EcoNews Vol. 43, No. 6 - Dec2013/Jan2014

Over 40 Years of Environmental News

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Arcata, California

Vol. 43, No. 6 Dec2013/Jan2014

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

cleaning up

Toxic Grows 2013 Year in Review Cultivating Giving | Honoring Seventh Generation Fund | Nickle Mining in OR Arcata Bans Plastic Bags | What’s the Big Cut Off? | Prescribed Fire | Bumble Bees Return?

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1385 8th Street - Suite 226, Arcata, CA 95521 PO Box 4259, Arcata, CA 95518 707- 822-6918, Fax 707-822-6980 www.yournec.org

EcoNews is the official bi-monthly publication of the Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC), a non-profit organization. Third class postage paid in Arcata. ISSN No. 0885-7237. EcoNews is mailed to our members and distributed free throughout the Northern California and Southern Oregon bioregion.

The subscription rate is $35 per year.

Editor/Layout: Morgan Corviday Hollis, morgan@yournec.org Advertising: ads@yournec.org Proofreaders: Karen Schatz and Midge Brown Writers: Sid Dominitz, Dan Ehresman, Sarah Marnick, Dan Sealy, Jennifer Kalt, Jessica Hall, Brandon Drucker, Scott Greacen, Maggie Gainer, Gary Graham Hughes, Ali Freedlund, Natalynne DeLapp, Alex Budd, Larry Goldberg, Donald Tuttle, Lenya Quinn-Davidson Cover Photo: Toxic trash litters the forest at a trespass grow site above the Trinity River. Photo: Dan Ehresman.

Artist: Terry Torgerson

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

NEC Staff

NEC Executive Director: Dan Ehresman, dan@yournec.org EcoNews Editor/Web Manager: Morgan Corviday, morgan@yournec.org Office Assistant: Brandon Drucker, brandon@yournec.org Office Assistant: Alanna Cottrell, alanna@yournec.org

Board Of Directors

Safe Alternatives for our Forest Environment- Larry Glass, President, larryglass71@gmail.com At-Large, Trinity County Rep.- Bob Morris, Vice-President, bob.morris@wildblue.net At-Large - Chris Jenican Beresford, Treasurer, thegang7@pacbell.net California Native Plant SocietyJennifer Kalt, Secretary, jenkalt@gmail.com Humboldt Baykeeper-Jessica Hall, jessica@humboldtbaykeeper.org Redwood Region Audubon SocietyCJ Ralph, cjralph@humboldt1.com Sierra Club, North Group Richard Kreis, rgkreis@gmail.com Friends of the Eel River- Scott Greacen, scott@eelriver.org At-Large - Dan Sealy, rangerdans@msn.com

News From the Center

As winter solstice fast approaches, I find myself reflecting during the darkening days about the past year as Executive Director of the Northcoast Environmental Center.

From the very beginning of my time working with the NEC, I realized that the strength of the organization comes largely from our many supporters and committed volunteers.

It is with this support that, together with the dedication of our board and staff, the NEC has been able to engage on critical environmental issues in the coastal, redwood forest and K l a m a t h -S i s k i y o u bioregions for over 42 years.

With such a history, it should come as no surprise that the NEC has had a profound impact—not only by safeguarding the land and waters around us, but by greatly influencing many individuals who have come through the Center’s doors. It seems that every month I meet someone who used to work or volunteer with the NEC, who then

NEC Member Groups Humboldt Baykeeper

www.humboldtbaykeeper.org 707-268-0664

Sierra Club,North Group, Redwood Chapter

www.redwood.sierraclub.org/north/

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

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

Friends of the Eel River

www.eelriver.org, foer@eelriver.org 707-822-3342

Safe Alternatives for our Forest Environment (SAFE)

Dan Ehresman, Executive Director

goes on to talk about the positive impact the organization has had on their life, in their career, or in

relation to a specific place that is now protected.

We are proud to continue NEC’s legacy of protecting and celebrating

the terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems of the North Coast and we take great pride in being able to continue the tradition of providing opportunities for students— whether in elementary school, high school or college—and the public as a whole, to engage with their environment.

Intertwined with the legacy of the NEC are the many NEC supporters whose gifts keep giving even subsequent to their passing. Whether through advocacy, education, or financial contributions, the gifts endowed by Tim McKay, Sandra Corcoran, Mel “Cappy” McKinney, Claire Courtney, Jim Tomich, Fred Hummel, Bob Morris (former Trinity County Supervisor and wilderness advocate), and so many others will benefit generations to come. Those of us at the NEC are forever grateful to the special individuals who continue to give so much.

Read about our accomplishments of this past year in the NEC’s Yearend Round-up on page 3.

Leave a North Coast Legacy Give a gift that will endure beyond your lifetime.

Leave a lasting legacy by naming the Northcoast Environmental Center as a beneficiary of your will, trust, or other estate plans.

Your bequest will help us advocate for and educate about the North Coast and the KlamathSiskiyou bioregion for future generations.

To learn more, call us at 707-822-6918.

The NEC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, EIN 23-7122386.

www.safealt.org

NEC Affiliate Members Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)

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

Friends of Del Norte www.fodn.org

Mattole Restoration Council www.mattole.org, mrc@mattole.org (707) 629-3514

Zero Waste Humboldt

www.zerowastehumboldt.org contact@zerowastehumboldt.org

Adopt-a-Beach

Be a part of our growing team of site captains and volunteers!

Visit our website for more information and a list of available sites.

www.yournec.org/marinedebris/adoptabeach

Tis the Season

The following was originally published in the Times-Standard, My Word, November 17, 2013.

Reprinted with permission of the author.

Give Local

There is a long tradition in Humboldt County of supporting locally owned businesses and artisans. We have strong connections to our local food movement, and support our local farmers.

We subscribe to this practice because we know it is good for our economy, our environment, and our community. By adhering to these beliefs we are tangibly improving Humboldt County’s resiliency and sustainability into the future.

Building upon our already strong tradition of localized self-reliance, let’s create a culture of “Giving Local.” Generous community support for local nonprofit organizations is critical to ensuring that the many social, environmental and economic services provided to our community are maintained in the face of challenging economic times.

On the North Coast there are hundreds of local nonprofit organizations that provide key services to the community. They exist to solve social problems and advance important causes. They have an interest in making our community a better place to live.

These organizations provide access to the arts, health care, and educational opportunities...services that provide for the hungry, homeless, children, seniors and victims of crime. They are the organizations that protect the environment, defend human and civil rights, and assure access to information in the form of free public radio and television.

Our local nonprofits were built to respond to local needs, and are invested in the welfare of the local community. They cannot be supplanted by larger out-of-the-area nonprofits.

Unlike the big national organizations, many of our local nonprofits are not very good at selfpromotion. Often, the public does not realize the breadth of services they benefit from which are made possible by the work of nonprofit organizations.

Many assume that government or private

foundation grants are meeting the financial needs of these institutions, but they are not.

