh plant routes of both the California Coastal Trail and species—the Point Reyes Bird’s the Eureka Waterfront trail.

Shikany says the study is a welcome step Beak (Cordylanthus maritimus ssp. palustris) and Humboldt Bay towards compromise, as trail development may owl’s clover (Castilleja ambigua not require complicated rezoning.

“A trail going through an industrial ssp. humboldtiensis). Both plants are considered threatened by the property is not necessarily contrary to zoning,” she says. “It would be consistent with the California Native Plant Society.

Native salt marshes are reclaiming the area around concrete buildings at Parcel 4.

At the nearby Palco Marsh, easement. We would just need to look at what Photo: Jen Kalt. restoration work will be completed exactly is being proposed.”

Joel Gerwein, project manager for the this summer.

Interpretive signs have already been Restoration Or Industry?

The Palco Marsh Complex was installed, the tidal slough has been dredged, and CCC, says he is excited to work with the City purchased as part of a 1986 California Coastal invasive vegetation has been removed. Yet to find a way to solve the stalemate and fix the Conservancy (CCC) grant. In October 1985, while the City locks horns with the the Conservancy authorized disbursement of Audubon Society, Parcel 4 remains $610,000 to the City of Eureka to acquire the a soggy concrete jungle.

In anticipation of this property, including Parcel 4—an abandoned mill site then owned by the Pacific Lumber Co. stalemate, the City was strongly The funds used to buy Parcel 4 and opposed to the easement. Now the adjacent acreage were stipulated for retired City Manager David Tyson restoration or enhancement. However, Parcel acknowledged the conflict of use 4 was excluded from the subsequent wetlands in a letter written to the CCC in improvement plan because Parcel 4 had long May 2008. It states that a “mutually been slated for industrial use. Its water front agreeable solution” could be access and proximity to a deep-water channel reached about the issue. Yet no makes the site suitable for a commercial pier agreement has been reached to date, and the parcel still sits and dock.

By purchasing the site with grant money undeveloped and unimproved. dedicated towards conservation, the City of Eureka was held to strict terms. If development The Mess Remains While there are no plans to plans moved forward, the City was required to repay the Conservancy. If after 10 years no clean the site, or remove the ruined Once the hub of industrial mill activity, Parcel 4 may soon be returned to wetlands—at payment had been made, the City would dedicate concrete mill, Shikany says there are least if zoning laws can be changed. Photo: Jen Kalt. the land to the CCC for an open space easement, also no current efforts underway to develop Parcel 4. This means no one is investing health and safety issues associated with the site. protecting Parcel 4 from development.

By 2008 the parcel had neither been energy in policing or cleaning up the site, and it included in restoration efforts nor developed, remains a perfect haven for drug camps, parties “I think this study will help us figure out how to move forward and manage that piece of land for and the Conservancy accepted an offer to and stray dogs.

Eureka Police Department Lieutenant the environment and the public,” Gerwein says. dedicate the site to an open space easement.

The Audubon Society is also excited about CCC chose the Redwood Region Audubon Murl Harpham, head of the City’s Problem Society (RRAS) to hold the easement. Though Oriented Policing (POP) program, has had the trail proposal, says Ogan, though he hopes a the city remains the official property owner, extensive experience with the area. “Basically larger restoration plan can be brought to fruition.

Yet until the area is rezoned or a RRAS holds the easement which protects we respond when we get complaints. We don’t have the man power or resources to do it on a compromise is reached, Parcel 4 will be beneficial against development. to no one but campers and pit bulls.

Now the parcel is zoned for one use but regular basis,” Harpham says.

In this current state, pedestrians aren’t —F. Thomas Cardenas is the ECONEWS intern and reserved for another, and each use cancels out the other. The easement prevents the land from likely to enjoy the site. Most of the squatters are a junior in environmental science and journalism at being developed despite its industrial zoning. benign, but safety threats do exist.

Humboldt State University.

Robert Berg, D.D.S.

212 J Street Eureka, CA 95501 707-445-0784 ECONEWS February/March 2011

www.yournec.org

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Kin To The Earth: Richard Goldman

By Amy Coombs worldwide through the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. The duo also created the Goldman Environmental Prize, which gifted $150,000 to leaders like Lynn Henning, a farmer in Michigan who exposed the pollution created by concentrated animal feeding operations, and to Tuy Sereivathana, who has helped resolve the human elephant conflict in Cambodia.

Mr. Goldman long advocated for foundations to give more than the mandated five percent of their assets, believing strongly in spending down large endowments in order to better address the pressing issues of the day.

He was also one of the most prominent donors in San Francisco’s Jewish community, and a supporter of environmental projects in Israel. He was one of the few donors to strongly promote the expansion of Reform Judaism and the strengthening of democracy and civil society for all Israelis, Jewish and non-Jewish. In 2002, Mr. Goldman helped to establish Jerusalem’s San Francisco lost one of its most Goldman Promenade. The Promenade draws cherished and renowned philanthropists last thousands of visitors of all faiths annually.

The son of prominent San Francisco Nov. 29, when Richard Goldman passed away lawyer Richard Samuel Goldman and Alice peacefully at his home at the age of 90.

Since 1951 Goldman and his wife have Wertheim Goldman of Great Falls, Montana, donated almost $700 million to non-profits Richard N. Goldman was born and raised in

San Francisco, where he attended the University of California at Berkeley. He spent a year at Boalt Hall School of Law before serving in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946. In 1949, he founded and was chairman of Goldman Insurance Services.

He served as President of the Jewish Community Federation and on the boards of the San Francisco Ballet, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the World Affairs Council of Northern California, among many others.

He and his wife, who died in 1996, raised four children. He is survived by three of his children, his daughter-in-law Susan Goldman, widow of his son Richard W. Goldman, and by his 11 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and his sister Marianne Goldman.

Goldman believed that every generation must address their own environmental problems, and he envisioned the torch would be passed on to his children. While the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund will cease operations in December 2012, the family’s philanthropic legacy will continue through other family funds.

Wolves May Lose Protection

By Mitch Merry Endangered Wolves may soon lose protection if three bills proposed in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are successful. The legislation sets a new precedent by allowing politicians to choose the animals removed from the Endangered Species List.

This February Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced a bill that would remove wolves from the Endangered Species Act and preclude their reinstatement. Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT) proposed a similar bill in the House of Representatives. A second, more narrow bill would limit delisting to wolves in Idaho and Montana.

Never before has Congress intervened in in the protection of a particular species. Listing and delisting of wildlife under the Endangered Species Act is the job of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Should Congress intervene now, it will create a slippery slope whereby political leaders may decide to remove protection anytime a species presents an inconvenience.

Protecting wolves is politically inconvenient because the animals are sometimes viewed as rampant livestock killers.

In fact, wolves are responsible for less than one percent of livestock kills. Weather, disease and other animals kill thousands more cattle and sheep. Livestock owners are also compensated for confirmed wolf kills.

Wolves were granted protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1974. Following nearly two decades of legal challenges, 14 wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995.

Years later, their conservation status remains murky and divisive. In 2009 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service delisted the wolf in Idaho and Montana, but in 2010, in response to litigation brought by conservation groups, a federal court found this delisting unlawful.

According to the court, wolves could not be selectively delisted on a state-by-state basis.

Wolves remained protected in Wyoming, and the court found that U.S. Fish and Wildlife had violated the law by trying to delist populations

in Idaho and Montana. The Endangered Species Act does not allow a distinct population segment to be subdivided according to state boundaries, says the court.

In response, Senator Hatch and Representative Rehberg introduced bills that would remove gray wolves from the Endangered

Wolves keep ungulate herds strong by preying upon unhealthy animals. Wolves also prevent herds from overgrazing wetlands.

Photo: Gary Kramer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

wolf once numbered over 200,000 and was found throughout the United States. They were here when Native Americans arrived over 12,000 years ago. They were here when Lewis and Clark explored the mountains and plains of the Northern Rockies. And, to their great detriment, they were here in the 1800’s when European settlers began to move west.

Wolves were initially trapped and hunted in this country by enterprising pioneers seeking to sell their rich coats. It wasn’t until homesteaders began to expand into the American West that the full assault began.

Killers employed by the livestock industry and the U.S. government shot, clubbed and sometimes set wolves ablaze. In less than a single decade in the late 19th century, nearly 400,000 wolves were killed.

In a uniquely shocking attempt to exterminate as many wolves as possible, “wolfers” contracted by the livestock industry laid lines of strychnine-poisoned meat spanning up to 150 miles long—killing untold wolves in addition to anything or anyone else unfortunate enough to ingest the poisoned bait.

In the 50-year period between 1850 and 1900 it is estimated that as many as one million wolves were slaughtered. The last wolf reported killed in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem was shot in 1943, effectively silencing the howl of this maligned species for decades to come.

The gray wolf should not remain on the Endangered Species List forever. But delisting needs to be careful, lawful and based on sciencebased plans, not political expedience.

Presently, Wyoming has proposed that wolves be shot-on-sight with no hunting license required—at least in 90% of the state. Idaho has proposed to kill half of the state’s wolves in the first year of hunting. These policies cannot move forward if wolves remain listed on the Endangered Species Act. You can help by contacting your Members of Congress. Make it clear that you don’t support legislative de-listing in any form.

Species List and leave management completely to state governments. Further, these bills would prevent the public from ever petitioning for reinstatement. All wolves—even Mexican gray wolves, of which a mere 42 are known to exist in the wild—would be statutorily prohibited from receiving Endangered Species Act protections.

The still-unfolding story of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) is one of the most tragic — Mitch Merry is the online organizer for the tales in our nation’s natural history. The gray Endangered Species Coalition.

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Sierra Pacific Proposes Cuts To Spotted Owl Habitat

By Amy Coombs and F. Thomas Cardenas Lumber giant Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) has circulated a timber harvest plan for almost 100 acres of clearcuts near Board Camp Mountain in Humboldt County, where endangered Northern Spotted Owls have been observed.

The harvest area, Called Green Mule, encompasses 92 acres within the headwaters of Grouse Creek and Cow Creek watersheds, both tributaries to the Trinity River. Only three acres are planned for selective cutting. The remaining harvests are clearcuts, with both tractor and cable clearcuts located near Northern Spotted Owl activity centers.

Called “activity centers” due to documented, registered Northern Spotted Owl sightings, such locations play a vital role in the species struggle against extinction. One clearcut falls within half a mile of the activity center, and another will disrupt foraging habitat that falls within 1.3 miles of a second activity center.

Northern Spotted Owls were first registered on site in 1989 by the California Department of Fish and Game. In 2000 owls were registered on parcel sections 25, 30 and 36. These locations are adjacent to proposed clearcuts. In section 25 a proposed 19-acre tractor clearcut has been proposed. Clearcuts proposed in adjacent section 35 will impact the inner half-mile radius of the owl’s activity center.

Currently the California Forest Practice Rules state that 500 acres of suitable habitat must be present within a .7-mile circular area of a Northern Spotted Owl activity center. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Guidelines for owl take avoidance do not allow harvesting within 1,000 feet of an activity center. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) will approve the harvest so long as habitat retention is achieved.

SPI proposes to retain minimal suitable habitat, though appropriate habitat survey data may have not been collected.

“Their habitat typing has a lot of problems,” says Rob DiPerna, of the Arcata-based Environmental P r o t e c t i o n Information Center (EPIC). “Some of the land they claim to be habitat is not really suitable for the owls.

This is a common In Shasta County, Sierra Pacific land is dotted with clearcuts. Remaining forest lands are not suitable for problem with SPI.” Even if the Northern Spotted Owls. Will owl habitat near Board Camp Mountain soon look this patchy? Photo: EPIC. preserved acres can be considered foraging numbers and are a California Special Concern habitat according to state rules, new science Mammal. “Their numbers are small, but they has shown that these policies set the bar too are among the top carnivores in the area. low. According to DiPerna, since the owls were Carnivores are critical to forest health,” he says.

The current controversies mark the first listed as an endangered species, better quality habitat has been shown to be essential second round of reviews. Following a series of for reproduction, survival, and residency. earlier modifications, the timber harvest plan Aggregating poor quality habitat doesn’t seem was recirculated in December of 2010 and is to work, and on lands that have been previously once again up for approval.

CAL FIRE and SPI did not respond harvested, a second wave of disruption may to a series of calls requesting interviews and prevent owls from rebounding.

“I am not personally opposed to small information.

The THP ranks the erosion impact of clearcuts, but when the cumulative impact of prior cuts is taken into account, it may become the operation as moderate. clear that too much is too much,” says Chet Ogan, conservation chair at the Redwood —F. Thomas Cardenas is the ECONEWS intern and a junior in environmental science and journalism at Region Audubon Society.

Ogan also says the cuts will be damaging Humboldt State University. to other forest animals. Fishers occur in small

Spotted Owl Protection Is Complicated The Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is a resident of old growth and late successional coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest. Since being listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, the Northern Spotted Owl has continued to decline throughout much of its traditional range.

The Northwest Forest Plan provides some relief for spotted owls in the form of a late successional reserve systems meant to protect old growth dependent species. Yet little has been done to protect owls that reside on or utilize private industrial landscapes across the species’ range.

In the past, the burden of protecting spotted owls from damaging logging practices on private lands fell on the California Department of Fish and Game, in consultation with the Department of Forestry (CAL FIRE).

In 1999 CAL FIRE requested that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service begin preparing technical assistance consultations for landowners wishing to avoid taking Northern Spotted Owls. Landowners were asked to provide detailed information about proposed harvest activities, including the amount of suitable owl habitat to be logged and maps of known owl locations. In return, Fish and Wildlife provided recommendations designed to prevent takes of spotted owls.

Fish and Wildlife handed the technical assistance process back to CAL FIRE in 2008,

A male Northern Spotted Owl. Photo: Sheila Whitmore.

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claiming that large timberland owners were manipulating the process in order to get ever-greater concessions and ever lessening protections for the owls. Fish and Wildlife noted gross deficiencies in the current California Forest Practice Rules’ ability to prevent takes of Northern Spotted Owls on private lands. First, the definitions of suitable habitat represents the lowest possible parameters for what can reasonably be considered owl habitat. These low-value definitions allow landowners to account for a much greater amount of suitable habitat than is actually present on the landscape.

Second, California’s rules do not protect the highest quality habitats. Rather, a total amount of habitat acres are retained, which allows landowners to log higher quality habitats and leave the most marginal areas intact.

In 2008, the Draft Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan was remanded back to Fish and Wildlife by the courts [which court], citing deficiencies in the process and failure to employ the best available science. The 2010 Draft Revised Recovery Plan still falls far short of what is necessary to protect spotted owls on private lands. Provisions are modified with such language as “to the greatest extent possible,” thus leaving the door wide open for interpretation.

In California, the Forest Practice Rules do not require either CAL FIRE or private landowners to manage for the survival and recovery of Northern Spotted Owl.

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5

Arcata Co-op Charges For Bags

By F. Thomas Cardenas really dropped. I haven’t had to restock the bags for a while,” Boyd says. “Some people complain because they use [paper grocery bags] for trash and stuff, but most people genuinely like [the new policy].”

Customer complaints are being taken in stride. “We’ve heard some grumbling from people about having to pay the 10 cents. Some people think the Co-op is trying to make money off the bags, but that’s not true,” Bettenhausen says. “Money collected goes back into the Co-Op community.”

All monies from the bag charge go into the Cooperative Community Fund, which donates between 17 and 20 thousand dollars worth of community care grants a year.

So far the Co-op is the only grocery store in Arcata to charge for paper bags. Safeway and Wildberries offer a recycling program for plastic bags and have no plans to implement a charge for paper.

“Wildberries will definitely not be charging for paper bags, but we do offer a discount for people who bring their own cloth or reusable bags,” says Phil Ricord, general manager. Since the store opened in 1994, customers who bring their own bags have received 10 cent credits for each bag.

The North Coast Co-Op has never distributed plastic grocery bags, but each year more than 366,000 paper bags are stuffed full of groceries and sent home with customers.

To reduce their environmental imprint, on Jan. 1 the Co-op started charging customers 10 cents per paper grocery bag. Store management hopes the new policy will encourage more customers to bring their own sacks.

“The response has been really good; we’ve seen a reduction in [paper] bag use already,” says Melanie Bettenhausen, member linkages director at the Co-op.