The economic recession has meant that private foundations are not contributing what they once did, and the competition among grantees has increased. There are many local nonprofits that relied on state and federal government grants are now, due to budget cuts, turning to the community to get help reaching their budget goals.

It is not just the services that are provided that make our local nonprofit organizations important.

Supporting these local organizations makes sense from an economic standpoint. We know that on a regional level, a financial investment in local nonprofits has many of the same positive benefits as supporting locally owned businesses. They keep dollars in the local economy and use an array of supporting business services, are invested in the well being of the community, they maintain community and the character of the region.

It is estimated that 75 percent of Americans give to charitable causes. We give time and money, we donate our life-giving blood, give up our seats on the bus, we provide jackets and blankets to the homeless during the winter, but we need to do more. Let’s build upon our already strong culture of self-reliance to create a more robust and strong non-profit sector. We need to cultivate our generosity out of appreciation for the services provided by nonprofits and out of reverence for the future of our community.

We all have a choice in how we spend our hard-earned money; during this season of thanks and generosity I encourage you to give to our local public interest organizations because you value and benefit from their mission, and because you believe in humanity’s ability to positively impact the world.

Natalynne DeLapp is the Development Director for the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC).

Catch the NEC’s EcoNews Report

Every Thursday, 1:30pm on KHSU - 90.5FM Each show features interviews with experts on a variety of important environmental topics!

Past shows are also archived on our website for listening online anytime!

www.yournec.org/econews-report

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2013 Roundup Cleaning Up Toxic Grow Sites Wild Rivers Threatened by Nickle Mines Arcata Bans Plastic Bags The Big Cut Off Prescribed Fire Trainings Eye on Washington Kin to the Earth: Seventh Generation Fund Zero Waste Humboldt Humboldt Baykeeper Friends of the Eel River EPIC Mattole Restoration Council Sierra Club, North Group California Plant Native Society Redwood Region Audubon Eco-Mania Creature Feature: Western Bumble Bee Kids’ Page: Mistletoe

Bouquets A bouquet of wacky outtakes and laughter to Fred McGlaughlin, engineer for the EcoNews Report on KHSU, for continuing to devote many hours of volunteer time each week to help us all sound a little bit better.

A splendid bouquet of rare bird encounters to Ken Burton for your generous gift to the NEC, as well as for your contributions to EcoNews Report and for your inspiring guidebook that helps many of us get outside.

A bouquet of liberated streams to the public lands cleanup crew who helped remove toxicants, stream diversions, and trash from public forestland in Humboldt and Trinity County.

Interested in our regional environmental history? DONATE to our EcoNews Archive project! Visit www.yournec.org/donate, specify the Archive!

the

year

It’s that time of year...

to contemplate the past, and plan for the future. Here’s some highlights of the NEC’s accomplishments, projects, and events of 2013…

EcoNews Archive Project

The NEC’s amazing interns have made great headway on the EcoNews Archive, our ambitious project to catalog—and e v e n t u a l l y create a public online library of—the 42 years of our regional environmental history in EcoNews. The project is already proving to be a useful tool for staff in researching NEC history, important news, and legislation from the days preceding our digital age.

We look forward to being able to present this history to the public. This is a lengthy task, which could take another year or more to complete. If you would like to help move this project toward fruition, please donate to the EcoNews Archive Project!

General Plan Update

Over the past fifteen months, the NEC has participated in an ad hoc working group meant to bring diverse stakeholders together and find common ground on policies within Humboldt County’s General Plan Update. While the ad hoc group has reached consensus on many important

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2013 policies, the 14 year-old Update process is still moving at a snail’s pace—largely due to the Board of Supervisors revisiting nearly each and every policy that was reviewed by the Planning Commission.

Within the last few months, some realtor and developer associations have decided to pull out of the ad hoc group process and are now putting pressure on the Supervisors to send the Update back, yet again, to the Planning Commission.

Significantly, the Commission is now slanted towards property rights extremism.

We will see what the coming months have in store, but it is not looking good for those who believe that County policy should safeguard the land and waters upon which we all depend. Given that this Board has been receptive to overwhelming community input in the past, now is a critical time for them to hear from their constituents about what we want this blueprint for future development to look like!

in

review

Japan Tsunami debris Monitoring

This past February the NEC kicked off its yearlong Tsunami Debris Monitoring and Cleanup program. In partnership with the California Coastal Commission and in collaboration with HSU’s Marine Debris Program and scores of volunteers, the NEC monitored Samoa Beach in Humboldt County and Point St. George Beach in Del Norte County for any debris that may have originated from the devastating tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011. Over the course of the year, the NEC crew discovered several pieces of potential tsunami debris including buoys, bottles, lumber, and a partially degraded refrigerator! As part of the efforts, volunteers removed over 200 pound of trash from the beaches as well. Many thanks to our site coordinators, Joe Gillespie and Brandon Drucker, and the extraordinary volunteers who made it out to help in our efforts.

Highway 101 Corridor Project

After many years of community input on the Caltrans’ Eureka-Arcata 101 Corridor project, the California Coastal Commission voted on September 12 to approve a project that will include an interchange constructed at Indianola Cutoff, a half-signal at Airport Boulevard, and closure of the remaining medians along the corridor.

Representatives from Humboldt Baykeeper and the NEC argued for more thorough consideration of less expensive, less damaging alternatives at the hearing. While we were disappointed that the project was approved without a more thorough alternatives analysis, we are pleased that requirements were added to the project for which we have long advocated for, including the creation of the Bay Trail and removal of billboards along the entire length of the corridor. We will continue to monitor this project as it moves forward over the coming years. www.yournec.org

Adopt-a-Beach

Earlier this year, the NEC unveiled our revamped Adopt-A-Beach program. The program evolved out of the NEC’s Humboldt Beach Beautification and Restoration project–launched over 34 years ago with the goal of combining beach cleanups with community education.

Co-sponsored by the California Coastal Commission, Adopt-A-Beach cleanups are an integral part of our aim to directly involve the community in maintaining clean beaches and clean water on the North Coast. The Adopt-ABeach process is simple—sign up with the NEC, schedule your cleanup dates, and hit the beach (we’ll provide the necessary supplies). Visit www.yournec.org/adoptabeach to learn how to become a part of our growing team of site Continued on page 9 captains and volunteers.

Dec2013/Jan2014

EcoNews

Volunteer Crews Clean up Toxic Dirty Business: Grow Sites along Trinity River Dan Ehresman

to kill a bear (or any other creature that might below. Over the course of three hours, we pulled On a foggy gray morning in eastern threaten the crop) upon ingestion. out over 100 empty bags of synthetic fertilizer, 150 Humboldt County, a large contingent of law After caravanning to the site, we split up into pounds of trash, and approximately one mile of enforcement officers, California Department of four groups to take on the cleanup of camp site irrigation pipe.

Fish and Wildlife personnel, US Army National refuse, fertilizer bags, and to remove the seemingly Afterward, our site captain wanted to hear Guard, restoration professionals, residents from endless run of black poly irrigation line that was from each of us how we thought the day went. neighboring communities, One person spoke about how and various other volunteers the cleanup was important for circled up in a gravel parking lot him and his family who fish in to discuss the plan for the day. the nearby creek. Another said The objective: clean up three he’d rather be cutting brush large-scale trespass marijuana than hauling other people’s grows on forestland just above trash. One of the last to speak the Trinity River. commented about the diversity Rick Fleming, Executive of the group and called attention Director of the High Sierra to how odd it might seem to Volunteer Trail Crew—a have tribal members and army restoration and trail and environmentalists all construction organization working together. The group based in Fresno—organized exchanged grins at this thought the party into three teams who and shared mutual feelings of a would target individual grow job well done. sites.

Our NEC volunteer Later that day when all contingent was selected as part three teams were assembled of the crew heading to what was back at the gravel parking lot referred to that day as Site #3. where we started that morning, After assembling our some compared the day’s gear (trash bags, duct tape, work with other sites they had and gloves) our site captain, reclaimed over the course of a volunteer coordinator from the past five or so years the Covelo, discussed safety program has been in place. Rick protocols and what the day Fleming spoke about the extent might have in store. He flipped of trespass grows on public land Volunteers pull out a makeshift dam made of tarps and logs, diverting water from a stream above the through a series of pictures throughout California, stating Trinity River. Photo: Dan Ehresman. detailing particular items to be that it wouldn’t surprise him on the lookout for: containers and bags with skull woven across the landscape. Our site captain if “every [major] drainage on the western side of and crossbones insignia, rodenticides, fertilizers, noted it was particularly important to remove the Sierras” has some level of illegal marijuana containers filled with unknown fluids (we were to irrigation infrastructure due to the possibility of it operations. He waxed philosophical about the particularly look for a pink substance suspected being utilized again next season. The site itself was findings at various sites: the similarities, the to be an extremely toxic pesticide known as estimated to be a grow of several thousand plants differences and how further south they encounter Furadan), propane canisters, and toothbrushes. (which paled in comparison to what we witnessed more “sophisticated operations.”

Toothbrushes, we were told, are used as a metric the following day). Small diameter trees had been The following day the crew ventured out to a to get an idea of how many people are working the felled and the earth scraped bare in preparation for much larger site above the South Fork Trinity River site—which led me to ponder the significance of the illicit operation. Nearby creeks were damned in Trinity County. The level of damage was immense: personal hygiene in the course of a job for which and diverted so that precious late-summer water with multiple clearings for marijuana plots, more the worker is also using substances toxic enough would go to the crop rather than to fish in the river evidence...

Continued on page 10

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Oregon Wild Rivers Threatened by Nickle Test Drilling of Critical Environmental Concern, and permanently store mine Deep in the Kalmiopsis waste on site, all presenting real Wilderness Area of Southwestern dangers to the watershed.

Oregon, two little-known streams— In its annual report, American Baldface Creek, and to its north, Rivers named Baldface Creek and Rough and Ready Creek—wind Rough & Ready Creek together their ways through rocky hills among the top ten most endangered and mountains, running a rugged rivers in the entire country, due to and remote course carved over the threat posed by nickel mining. millennia. They flow clean and Realizing the threat, there have clear; no dams or roads intrude been ongoing efforts by community on this timeless wilderness, groups and various government home to remarkable botanical agencies to get Baldface Creek and richness and diversity.

Rough & Ready Creek withdrawn These creeks are very important from the 1872 Mining Act, which to the rest of the river system. The would protect against any mining. But fisheries of the “sacred” Smith unsurprisingly—and as is far too often River—California’s only undammed the case—protection for critically river system, known for its endangered wild places has so far incredible salmon and steelhead languished in limbo in Washington habitat—are crucially dependent D.C. For nearly two decades, the The confluence of Baldface Creek and the North Fork of the Smith River. Photo: © Barbara Ullian upon the water and fish produced and RoughandReadyCreek.org, used with permission. advocacy and recommendations for in Baldface Creek, which flows into Baldface Creek’s and Rough & Ready the North Fork of the Smith two miles from the nickel ore. Over the years, a handful of different Creek’s unequivocal protection have fallen on deaf Oregon-California border. corporations have made attempts to open the or uninterested ears.

Continued on page 10 The stark beauty and ecological health of pristine wilderness to strip mines and smelters. these two rivers and their streams is so impressive So far, they’ve been stopped by the work of local Take Action! that for decades they’ve been eligible to be added citizens and environmental groups, as well as to the National Wild and Scenic River System; the remoteness of the area. But in recent years, • Submit your comments to the Baldface Creek qualifies with the highest potential mineral speculators have had renewed visions of United States Forest Service by mail or phone classification of Wild and Outstanding and the money to be made from the destruction of this to: Kevin Johnson Remarkable Values of fish and water quality. breathtaking wilderness.

Gold Beach Ranger District Yet for all the ecological treasures Enter Red Flat Nickel Corp and RNR 29279 Ellensburg Ave , and untouched wonders, and despite the Resources. A foreign-owned corporation, Red Flat Gold Beach, OR 97444 recommendations of biologists, stream surveyors, Nickel Corp (RFNC) has submitted plans to begin or email to kljohnson@fs.fed.us Congressmen, and even the Secretary of test drilling within the Baldface Creek watershed, • Sign American River’s petition Agriculture, both Baldface Creek and Rough and with the goal of advancing mine development. to the Obama Administration: Withdraw Ready Creek remain unprotected and endangered.

RNR Resources has submitted a plan to the Forest Rough & Ready and Baldface Creeks from the Beneath the beargrass and wild azaleas, Service to begin mining at Rough & Ready Creek, 1872 Mining Act at www.americanrivers.org and under the roots of rugged conifers that construct roads in currently roadless areas, build cover the serpentine landscape, lay deposits of a nickel smelter on the Rough & Ready Creek Area Alex Budd

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www.yournec.org

Dec2013/Jan2014

EcoNews

Arcata joins 88 California Cities and Counties with Jennifer Kalt Humboldt Baykeeper Policy Director

Plastic Bag Bans

laid a fairly clear path for small coastal communities to ban plastic bags to protect marine wildlife and their habitats from plastic pollution.

On Nov. 20, the Arcata City Council voted Manhattan Beach, San Francisco, and Marin unanimously to adopt a bag ordinance that County have all laid the legal groundwork for prohibits plastic carryout bags used at the other cities and counties to follow. checkout counter at grocery stores and other retail In a letter to the city council, stores. To date, 88 cities and counties the California Grocers Association in California have enacted plastic bag supported simultaneously implementing bans. Arcata’s is the first in Humboldt both the plastic bag ban and the 10County, and hopefully the first of many. cent charge for paper bags, stating On hand to witness the council’s that requiring consumers to change long-awaited action were members of habits twice would be confusing. But Humboldt Baykeeper and Surfrider, two some local businesses requested a full local groups which joined forces in 2011 year to bring on the paper bag fee. The to press for a countywide plastic bag council decided to essentially split the ban. After years of regular volunteer difference, giving stores and consumers cleanups at the beach, Humboldt Bay, until Aug. 1 of next year to get prepared and rivers, we longed to stop some of for the paper bag fee. the plastic pollution at its source.