The Co-op aims to cut their paper consumption by 80 percent before Earth Day arrives in April. To provide further incentives to customers, the Co-op also offers a fivecent credit for every reusable bag customers bring in. In January the Co-op gave away reusable grocery bags with every 40-dollar purchase, but this promotion has now ended.

A Co-op shopper since August, Salina Shelton, 18, says the policy is a practical way to cut down on consumption.

“I think it makes sense. A lot of people leave [their cloth bags] in the car,” Shelton says. “That extra 10 cents is usually enough to get them to bring the bags from the car.”

Co-op Courtesy Clerk Matthew Boyd, —F. Thomas Cardenas is the ECONEWS intern and a junior says the policy is already making an impact. in environmental science and journalism at Humboldt State “The number of paper bags people use has University.

Will Humboldt County Ban Plastic Bags?

By Colleen Clifford

If it moves forward, HWMA’s ordinance will provide a list of options that cities can choose to adopt. Instead of plastic, stores may be able to opt for biodegradable bags. Fees may also be placed on paper bags, though a 2007 State Assembly Bill made it illegal to place fees on plastic bags at check-out.

Single-use plastic bags have become more difficult to recycle nationwide; in fact, the Arcata Community Recycling Center stopped accepting them in early 2009. This means local bags are sent to landfills.

Because the bags are lightweight and durable, wind can scatter them The ‘bag monster’ shows that one shopper uses 500 bags in a year! Photo: Ian Davidson. from their intended destination.

Local grocery stores may soon have to switch Ocean ecosystems are particularly from plastic bags to paper or cloth alternatives, damaged by plastic bags, which accounted at least if a controversial ban moves forward. for 47 of 443 items of plastic debris found Humboldt Waste Management Authority entangling marine wildlife, according to a 2008 (HWMA) may draft a county-wide ordinance that study conducted by the Ocean Conservancy on bans plastic bags. The decision on whether to draft International Coastal Clean-up Day. Animals the ordinance, which will later be reviewed by sometimes see the bags as food and ingest them. the County Board of Supervisors, will come up for a vote on March 13—at least if there are no delays. HWMA previously postponed the decision twice in order to allow staff more time to conduct research. Fearing a suit from the plastics industry, staff members are reviewing bans implemented in other communities, as well as the costs of ordinance preparation and litigation.

A new Co-op sign reminds shoppers to bring their own bags.

Photo: Alanna Cottrell.

Paper or Plastic?

Is it better to bag your groceries in paper bags, which come from trees?

This is the question posed by a handful of lawsuits—many filed by the plastics industry. In August 2007, just a few months after Oakland banned plastic bags, a legal challenge was filed by The Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling. In other communities, Save the Plastic Bag Coalition has also challenged bag bans. Both groups include manufacturers in the plastic bag industry.

The lawsuits demand that cities perform an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to compare the impacts of plastic and paper bags, including the harms of increasing paper bag use.

L.A. County performed an EIR, looking at air quality, biological resources, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, utilities and service systems. It found that no significant impacts would arise beyond the paper bag industry’s ability to manufacture within already-enacted environmental regulations.

Alameda County is now developing an EIR that all Alameda cities can use for plastic bag ordinances, and the list of cities and countries taking up this issue grows daily.

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Surfrider encourages you to get involved!

Contact your Council Member to encourage a bag ban in your municipality.

Contact Humboldt Waste Management Authority at (707) 268-8680 to ask the board to move forward in drafting a bag ban ordinance.

Bring Your Own! BYO Bags, Water Bottles, Cutlery, To-Go Containers.

Move beyond single-use. Stop buying onetime, disposal items.

Write letters to companies asking for reduced packaging.

Attend council meetings. Ask your representatives to support sustainability.

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6

Plastic bags look like food sources to animals. Photo: Surfrider.

Plastic is a material that is not biodegradable, but rather photodegradable.

This means it does not break down and absorb into the environment. In fact, its unique molecular structure can break into smaller and smaller pieces that never truly go away.

Plastic material is meant to endure, yet most grocery bags are intended for one-time use. It is time to make a change in our behavior.

—Colleen Clifford is the Rise Above Plastics Coordinator at Surfrider, Humboldt.

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Eat Local! Wild Foods Banquet with Jane Bothwell

Come discover the abundance of wild edibles that surround you. With our harvest, we’ll prepare a delicious feast to enjoy!

April 3 10am - 3pm $65 includes gourmet wild lunch Banquet to be held in Kneeland, CA

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February /March 2011 ECONEWS

The Kid’s Page: The Coast Giant Salamander

By Sarah Marnick

Did you know that one of the largest terrestrial salamanders in North America lives in our backyard!? The coastal giant salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus) is only found in the Pacific Northwest.

Like all salamanders, they require a moist habitat. Their eggs are laid in streams, usually stuck on the bottom of a rock under the water. The mom stays close by and protects the eggs from predators. They have small teeth and will bite if anything threatens the eggs.

Coastal giant salamanders can spend a couple of years in the water after they emerge from the egg. Their bodies are adapted to life in fast moving streams, and during their early years they have short feathery gills and a paddle-like tail. Over time the gills get smaller and eventually disappear.

As they grow up, coastal giant salamanders come out of the water and live on land. Yet even after they move into the forest, adults stay close to cool, clear, mountain streams.

They are rarely seen crawling in the open, and spend most of their time under logs, rocks and other debris. This is why coastal giant salamanders do best in old-growth forests that have plenty of fallen leaves and wood, and lots of shade.

Coastal giants can grow up to a foot long! They can also make a barking or croaking type noise when startled.

Some call it the barking salamander.

In their larval stage coastal giant salamanders have feathery gills and paddle-like tails. Photo: Gary Nafis, Californiaherps.com.

This coastal giant salamander was photographed in Humboldt County.

Photo: Gary Nafis, Californiaherps.com.

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This stream in Del Norte County is home to coastal giant salamanders, which never move far from a stream. They prefer moist old-growth forests that have lots of hiding places. Photo: Gary Nafis, Californiaherps.com.

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7

LIFE FORM OF THE MONTH GRAY WHALE: (ESCHRICHTIUS ROBUSTUS)

By Abe Walston

The gray whale is known by the scientific name Eschrichtius robustus, following the time-honored academic tradition of saddling even the most familiar creatures with obscure and unpronounceable names.

Gray whales evolved about 30 million years ago, and the species almost went belly up in the 1930’s due to a voracious predator known as The Whaling Industry. The International Whaling Commission banned commercial hunting of gray whales in 1947, and in 1974, when only 12,000 of the animals remained, gray whales were placed on the Endangered Species List. Thanks to conservation efforts, numbers climbed to 22,000 in 1994, and gray whales were delisted. While a flock of 150 Asian gray whales remains critically endangered, the Eastern Pacific population, which migrates from Alaska to Baja Mexico, has an estimated 22,000 to 32,000 members.

Yet even this Eastern Pacific population continues to face many threats. Between 1998 and 2000 about 150 emaciated gray whales were found beached along the shores of the Pacific Northwest. Many more whales likely starved at sea. The food scarcity may have been related to El Nino conditions, though some researchers suggest climate change also impacts the whale’s food supply.

Instead of swimming all the way from the Artic to Baja, a few gray whales see fit to stop in Humboldt and hang out for an extra few months every year. We recently caught up with a gray whale off the Humboldt Coast and learned from its thoughtful wisdom.

AW: Is that so?

GW: (Sighs) It used to be so anyhow.

Now you can’t get a good meal. It used to be that you’d almost choke on the amphipods. But now you take a gulp and it’s mostly water and mud. Whales are getting what food they can at the coastal shrimp buffet, but it doesn’t pack the same punch.

AW: I’ve heard about “skinny whale syndrome.” Researchers think whales are malnourished due to food depletions caused by climate change. How bad is it?

Whale Watching Those interested in viewing whales should try looking seaward from Trinidad, Patrick’s Point, Table Bluff, or any other coastal promontory, preferably between the months of November and April. Humpback, blue, and sperm whales can also be seen, but grays are the most common.

AW: I take it you didn’t appreciate the publicity from Moby Dick?

GW: It did for us what the Bible did for snakes. Did you know we were once called “the devil fish?” How insensitive is that? Any fool knows we aren’t fish. Grays are baleen whales, meaning we lack teeth. We don’t even eat fish.

AW: Are you annoyed by boats full of whale watchers?

AW (Abe Walston): Gray whales Photo: Marcia Moreno-Baez, Marine Photobank. measure 36-50 feet long and weigh 16-45 GW: It’s worse than ever. Whales are tons. You also undertake the longest known dropping hundreds of pounds. When we can’t migration of any mammal. Why do you make pack on the blubber at the feeding grounds, we such a long migration? Some might question the wisdom of traveling so far, given your large run out of energy on our long migration. This is especially hard for the ladies, who usually give size, and the fact that you come back to the birth on an empty stomach. You see we can’t same spot anyway. find much food outside of our feeding grounds.

We may take a nibble if we find a treat, but we GW (Gray Whale): It’s a lot safer for often go months without eating. Blubber stores us to mate and have babies in Baja Mexico. provide the energy needed to swim thousands Here there are fewer killer whales, which of miles, give birth and make milk for baby are our primary predators. There is just one whales. So if we have to leave the feeding grounds problem! There is nothing to eat in Mexico. a little thinner than usual, we can’t survive the The real smorgasbord is up North in the final stretch of our journey.

Bering and Chukchi Seas. Here we find amphipods and sea worms. Yum! We don’t AW: How far do you guys travel? actually eat fish, you know. We suck in muddy water filled with smaller creatures.

GW: Oh, about 12,000 miles round trip each year. We accomplish this marathon by swimming up to 100 miles a day. One of our Asian cousins from the Western Pacific population was recently tagged, and it swam all the way from Japan to the Pacific Northwest before its tracker was lost.

GW: Well, we would rather have people watching us than going out hunting.

In Humboldt County there used to be a whaling station located in Trinidad, and even though gray whales don’t have as much blubber as other animals, we were hunted to the brink of extinction. Boats of whale watchers are a sign of improvement.

AW: Thank you for hanging out in Humboldt County during your annual journey.

I’m sure you’ve got a lot of miles to cover.

GW: My pleasure. We always love our time in Humboldt. Your coast is beautiful, and provides excellent opportunities for people-watching.

AW: What are some other types of challenges you face during your life cycle?

This 30 foot long grey whale was discovered entangled in a drift net 11 miles offshore of Dana Point, California. The net was cut free from its head, but the line could not be removed from its tail. Photo: Marine Photobank from (c) 1986 Bob Talbot, The LegaSea Project.

GW: Illegal whaling still sometimes occurs, though it’s less frequent. Whales have always been poorly understood and thus feared by sea-going people. It goes way back; back even before Herman Melville canonized us as pariahs o’ the sea.

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Whale Poop Plays A Vital Role In Ocean Ecosystems

By Jen Kalt Researchers off the coast of Maine have found that whales play a crucial role in the ocean’s nitrogen cycle, and may result in more abundant fish populations in areas where whales are concentrated. Most marine life deposits feces near feeding areas, but because whale feces floats, whales actively pump nitrogen back to the surface from their feeding grounds deep beneath the surface.

This discovery, published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE, found that nitrogen levels (NH4+) were dramatically higher in ocean waters

Sei whales swim in the Golfo de Corcovado in Patagonia. Photo: Tom Crowley, Marine Photobank.

where whales poop. The increases in nitrogen may help bolster tiny photosynthetic organisms including diatoms, cyanobacteria, and green algae called phytoplankton. In the western North Atlantic low nitrogen levels are thought to limit the growth of phytoplankton, and researchers speculate that whale poop may provide the added dose of nutrients needed to stabilize microscopic communities.

Even with whale populations diminished by overhunting, whales can still play a significant role in oceanic nutrient cycles. Whale pumps produce more nitrogen from their waste than all the rivers in the humpback whale breaches in the South Pacific.

Gulf of Maine combined—about APhoto: Karen Stone, MarinePhotobank.

23,000 metric tons each year.

Though some coastal areas suffer from Low iron content is also thought to be a limiting excess nitrogen and other nutrients, a problem factor in phytoplankton growth, along with called eutrophication, many places in the ocean rising ocean temperatures and acidification. of the Northern Hemisphere have a limited Because phytoplanktons are crucial to nitrogen supply. So far whale poop has not been all marine life, increasing their productivity linked to eutrophication, which most often could help bolster fisheries and the human food occurs in bays and estuaries located downstream supply. While the whaling industry has long of agricultural communities. Agricultural argued that whales compete with humans for runoff from chemical fertilizers can create fish, it turns out that few whale species eat fish, a “dead zone” such as the ones in the Gulf of and their role in increasing nutrient levels may Mexico and off the central coast of Oregon. The even be crucial to restoring decimated fisheries. chemical nutrients in fertilizers can also trigger Many ocean regions once supported a algal blooms to begin producing toxins. variety of marine mammals that were pivotal in It turns out that whale poop contains just the marine nutrient cycle. Some were hunted enough nitrogen to help phytoplankton multiply. to extinction, such as the sea mink. Others, Phytoplankton have declined in eight of ten like many whale species, have been severely ocean regions over the past century, and this reduced. Restoring whale populations may be likely limits the abundance of all marine life that crucial to restoring the world’s fisheries, along feed on them, from microscopic zooplankton with the many coastal communities that depend and invertebrates to fish and marine mammals. on the ocean for sustenance and livelihood.

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16th Annual Godwit Days Celebration Welcome to the 16th Annual Godwit Days!

Where: Arcata Community Center When: April 15-17 Website: www.godwitdays.com Local phone: (707) 826-7050 toll-free: 1-800-908-WING (9464)

Registration & Important Information On-site registration hours: Friday, April 15, 3-7 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-noon. Visit www. godwitdays.com for descriptions of the over 100 field trips, workshops, and lectures. There, you will find the cancellation policy, registration information, and sign up instructions for free community sessions.

Operated by the Godwit Days nonprofit organization, Godwit Days is a three-day spring migration bird festival that celebrates the Marbled Godwit and all the birds of the coastal redwoods, bays, marshes, and mudflats on California’s Redwood Coast.

The Arcata Community Center at 321 Community Park Way serves as the departure point for nearly all fieldtrips and houses our art show and Bird Fair. Choose from over 100 field trips, lectures, workshops, and boat excursions. Pre- and post-festival trips can extend your experience from April 14-20. Advance registration is strongly recommended!

Something for Everyone “Early birds” can catch the dawn chorus at the Arcata Marsh, while “night owls” can literally look for owls until 10 p.m. Go on a trip to see as many bird species as possible by bus in a day, or one focusing on rare birds like snowy plover and spotted owl.

Trips range north to Del Norte County, south to Ferndale, and inland to Willow Creek and Hoopa. Workshops teach about local mammals, as well as how to ID birds by their sounds. Boat trips on our rivers, lagoons, bays, and ocean are a highlight, ranging from 1-hour tours of Humboldt Bay, to half-day kayaking or rafting trips, to all-day trips on the Pacific. You can even bird by bicycle!

New offerings for 2011 are a decoy carving seminar, raptors fieldtrip, Shay Park eBird survey, Fern Canyon forest ecology trip, a tour of the Humboldt Botanical Gardens, a visit to the HSU animal skins museum, West Coast specialties fieldtrip, Hookton Slough electric motor boat tour, and two sessions led by the keynote speaker (one on owls and one on the relationship between migrating birds and coffee production).

Just for Kids (& Other Free Events) The Festival offers many free activities of interest to children, including: • Live birds of prey from the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center • Display of all entries in the 8th Annual Student Bird Art Contest, sponsored

by Friends of the Arcata Marsh and Redwood Region Audubon • Family nature & craft activities on Saturday from 12:30-3:30 p.m. (sponsored by Friends of the Arcata Marsh) • A Bird Fair with commercial vendors and information booths from nonprofit groups and government agencies

Registration plans range from a top-of-theline $80 Value Package – which includes all events except bus and boat trips, pre- and post-festival trips, and the banquet – to a one-day $22 Basic registration where each event added on carries a fee. Student registration is half the Basic rate, with some events excluded. Not otherwise registered and want to attend a Sunday event? Stop by registration Saturday night to sign up for unfilled field trips at the cost of the trip only (no registration fee required).

Godwit Goodies: Buy And Bid! Stop by and look over the goodies on display in the main hall as part of the silent auction.

The auction will open at 3 p.m. Friday and end at 7 p.m. on Saturday, prior to the keynote lecture. Winners must pay for their goods before Sunday at noon. All auction contributors are recognized on signage at the Community Center. To donate, call 707-826-7050.