The ban does not include plastic In response to our campaign, bags used for produce and meat, the Humboldt Waste Management and specifically exempts gift bags. It Authority board—made up of also exempts shoppers who qualify representatives of six local cities and for public assistance (such as the Humboldt County—voted in 2012 Supplemental Nutritional Assistance to lead the way by initiating Program and the program for Women, environmental review, enabling cities Arcata will soon see less plastic bags flying in the wind. Photo: Ars Electronica, Flickr.com CC. Infant and Children) from the 10-cent and the County to adopt their own charge for paper bags. bag ordinances. The City of Arcata was the first and adopted their own bans. This has resulted in Thanks to the Arcata city council members to move the bag ban forward, paving the way for a patchwork of slightly different rules, causing for supporting this effort. Thanks also to the City other local jurisdictions to follow suit. Zero Waste confusion for businesses with stores in different of Arcata staff, Humboldt Waste Management Humboldt, Baykeeper, Surfrider and the NEC parts of the state.

Authority for laying the initial groundwork are now working to duplicate the Reusable Bag Of course, stores are free to eliminate for environmental review, and our partners: Ordinance in Eureka, Trinidad, and other coastal plastic bags and institute the 10-cent charge Surfrider’s Rise Above Plastics campaign, Zero communities. Unincorporated areas of Humboldt for paper bags of their own accord. The North Waste Humboldt, and the NEC. Special thanks County, such as McKinleyville and Cutten, will Coast Coop and Wildberries did so years ago. to former Humboldt Baykeeper staff Vanessa also be important areas to include.

More recently, Ray’s Food Place and Murphy’s Vasquez and Beth Werner, who kept the dream According to a Humboldt State University Markets joined the ranks of retailers choosing to alive for the long haul! study, Arcatans are estimated to use about four eliminate plastic bags.

Stay tuned for news and action alerts as we million single-use plastic bags every year. But City staff explained that the paper bag fee is look to other local governments to do their part on Feb. 1, those bags will be eliminated from essential to ensuring against legal challenges such to eliminate this major source of marine pollution all retail stores within city limits. Six months as have been brought by the Save the Plastic Bag while reducing our use of fossil fuels. For more later, stores will be required to charge 10 cents Coalition, an industry lobbying group that fights information, visit the Plastic Bag Ban page at for paper grocery bags in an effort to promote bag bans by claiming that eliminating plastic www.humboldtbaykeeper.org or sign up for action reusable bags. The retailers will keep the money bags will have environmental impacts from alerts at volunteer@humboldtbaykeeper.org. they collect to cover the costs of paper bags. The the increase in paper bag use. Court cases have six-month delay is intended to give stores time to educate consumers about the upcoming fee.

A statewide plastic bag ban has failed three times due to pressure from plastic manufacturers.

A fourth attempt was announced recently, but many coastal cities and counties have lost patience

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EcoNews

Dec2013/Jan2014

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

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Resiliency Takes Skill Larry Goldberg, Transition Humboldt Building resilient communities requires people with skills—useful skills. The Sustainable Living Fair, held on Saturday, Nov. 16th at the Jefferson Community Center, presented a local opportunity for community members to participate in a variety of workshops. A community partnership of Transition Humboldt, the Jefferson Community Center, the Humboldt Permaculture Guild, Redwood Community Action Agency and the Community Garden Collective organized the event that proved to be a big success. Over 120 people showed up and enjoyed the workshops and a free lunch.

The diverse workshop topics included: • Winter Gardening with Debbie Perticara and Michael Kein—what crops to plant, how to prepare the soil and how to “winterize” your garden.

• Tree pruning with expert arborist Nathan Donnelly—demonstrating how to properly prune and maintain your orchard trees.

• The women of Dirty Business Soil analysis demonstrated how to “type” your soil and rejuvenate it, if necessary. The kids present especially liked getting their hands dirty feeling different kinds of soil types to determine clay, loamy and sandy soil types. Continued on page 10

Exploring the Historic Landscape of Humboldt County: The Big Cut-off Donald Tuttle Have you ever heard of the Big Cut-off on the Mad River? Chances are you’ve driven right on it.

During the winter of 1861-62 a series of giant storms pounded the North Coast. The largest floods ever known on most of the rivers were generated, probably even surpassing those of 1964 – although we don’t have gauge readings to confirm it. On the Mad River bottoms many of the farms and trails were inundated for days.

After the flood waters receded the farmers got together and decided they could reduce future damage by cutting off a big meander of the Mad River. Of course, reclaiming the land for pasture would be a big benefit too.

They decided to eliminate a 1.6 mile long meander of the river by digging a new channel across its neck. The following description appears in the February 4, 1888 issue of the Arcata Union newspaper under the “Then and Now” column.

This meander is shown on the map below which is a portion of the 1855 Township Plat Map. The south end of the meander was located just north of the current interchange of State Highways 101 and 299, where 299 heads east to Blue Lake. Traces of the meander can be seen in additional photos accompanying this article on the NEC website.

Once the new channel was established and carried the whole flow of the river, farmers cleared the land of the old channel and converted it to pasture. Many acres of wetlands, river habitat used by anadromous fish, and riparian vegetation used by birds and wildlife were changed forever.

“The summer following the flood…a canal or ditch was cut, commencing near the crossing at the Shaw place that diverted the water of the river from the old channel and made a new one, connecting with the old bed some miles below. Since that time more than 25 years ago (c.1862), the old bed of the river has been dry during the summer seasons, some of it having been converted into fields for pasture and agricultural purposes.”

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Dec2013/Jan2014

EcoNews

Lighting a Fire in the North State: the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council Lenya Quinn-Davidson In late October, more than 30 fire enthusiasts from eight states and two countries joined forces in northern California, but they weren’t here to put fires out—they were here to light them.

The group, which included participants with a wide range of backgrounds and skills, came together for a two-week prescribed fire training exchange sponsored by the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council and The Nature Conservancy. Participants included seasoned fire fighters, natural resource managers, students, private contractors, municipal utility workers, and even one air quality regulator.

The goal of the training was to build each participant’s skills and experience in prescribed fire, and to increase the capacity of our region’s local land management community. During the two week event, the group traveled to four different areas, participating in 16 separate burns and treating a total of over 450 acres. They burned the fire-dependent white oak woodlands of Redwood National Park, treated fuels around homes in the Klamath basin, restored fire to a pine/oak savanna in the heart of Trinity County, and brought fire back to a mixed-conifer forest in the upper elevations of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has hosted similar trainings in other parts of the country over the last decade, but this was the first event of its kind to take place in California. The training was a priority for the Northern California Prescribed Fire Council (NCPFC), which formed in 2009 and serves as a collaborative venue for prescribed fire practitioners, scientists, and other interested folks who recognize a need to restore fire to the landscape.

Prescribed fire is widely recognized as one of the most ecologically sound, cost-effective,

and versatile tools available to land managers. It is used for fuels reduction, ecological restoration, cultural resource management, range improvement, wildlife habitat enhancement, research, and more. In northern California, prescribed fire is used by a wide range of federal and state agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, and private landowners. More than 50,000 acres are treated with prescribed fire every year across the region. With national rates of prescribed fire escapes at well under 1%, prescribed fire offers a safe, effective tool for land stewards of all kinds.

However, despite its strong appeal to land managers, prescribed fire faces a number of challenges: northern California’s Mediterranean climate

A low-intensity fire in the Bald Hills of Redwood National Park. These white oak woodlands rely on fire to maintain their open structure and limit competition from encroaching conifers. Photo: Lenya Quinn-Davidson.

Phil Dye, Fire Captain with the Milpitas Fire Department and one of the organizers of the recent training, enjoys nice fire behavior in a ponderosa pine stand at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Photo by Lenya Quinn-Davidson, October 31, 2013.

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imposes tight burn windows, limiting the periods when fire is both safe to use and effective at meeting objectives. Air quality concerns further restrict burning, as do funding constraints and a lack of trained, qualified personnel to conduct burns. The goal of the NCPFC is to bring people together to address these issues and promote, protect, and increase the responsible use of prescribed fire in the region.

The Council hopes the recent training will become an annual event. The next council meeting, which is open to the public, will be held on December 5-6 in Redding, and include a full-day meeting and field tour of prescribed fire projects.

To learn more about Council events and trainings, or about prescribed fire generally, please visit the Council’s website at www.norcalrxfirecouncil.org, or email Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Council Director, at nwcapfc@gmail.com.

381 Bayside Road, Arcata, CA 95521

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2013 in Review Continued from page 3 Earth Day Cleanup and Hoedown

The NEC was pleased to celebrate Earth Day and our 42nd birthday with our partner organizations, picking up trash during the day and dancing into the eve at the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center. Friends of the Dunes, Mad River Alliance, EPIC, Humboldt Baykeeper, Humboldt Surfrider, Ocean Conservancy, and others participated in cleanup efforts throughout the county, followed up by music, dancing, and raffles!

It was a great party and we are so grateful to all who shared in the celebration for our living planet.

Sand Sculpture Festival

On June 29th, the NEC won Staff Pick at Friends of the Dunes Sand Sculpture Festival! Our sculpture was titled “Like a Sturgeon (on the beach for the very first time)”—clever, yes? As always, we had a great time digging in the sand. Thanks to Friends of the Dunes and everyone who participated!

Coastal Cleanup Day

On Saturday, September 21, over 600 Humboldt County residents turned out (despite rain), to participate in the 29th annual International Coastal Cleanup Day. Volunteers and site captains from organizations, schools, businesses, agencies, and the general public scoured shorelines and inland waterways to pick up trash at over 40 sites throughout the County. Over four tons of garbage were successfully removed during the morning’s three-hour event. We are immensely grateful for the hard work of so many amazing volunteers and the support of local sponsors, which make this event such an ongoing success.

Event sponsorship

The NEC was proud to sponsor and participate in two amazing events held at Humboldt State University this past October: the Respecting the Rights of Mother Earth Forum and the Biodiversity Conference (BioConf). BioConf is a studentorganized event that featured an educational forum on Klamath Dam Removal, fire ecology demonstrations, hands-on marine life exhibits, and speakers covering a number of ecologically important topics. The Rights of Mother Earth Forum, organized by the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, brought together citizen activists, conservationists, educators, and tribal leaders to speak on respecting the rights of our living planet.

9

Eye on

Washington Shut Down and Shut Out

The federal government created quite a circus when it shutdown earlier this autumn, wreaking economic havoc on communities that are gateways to federal recreation lands.

People who wished to visit their national parks—including a few wedding parties— were sent away at the last minute when parks and memorials shut their gates. Although the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. was closed, the National Park Service made arrangements for veterans groups to access the memorial, but not the political zoo that tried to follow them. As a result, many photo ops were staged by politicians who were angry that the government actually did what they were ordered to do: close their gates.

Rep. Issa (R-CA) hauled the director of the National Park Service, Jon Jarvis, before a joint House and Senate oversight committee, fraught with misinformation. Our North Coast representative at that hearing, Rep. Huffman, once again supported conservation over theatrics. Director Jarvis’s new boss, Interior Secretary Jewel (former CEO of REI) took the opportunity to back up the director’s actions in a press conference a few days later. She also boldly indicated the President was willing to by-pass Congress altogether if they try to block his designation of public lands for increased protection in before the end of his term. The results: The shut-down surely hurt the anticonservation agenda of some in Congress; however, the later fumbling of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) may play back into the hands of those same legislators as the focus is on Obamacare rather than conservation.

The Rim Fire received a large amount of media coverage not only because of its size but because it burned acres within Yosemite National Park and obscured views of Yosemite Valley with layer of smoke. The fires also, significantly, threatened the water supplies of San Franscico and the Bay Area. Further north, in our area of California, we saw similar effects of drought and warm temperatures.

Case in point: House Resolution 3188. This bill initially included measures to quickly log a large section of Yosemite National Park— some of which was affected by the Rim Fire—largely removing the logging from typical scientific and full public review in favor of commercial logging interests. Fortunately even the bill’s author, Rep. McClintock (R-CA) saw that this would not only set John Muir rolling in his grave, but would result in a firestorm of American opposition. Rep. McClintock removed Yosemite but left provisions to log large swaths of forest service land (logging related to the Rim Fire) with little-to-no public and outside scientific review. The Senate version is currently working its way through the system.

The Farm Bill is Back

The Farm Bill has received a great deal of interest by media and public over the last several months. The bill could affect food stamps for low income families, and could also have important impacts to conservation programs such as limiting farmers’ ability to place erosion and other conservation measures in place on lands that receive federal assistance.

Firestorm in the Sierras and Beyond

The drought of 2013 rightly has many people concerned about fire safety and the likely increase in fires due to climate change. Congress and federal agencies have also been talking about climate, but some in Congress seem to prefer to force federal agencies to act not in the best interest of sustainability or conservation, but to attack environmental regulations their predecessors in Congress created specifically to address real environmental concerns; laws such as the National Environmental policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, etc. In the last 10 – 12 years legislation has targeted removing environmental laws rather than strengthening them. www.yournec.org

The drought-fueled Rim Fire burning in central California, near Yosemite National Park, as seen from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Dan Sealy is the NEC’s Legislative Analyst in D.C.