Children are the focus of two field trips and two workshops, which have no cost but participants must preregister: • Kids’ Owl Pellet Dissection Workshop, Friday, 4-5 p.m.

• Kids’ Birding Field Trips, Saturday & Sunday, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

• Art Workshop for Kids, Saturday, Noon-1 p.m.

Godwit Days also offers free field trips for ALL ages to Patricks Point State Park, Arcata Marsh, Headwaters Forest Preserve, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Lanphere Dunes, and Stone Lagoon that require preregistration but no payment. Children interested in participating in the many for-fee field trips and workshops may register for most at no charge when accompanied by a paying adult.

Live Birds of Prey Experience a close encounter with owls, hawks, and other raptors. The Humboldt Wildlife Care Center will be on hand during the Friday night opening reception (5-7 p.m.), as well as Saturday (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.-3 p.m.).

Keynote & Opening Night Lectures Saturday’s keynote speaker, Scott Weidensaul, has written over two dozen books on natural history and is an active field researcher, specializing in birds of prey and hummingbirds.

His lecture will trace the unpredictable history of bird study in America, from frontier ornithologists, society matrons and luminaries like Audubon to modern geniuses like Roger Tory Peterson. His latest book is “Of a Feather: A (Brief ) History of American Birding.” All paid registrants receive a free ticket; keynote-only tickets are available in registration for $10. On Friday night, following the opening reception from 5-7 p.m., Mark Andre, Environmental Services Director for the City of Arcata, will give a free lecture on Baylands restoration efforts.

Student Bird Art Contest Display Redwood Region Audubon and Friends of the Arcata Marsh have teamed to sponsor a student bird art contest at Godwit Days. Over $500 will be awarded to Humboldt Country students in grades K-12. Winners will receive awards at a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on April 16. Copies of prize-winning artwork will be shown at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center during May.

10

www.yournec.org

Come into registration to purchase 2011 Godwit Days T-shirts featuring the poster design by Rick Kruse, baseball caps , visors , and knitted beanies .

A Word about Our Sponsors Staging this festival would not be possible without strong support from local businesses, media, government, and nonprofit groups. Following is an alphabetical list of entities that have pledged to donate at least $250 in money, goods, or services (as of 1/31): Access Humboldt, Arcata Chamber of Commerce, Arcata Eye, Arcata Theater Lounge, Bicoastal Media (KKHB/KGOE), Bloomfield Studios, California State Parks (North Coast Redwood District), City of Arcata, Earth Map Photo, Eureka Natural Foods, Flowers Etc., Friends of the Arcata Marsh, Friends of the Dunes, Green Diamond Resource Co., Hum-Boats Kayak Adventures, Humboldt Baykeeper, Jacoby Storehouse, Kayak Zak’s, KIEM News Channel 3, KINS-Thunder-KWSW Enjoy Radio, Kokatat, LBJ Enterprises, Libation, Lost Coast Communications (KHUM/KSLG/KWPT), Miller Farms Nursery, Neuroscape Communications, North Coast Journal, Northcoast Environmental Center, Pacific Gas & Electric, Pierson Building Center, Provolt Design, Quality Inn (Arcata), Redwood Adventures, Redwood National & State Parks, Redwood Region Audubon Society, Rookery Books, Strictly for the Birds, and Wildberries Marketplace. Nearly 40 additional donors gave under $250.

Crescent City Festival May 6-8 Godwit Days invites you to attend its sister festival, the California Redwood Bird & Nature Festival.

Visit www.calredwoodsbirdfest.com for details.

Photos by Beth Deibert

February /March 2011 ECONEWS

S

The

andpiper

MARCH/APRIL 2011

Redwood Region Audubon Society

www.rras.org

FIELD TRIPS Every Saturday: Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. These are our famous rain-or-shine, docentled field trips at the marsh; take your binocular(s) and have a great morning birding! Meet in the parking lot at the south end of I Street in Arcata at 8:30 a.m.

Sunday, April 17: Southern Humboldt Community Park. See February 20.

Sunday, February 27: Trinidad Head/Bay. Kerry Ross (707/839-4365) and Rachel Smith lead this 2- to 3-hour trip. It will start with walking the slightly strenuous milelong trail around Trinidad Head looking for resident songbirds and migrant hummingbirds. A brief sea watch looking for seabirds from the western side of the head will take place (hope for a shearwater!). The trip will finish with scoping Trinidad Bay looking for sea ducks, gulls, and various other seabirds (like Marbled Murrelet) from various points. Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the base of Trinidad Head. Steady rain cancels.

Saturday, April 30: Willow Creek/Trinity River. Ken Burton (707/825-1124) will lead this all-day trip. There should be numerous migrants and singing breeders around; we'll look and listen for flycatchers, warblers, vireos, orioles, grosbeaks, tanagers, and more. Gray Flycatcher is a strong possibility, and the area has had Oak Titmouse. Meet on Valley West Blvd. in front of Espresso 101 at 6:30 a.m. or at the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum at 7:30 a.m.

Saturday, March 12: eBird Site Survey--Shay Park.

See Feb. 19.

Sunday, March 13: 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 9:00 a.m. Call Jude Power or David Fix (707/822-3613) for more information.

Sunday, March 20: Southern Humboldt Community Park. See February 20.

Saturday, March 26: California Thrasher Trip. Daryl Coldren (916/384-8089) and Rob Fowler will lead this species-specific trip to look for California Thrashers around the Shelter Cove area in Southern Humboldt.

Please contact Rob (see Shay Park listing) to confirm trip, meeting time and place, what to bring, etc. We will be leaving northern Humboldt early in the morning to get down to Shelter Cove by around 8:00 a.m. Four-wheel drive vehicles preferred. Rain cancels.

Sunday, April 10: Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. See March 13.

Saturday, April 2: eBird Site Survey--Shay Park. See Feb. 19.

Imminent Change in Distribution of The Sandpiper To reduce paper use and printing and mailing costs, and to be able to return to a monthly publication schedule, we are planning in the next few months to cease printing The Sandpiper in Econews and greatly reduce the number of print copies. Members for whom we have an e-mail address will receive a link to the online version of each issue when it's published. If we don't currently have your e-mail address, please send it to norton@humboldt1.com or join the RRAS Yahoo! group. There will be the option to receive printed copies by mail at cost; that cost is being determined and will be announced in the next issue, with signup instructions. Thank you for your understanding and assistance through this transition.

Great Birds and Projects at Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory

By Josée Rousseau, HBBO Program Director

Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory (HBBO) ran its year-round constant-effort banding stations for the 29th consecutive year at 2 locations on the Mad River Slough, 6 miles west of Arcata. Thanks to our many volunteers, the support of C.J. Ralph, and the work of Project Leader Kim Hollinger, we captured over 2,500 birds. We were treated to some unexpected visitors such as Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Northern Waterthrush, and Cerulean Warbler!

Education is an important part of our program, and again this year we gave group demonstrations for Humboldt State University classes, Audubon and Godwit Days groups, trained several biologists, and certified many banders under the North American Banding Council standards.

We also had the opportunity to participate and assist in a few new research projects including studies of Barn Swallow isotopes and a project looking at molt and migration of one of our long distance migrants, the Swainson’s Thrush. Our participation in the Klamath Bird Monitoring Network’s Small Owl monitoring and research project got off to a great start with the banding of 10 new Northern Saw-whet Owls migrating through Humboldt County.

HBBO, in partnership with the US Forest Service Redwood Sciences Laboratory, was involved in 2 other major projects. For the PG&E WaveConnect Project, we compiled and analyzed 20 years of offshore bird data from boat surveys conducted from the Oregon border south to Shelter Cove. As part of the Landbird Monitoring Network of the Americas, we also succeeded in formatting and compiling more than 700,000 bird banding records from 1978 to 2009 from more than 75 banding stations in Oregon

continued on next page

March Program

Ice Birds and Icebergs Chet Ogan and Jude Power will present images and vivid descriptions of their January 2010 trip to Antarctica at the Audubon monthly program. The lecture will cover their 18-day voyage among albatrosses, penguins, flightless ducks, big bad giant petrels, toothy leopard seals, whales, and icebergs, with the jovial camaraderie of 50 other adventurers. Their ship called on the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island, mainland Antarctica, and the Erebus & Terror Gulf, and they survived to tell about it.

photos © Chet Ogan

The program will be held at the Humboldt County Office of Education at Myrtle and West Avenues in Eureka, on March 11, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Bring a mug to enjoy shade-grown coffee and come fragrance free.

CHAPTER LEADERS OFFICERS President— Jim Clark …...........................… 445-8311 Vice President - Chet Ogan ...........................442-9353 Immediate Past-President— Kerry Ross.......496-0764 Secretary—Adam Brown................................826-0319 Treasurer—Susan Calla..................................465-6191 DIRECTORS AT LARGE Jan Andersen...................................................616-3888 Rob Fowler ………………..............……….. 839-3493 Lew & Judie Norton.......................................445-1791 C.J. Ralph .......................................................822-2015 OTHER CHAPTER LEADERS Conservation—Chet Ogan ...........................442-9353 Education - .........................Vacant .............................. eBird Liaison — Rob Fowler …………..….. 839-3493 Field Trips—Rob Fowler ………......…..….. 839-3493 Historian—John Hewston ..........................822-5288 Membership—Lew & Judie Norton..............445-1791 NEC Representative—.........Ken Burton.......825-1124 Field Notes—Sean McAllister ......................268-0592 Programs—C.J. Ralph...................................822-2015 Project Manager – Ken Burton......................825-1124 Publicity—Sue Leskiw....................................442-5444 Sandpiper—David Schumaker...............530-227-5192 —Gary Bloomfield........................822-0210 Volunteer Coordinator—Kate Rowe.. (715) 554-0498 Webmaster—Sean McAllister ......................268-0592 Lake Earl Branch—Sue Calla.......................465-6191 RRAS Web Page......................................www.rras.org Arcata Bird Alert .....................822-LOON (822-5666) 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___________________________ CITY ______________________________ STATE____________ZIP______________ email ______________________________ Local Chapter Code: C1ZC240Z 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

Conservation Committee, 19 January 2011

Chet Ogan

Attendees: Chet Ogan, chair; Ken Burton, Jim Clark, Mel McKinney, Grant Roden, and Gil Saliba.

Chet reported on an upcoming Humboldt Bay region Spartina control environmental impact report that California Coastal Conservancy is preparing. In addition to a No Project alternative, alternatives may include manual and mechanical alternatives as well as chemical control methods using 2 chemicals approved for wetland application, Imazapyr and glyphosate.

At the RRAS board of directors meeting, Sandra Jerabek was selected to receive the Conservation Award for her tireless efforts to protect areas around Smith River Bottoms and Lake Earl.

US Fish and Wildlife Service outlined at our January general program the reasons why Barred Owl removal will be necessary to protect Northern Spotted Owls.

They will be soliciting public input. Our chapter is in support of the principle, but we are awaiting the document itself.

Grant Roden, Director of Redwood Adventures, is asking for input on the wildlife plan for a redwood lodge development for tourists.

Bird Observatory; continued from previous page and California, a great achievement for the conservation of birds through science.

All of this would not have been possible without the help of our many volunteers: Caroline Allander, Armando Aispuro, Stephen Barlow, Curt Barnes, Adam Beeler, Emma Blackburn, Ken Burton, Kevin Creely, Minh Dao, Sarah Dewees, Jasmine Giroux, Megan Healy, Tara Hohoff, Kate Howard, Vitek Jirinec, Amy Leigh Trost, Daniel Lee, Adrienne Levoy, Maia Lipschutz, Jeff Moker, LaurenMorgan Outhisack, Alisa Muniz, Chris Murray, Stepanie Nefas, Marisa Parish, Tim Pendexter, Brian Robinson, Christina Rockwell, Kate Rowe, Lucy Rowe, Chris Smith, McKenzie Trainor, Leslie Tucci, Aaron Spidal, Shannon Wadham, and Jared Wolfe. We are grateful to Lane DeVries of Sun Valley Floral for providing housing for some of our volunteers at wonderful quarters in Samoa! A great big thank you to all of you . . . we love you!

We are pleased to announce that HBBO is now affiliated with the Klamath Bird Observatory (KBO). Our partnership is good news for the conservation of birds and habitat in the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion. To become a member of HBBO/KBO, please contact me, Josée Rousseau, at jsr@klamathbird.org or go to www.klamathbird.org/ contribute.html. To volunteer for HBBO, please contact Kim Hollinger at krh@klamathbird.org or me.

Student Nature Writing Contest Deadline 3/21 For the sixth year, RRAS is sponsoring a student nature writing contest. Up to 3 cash prizes will be awarded for the best essay(s) or poem(s) by a Humboldt or Del Norte County student in grades 4-12 on the topic, “What nature means to me.”

The first-place winner will be published in the June/July 2011 children’s issue of The Sandpiper, with any others appearing on the RRAS website.

Entries should be up to 300 words in length; one entry per person. Topics suitable for exploration include, but are not limited to, bird feeding, duck hunting, animal rescue, and observations of the natural world.

Include student’s name, home address, phone number and/or e-mail, teacher name, grade, and school. Deadline for receipt: Monday, March 21. Send submissions as text within the body of an e-mail to tomleskiw@suddenlink.net or mail a printout to Tom Leskiw, 5440 Cummings Rd, Eureka 95503.

Award(s) will be presented in mid-April at the Godwit Days Festival in Arcata.

International Migratory Bird Day International Migratory Bird Day will be celebrated in Orleans on April 29 and 30. The local event, “Tony Hacking Memorial Bigfoot Birding Day,” will kick off Friday evening with a free slideshow featuring photos and recordings of local birds and possibly a potluck dinner. Saturday at 7:30 a.m., Tom Leskiw, Bob Claypole, and possibly others will lead a bird walk to 2 locations in Orleans. Both events will be held at the Panamnik Building, 38150 Hwy 96, Orleans. Local entries in the Student Bird Art Contest cosponsored by RRAS will be posted. For more information, contact Hope Woodward at hdwoodward@fs.fed.us.

New Members

Redwood Region Audubon Society welcomes the following new members and subscribers: Arcata – Betsy Foben & Andy Rogens, David Mouton, Donald Clancy, Eileen Bolz, Irith Shalmony, Jessica E. Lilley, John McNeely, John Stokes III, Mary Freedlund, Meghan Still, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Stuart, Murphy Family, Shannon Frischknecht, Violet Hales Bayside – Nancy Cook Blue Lake – Sandy & Flora Harper Burnt Ranch – Naomi Hunt Crescent City – Edward Craven, Farah Carter, Gudrun & William Gilbert, Patricia Dahlhoff, Ronald Calabretta, Scott Scherer, T. Merritt, Wendy Crocco Eureka – Ann M. Seemann, Beatrice Avcollie, Celeste Waddell, Dorothy Axsmith, Dr. & Mrs. J Russell Little, Elaine Grosso, Jane Good, John Thomas, Laura Rosenthal, Lauren Vucci, Lee Montgomery, Loralee Dulme-Malone, Marsa Jordan, Melanie Pizzini, Michael & Kari Love, Misty Love, Patric Lewis, Ryan Baumbusck, Sophie Vyborny, The Evans Fortuna – Bob & Sena Gillenwater, Jeralee Woychak Garberville – Linda Lyons Klamath – Doris Timm Kneeland – Kay Olsen, Sandy Andersen Loleta – Hope Wynecoop, Jim & Linda Carr McKinleyville – Carol Harrison, Jenny Kinsey, Linda Jamal Wren, Robert McAllister, Ron Coffman, Viola Chriswell Orleans – Becky Goodman Trinidad – Carolyn Christenson, Ellen Schaumann, Kimberlea Thorpe, Marvin & Kirsten Trump, Oceana Madrone Whitethorn – Catherine Kidwell, Joe J. Lopes Willow Creek – Ann Elias

We look forward to seeing you on field trips and at our monthly programs.

© Sue Leskiw

Reminder: March 25 Student Bird Art Contest Deadline

The deadline is fast approaching to enter the 8th Annual Student Bird Art Contest, cosponsored by RRAS and Friends of Arcata Marsh (FOAM). Some $550 in prizes will be awarded to Humboldt County K-12 students who submit artwork of 40 suggested species or another common local bird. Prize(s) will be given for the best rendition of a bird in its natural habitat.