Dec2013/Jan2014

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Grow Site Cleanup Continued from page 4

Volunteers hike out to a remote trespass grow site. Photo: Dan Ehresman.

...of severe toxicants, and countless miles of black poly pipe draining off entire stream systems that were diverted with logs and tarps. For more about this site, check out Ryan Burns’ article “Weed Killers” in the November 14 issue of the North Coast Journal (www.northcoastjournal.com).

In reflecting on these two days in the field, one person commented on the “culture of death” coming to the United States from Mexico and specifically referring to the use of deadly poisons to protect a crop. It is important to understand, however, that while many of the toxicants found on trespass grow sites come in packages labeled in Spanish, they are actually manufactured here in the US. In addition, many of the severely toxic rodenticides utilized in trespass grows are available for purchase at hardware stores throughout the country. Sadly, the work of Rachel Carson and so many others who have fought against this culture of death is still largely being ignored.

Fortunately, there are still many people fighting to change this culture to one of respect for our entire living plantet. One common theme during the grow site cleanups was the expressed need for more attention on this pervasive problem throughout the state, and the related hope for more resources to restore the abused landscapes and waterways such as we witnessed.

Plastic bags, fertilizers, pesticides and other toxics litter the landscape on a trespass grow site in forestland above the Trinity River. Photo: Dan Ehresman.

Sustainability Fair Continued from page 7

• “Kelly Compost” demonstrated how to create your own worm farm and grow healthy soil through the use of composting and worms. A “hands on” demonstration allowed workshop participants to get properly introduced to red wiggler worms in their native habitat—compost!

• Levon Durr, resident mushroom expert, demonstrated how to grow delicious mushrooms at your home and proceeded to drill and plug alder logs with oyster mushroom mycelia and then create mycelia starts for everyone in the class to grow their own mushrooms at home.

• The UC Cooperative Extension Master Food Preserver group staged a workshop on home canning and preserving in the Jefferson School kitchen. Workshop attendees learned how to prepare healthy and safe canned goods at home.

Nickle Mining

Continued from page 5 Currently, the Forest Service is reviewing RFNC’s proposal. As anyone who is at all familiar with the wilderness at risk or the horrific plans these corporations have for it knows, the USFS review is of critical importance.

Despite the danger and threat that stands immediately before us, this is only the beginning.

In the coming months, the USFS will begin its scoping and review process for RFNC’s mining proposals. In the past, citizen involvement and input has saved countless beautiful and wild places, preserving them for recreation, clean water & air supplies, and their unique & rare wildlife. We ask that you stay alert to this issue and get involved with the USFS’s review process once it begins. You can be sure that the Friends of Del Norte, the Smith River Alliance, and the other groups working on this issue will keep you informed. Finally, be sure to visit www.roughandreadycreek.org for updates about the process, as well as additional information about the mining proposals, Baldface Creek and Rough & Ready Creek.

More than ever before, we need to let our elected officials in Oregon and California, and Washington, D.C. know that these lands must be withdrawn from mining to ensure that this breathtaking wilderness remains wild for generations yet unborn.

• Other workshop topics included: herbalism at home, HumBucks alternative currency, natural building techniques, permaculture for kids and other topics of interest.

For more information on Transition Humboldt, resilience and sustainability visit: www.transitionhumboldt.org

Food as

Art

For eight years, E. Chris Wisner (www.ecwisner.com) has managed to transform ordinary fruits and vegetables and the daily grind of farm labor into spectacular works of art for the annual Farm to Table calendar. Again, his work takes you on a photographic journey of the North Coast region and celebrates its producers and abundance. Proceeds benefit the regional food systems work of the Community Alliance with Family Farmer’s (CAFF).

The family farms featured in the calendar are producing fresh healthy food in ways that benefit the community and the environment. Visit www. caff.org to purchase the Farm to Table calendar online, or call 707-826-0233 for information about purchasing locally.

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Seventh Generation Fund Kin to the Earth: for Indigenous Peoples “In every deliberation, we must consider the impacts on the Seventh Generation to come.” —the Great Law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy)

These words are the driving force behind the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, a small, international, Native American foundation based in Arcata, CA. Born out of the Native A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l renaissance and activism of the 1960s and 1970s, the Seventh Generation Fund was founded by Daniel Bomberry (Salish/Cayuga), and brought together Native A m e r i c a n chiefs, clan-mothers, scholars, youth, activists and tribal philosophers “to respond to the needs of grassroots Indigenous communities and initiatives engaged in cultural revitalization, leadership development, tribal sovereignty, and culturally appropriate economic development strategies.” SGF is now the oldest Native American foundation of its kind.

In its 36th year, SGF continues to support and empower communities—from Alaska to South America, and around the world—by providing financial support, technical assistance, media and leadership training, and event organizing for grassroots indigenous organizations.

President and CEO Chris Peters, (Pohliklah/Karuk) says that environmental concerns are inseparable from social justice issues and the wellbeing of Indigenous communities. Traditional Native concepts of holistic ecological stewardship

are at the heart of the organization’s philanthropic efforts.

Twenty-five years ago, Peters was involved in the battle over the proposed G-O Road, alongside the NEC’s Tim McKay. Since then, SGF has continued to support Indigenous efforts to protect sacred sites against resource extraction and contamination, and other issues. “Sacred places”, says Peters, “are sacred to everything alive”.

Above: Be a Good Ancestor promotional graphic, featuring traditionally dressed Native youth. Left: Members of Seventh Generation Fund’s International Board of Directors, staff, interns and volunteers.

Photos courtesy of Seventh Generation Fund.

will be and already is the biggest struggle on the face of the planet. For indigenous peoples, who are successfully advancing the right to water as a human right, and as a right of our common Mother Earth, we recognize the global crisis of our world waters’ status.”

In October, SGF sponsored a forum on Respecting the Rights of Mother Earth at HSU, featuring perspectives from social justice and environmental advocates, community members and tribal leaders.

For more information on SGF, visit: www.7genfund.org “Our relationship with—and our respect for— the Earth is the DNA that makes up the identity of the Seventh Generation Fund. It shapes all the work we do in Indian Country.”

“What we’ve seen happening to indigenous peoples’ homelands over the last half Century is really a keystone event,” he said. “We can see the impacts echo across the globe. We are seeing unstable and erratic climate events and dramatic changes in our ecosystems throughout our traditional territories”.

The impacts of climate change on Indigenous communities are quickly becoming important topics, as are issues surrounding water—including availability, rights, and contamination. Executive Director Tia Oros Peters (Zuni) works on water issues from the local community level to the international arena. “Water wars are here,” she says.

“Coupled with climate change, the fight over water

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101 H St, Arcata (South of Samoa) (707) 633-8349 www.scraphumboldt.org

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andpiper

The

DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014

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

These are our famous rain-or-shine, docent-led field trips at the Marsh. Bring your binocular(s) and have a great morning birding! Meet in the parking lot at the end of South I Street (Klopp Lake) in Arcata at 8:30 a.m. Trips end around 11 a.m. December leaders: 7th, Gary Friedrichsen; 14th, Paul Lohse; 21st, Keith Slauson; 28th, Ralph Bucher.

Sunday, December 1: eBird Site Survey–Shay Park.

Join Rob Fowler (707-839-3493) to survey Shay Park in Arcata for up to 3 hours, counting every species present.

For more info on the eBird site survey, visit http://ebird. org/content/ebird/about/eBird_Site_Survey. Even though it says “survey” in the title, this is basically a birding trip.

Meet at 8 a.m. at the parking lot at the east end of Foster Avenue. Waterproof shoes or boots are recommended, as we typically walk through a grassy field off-trail and up and down steep stairs that aren’t maintained.

FIELD TRIPS

lead this monthly walk. All ages and experience levels are encouraged to participate and revel in the beauty of the park and its avian inhabitants on this easy 2- to 3-hour walk. Binoculars are not provided, and dogs are not allowed; field guides are usually available, but please provide your own if possible. Steady rain cancels. Meet at 9:30 a.m., parking by the kiosk near the farmhouse in the main entrance.

Saturday, January 18: eBird Site Survey--Shay Park.

See December 1.

Sunday, December 15: Eureka Waterfront. Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the foot of Del Norte Street, where we will scope for birds off the public dock until everyone assembles.

We will then drive to the base of the Hikshari’ Trail at Truesdale Street and bird along the trail to the Elk River Wildlife Area. Leader: Ralph Bucher (707- 499-1247; thebook@reninet.com).

Winter Raptor Census: This is the 7th year of the LoletaFerndale winter raptor census. By car and in a group, we count all vultures, raptors, and shrikes along a 27.2-mile x 1-km transect running from Hookton Slough to the Ferndale Bottoms. Surveys begin at 8 a.m. and finish by 3 p.m. New participants are welcome. Counts are scheduled opportunistically based on weather conditions; to be added to the notification list (no commitment), contact Ken Burton, shrikethree@gmail.com, or call (707-499-1146) for more information.

Sunday, December 8: 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.

Saturday, January 4: Winter Rarities. We’ll start in Arcata and end in the Ferndale area, concentrating on looking for rarities that were found on the Arcata and Centerville CBCs while also enjoying all the species we could expect to see along the way. Rob Fowler (707-8393493; migratoriusfwlr@gmail.com) will lead. We will meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Arcata Marsh G Street parking lot. Bring a lunch and expect to end around 3 p.m. or later.

Dress warmly; heavy rain cancels.

Sunday, December 15: Southern Humboldt Community Park. Jay Sooter (707-444-8001), and/or John Gaffin will

Sunday, January 12: Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. See December 8.

December Program

Friday, December 13

TH

Christmas Bird Count Brush-up & Potluck Join us on Friday, December 13, for our annual winter potluck and Christmas Bird Count brushup. RRAS officer and author of Common Birds of Northwest California Ken Burton will be this year’s speaker. The brush-up will be in the form of an interactive workshop: Ken will take “requests” from the audience to help with problematic IDs in preparation for the count, which begins the following day. Do gulls make you glassy-eyed? Feel licked by loons? Stumped by sandpipers? Please have your problems—including sounds—ready for discussion. At the end of the workshop, Ken will go over the nuts and bolts of the count for those who are new to the event.

Programs start at 7:30

Sunday, January 19: Southern Humboldt Community Park. See December 15.

Sunday, January 19: Eureka Waterfront. See December 15.

Annual Banquet February 8 RRAS members may have already received a flyer announcing our annual banquet on February 8. Please join us for another enjoyable evening of dinner and silent auction. Included with the mailing was the election ballot. Be sure and mark the ballot and return to RRAS.

January Program

Friday, January 10 TH Birds of the Sierra Nevada

Ed Pandolfino, coauthor of the recently published Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution, will take us on a virtual transect of the range from the oak savanna in the West through serene conifer forests of the west side, up into the majestic alpine regions, and down the steep eastern escarpment to the pinyon/juniper woodlands and open steppes of the Great Basin. Along the way, we’ll see and hear the stunning diversity of birds that make the Sierra Nevada their home. We’ll learn about which birds are in decline and which are expanding and increasing. Pandolfino will address some mysteries surrounding some of those species and discuss how birders can help solve them.

p.m. (potluck at 6:30 for December) at the Humboldt County Office of Education

near the Burre Center at Myrtle and West in Eureka. Bring a mug to enjoy shade-grown coffee, and come fragrance free.

CHAPTER LEADERS OFFICERS President— Jim Clark ….........................… 707-445-8311 Vice President — Chet Ogan …..............… 707-442-9353 Secretary—Adam Brown............................. 707-826-0319 Treasurer—Syn-dee Noel............................. 707-442-8862 DIRECTORS AT LARGE Ralph Bucher …........................................ 707-443-6944 Joe Ceriani …............................................ 707-476-9127 Jill Demers ……………………………… 707-667-6163 Hal Genger ………………..............…….. 707-443-7147 Harriet Hill………………………………. 707-267-4055 Lew Norton.....................................……… 707-445-1791 Susan Penn..................................…......…. 707-443-9660 C.J. Ralph ............................................….. 707-822-2015 OTHER CHAPTER LEADERS Conservation — Chet Ogan ...............….. 707-442-9353 Education/Scholarships — Vacant eBird Liaison — Rob Fowler …………... 707-839-3493 Field Notes — Daryl Coldren...........…..... 916-384-8089 Field Trips— Rob Fowler ……….......….. 707-839-3493 Finance— Syn-dee Noel .............................707-442-8862 Historian — John Hewston ...................... 707-822-5288 Membership — Lew & Judie Norton....... 707-445-1791 NEC Representative — C.J. Ralph.......... 707-822-2015 Nominating – Jim Clark …....................... 707-445-8311 Programs — Ken Burton ..........................707-499-1146 Publications — C.J. Ralph..................….. 707-822-2015 Publicity — Harriet Hill............................ 707-267-4055 Sandpiper (Editor): Jan Andersen …...… 707-616-3888 Sandpiper (Layout): Gary Bloomfield ......707-822-0210 Volunteer Coordinator — Susan Penn.…707-443-9660 Website Gatekeeper— Sue Leskiw……...707-442-5444 Lake Earl Branch — Sue Calla................ 707-465-6191 RRAS Web Page...........................……..... www.rras.org Arcata Bird Alert .........707-822-LOON (707-822-5666) The Sandpiper is published six times each year by Redwood Region Audubon Society P.O. Box 1054, Eureka, CA 95502.