Artwork may be color or black and white. Any media may be used (e.g., crayons, pastels, paint, pencil, collage). Maximum size is 8.5 x 11 inches. Artwork must be light enough to be push-pinned to a wall for display.

One entry per person. Flyers with complete rules are available at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center and Strictly for the Birds in Eureka or by sending a stamped self-addressed envelope to Louise Bacon-Ogden, 2337 B Street, Eureka 95501.

Artwork may be dropped off at Strictly for the Birds, 123 F Street, Eureka, or the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center, 569 South G Street, Arcata, or mailed to Sue Leskiw, 5440 Cummings Road, Eureka 95503.

Entries must be received by Friday, March 25, to be considered.

Select a species from this list (or another common local bird) when creating your artwork entry: American Avocet, American Goldfinch, American Robin, American Wigeon, Anna’s Hummingbird, Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Bufflehead, California Quail, Cedar Waxwing, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Cinnamon Teal, Cliff Swallow, Common Loon, Common Yellowthroat, Forster’s Tern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Marbled Godwit, Marbled Murrelet, Marsh Wren, Northern Flicker, Northern Harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Pileated Woodpecker, Purple Finch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red-shouldered Hawk, Snowy Plover, Spotted Owl, Spotted Towhee, Steller’s Jay, Tufted Puffin, Varied Thrush, Western Grebe, Western Meadowlark, White-tailed Kite, or Wood Duck.

Have Hammer, Will Travel?

Get an advance look at Student Bird Art Contest entries and interact with a fun crew by helping to hang the hundreds of entries in the Arcata Community Center.

Bring a lightweight hammer and something to hold pushpins (such as a fanny pack) on Friday, April 15. starting at 10 a.m. Please contact Sue at sueleskiw@ suddenlink.com or 442-5444 if you could help for an hour or 2. Many hands make light work for this volunteer task.

RRAS Supports County Science Fair

For the 9th year, RRAS is underwriting an award for the best project related to birds or their habitat at the Humboldt County Science Fair. A prize of $50 will be given at the event, to be held at Humboldt State University the week of March 14.

Godwit Days Celebrates 16 Years Extraordinary birding awaits at the 16th Annual Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival, held April 15-17 at the Arcata Community Center. See the Godwit Days Page in this issue of ECONEWS for more information, or go to: www.godwitdays.com.

Birding in Colombia– A Retrospective

by Jude Claire Power I recently returned from a 12-day birding tour of southwestern Colombia promoted to RRAS members by Ken Burton and organized and led by Chris Calonje. A native Colombian with an American mother, Chris lives in Klamath Falls and owns Colombia Birdwatch (http://www.colombiabirdwatch.com). He is also involved with Mapalina (http://www.mapalina.com), an organization dedicated to training Colombian youths to become birding guides, thus providing them an employable skill while supporting and enhancing a growing ecotourism industry. Colombia is emerging from isolating decades of drug cartel intimidation and is now largely under control, thanks to the current and previous presidents. It is a country awakening to a renewed national identity and pride and an awareness that ecotourism could help move it back into the global mainstream of travel destinations. As many birders know, Colombia has recorded more bird species than any other nation on the planet. Its perfect location, straddling Central and South America and the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, has resulted in a neotropical avifauna of almost unfathomable variety. In addition, a number of our North American breeders spend the winter months in Colombia’s extraordinarily rich birding milieu.

Chris took us first to his family farm and planted us on the spreading veranda overlooking a garden backed up to dense, unmanaged tropical vegetation, and Colombia began her seduction. Cecropias and other large trees enticed a procession of jewel-like tanagers, hummingbirds, and other compatriots such as brush-finch, spinetail, euphonia, and wood-wren. What had been a tightly wound spring in my mind began to uncoil almost imperceptibly. I didn’t take in much of anything until I found myself wandering off, down the steps and around the back of the house to get a better view of a bamboo thicket concealing a Slaty Spinetail beckoning in its throaty, rhythmic voice. I stood still, listening to its “I am here!” refrain, beginning to notice the minute explosions of mist droplets on my cheeks and eyelids and the play of shape and color in the green wall of the woods. My shoulders inched downward. Furled 2-meter leaves like elongated spear tips thrust upward alongside drooping Cecropia leaves 2 feet across, spreading open like beseeching hands. Nearby, a tall tangled tree with broad, rounded leaves was reminiscent of glossy magnolias. Next to it, an even taller one, festooned with clusters of long seed-swollen pods, promised another generation of this generous plant that harbors birds and the fruits they require to live. We were definitely not in Humboldt anymore.

Our first day of organized birding was spent walking a dirt track twisting upward toward Cali’s hilltop communication towers in El Bosque de San Antonio. Here we shared the lush forest and its beautiful birds with a group of Mapalina guide trainees. They were obviously pleased with our appreciation of “their” birds and our curiosity about the abundant, exotic plant forms spilling down the hillside. We practiced our Spanish, and they practiced their English.

Perhaps the most beautiful bird seen that day was the ruby- and emerald-feathered Collared Trogon, though tanagers continually dazzled us. Among them, we spotted an elegant Blue-necked Tanager with its deep cobalt head offset by black body feathers and a buff wing.

Two subsequent days were spent in steamy lowland jungle along the old highway to the coast, clinging to the San Juan River canyon sides where waterfalls, landslides, and collapsing roadbeds are routine. One enormous waterfall cascaded directly onto the highway. We began to orient to unfamiliar landscapes and bird genera as the San Juan rushed below us toward the sea. Riots of Mealy Parrots squawked and gorged themselves among downslope treetops at eye level as we wound along the river canyon. A Fasciated Tiger-Heron fished from a midstream boulder, fine barring rippling down its breast. A perched Laughing Falcon watched our procession of umbrellas ricochet from one singing bird to another along the road margins. Young boys eyed us, approaching in hopes of a peek through our binoculars.

We also explored the valley between the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central, including an enormous flooded agricultural area where we walked levees separating ponds, wet meadows, and open woodland as we identified Striated and Cocoi Herons, Limpkin, Blue-headed Parrot, Yellowbacked Oriole, Dwarf Cuckoo, and the formidable Ringed Kingfisher, similar to our Belted but much larger. (The official “wetland” on our itinerary was inaccessible because the access road was flooded. Although we were scheduled to be there during a dry season, the rains had not yet abated, and we birded in rain every day of the tour. It was the wettest rainy season there in over 30 years!)

Most of our time in Colombia was spent in the cool, high-elevation rainforest of the Andes. We climbed the cordilleras’ flanks to probe rainforest edges for their secrets: new and unfamiliar birds with wild names such as sunangel, sylph, xenops, hemispingus, and flowerpiercer. We really did get to watch flowerpiercers pierce flowers! Over time, our leisurely explorations turned to memories, collected visions of glowing trogons in dappled light, flashing hummingbirds, frustrating tapaculos singing under cover, serene motmots, ever more sparkling tanagers ranging through the canopy, remote lodges, and delicious Colombian meals. I especially liked the Brown-banded Antpittas that had learned to go to a feeding station supplied with worms by our host in the mountains outside Manizales. My favorite I named Fast Food because he’d sneak to the edge of the small clearing in his upright, long-legged posture; slowly look around at his observers, who were staying very still and holding their breaths; then dash over, grab a worm, and run back under cover really fast. He was so cute! And the rain and leaf-drip didn’t phase him.

The finale of our tour was a visit to the 13,600-foot Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados in search of an oddly appointed hummingbird, the Bearded Helmetcrest, and several other high-altitude specialties, most of which we found– along with a gigantic bumblebee–with the expert guidance of Daniel Restrepo, our guide the last 4 days. Acclimation to the extreme elevation involved several stops and short walks as we climbed into the clouds and patronage of the obligatory purveyors of coca tea, a legitimate reason to partake of a notorious local product.

Many of the North American migrants we saw in Colombia are also seen annually, or almost annually, in Humboldt County: Blue-winged Teal, Cinnamon Teal, Spotted Sandpiper, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, and Black-and-white Warbler. It is almost disorienting to be in such an exotic locale and happen upon a familiar species from home. Have I seen this individual before? It served to remind us that “home” to a bird can include more than 1 country, more than 1 hemisphere, more than 1 precious patch of food- and shelter-providing habitat. These birds are shared by everyone and know no political borders.

We recorded about 250 species in total. Our tour had the usual elements of neotropical birding adventures: zany hummingbird displays at feeders, shy singers who ultimately remained unseen, intimate encounters with individual birds, dripping canopies and pounding rain, stretches of road weaving through sinuous sunlit valleys, friendly people, and the unexpected charm of city sculpture gardens and fountains. It also had the surprise of Colombia, a beautiful country that is reentering the mainstream from behind a cloud of fear and disenfranchisement.

Today Colombia beckons to those with an appreciation of neotropical birds, verdant landscapes, and welcoming people.

Incidentally, Ken is trying to arrange a 2- to 3-week tour for this fall or winter. If you're interested, tell him what dates would work best for you (shrikethree@gmail.com or 707/825-1124). I highly recommend the experience and will do it again if I can! Chris will have a booth at Godwit Days, and I urge you to stop by and chat with him or one of the tour participants.

The Adventures of Doctor Death Recently I was reminded of a nickname that once attached itself to me, Doctor Death. It’s not what you think, though. I’ve never “Kevorked” anyone…

Last night I found myself sleepless in the wee hours, so I returned to reading Mariposa Highway, Robert Michael Pyle’s tale of his butterfly Big Year. “Butterfly roadkill is a sad aspect of this work, but it seems inevitable. I braked for butterflies a thousand times. But the trucks slaughter them wholesale, and even the most devoted optics-only watchers smack objects of their affection on the way to the habitat. Recovering them as museum-bound, well-labeled specimens is a way of honoring their lives, and maybe redeeming their downfall.”

During the period 1981-99, I commuted from Trinidad—actually, Westhaven—to the Forest Service office in Willow Creek on a near-daily basis.

Getting an early start over that length of time ensured encounters with a wide variety of phenomena: fires, mudslides, blizzards… and wildlife that included coyote, bobcat, elk, mountain lion, Bald Eagle, and Osprey. Unfortunately, not all the wildlife I saw was alive. For some reason, the mid-1990s were a veritable zenith for road-killed birds. One morning while driving the carpool on Hwy 299 about 2 miles east of Redwood Creek, I spied the carcass of a large bird on the road shoulder. With no warning, I pulled over and skidded to a stop. It should be noted that, while not exactly enthusiastic about their nonelective association with Dr. Death, members of said carpool granted my quirky behavior as much leeway as humanly possible.

The bird was a Ruffed Grouse, the first road kill of this species I’d ever encountered. I hefted the bulky grouse into my trunk and continued to work. “Hey, Doc,” asked carpool member Carolyn Cook, “What are you going to do with this patient?”

“I’m sure Humboldt State University (HSU) will want it for its study skin collection,” I responded.

“In our area, Ruffed Grouse are restricted to stream corridors, or, to a lesser degree, dense alder regrowth that colonizes old clear-cuts. Because most roads are mid or upper slope, they rarely penetrate streamside habitat. No roads, so little chance for being struck by vehicles.”

Arriving in Willow Creek, I found a plastic bag and placed my specimen in the freezer section of the lunch room refrigerator. Over the years, biologists from both the Lower Trinity Ranger District and Redwood Sciences Laboratory

had occasionally deposited wildlife carcasses, er… specimens, in said freezer—much to the chagrin of other fridge users. In this case, I couldn’t foresee any objections. After all, it was a game species.

Furthermore, might not one man’s grouse be another’s Lean Cuisine Chicken Parmesan? At break time, I called Tamar Danufsky, curator of HSU’s wildlife collection. “Sure, we’d be happy to receive the grouse,” she responded.

Another day, another commute. While ascending the west flank of Berry Summit in February 1992, I came across a recently killed Long-eared Owl. This was an exciting discovery, as we still have much to learn about both the wintering and nesting status of this species on the North Coast.

Epilog: Ruffed Grouse. Usually Chuck Glasgow was a member of my carpool to Willow Creek. However, the summer that I retrieved the Ruffed Grouse carcass, he had a time-consuming road-decommissioning project south of Grouse Mountain that required a daily O-dark 30 departure from the coast. As a result, he didn’t have the pleasure of our company that field season. A year or so after I salvaged the grouse, several of us were discussing the rigors of the commute: “You never know what you’re gonna encounter,” Chuck opined. Turning to me, he said, “Oh, you should find this interesting. One morning, just as I’m pulling the grade toward Berry Summit, this big old chunky bird flies from out of nowhere and commits hari-kari on my windshield. It was good-sized, definitely not your average sparrowtype.” The light of comprehension flickered on.

“Hmm, a large bird, you say? Maybe kinda like a chicken?” I asked. “Yeah, that’s it. Like a big chicken. But how did you know?” I burst out laughing. “Because I picked it up, dude. The Ruffed Grouse’s passing wasn’t in vain. It’s now at HSU, specimen #8401.”

Carcasses can yield some startling data. In 1997, I came across a freshly killed Spotted Owl. The events of the day provided the most-convincing evidence to date that Barred Owls prey on Spotted Owls. See www.tomleskiw.com; essays, Encounter at Skunk Cabbage Creek and Google SORA, then search on Tom Leskiw.

Tom Leskiw February 1, 2011

Tip #2 Online programs for calculating distance and area

By Rob Fowler As many eBird users probably already know, there’s been a push from the eBird coordinators to persuade eBird users to not use the “casual/ incidental” observation type when entering checklists unless birding was not your primary purpose or for entering historical data with no effort data attached to it. Using the “traveling count” or “area count” observation types is by far much more useful data to scientists that are using, or will use, eBird data to monitor and map bird populations since the eBirder must keep track of time spent for that specific checklist, the distance traveled, and/or the size of the area covered. Keeping track of time is easy to do with a watch or a cell phone, of course, but what about keeping track of distance traveled or the size of the area covered for a specific eBird checklist? It is pretty easy to keep track of distance covered while birding from a car with a travel odometer or on foot with a GPS unit using the route-tracking function. But what if you don’t have those options and don’t feel confident that you can accurately estimate your distance traveled or the size of the area you covered? This second eBird tip will talk about 2 online programs with regard to traveling and area count protocols: Runningmap.com and Google planimeter. Using these programs can help you easily calculate distance traveled and the size of area covered, taking the guesswork away when entering eBird data for these observation types.

Runningmap.com is a website for runners, cyclists, hikers, and now, eBirders who would like to plan, save, and share their routes. This website is an easy means for figuring out the distance you traveled while birding at your favorite location. Runningmap.com is easy to navigate and takes little time to figure out how to begin calculating your distance when you go

birding somewhere like the Arcata Marsh and you want to accurately calculate your distance from walking around the Butcher Slough log pond and then to Brackish (“McKay”) Pond and back. If you register with the website (which is free), you can save all your routes and even publicly share them so that others can easily use them.

Google planimeter (www.acme.com/ planimeter) is a useful website if you use the “area count” observation type when eBirding.

The website uses Google maps, and as on the normal Google maps website, you can select different views like the generic-looking map, satellite images, the popular hybrid map version, and a couple of other sometimes-useful map-viewing options. This website is basic since—unlike googlemaps—you can’t type in a city and state and have it zoom right to it, which saves valuable search time. If it’s your first time visiting the site, it will zoom into a general location based on your Internet address. For first-time users in coastal Humboldt County, it will probably take you to a general map of the Humboldt Bay area. This site is relatively easy to use and will greatly help eBirders easily calculate the size of the area surveyed.

So now that you know about these useful websites, go out and do some eBird traveling and area counts!

The Sandpiper eBird tip is a new column that hopes to inspire increased eBird use in Northwestern California. If you have suggestions for an eBird tip or any other eBird-related questions, contact RRAS eBird liazon Rob Fowler at migratoriusfwlr@gmail. com. Rob reviews eBird records for Humboldt, Trinity, and Siskiyou Counties and openly admits to his eBird addiction.

Field Notes

By Sean McAllister and Daryl Coldren

S U M M A RY O F N O R T H W E S T E R N C A L I F O R N I A B I R D R E P O R T S

16 November 2010 – 1 February 2011 Field Notes is a compilation of bird sighting reports for Del Norte, Humboldt, northern Mendocino, Trinity, and western Siskiyou counties. Sources include the RRAS bird alert (707/822-LOON), the online northwestern California birding and information exchange (nwcalbird@yahoogroups.com), the Mendocino County birders’ listserv (mendobirds@yahoogroups.com), eBird (http://ebird.org/content/klamath-siskiyou), and reports submitted directly to the compiler. Future reports may be submitted to any of the sources mentioned above or to Daryl Coldren: 916/384-8089; QuiAvisPetit@aol. com; 7333 Humboldt Hill Rd, Eureka, CA 95503.

MOb = many observers, NWR = National Wildlife Refuge, SP = State Park Snow Goose: reports of 1-8, Humboldt Bay NWR, 17 Nov-1 Feb (TK, LP, SMc, DC, LT, MB, JP, DF, MOb) • Ross’s Goose: reports of 1-12 individuals, Humboldt Bay NWR, 8 Dec-15 Jan (MOb)• Brant: 4,300, Humboldt Bay, 30 Dec (MW) • Tundra Swan: 2, Bald Hills Rd, n of Fort Bragg (unusual loc.), 21 Dec (DT) • Eurasian Wigeon: 1, Hiller Park, 17 Nov (RF); 3, King Salmon, 28 Nov (MW); 2, Alexandre Dairy, 6-16 Dec (AB, LB, JLu); 1, Humboldt Bay NWR, 9-20 Jan (JP, DF,TK, KR, RSm) • “Eurasian” Green-winged Teal: 1, Arcata Marsh, 17-31 Jan (BB, RH, JO, JSa) • Redhead: 100-300, King Salmon, 28 Nov-30 Dec (MW) • Tufted Duck: 1, Stone Lagoon, 24 Nov (JA) • Harlequin Duck: 1-2, Humboldt Bay, 30 Nov-22 Jan (MOb) • Black Scoter: 1, Eureka Channel, 30 Dec (RF) • Long-tailed Duck: 1, Smith River Mouth, 14 Dec (TK) ; 1-3, King Salmon, 10-29 Jan (TK, MW, DC, JOl, MOb); 1, Eureka Slough, 18 Dec-11 Jan (RH, KH, KB, HV); 1, MacKerricher SP, 18 Dec (DT) • Common Goldeneye: 30, King Salmon, 28 Nov (MW) • Barrow’s Goldeneye: 1-2, Smith River, 19 Dec-8 Jan (AB, LB, JS, JLo, FO, DC, MB, OJ, LT, MOb) • Hooded Merganser: 1-3, Bear River Ridge, 3 Dec-17 Jan (SMc, DC, FO, et al.) • Red-necked Grebe: 30, King Salmon, 31 Jan (MW) • Cattle Egret: 1, Arcata Bottoms, 7 Nov1 Feb (RF, MOb) • Cattle Egret: 1, Ferndale Bottoms, 15 Jan (TK, JSa, FO, et al.) • Green Heron: 1, Willow Creek, 26 Dec (KB, GB) • Ferruginous Hawk: 8 reports of 1-3 birds, Smith River Bottoms, Bear River Ridge, Arcata Bottoms, Kneeland, Ferndale Bottoms, 1 Dec-28 Jan (MOb) • Rough-legged Hawk: 6 reports of single birds, Bear River Ridge, Arcata Bottoms, Bald Hills Rd, 3 Dec-29 Jan (SMc, KR, RSm, TK, DS, DC) • Golden Eagle: 1, Kneeland, 28 Jan (DC, TK, DS) • Crested Caracara: 1, Smith River Bottoms, Nov-1 Feb (AB, MOb) • GYRFALCON: 1, Crescent City Harbor, 6 Dec (LB); 1 (possible), Crab Park, 8 Dec (MB, DC, LT, TK, SMc) • Prairie Falcon: 1, Kneeland, 28 Jan (DC, TK, DS)

Sandhill Crane, © Daryl Coldren Ferndale Bottoms, Humboldt County

• SANDHILL CRANE: 1, Ferndale Bottoms, 15-31 Jan (JSa, TK, DC, RH, MOb) • American GoldenPlover: 1, Cannibal Island Rd, Ferndale Bottoms, 8-12 Dec (DC, MB, TK, LT) • Pacific Golden-Plover: 14-21, Ferndale Bottoms, 8 Dec-9 Jan (DC, LT, MB, TK, JP, DF, MOb)• MOUNTAIN PLOVER: 1, Clam Beach, 23 Jan-1 Feb (RR, MOb) • Rock Sandpiper: many reports of 1-6 individuals, Humboldt Bay North Jetty, 9 Dec-1 Feb (MOb); 1, Laguna Pt–MacKerricher SP, 21 Nov-23 Dec (DT) • Black Oystercatcher: 1, South Jetty, 18 Jan (MW) • LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL: 1 first cycle, Alexandre Dairy, 3 Dec (LB); 1 (likely same bird), Ft Dick, 30 Jan (LB) • Glaucous Gull: 1, Crescent City Harbor, 1 Dec (DB); 1, lower Smith River, 6 Dec (LB); 1-2, Ferndale Bottoms, 15 Jan (TK, DC, RF, RH, CO, MOb); 1 ad, North Jetty, 16 Jan (JLa) • Caspian Tern: 1, Crab Park, 13 Dec (TK, DC); 1, Eureka Slough, 30 Dec (RF) • Rhinoceros Auklet: 1, Big Lagoon, 17 Nov (JA) • White-winged Dove: 1, Crescent City, 10 Dec (JG) • Burrowing Owl: 1, Centerville Beach, 2 Dec (GL) • Long-eared Owl: 2-4, Salt River, 2-3 Jan (GB,

Mountain Plover, © Tony Kurz Clam Beach, Humboldt County

DC, RH) • Short-eared Owl: 1, Arcata Marsh, 21 Jan (DF) • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 1, McKinleyville, 18 Dec-22 Jan (GL, MOb); 1, Fort Bragg, 4 Feb (JW) • Red-naped Sapsucker: 1, Smith River, 13-18 Jan (AB, SL, MOb)• Yellow-shafted Flicker: 1, McKinleyville, 7 Jan (CW) • NUTTALL’S WOODPECKER: 1, Little Valley, 2 Jan (Fort Bragg CBC) • Say’s Phoebe: 1, Cock Robin Island, 8 Dec (SMc, DC, LT, MB, TK); 1, Fortuna, 2 Jan (RH); 1, Ferndale Bottoms, 8 Dec-19 Jan (SMc, DC, OH, LT, MB, TK); 1, Arcata Bottoms, 23 Jan (JP, DF) • DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER:

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, © Daryl Coldren McKinleyville, Humboldt County

1, HSU Marine Lab, Trinidad, 1-3 Dec (WL, DC, LT, DS, TK) • Tropical Kingbird: 1, Crescent City, 21 Nov (SL, AB) • BROWN SHRIKE: 1, S Clam Beach, 21 Nov-1 Feb (GL, LL, DC, MOb) • Northern Shrike: 1, Bald Hills Rd, 17 Nov (DC, LT)• Solitary Vireo: 1, Shay Park, 4 Dec-4 Jan (RF, RH, KS) • Violet-green Swallow: 7, Humboldt Bay NWR, 27 Jan (DS) • Barn Swallow: 1-5, Arcata Marsh, 26 Dec-23 Jan (EE, BB, JO) • Oak Titmouse: 1, Crescent City, 17 Nov-30 Jan (SL, AB, MOb); 1, Willow Creek, 26 Dec (KB, GB); 1, Salyer, 26 Dec (KB, GB); 1, Little Valley, 2 Jan (Fort Bragg CBC) • White-breasted Nuthatch: 1, Mts E of Smith River, 19 Dec (GL); 6, Bald Hills Rd, 29 Jan (DC, TK, DS)• House Wren: 1, Shay Park, 11 Dec-29 Jan (RF, MOb)• Western Bluebird: 14, Blue Lake, 14 Jan (RH); 1, McKinleyville, 26 Jan (GL); 4, Kneeland, 28 Jan (DC, TK, DS)• Townsend’s Solitaire: 1, Eureka, 17 Dec-18 Dec (BS) • Swainson’s Thrush: 1 (a late date), Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory, 5 Dec (LT) • Northern Mockingbird: 1, Foster Rd, Arcata Bottoms, 18 Nov (TK, DS); 1, Salyer, 26 Dec (KB, GB); 1, McKinleyville, 18 Dec-1 Jan (GF, KS, DC, RH, LT) • Tennesse Warbler: 1, Eureka, 4 Jan (BS) • Nashville Warbler: 2, Clendenden’s Cider Works, Fortuna, 3 Jan (DC, RH, LT); 1, Ten-Mile River, 19-23 Jan (KHv); 1,

Dusky-capped Flycatcher, © Leslie Tucci Trinidad, Humboldt County

Arcata Marsh, 24 Jan (RW, EH)• Black-throated Gray Warbler: 1, S Fork Mt Rd/299, 26 Dec (RH, CO); 1, Blue Lake, 11 Jan (RH) • Palm Warbler: 2, Humboldt Bay NWR, 8 Dec (TK, SMc, DC, LT, MB); 1, Shay Park, 11 Dec (RF); 1 (each), McKinleyville, 11-12 Dec, 8 Jan (KS, RF); 5, Alexandre Dairy, 16 Dec (AB, JLu); 1, Smith River Bottoms, 1 Jan (EE); 1, Crescent City, 8 Jan (DC, MB, OJ, LT, et al.); 1, Arcata Marsh, 3-29 Jan (GZ, BR, JO, MOb); 1-3, Fernbridge, 2-15 Jan (SC, DC, LT, MW); 1, Humboldt Bay NWR, 15-28 Jan (DC, KR, RS, JSa); 1, Orick Levee, 6 Dec (DC, MB, LT) • Black-andwhite Warbler: 1, Humboldt Bay NWR, 15-24 Jan-1 Feb (RSh, DC, RH, TK, KB) • Northern Waterthrush: 1, Arcata Marsh, 3 Dec-23 Jan (RF, DC, RH, LT, GZ, MOb) • Wilson’s Warbler: 1, Crescent City, 19 Dec (OH) • Western Tanager: 1, Crescent City, 21 Nov (SL, AB) • Clay-colored Sparrow: 1, McKinleyville, 11-27 Dec (KS) • Vesper Sparrow: 1, Arcata Airport, McKinleyville, 19 Nov (KR, RSm) • Lark Sparrow: 1, Centerville Beach, 2 Jan (GL) • “Red” Fox Sparrow: 1, Crescent City, 18-21 Nov (AB) • Swamp Sparrow: many reports of 1-3 individuals, Humboldt Bay NWR, S. Clam Beach, Arcata Marsh, Jacoby Creek, Fay Slough, Eureka Slough, 11 Nov-1 Feb (MOb) • White-throated Sparrow: 1, Humboldt Bay NWR, 17 Nov (TK); 1-3, Fernbridge, 2-15 Jan (SC, DC, LT, MW) • Harris’s Sparrow: 1, Crescent City, 29 Nov (SL, GM)• Lapland Longspur: 13, Arcata Airport, McKinleyville, 19 Nov (KR, RSm); 4, Cannibal Island Rd, Ferndale Bottoms, 8 Dec (SMc, DC, LT, MB, TK); 14, Arcata Bottoms, 1 Jan (TK) • Snow Bunting: 1, Bald Hills Rd, 16 Nov (DC, LT) • Rose-breasted Grosbeak: 1, Bayside, 15-16 Dec (BH); 1, Eureka, 29 Dec-1 Feb (KaR, DC, RH) • Tricolored Blackbird: 2, Ft Dick, 10 Dec-7 Jan (AB, JSt, JLo, FO); 1-4, Arcata Bottoms, 18-23 Jan (RF, KB, et al.) • Yellow-headed Blackbird: 1-2, Arcata Bottoms, 16 Jan-1 Feb (TK, DS, JOL); 1, Fort Bragg, 28 Jan (KHv) • Orchard Oriole: 1, Crescent City, 17-30 Nov (AB, SL); 1-2, McKinleyville, 11-27 Dec (KS); 2, Smith River, 6-18 Jan (AB, SL, LB, MB, DC, OJ, LT, MOb) • Hooded Oriole: 1, Crescent City, 29-31 Dec (SL, AB); 1-2, Smith River, 19 Dec-8 Jan (AB, SL, LB, MB, DC, OJ, LT, MOb); 1, Clendenden’s Cider Works, Fortuna, 2-8 Jan (AD, DC, RH, LT, RF) • Bullock’s Oriole: 3, Crescent City, 24 Nov-1 Feb (SL, AB); 1, Smith River, 23 Dec (AB, EC); 2-3, Fort Bragg, 26 Dec-4 Feb (DJ, KHv, CV, JW, RLeV); 1, McKinleyville, 27 Dec-1 Jan (KS, KB, DC, RF, RH, LT); 1, McKinleyville, 27 Dec-1 Jan (KS, KB, DC, RF, RH, LT) • Evening Grosbeak: 7-17, Arcata, 15-17 Jan (SW); 27, Shay Park, 29 Jan (RF, KB, et al.).

Brown Shrike, © Mary Freeman Clam Beach, Humboldt County

Many thanks to the Observers:

Jeff Allen, Alan Barron, Bob Battingen, Dave Bell, Gary Bloomfield, Matt Brady, Lucas Brug, Ralph Bucher, Ken Burton, Scott Carey, Joe Ceriani, Daryl Coldren, Eileen Cooper, Anthony Desch, Elias Elias, David Fix, Rob Fowler, Gary Friedrichsen, Joe Gartland, Melody Hamilton, Ed Harper, Karen Havlena, Bernard Hawkins, Owen Head, Rob Hewitt, Kate Howard, Jeff Jacobsen, David Jensen, Oscar Johnson, Tony Kurz, Jim Laughlin, Will Lawton, Gary Lester, Lauren Lester, Ron LeValley, Sky Lloyd, Jim Lomax, John Luther, Gary Maschmeyer, Sean McAllister, Cindy Moyer, Lew and Judie Norton, Chet Ogan, Frances Oliver, John Oliver, Larry Pitts, Jude Power, Brian Robinson, Kay Rocco, Rich Ridenaur, Mike Rogers, Kerry Ross, Jesse Sargent, Barry Sauppe, Ryan Shaw, Keith Slauson, Rachel Smith, David Spangenberg, John Sterling, Dorothy Tobkin, Leslie Tucci, Chuck Vaughn, Holly Vetter, Matt Wachs, Jerry White, Sylvia White, Robin Wilcott, Carol Wilson, George Ziminski

145 G Street Suite A Arcata, CA 95521

ep c

The Environmental Protection Information Center www. wildcalifornia.org (707) 822-7711

EPIC Files Petition for Upper Klamath Chinook Protections

By Kerul Dyer As Klamath salmon populations continue their struggle to survive, EPIC, the Center for Biological Diversity, Oregon Wild, and the Larch Company filed a petition in late January with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) charging that the Klamath River Chinook salmon should be recognized–and protected–under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Once the strongest runs on the Klamath, the wild spring-run Klamath Chinook now return at only a tiny percentage of their historic numbers, causing alarm that the fish could go extinct if immediate actions are not taken to support recovery. Even in their remaining stronghold, biologists count between 300 and 3,000 wild spawning spring Chinook each year.

Prior to the construction of dams and other habitat modifications, populations of spring run and commercial fishing interests signed agreements Chinook in the Basin numbered over 100,000 fish. The with governmental agencies and the owners of the petition seeks protection first and foremost for spring- Klamath dams to address the crisis. During this process, run Chinook, but also underscores that all of the Upper deep fractures erupted between key environmental, Klamath Chinook have been impacted and warrant Tribal and fishing interests. Nonetheless, three years further protection. of meetings resulted in the Klamath Basin Restoration “The Klamath River Basin and the salmon it Agreement (KBRA) and Klamath Hydroelectric supports are a global treasure,” said Scott Greacen, Agreement. These controvesial agreements require EPIC’s executive director. “So far, federal agencies have legislative action to provide funding and implementation, managed spring-run Chinook in the Klamath by ignoring which could take years to achieve. them. Plans for the restoration of the Klamath need to The speed of new policies stemming from a put spring Chinook recovery front and center.” listing of the fish under the ESA depends on the lead The spring-run Chinook are marvels of evolution, agency, and potentially, the courts. Depending on key living most of their lives in the Pacific Ocean only to return NMFS decisions, the listing results for the Klamath up the river in the spring with enough fat reserves to survive Chinook could vary widely. without eating until early One outstanding issue fall when it’s time for them for the agency includes to spawn. They have long the potential assignment been prized as one of the of a new Evolutionary best-tasting salmon species Significant Unit (ESU) for and the most economically wild spring-run Klamath important Klamath fish.

Chinook. In 1998, NMFS The Klamath River included all Trinity and Basin provides the lifeblood Klamath Chinook–both for a complex and diverse fall and spring-run–as one region stretching from the ESU. mountains of Southwest It may be common Oregon to the coast of knowledge that fall and Northwest California. spring-run fish differ in Tremendous diversity of appearance, size and flavor life depends on the health on the Klamath and Trinity of the Klamath River and In 2002, some 70,000 adult chinook died along the Klamath River.

Rivers, but the agency has its tributaries, including not yet distinguished them.

Tribal river communities, fish and wildlife, farmers and The petitioners have requested that NMFS review the status recreational economies. of the spring-run Chinook, and assign them a separate ESU. The Klamath Basin was once the third-largest “We present new information demonstrating producer of salmon and steelhead on the West Coast. that spring and fall run Chinook qualify as separate At least 300 miles of spawning habitat were made ESUs based on significant and persistent genetic and inaccessible by the construction of four dams and other reproductive isolation, “ reads the Petition to List Upper hydro-projects. These massive projects extended the Klamath Chinook. “The spring and fall runs in the Basin reach of expanding U.S. hegemony that colonized the are separated by run timing and genetic differences that region. Unlike other areas however, these efforts were are comparable to differences between spring and fall unsuccessful in destroying the cultural heritage and traditional ecological knowledge still found in Klamath River communities.

Federally recognized Tribal governments and surviving Native American families now pursue justice, land acquisition and Tribal management of their ancestral territories for future generations. These initiatives come on the heels of hard won struggles to regain residency and Tribal rights after forced relocation and subordination to federal and state laws interrupted Tribal sovereignty.

In the fall of 2002, Klamath River Chinook suffered one of the worst fish kills in Northwest history when as many as 70,000 adult salmon died before spawning. Excessive water withdrawals, primarily from the federally run Klamath Irrigation Project, resulted in low flows and warm water temperatures that allowed disease to develop and spread quickly. Continued low flows and warm temperatures are key drivers of an ongoing disease crisis in the river that has sharply reduced survival of juvenile wild fish on their way to the ocean. Tribal and federal agencies document these tragedies, but do little to enforce policies for change.

Since the 2002 fish kill, a group of environmental and restoration groups, irrigators, Tribal governments

An

runs in California’s Central Valley, which are recognized as separate ESUs. “ Although petitioners have articulated the importance of distinguishing between fish species, the issue is now in the hands of the federal agency. Three alternatives are identified in the petition: 1) list spring run Chinook as their own evolutionary significant unit (ESU); 2) list spring run Chinook as a distinct population segment (DPS) within the previously recognized Upper Klamath-Trinity River Chinook ESU, or 3) list the entirety of the Upper Klamath-Trinity River Chinook ESU. If the third alternative is selected and the entirety of the Upper Klamath Chinook are managed as an Endangered or Threatened species under the ESA, big changes may be on the way for Klamath communities.

One significant concern is that if the species is listed as a single ESU it could impact Tribal harvesting, both commercial and subsistance, at the mouth of the river on the Yurok Reservation. Other concerns voiced across the basin include the fear of dramatic changes in hatchery fish production.

While issues with a recovery plan are predicted, there is hope for real resolution, according to the groups and their allies. NMFS can, and has, issued exemptions to regulation to Tribes, when regulating an ESA-listed Chinook in Washington state.

To read more or download the actual Petition, please visit wildcalifornia.org.

EPIC Pisces Party

A benefit for Richard Gienger y b usic M e v i L Allen rgenson e n i c Fran ia Jo ng Rocks r a M li nd Ken a ain and Fal cC Del M

Friday, March 11 Beginnings Octagon, 6 p.m.

ECONEWS February/March 2011

www.yournec.org

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Will California Sacrifice Environmental Justice for Cap and Trade?

By Alegría De La Cruz

Environmental groups worked tirelessly to support the development and passage of AB 32—California’s 2006 climate change bill. Yet they do not support the California Air Resource Board’s climate action plan, which lays the groundwork for AB 32’s implementation.

The California Air Resources Board unfairly burdened low-income communities and communities of color as it laid out its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is why the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment joined Communities for a Better Environment to file suit in 2009. In January, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith tentatively ruled in our favor, finding that the Air Resources Board violated key California Environmental Quality Act requirements.

AB 32 includes strong language to protect low-income communities and communities of color. Yet the California Air Resources Board adopted a plan which fails to regulate the agricultural and industrial sectors, which are located in low-income communities and communities of color. The Air Resources Board also selected the industry-preferred approach of Cap and Trade, which disproportionately impacts those same communities.

Instead of driving major polluters to reduce emissions, Cap and Trade allows power plants, petroleum refineries and biofuel facilities to buy “reductions” from other polluters. In exchange for continued pollution, refineries purchase carbon credits from distant companies that install solar panels, conserve critical habitat or cut emissions. Instead of reducing local pollution, major polluters buy improvements implemented far away.

As most major polluters are concentrated in low-income communities of color, Cap and Trade prevents local reductions in toxins, smog-forming chemicals, and particulate matter pollution. These air pollutants are byproducts of the same combustion processes

Environmental groups protested AB 32 in Sacramento, 2008.

Photo: Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment

from someone else. Requiring polluters to reduce their emissions at the source would be more health protective than Cap and Trade.

The Air Resources Board’s plan to reduce greenhouse gasses also failed to protect poor agricultural communities. Many impacts from agricultural pollution are concentrated in California’s Central Valley—a majority Latino population that ranks last in the nation for income, the quality and availability of education, and health. The Central Valley also has the most daily violations of federal and state ozone standards and the highest levels of particulate pollution in the United States. Here, methane emissions from livestock account for 53 percent of the state’s methane inventory. Methane is 20-times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2, and cow manure ponds also release particulate-forming pollutants into the air.

Had the Air Resources Board regulated the agricultural industry in its implementation plan, dairies would have been forced to cut emissions. They may have been required to install methane digesters, which remove methane and particulate pollutants from the air and generate renewable energy. Low-income, rural communities of color could enjoy the benefits of cleaner air, and the state would achieve maximum reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

We filed suit to ensure that AB 32’s implementation is consistent with its letter and spirit. Our recent victory, although tentative, could bar the Air Resources Board from moving forward with current implementation plans.

California’s climate law can create economic opportunities and protect public health, but all Californians deserve the benefits of greenhouse gas reductions, and the poor should not be sacrificed in favor of a system designed for polluters. People are not subsidies.

that release CO2 and other greenhouse gasses.

If CO2 emissions were more tightly regulated at neighborhood facilities, local air quality would improve. Yet according to the Air Resource Board’s plan, the very communities burdened by huge concentrations of pollution will likely see no benefits.

This very problem is developing in Rodeo—a small, low-income, community of color in Contra Costa County, near a ConocoPhillips Refinery. Conoco recently expanded its refinery, resulting in an additional 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

Under the Cap and Trade program, this project would likely use “reductions” from other sources to avoid costly CO2 controls, and increase its toxic, particulate matter, and ozoneforming pollution as well. Other laws, like the Clean Air Act, allow this increase in pollution —Alegría De La Cruz is the Legal Director at the Center as long as the facility buys pollution reduction on Race, Poverty and the Environment.

Salmon and Cancun

By David Simpson

While Mattole chinook and coho salmon worked their way upriver last December, my partner, Jane Lapiner and I found ourselves surrounded by the tropical beaches of Cancun, Mexico.

The salmon were working out of a very different sets of instincts. Jane and I were certainly not in Cancun to spawn! But at deeper levels, there was a clear, strong relationship between the two journeys. It had to do with both our and the salmon’s survival.

Cancun was the scene of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 16/ CMP 6). Here representatives of 193 countries came together to negotiate cooperative agreements to save the planet from the worst dangers of climate change.

A year earlier the conference had produced a disappointing conclusion. It closed with the Copenhagen Accords—a weak document that incited angry protests and an enormous police presence.

Before Cancun, expectations were put on a short leash so as to avoid uproar.

The meeting was originally scheduled for Mexico City, but after the huge, tumultuous demonstrations in Copenhagen, the venue was changed. While luxurious for the delegates, Cancun also has one road in and out, facilitating better defense against climate activists.

Our trail to Cancun began in the remote and far less luxurious Mattole in the mid-70’s when it was becoming clear to everyone that our great salmon runs were disappearing. In the 35 years since then a remarkable citizen-run effort has developed, dedicated not only to the recovery of native Mattole salmon, but to the renewal of the health and productivity of the entire watershed.

Despite the fact that great work has been accomplished, our salmon runs are still hanging on by too thin a thread. The coho, especially, continue to barely skirt extinction. A few hundred chinook return annually where once

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David Simpson stands on the beach in Cancun with his new friends.

Photo: David Simpson.

there were tens of thousands.

Why are the salmon not recovering more easily? Many of the instream factors affecting salmon are improving as a consequence of natural regeneration and our efforts at erosion control and habitat restoration.

Right after the new millennium, a previously unobserved phenomena caught us by surprise. Pools and channels in the mainstem near the headwaters were drying up in late summer and early fall, often leaving juvenile salmon stranded. Some were unable to hide from predators and were eaten. Others died from lack of food and oxygen, disappearing with the water.

This is due to a combination of factors related to climate change and development.

Human water use is increasing as more people move to the country. A more pernicious factor is a slow, low-grade, corrosive drought cycle abetted by a decline in coastal fog.

There is now an emerging school of knowledge about the currents off north coast shores. It appears that current changes may be impacting ocean food supplies for salmon. As climate change continues, ocean warming may also become a regional problem. Salmon needcold waters to survive. www.yournec.org

What hope does the UN process hold for our salmon? In the end, the COP 16 adopted the Cancun Agreements—a disappointing set of allowances similar to the Copenhagen Accords.

If the emissions reductions in this agreement are to be our final standard, world average temperatures will increase between 3 and 6 degrees Celsius. Given what a rise of .8 degrees has already wrought, disaster will be inevitable.

So what are we to do? How might we survive and take salmon with us through the perilous narrows we enter? Here as elsewhere, ecosystem restoration must become not just a nice option but an imperative. The rebuilding of stability and resiliency are crucial parts of the adaptation we must make. We must work to regain some semblance of the ecological bounty that was to be our children’s birthright, and then share it equitably throughout the world.

How do we join into a force for survival so large and so diverse that government and large commercial interests will have no choice but to follow? Let the salmon be our guide.

An international peasant organization of small farmers demonstrates in Cancun. Photo: Hallie Boas, Global Justice Ecology Project.

February /March 2011 ECONEWS

Eco-Mania A monthly melange of salient sillies..

PRESCRIPTION DRUG USE SKYROCKETS: Spending on prescription drugs more than doubled over the decade, even accounting for inflation, with Americans shelling out $234 billion, as opposed to $104 billion 10 years before.

If you're older than 60, it was probably a cholesterol-lowering drug. If you are 20 to 59, it was more likely to be an anti-depressant.

"IMPULSIVE" GENE: A mutant gene linked to impulsive behavior has been discovered in Finnish men convicted of violence.

The gene which inhibits production of seratonin, involved in providing restraint and foresight into the consequences of actions, was three times as common in violent criminals as in the general population. It played a pivotal role in all prisoners carrying the mutation, and their crimes were unpremeditated, without potential for financial gain and disproportionate to minor irritations.

KILLER PAPER: That's what scientists are calling a new packaging that helps preserve food by fighting the bacteria that causes spoilage.

The paper contains a coating made of silver nanoparticles, which are powerful anti-bacterial agents. Each nanoparticle is 1/50,000th the width of a human hair.

HISPANIC PARADOX: That's what scientists call the fact that Hispanics outlive non-Hispanic white and African Americans despite higher rates of poverty, obesity and diabetes and low rates of health insurance and access to a college education.

As of 2006, the life expectancy of Hispanics was 80.6 years, 2.5 years more than for non-Hispanic whites and almost 8 years longer than for blacks.

VITRIOLIC VULTURE: Saudi Arabian security services have captured a vulture suspected of being a spy sent over from Israel.

The bird was carrying a GPS transmitter and a tag from Tel Aviv University, and strayed into Saudi territory. After saying the vulture was linked to a "Zionist plot," the bird was placed under arrest.

Just recently, a shark that attacked tourists off the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el Sheikh was said to be acting on behalf of the Israeli secret service.

ASHES, NOT COKE: Five teenagers in Silver Springs, Florida, have been arrested after they allegedly snorted creamated ashes in the mistaken belief that it was cocaine.

THIRD-HAND SMOKE: That's the term for the invisible remains of cigarette smoke that lingers on carpets, clothing and other surfaces—and may be more of a health hazard than previously believed.

So says Yael Dubowski and colleagues who noted that nicotine in third-hand smoke can react with ozone in indoor air and on surfaces to form other pollutants. Exposure to them can affect babies crawling on the carpets to people eating tainted food.

FOUL USE OF FISH: Two ice fishermen on Michigan's Black Lake were attacked by a 29-year-old woman wielding a fish.

The woman first asked them to turn around while she urinated on the ice, then when they did, she slapped each of them in the head with the fish. She said she did it because the men placed their shanty too close to her shanty. The men, both in their early 20s, did not wish to press charges.

LEGS OF THE LAW: Rather than install expensive traffic lights all over Czechoslovakia, budget-minded police placed life-sized cutouts of mini-skirted policewomen at busy intersections.

But the scheme backfired when accidents doubled because men took their eyes off the road.

One man, who complained to the Interior Ministry, said: "I mean mini-skirts? In this weather?"

VIDEO GAMES NOT FATTENING: A three-year study of 482 schoolchildren 12 years old in East Lansing, Michigan, showed that neither gamers nor internet users nor cellphone fanatics predicted a child's weight or body mass index.

Instead it was race, socioeconomic status and age that were the strongest indicators. In fact, internet users had higher scores in reading and gamers had better spatial skills--though lower grades and self-esteem.

POLLUTION BLACK MARKET: A half-million permits to pollute the planet were stolen recently from a Czech carbon bank. It follows a similar robbery in Romania and an attempted one in Austria, and they all threaten to ruin the European carbon trading plan.

Major companies can emit only as much carbon dioxide as their European Union Allowances say. If they want to emit more, they must buy spare carbon permits from others.

PREGNANT HITLER: As a punishment for his sins, Adolph Hitler has been portrayed as a semi-naked pregnant woman, as the Virgin Mary, as a Jewish death camp survivor and as someone cradling the baby Jesus.

The artist, Ronald Manullang of Indonesia, said: "This is a terrifying, powerful man who has to breastfeed, sing lullabies and caress a baby who he really hates. This is a fitting punishment for his past sins."

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ECONEWS February/March 2011

www.yournec.org

13

The Western Brook Lamprey Thrives in Winter Just as the wet season was about to start, I explored Jacoby Creek with Humboldt State University Professor Emeritus John DeMartini. In anticipation of the Jacoby Creek Land Trust’s naturalist walk program, we were searching the stream for “animals without backbones.” Our tool was a soup strainer; our dress was bare feet and shorts.

With numb feet I watched maple leaves spin through the air to the water. When willows, alders and maples drop their leaves, light penetrates deeper into the stream forest, and ancient liverworts, mosses, and lichens go through their reproductive stages.

Many of these plants are also united in a spirit of poikilohydry—a life tied to the comings and goings of water. As these organisms don’t hold much water inside their cells, they desiccate during the dry season and remain dormant. It’s not until the rain comes that photosynthesis begins.

Insects also benefit from the winter life cycle. After the leaves float in clusters down the stream, they eventually come to rest at mini debris dams. Here caddis fly larva eat the last of the leaf chlorophyll and carotene pigments.

I pull my soup strainer up and examine its contents. “Nothing left of the leaves,” I mutter to John. The caddis flies had licked their plates clean.

“Right,” said John, “but look at the Ammocoetes!”

Ammocoetes are the larval stage of western brook lamprey.

Photo: John Demartini.

Ammocoete is the term used to describe lamprey larvae. From John I learned that the western brook lamprey—Lampetra richardsoni— consumes fine detritus. Lampreys are vertebrates

By Bob Wunner and are incorrectly called eels. Unlike eels, lampreys don’t have jaws. Most lampreys are anadromous, like salmon, leaving freshwater when young and returning to reproduce as adults. Adult lampreys are typically parasitic on fishes.

The diminutive western brook lamprey, however, is only 4.4 to 7.7 inches long, and is neither anadromous nor parasitic.

It is confined to freshwater because it cannot regulate water balance in saline water. Seven gills reside on each side of its head.

The western brook lamprey is considered one of the most abundant Wunner examines a “leaf pack” for caddis fly larva. Inset: Caddis fly larva and case. life forms in the lower Bob Photos: John Demartini. reaches of streams in the northwestern United States. Easily overlooked Jacoby Creek Land Trust is and difficult to collect, the larva stage can last up to approaching its 20th anniversary. It was seven years. During this time lamprey eat detritus, founded by a group of people who were microscopic algae desmids, diatoms, and concerned about restoring and protecting other algae. the landscape features of the watershed.

John and I found the larva in sand and Timber harvesters and homesteaders silt deposits on lower Jacoby Creek and in the had devastated stream conditions and fishery Morrison Gulch tributary. Spawning occurs in populations.

In the 1970’s, Bob Wunner riffles, on rock, sand, or gravel stream bottoms and a group of friends began restoration in shallow depressions five centimeters deep and activities along Jacoby Creek, wherever they 10-12 centimeters in diameter. were granted access.

It was a frustrating I still marvel that this life form, the jawless process.

After improvements were made on fishes with cartilaginous skeletons, lacking stream banks, sometimes the owner sold the scales, bone and fins, were the first vertebrates. property, and the new landowner would bring For over 100 million years they were the ONLY a diff erent vision for the land. vertebrates. The oldest lampreys date back to Wunner and his colleagues founded 540 million years—the middle of the Cambrian the Jacoby Creek Land Trust to help solve this period, when life exploded into an array of problem. The first conservation easement prolific diversity. was granted to co-founder Bill Thompson’s In early February I emailed descriptions property in the early 1990s. of our observations to Professor Moyle, Professor The Land Trust now holds easements Emeritus in Fisheries and Wildlife at the on roughly 20 properties in the Jacoby Creek University of California at Davis. The next day he and Elk River watersheds. Landowners sent his most recent studies of lampreys, noting maintain ownership of their properties, but that whatever we found was new information. agree to preserve the land. If the property is Little is known about the western brook lamprey. sold or passed on to an heir, the easement ensures conservation goals are met and restoration work remains intact.

The City of Arcata has been, and continues to be, a close partner with the Jacoby Creek Land Trust. The city owns about 2 square miles in the upper-mid watershed, Energy Efficient which is now called the Jacoby Creek Forest.

Refrigerators & Freezers The city is actively acquiring more lands in the watershed and conducts a sustainable Customized To Fit Your Needs Forest Stewardship Council-certified harvest program on its lands.

4 Available in DC Other partners include the California or AC Wildlife Conservation Board and the California Department of Fish and Game, 4 Select From Over which have helped secure grant funding to 10 Models help land owners put easements on their 4 Choose from 1000’s properties, and to help the Land Trust buy of Colors, Finishes parcels from willing sellers. & Woods Instream and riparian conditions have improved significantly since the 1970’s, “Higher efficiency standards for refrigerators but there are still areas of unprotected stream have saved the equivalent of all the energy corridor. Public outreach continues, and generated in the US by wind and solar.”

Jacoby Land Trust has an active outreach Dr. Chu, US Secretary of Energy program under its current executive director, Susan Ornelas. A series of naturalist walks Please Contact Us For More Info to study the watershed will begin this spring, P.O. Box 1101, Arcata, CA 95518 continuing throughout the year. tel: (707)822-9095 • fax: (707)822-6213

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February /March 2011 ECONEWS

Healthy Humboldt Eyes Water Use Planning The north coast is known for its abundant winter rains, foggy days, and majestic rivers.

Water has shaped the landscape and supports our high quality of life. However, current and past land management practices have failed to protect this precious resource, with dire consequences for our rivers and coastal waters.

Once-legendary salmon populations have declined precipitously, with some on the brink of extinction. Poor logging and road maintenance practices have left north coast streams choked with sediment, suffocating salmon eggs. Many of our rivers are threatened by low summer flows resulting in toxic algae blooms and temperatures too high for salmon to survive. In urban and residential areas, runoff carries motor oil, lawn fertilizers and other contaminants into creeks, ultimately polluting Humboldt Bay and the ocean.

This state of affairs is the result of past and present land use practices with little regard for water. Humboldt County’s General Plan Update contemplates how we can improve development practices to protect our water resources both in urban and rural areas. Two policies being considered are crucial to the future health and viability of our waterways: watershed-based planning and Low Impact Development techniques, which are designed to mimic the natural flow of water through the landscape.

By Kerry Topel logging, farming and residential development, affect water quality. Watershed-based planning promotes a localized approach to understanding and addressing these impacts to maintain a clean, stable water supply for local residents, municipalities, agriculture, and habitat for salmon and other wildlife.

Reducing Runoff through Low Impact Development (LID) Low Impact Development (LID) is an approach to land development that incorporates a suite of features designed to reduce stormwater runoff by treating it close to the source, keeping pollutants out of creeks and coastal waters.

Conventional development practices result in high concentrations of asphalt, concrete and other impermeable surfaces. Rainwater cannot infiltrate, and ends up running along Permeable sidewalk increases infiltration by reducing impervious surface area. Photo: Dan Burden. Reprinted with permission from www.pedbikeimages.org.

Protecting Water Quality and Quantity through Watershed-Based Planning Watershed-based planning uses a basin-wide perspective, acknowledging the interconnectedness of upstream and downstream residents and the environment. It strives to include members of all communities to participate in decision-making as it acknowledges the ecological, social, and economic impacts of our land management practices.

Everyone lives in a watershed, whether we live in town, on a hill, or in a remote river-valley. A watershed encompasses everything from the ridge tops to where the river meets the sea.

Watersheds capture, store, filter, and This bioswale in a Fred Meyer parking lot in Portland, Oregon filters runoff. convey water supplies that are essential Photo: Jennifer Kalt. for our towns, forests, fisheries, and hard surfaces like roadways, rooftops, or paved agriculture to thrive.

Most watersheds in Humboldt County parking lots and picks up pollutants which include urban and rural residents. In each then enter storm drains. These storm drains watershed, all of our land use practices, including quickly channel the runoff to creeks, leading to increased flooding, stream erosion, and water quality degradation.

Low Impact Development works to mimic natural drainage systems as much as possible through the use of site-specific design features that reduce impervious surfaces, generate less surface runoff, and reduce erosion and pollution of rivers, streams, and coastal waters.

Low Impact Development allows water to filter into the ground rather than run along the surface. Vegetation slows down stormwater, while soils absorb it and soil bacteria break down contaminants.

Low Impact Development techniques such as rain gardens, grassy swales, vegetated rooftops, and permeable pavement reduce pollution and erosion while replenishing A water-harvesting swale in San Ramon captures runoff, minimizes gully groundwater supplies. erosion and promotes groundwater recharge. Photo: Dan Ehresman.

In many jurisdictions, these development practices are required in new

residential and commercial developments.

The City of Eureka adopted its Construction Low Impact Development Manual in 2009, and projects there are beginning to incorporate bioswales, permeable pavement, and other methods of reducing stormwater runoff. Yet in the unincorporated areas of Humboldt County, Low Impact Development is made difficult by existing ordinances and policies. By updating the County’s General Plan to include Low Impact Development, more builders can incorporate these features, allowing more stormwater to remain on-site, preventing pollution and protecting streams and coastal waters for future generations.

—Kerry Topel is a contributor to the Healthy Humboldt Coalition. She recently completed her master’s degree at Humboldt State University’s Environment & Community program, with a focus on sustainable rural community development and water privatization.

To find out more, visit www.healthyhumboldt.org.

SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS on the Water Resources Element via email to: mspencer@co.humboldt.ca.us OR

by U.S. mail to: Humboldt County Community Development Services, Attn: Martha Spencer, 3015 H Street, Eureka, CA 95501

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Rain gardens or bioswales to intercept runoff before it gets to storm drains. Infiltration into the soil allows breakdown by soil microbes; interception by plants that take up water and pollutants keeps them out of storm water.

Rain gardens or bioswales, regular testing and maintenance of sewer and stormwater systems. Shallower sloped, longer, sandy soiled, and densely grassed swales have the highest pollution removal rates.

Use of gutter runoff in landscaping, e.g. rain gardens, rain barrels and cisterns, green roofs, and roof gardens; street sweeping.

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ECONEWS February/March 2011

www.yournec.org

15

What Will New Pollution Standards Mean For The Klamath?

By Abe Walston

The latest move in the grueling chess match in the Klamath Basin played out this December, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved new water quality standards for the Klamath River and its tributaries. The decision establishes pollution limits and mandates reductions in temperature, dissolved oxygen, organic nutrients, sediment and toxic algae.

The water quality improvement plan calls for massive pollution reductions for the California portion of the river, including a 57 percent reduction in phosphorus, 32 percent in nitrogen, and 16 percent in carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD). The plan also calls for annual reductions in the river’s reservoirs of more than 120,000 pounds of nitrogen and 22,000 pounds of phosphorus.

These limits are modeled on baseline natural conditions in the Klamath Basin. They were first approved by the California State Water Resources Control Board last September and are expressed as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL). TMDL implementation involves identifying sources of the various pollutants, and reducing inputs through land use modification and restoration.

The Klamath River, a federally protected “Wild and Scenic River,” flows 255 miles southwest from Oregon through northern California, and empties into the Pacific Ocean.

The Klamath River drains an extensive watershed covering over 12,600 square miles, and has been called the “Everglades of the West.”

The Klamath River and its tributaries support the highest diversity of anadromous fishes of any river in California, including salmon, cutthroat trout, steelhead and sturgeon.

Upstream in Oregon, the river hosts the state’s most robust population of redband and bull trout. In 2002, a massive die-off of more than 70,000 salmon brought national attention to this area.

California groups pollution in the Klamath River into four categories: those received at the state border; the Klamath Hydro-electric Project, including Iron Gate Hatchery; the many Klamath tributaries; and the many non-point sources that occur throughout the watershed. How will the TMDL’s address each of these problem areas?

As far as the upper basin is concerned, the EPA is working with Oregon to certify TMDLs in the coming months. This creates water quality standards on both sides of the state line—a border that has hindered basin-wide cooperation while providing little barrier to pollutants. Since upstream pollution is largely agricultural in origin, the number and flexibility of these waivers could determine whether the TMDL’s for the

The Klamath River meets the ocean. Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

upper basin are realistic. The agricultural waiver process will not be completed until December 2012, and environmental groups are watching this process closely.

PacifiCorp, the owners of the Klamath Hydroelectric Project, argued that the TMDL’s are “unachievable,” and challenged the scientific methods used in creating them. The Klamath dam removal agreements, which PacifiCorp agreed to, also provide for TMDL implementation. The EPA defers to these agreements and provides legal basis for the limits should agreements fall apart.

While the EPA’s affirmation is clearly good news, many larger questions remain. Can democracy restore this ecosystem? What is the difference between a government ruling and a healthy environment? Will any action be soon enough?

In this case the fate of the Klamath may depend on how soon TMDL’s are properly enforced. Whether polluters are given cease and desist orders or nominal fines will also determine the river’s fate. And none of this addresses water allocation, which may be the root of many of the pollution problems in the Klamath Basin.

Until a common vision for a healthy Klamath is put into motion, the ecosystem will continue to suffer while policy makers, industries and interest groups expend valuable time playing chess against each other.

The State of Jefferson is a scenic byway on the Klamath River.

Photo: U.S. Department of Transportation, Larry Mosier.

Good News For The Earth: What the media does not tell us Bad news sells. Good news threatens the status quo. This page fills in the good news gap.

By Robert “Bobcat” Brothers, Ph.D.

A Good Year In the Fight Against Coal India’s Honeybee Network Introduces Grassroots Technology Sharing

Coal is one of the single greatest causes of climate change. Coal power plants account for 20 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and provide 50 percent of the electricity in the U.S. According to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, 10 percent of U.S. coal supplies come from mountaintop removal.

No new coal plants began operation in the last two years. In 2010, a record 38 proposals for new plants were dropped by utilities companies, who also announced 12,000 megawatts in coal plant retirements.

Most Mountain Top Removal permits are on hold by the Environmental Protection Agency, which vetoed the Spruce Mine in West Virginia on Jan.13. This would have been the largest mountain top removal project of its kind in the country.

Photo: Courtesy of Bobcat.

16

Last fall the Honeybee Network published a paper on water wars and population pressure.

Earlier in the year papers on inclusive governance and conscious innovation were distributed on the web. This diversity in focus is the vision of Anil Gupta, who founded the Honeybee Network in 1988. His revolutionary idea was that people didn’t need to wait for information to trickle down to them from the top level of universities and corporations.

People in rural India, like poor people everywhere, are naturally inventive, and this creativity can be a powerful force, as shown by the image in the logo of a peasant woman moving the world. But rural folks usually do not have the ways and means to share their inventions or their traditional knowledge.

This is where the Honeybee network helps. Based in Ahmedabad, India, the online portal gathers low tech, low impact ideas from people in the countryside. Innovators can join the network to post and share ideas.

Information is then distributed through travelling workshops, a newsletter published in Hindi, Gujarati, and Telugu, and an online database with 90,000 ideas and innovations.

This open-source structure mimics the behavior of the honey bee, www.yournec.org

Photo: Courtesy of Honeybee.

which gives the organization its name.

Examples of the projects tackled by members include wind-powered irrigation systems, bicycle-powered grain grinders and washing machines, a motorbike powered plow, and silencer and pollution control devices for generators.

Organic farming techniques are also shared, including the hands-on pest control method shown in the above picture. People move through a field of corn or millet, catch one of the Sunga bugs, crush it together with the leaves of the Dhumas plant or the Kejii plant, and cast the dead bugs and leaves to the wind.

Upon smelling this, the other bugs leave the field.

As the saying goes, “Employ people, not poison.”

For more information contact the Honeybee Network at http://www.sristi.org/hbnew/contactus.php

February /March 2011 ECONEWS

CNPS HAPPENINGS

News and Events from the North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society Beginners and experts, non-members and members are all welcome at our programs and on our outings.

Events are free and made possible by volunteer efforts.

Evening Programs Meet at the Six Rivers Masonic Lodge, 251 Bayside Road, near 7th and Union in Arcata. All programs are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Refreshments are available at 7 p.m. The program starts at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 11: Insect-Plant Relationships Bob Case will share interesting “Insect-Plant Relationships” and tips on photography. Examples will include Sierran insects and plants from the Yuba Pass area.

Wednesday, February 9: Chemicals— The Language of Plants HSU Chemical Ecologist William Wood will discuss his research on floral odors and the compounds in plants that are toxic, distasteful, and inhibit the growth of other plants. How have people adapted the many chemicals used by plants for their own benefit? Many of the compounds produced by plants to ward off pests have become human medicines.

Floral odors are the basis of many perfumes.

Our present lifestyle could not exist without the chemicals we use from plants.

Sunday, March 20: Equinox in the Redwoods— Brown Creek-South Fork Trail Loop Dayhike It’s time to look for trillium, the first stream violet and hazelnut female flowers! This roughly 4-mile hike in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is a great place to look for early spring among the damp, winter green. Bring lunch and water; dress for a day in the shady redwoods (Yes, consider gloves). Meet at 9:00 a.m. at Pacific Union School (3001 Janes Rd., Arcata) or arrange another place. For information and to say you are coming call Carol Ralph 822-2015.

Sunday, April 10: Benbow to Garberville along the Eel River, Dayhike Where the South Fork Eel River swings away from Highway 101 between Benbow and Garberville is a trail through mixed evergreen forest and oak woodlands. This is a true exploration and our first trip there.

We will leave some vehicles at Southern Humboldt Community Park and drive to Benbow to walk from that end. We will walk about 4 miles. Bring lunch and water. Dress for being outside all day, whatever the weather.

CNPS members enjoy a walk in Trinidad. Photo: CNPS. Wednesday, March 9: Lassics Lupine— Meet at 8:30 a.m. at Pacific Union School (3001 Taking the Pulse of a Rare Plant Field Trips and Plant Walks Janes Rd., Arcata), or at 9 a.m. at the Kohl’s end The rocky, barren, and yet picturesque landscape Outings are open to everyone, not just members. All of Bayshore Mall parking lot, or at 10:15 a.m. in of the Lassics is home to several exceedingly rare levels of expertise, from beginners to experienced the Community Park. Return late afternoon. For plants, including the Lassics lupine. Without question botanizers, are welcome. Address questions about information and to say you are coming call Carol this lupine is the rarest species in Northwestern physical ability requirements to the leader.

Ralph 822-2015.

California, and it may be the most threatened.

David Imper, Lisa Hoover and Sydney Carothers Saturday, February 26: Trinidad Head to Elk Saturday, May 21: Save the date. Destination TBA. will summarize nine years of research.

Head Day Hike This hike will span dense, lush, coastal scrub, Other Local Activities Wednesday, April 13: Favorite Native Plants remnant coastal prairie and spruce forest. We will Don’t miss outings with Godwit Days (April 15-17), for North Coast Gardens walk to Trinidad Head and on through Trinidad CNPS Spring Wildflower Show (April 30-May Walter Earle and Margaret Graham have been State Beach (Is the slinkpod blooming yet?). We 1), and California Redwoods Bird and Nature growing native plants at Mostly Natives Nursery, will wander on to Elk Head and cover several Festival (May 6-8 in Crescent City). Please watch Tomales California. They specialize in plants that miles of easy paths. Bring lunch and water and for later additions on our Web site (www. thrive in north coast gardens. Walter will share be ready to be outside all day. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at northcoastcnps.org) or sign up for e-mail with us some of what they have learned about his Pacific Union School (3001 Janes Rd., Arcata), or at announcements: Northcoast_CNPS-subscribe@ favorite species for our coast—what sites they like, 9 a.m. at the beach parking lot by Trinidad Head. yahoogroups.com. Everyone is welcome. No tricks about planting and caring for them, how We will return late afternoon. For information and botanical knowledge required. We are out there to propagate them, and the wildlife they attract. to say you are coming call Carol Ralph 822-2015. to share and enjoy.

NORTH GROUP NEWS

A List of Events & Conservation Updates From the North Group Redwood Chapter Sierra Club Sunday, Feb. 27: Berry Glen Trail New 6-mile, medium difficulty trail connecting Lady Bird Johnson Grove to the Elk Meadow Day use area off Davison Road, where this free public hike begins and ends. Preregistration required; contact leader Melinda (707) 668-4275 or mgroomster@gmail.com.

Saturday, March 5: Eel River Hike At Table Bluff Begin below Table Bluff. Follow the beach south 4.5 miles between the ocean and sloughs, estuaries, and marshlands of the Eel. Return varies along dunes and McNulty Slough. Meet at Herrick Park & Ride at 9 a.m., or gather at the beach below Table Bluff at 9:30 a.m.

Nine miles, medium difficulty. Rain cancels.

Leader: Xandra (707) 441-0702.

at 9 a.m., or gather at the beach below Table Bluff at 9:30 a.m. 9 miles, easy. Rain cancels.

Leader: Xandra (707) 441-0702.

A Great Year for Outings!

Outings co-chair Al Muelhoefer reports that during 2010, the number of outings increased to 31. The number of participants was 138—a little lower than in 2009. Over the last six years North Group averaged six people per outing.

North Group would like to thank its leaders for sharing their time and knowledge. However, there is always a need for more leaders. If you would like to help people explore our beautiful North Coast, contact Al at almuelhoefer@gmail.com.

Tuesday, March 8: Executive Committee Meeting Discuss local conservation issues from 8-9 p.m., or come for the business meeting starting at 7 p.m. Meet at the Adorni Center in Eureka.

Info: Gregg (707) 826-3740.

Saturday, March 19: Headwaters Forest, Eureka Hike along level ground for three miles, passing through second-growth redwood forest.

The last two miles are a steep climb and loop through old growth. Return along the same route. Meet at Herrick Park & Ride at 9 a.m., or at the trailhead at the end of Elk River Road at 9:30 a.m. 11 miles, medium difficulty. No dogs.

Leader: Xandra (707) 441-0702.

Attendees enjoy a North Group hike at Lyon’s Ranch in 2010.

Photo: Sierra Club, North Group.

Saturday, March 26: Table Bluff And South Spit Begin below Table Bluff and follow the road 4.5 miles north to South Spit between the ocean and bay. Meet at Herrick Park & Ride

Election Results Diane Beck, Mel McKinney, and Lucille Vinyard were elected to 2-year terms on the North Group Executive Committee.

ECONEWS February/March 2011

www.yournec.org

Retreat Discussion North Group held its annual retreat on January 22. Many ambitious goals for the upcoming year were discussed: 1) endorse viable, electable local candidates; 2) encourage more local cities to sign on to the Club’s Cool Cities Campaign; 3) meet regularly with elected officials; 4) monitor/ influence Humboldt County’s greenhouse gas reduction efforts; 5) work on Richardson Grove project; 6) advocate for sound science and Club position on Klamath River and dam removal; 7) work with Healthy Humboldt Coalition on General Plan Update; 8) support Chapter efforts to implement AB2121 (in-stream flow legislation); 9) advocate for restoration of Eel River, including adequate flows and healthy salmon stocks; 10) monitor implementation of Clam Beach vehicle restriction ordinance; 11) monitor/influence Marina Center project; 12) sponsor two member meetings with food and speaker; 13) work toward more focus on environmental/watershed protection during wildfire suppression and post-fire activities; 14) monitor impact of Yurok Tribal Park proposal on Redwood National & State Parks; 15) hold a picnic with other environmental groups; 16) work to develop a resilient habitat and national forest regional plan for NW California; 17) work on Lower Trinity RD, Six Rivers NF trails planning; 18) monitor Humboldt Bay management and development proposals; 19) monitor MLPA issues and support Northcoast unified proposal; and 20) monitor and develop positions on local/regional environmental issues to present at public meetings.

17

King Tides: A look into the future of Sea Level Rise

By Beth Werner and Jen Kalt • $1.4 billion in property replacement On Jan. 19 and 20, the California value will be located within the 100-year coastline was inundated by some of the floodplain. year’s highest tides. The water reached 8.25 and 8.85 feet above mean sea level • 240 miles of roads, including 58 miles around Humboldt Bay. Known as “King of highway will be damaged. The U.S. 101 Tides,” these high tides provided a glimpse corridor between Arcata and Eureka is of what we can expect in sea level rise in especially at risk. the future.

• Three contaminated sites may flood (in Due to climate change, sea level is addition to the 10 that are currently within projected to rise at least 16 inches along the 100-year floodplain). the California coast by 2050, with a 50• Other infrastructure at risk includes the inch rise predicted by 2100. The primary City of Eureka wastewater treatment plant, impacts from sea level rise are increases the Humboldt Bay power plant, and gasoline in flooding and erosion. Sea level rise storage tanks in Eureka. will expand the area that is vulnerable to flooding during major storms, and in the rare Threats to Coastal Wetlands: but catastrophic event of a major tsunami.

As sea level rises and the 100-year “Nearly 500,000 people and floodplain expands, coastal ecosystems $100 billion of property along the will undergo changes of an unprecedented California coast are vulnerable to rising scale. Approximately 350,000 acres of sea levels. This is a tangible threat to Along with this dairy pasture near Liscom Slough, many of Humboldt County’s dairy California’s dwindling coastal wetlands our environment and economy,” says pastures could be flooded with brackish water as sea levels rise. Photo: Aldaron Laird. face flooding from sea level rise.

Sara Aminzadeh, Programs Manager There is some good news: with for California Coastkeeper Alliance. “One of dollars in property along the coast face long-term planning, Humboldt County has a common sense solution is to restore steadily increasing flood risks if no adaptation high potential for wetlands to migrate inland and protect wetlands, which function like actions are taken. rather than being completely lost to coastal natural sponges, buffering against rising sea inundation. Wetlands contribute to the health levels, higher tides, and increased storm and Threats to Humboldt County from a 4.6 foot of Humboldt Bay but also serve to absorb storm rise in sea level include: wave activity.” surges, thereby minimizing flood damage on The Pacific Institute recently estimated • 7,800 people will be living in the 100-year higher ground. Protecting inland areas to allow that critical infrastructure, essential coastal floodplain, with disproportionate impacts on wetland migration is critical. wetlands and other habitats, and many billions low-income households.

Next Steps in the Marine Life Protection Act The Marine Life Protection Act on the north coast recently took a step forward in Sacramento with the presentation of Marine Protected Area (MPA) Proposals to the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC). The MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force recommended the Unified MPA Proposal designed by the Regional Stakeholders—a group of community nominees who represent tribes, fishing interests and conservationists.

Special Closure Recommendations were also presented to the FGC and will be reviewed for approval. These cover seasonal closures around offshore rocks to keep boats away from sensitive marine habitat.

The California FGC meeting opened with California’s Secretary for Natural Resources, John Laird, speaking in support of the Unified MPA Proposal, and stating that he thought this is a “unique moment in time” to address Tribal uses within the State.

Senator Noreen Evans also spoke in support of the Unified MPA Proposal, telling the FGC that the Unified MPA Proposal is a “testament to the strength and spirit of the north coast.”

Assemblyman Wes Chesbro also showed support for the Unified MPA Proposal. On behalf of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, of which he is president, Chesboro expressed

By Beth Werner unanimous support for adopting the Unified MPA Proposal.

The Unified MPA Proposal includes tribal traditional and non-commercial uses, which is a point of concern for the FGC. The Blue Ribbon Task Force recommends that the FGC identify “tribal uses” as a separate category of use in the regulations applicable to each MPA, once legal authority is clarified and settled by the State of California and the California Tribes and tribal communities, The following descriptive language is proposed: Members of California Indian tribes and tribal communities shall be allowed to fish, gather and harvest marine resources for traditional, non-commercial subsistence, ceremonial, religious or stewardship purposes.

The FGC is tasked with reviewing the MPA Proposals and the Special Closure Recommendations, as well as the Science Evaluations, Department of Fish and Game Feasibility Analysis and the California State Parks recommendations. The FGC will present their findings in April, at which point the final MPA Proposal for the Northcoast will be identified.

Please contact Beth at at 268-8897 or beth@humboldtbaykeeper.org.

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February /March 2011 ECONEWS

Thriving Beyond Sustainability, A Book Review

By Dan Ehresman, Healthy Humboldt In a time when we are witnessing catastrophic storms, tragic violence and nations in upheaval, Thriving Beyond Sustainability: Pathways to a Resilient Society by Andres R. Edwards offers a refreshing and optimistic perspective.

Edwards presents us with a view of our world, our Earth Island, where we bear witness to five interrelated global trends: ecosystem decline, energy transition, population growth, economic disparity, and climate change. Edwards points out that with the convergence of these challenges “we face an unprecedented crisis – and a unique opportunity for a brighter future.”

The journey to redefine our relationship with the natural world begins as all journeys do – with our ancestors. Traditional cultures the world over have demonstrated their ability to adapt and survive by way of understanding the interrelationships within an ecosystem, while recognizing humans as part of that system. This traditional ecological knowledge, postulates Edwards, can complement technological advances. But as we lose indigenous cultures, we also lose crucial knowledge for living in balance with the natural world.

Edwards cites projects from around the globe that simultaneously benefit impoverished populations, individual species, and entire ecosystems. When speaking to the critical issue of safeguarding ecosystems, Edwards makes the case that we must evolve beyond the focus on preservation to a strategy that balances ecological protection with the economic and

….if the world’s population carried a standard of living we are afforded in the U.S., we’d need three to five Earths to support it.

social needs of people. Only with the support and commitment at the local level can longterm success be recognized.

Edwards also addresses our current economic crisis in relation to the ecological crises we face. He illuminates the fact that there is not enough energy or raw materials to support the world’s economic growth at its current rate, and if the world’s population carried a standard of living we are afforded in the U.S., we’d need three to five Earths to support it. Edwards argues that “recalibrating our economic system so that it more accurately reflects the true costs of resource extraction” is key to safeguarding our limited resources for future generations.

Another solution is designing our human habitat with a more holistic approach. Smart Growth, New Urbanism, and regenerative design are a few strategies highlighted. Edwards points to places like Greensburg, Kansas and Växjö, Sweden, whose residents are redefining the interface between people, buildings, and nature by encouraging development based on natural cycles and cultural traditions.

Edwards brings the book to a close by challenging us to shift from a mindset of sustaining – or getting by – to thriving, enriching the world, and celebrating abundance.

He states, “When we are attuned to the rhythms of nature, the possibilities are infinite. This shift from ‘less bad’ solutions to solutions that energize us and improve our quality of life through our connections with all life forms is the essence of thriveability.”

How Does Family Planning Impact Population Growth?

By Amy Coombs By 2011 more than seven billion human beings will dwell on Earth. This number will climb to nine billion by 2050, according to United Nations (UN) reports.

Even though the U.S. will produce fewer children than developing nations, our growth will have disproportionately detrimental environmental impacts. As the average American child grows up, she will use as many resources as 35 people in India.

This is why the recent cuts to family planning programs pose an environmental as well as a social impact.

Despite evidence that family planning slows population growth, on Feb. 18 the newly conservative House of Representatives approved an amendment to the appropriations act, barring Planned Parenthood from receving federal funding (H. Amdt. 95 to H.R. 1).

Planned Parenthood operates more than 800 family planning clinics nationwide, and provides contraception and birth control on a sliding-scale basis. It receives about $360 million through Medicaid, federal grants and other sources.

The House Appropriations Act (H.R. 1) was approved just hours after the controversial amendment was added. Along with axing funding for Planned Parenthood, the bill also de-funds Title X—the only federal program dedicated exclusively to reproductive healthcare.

Last year Title X provided $317 million for a wide variety of reproductive health and family planning services. Much of this money went to low-income individuals.

The environmental impacts of recent cuts have received little media attention, yet they should not be overlooked. If America’s population begins to grow faster than planned, there may be global repurcussions.

The U.S. contains five percent of the world’s population, but consumes 22 percent of fossil fuel resources. We create 24 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, and use 33 percent of papers and plastics, according to the Sierra ECONEWS February/March 2011

Aerial view of urban sprawl in Bloomington, Ill. Photo: Tlindenbaum/tim account, Flicker Creative Commons.

Club. Once a U.S. child is born, he will need food, shelter, and eventually an iPod. Climate change, water shortages, smog pollution and urban sprawl have all been linked to population growth. These problems are paramount in the west and midwest, where cities grow exponentially, encroaching on fragile desert, prairie and forest ecosystems.

In these communities, the typical family uses 176 gallons of water a day. In contrast, many African families use five gallons a day, and in Australia, where living standards are high, many homes use only 35 gallons.

From farm to tabletop, food is also trucked farther in the U.S. Each year, a single long hall truck can release five tons of the particulate-forming air pollutant nitrogen oxide. In total, trucks account for 400 trillion tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions.

To bring produce home from the market, the average American often use 550 plastic bags a year. These don’t biodegrade and usually can’t be recycled.

John Bongaarts, of the New York, NYbased Population Council, says good family planning can put a cap on the population growth cycle. Instead of growing to 9 or 9.5 www.yournec.org

billion, as analysts predict, the Earth’s population might peak at a lower number—at least if women and families are educated. “If we make much larger investments in family planning right now, the number of people could be closer to eight billion,” says Bongaarts.

“Such an investment would have a very beneficial impact on human welfare and any environmental issue we care about.”

Before it was axed, Title X prevented an estimated 973,000 unintended pregnancies each year, according to the Washington D.C.-based Guttmacher Institute, which works to advance reproductive health issues.

On Feb. 20—just hours after the vote to cut funding for Title X and Planned Parenthood, Bongaarts presented his research on population growth at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington DC. His analysis not only links family planning to lower population numbers, it demonstrates that without intervention, the global population may skyrocket faster than previously predicted.

The UN assumes that fertility rates will eventually stabilize and finally decrease after numbers hit 9.5 billion. Based on low levels of childbearing in Southern and Eastern Europe, many analysts assume that women in other geographic locations will eventually have fewer than two children, on average.

Yet if fertility rates remain higher in certain regions, due to a lack of family planning options, the number of human beings co-inhabiting planet Earth may soar to ten billion by 2100, says Bongaarts.

As for the future of family planning in the U.S., recent cuts are now headed to the Senate for a vote. If the cuts clear this hurdle, they may yet face a potential Presidential veto. In the meantime, Americans will continue reproducing. In 2009 more than four million children were born in the United States.

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