New Members

Redwood Region Audubon Society welcomes the following new members and subscribers:

Arcata – Madeleine Cameron, Simone Groves, Sarah Kavasharov, Meghan Murphy, George Nickerson Bayside – Diana Dusheck Blue Lake – Susan Beecher Crescent City – Holly O. Austin, Aimee Bolender, Anita Cumbra, Steve Halstead Eureka – Nicole Amora, Mona Beaver, Debbie Breton, Theodore Lindsay, Garitt Alden Mathews III, Harry McBee, Ernest Smith, Carol West, Rita Zito Fortuna – Dave Nicodemus, Akino Whitaker Garberville – Brian Ormond McKinleyville – Virginia Fusi, Bill Prescott, Andrew Stubblefield Myers Flat – Linda Sanders Redway – Kathleen L. Hartje Samoa – Robert Vanorden Smith River – Alessandro Broido Trinidad – Genia Garibaldi Willow Creek – Terri Castner We look forward to seeing you on field trips and at our monthly programs.

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN: Unanticipated Consequences

By Jim Clark

We often hear the phrase “unintended consequences” in connection with some kind of proposed action, often taken without enough forethought. The title I have chosen for this issue’s column is in reference to lack of action that results in an unanticipated event. Such an event occurred on October 19, 2013 at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve when a deck collapsed, dumping 24 people from 7 northern California chapters to the ground 10 feet below. Most of us suffered only minor or no injuries, but 6— including my wife Donna — had to be hospitalized and are now recovering from their injuries. The first unintended consequence was the deck collapse itself. Because I was a victim of the deck collapse, it is not appropriate for me to publicly speculate on cause-and-effect details. It is reasonable to assume that the incident was preventable by correct action.

The second unintended consequence is the pain, time, and expense to those affected by the collapse.

Although my injuries were minor, my wife’s injuries have taken more than 40 hours of our time in the first 3 weeks following the event. This is time that we can’t plan for but need to plan around. It is time that has a high inconvenience factor. Time that I was planning on using for the annual chapter report and other chapter business. Then there are the other 5 with injuries that require extended care. They and their caregivers have been similarly inconvenienced.

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: C2ZC240Z 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

Just as we suffer unanticipated consequences from lack of correct action, so do the things Audubon strives to protect. By anticipating the potential negative environmental consequences of land and water use policies, we can and do take corrective action to help prevent damage to wildlife habitat so that we can continue to enjoy birding and other delights of a healthy environment. This is not just the difference between being reactive or proactive, it is the difference between just a birding club and the Redwood Region Audubon Society.

Join Us for the 114th Annual Christmas Bird Count As announced in the October/November 2013 issue, RRAS sponsors 5 local Christmas Bird Counts: • Arcata (Saturday, December 14): compiler Daryl Coldren (916-384-8089, QuiAvisPetit@aol.com).

• Del Norte (Sunday, December 15): compiler Alan Barron (707-465-8904, flockfinder@ yahoo.com) and Gary Lester (707-8393373, garys.lester@gmail.com).

• Willow Creek (possibly Saturday, December 21): compiler Gary Lester.

• Centerville to King Salmon (Sunday, December 29): compiler Gary Lester.

• Tall Trees (Thursday, January 2): compiler Ken Burton (707-499-1146, shriketree@ gmail.com).

Participating in the Christmas Bird Count is a wonderful and rewarding citizen-science experience.

Not only are you helping to gather valuable information regarding winter bird populations, but you’re also reaping the benefits of the fresh air and unique scenery of our area as well as learning just how many (or how few) bird species (with actual numbers for each) are around this time of year. At the end of the day, all participants in that day’s CBC will gather at a prearranged spot for dinner to record birding data for the day and enjoy sharing stories from the day’s event.

How can you get involved? First, contact the compiler and tell him you’re interested in participating.

Depending on your birding skill level, you may be assigned to an existing team or given the option of choosing your own area and compiling your own team. The rras.org website contains a detailed map of each count area (except Tall Trees), but if you are leading a team, you will receive a map showing the boundaries of the area you’ll be censusing.

Join us at the pre-CBC potluck dinner and workshop program on Friday, December 13, to sign up for a count and get yourself inspired for some great winter birding! For more information, check out the website https://birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count.

RRAS Thanks Its Volunteers

Approximately 30 people attended the 3rd annual RRAS volunteer appreciation event on October 25 at the Humboldt Area Foundation. Because the gathering was so close to Halloween, attendees were urged to unleash their inner child by donning a hat or coming in costume.

Picnicking with the Sierra Club

Approximately 20 members of RRAS and North Group Sierra Club attended a picnic on September 28 at Patrick’s Point State Park in Trinidad. The day began with a 10 a.m. bird walk led by Tom Leskiw, followed by a potluck picnic at noon. The weather was passable, the food enticing, and the conversation stimulating. Thanks to Sue Leskiw for organizing the event.

Field Notes (page 4) Acknowledgements

RRAS president Jim “Rockhopper”Clark.

Photo by Sue Leskiw

Invitees included RRAS board members and committee chairs, field trip leaders, Sandpiper contributors, and helpers at special events. Everyone enjoyed eating, drinking, and chatting. Thanks to Sue Leskiw and Susan Penn for organizing the get-together and to everyone who helped set up or clean up, particularly Adam Brown, Ralph Bucher, Ken Burton, Gary Friedrichsen, Barb Ogan, and Tom Leskiw.

By Rob Fowler

Thanks to all who have submitted their sightings! Special thanks to Rob Fowler for compilation assistance.

Cited Observers: Samantha Bacon, Dave Bengston, Gary Bloomfield, Lucas Brug, Ralph Bucher, Ken Burton, Phil Chaon, Greg Chapman, Daryl Coldren, Matthew Delgado, Cedric Duhalde, Tamar Dunufsky, Brad Elvert, David Fix, Rob Fowler, Tim Gilbride, Ian Gledhill, Michael Harris, Stan Harris, Rob Hewitt, Brendan Higgins, Jared Hughey, Eric Irvin, Ken Irwin, Barbara Kingman, Tony Kurz, Alexandra Lamb, Tom Leskiw, Gary Lester, Paul Lohse, Sean McAllister, Peter Metropolus, Annie Meyer (AMe), Michael Morris, Alisa Muniz (AMu), Chet Ogan, Kurt Ongman, Jude Power, Tom Quetenbach, Casey Ryan, Keith Slausen, Chris Smith, Jay Sooter, Dave Spangenburg, Meghan Still, Francis Toldi, Anji Trujillo, Matt Wachs, Forrest Williams, Bill Zielinsky.

Tip # 15

How to Stay in the Loop with Bird Reports

Although the Northwestern California Bird Alert (called the “Bird Box” by most local birders) is and should be the preferred “first response” when reporting a rare bird in Humboldt, Del Norte, or Trinity counties, there are 3 main avenues for reporting birds (rare and not rare) for the area. No matter how much we may want birders to first report interesting sightings to the Bird Box, that’s not always going to happen. So we should do our best to stay with the 3 main ways to report birds in our region: (1) the Bird Box, (2) Northwest Calbird listserv, and (3) eBird. In this article, I’ll tell you how to more efficiently stay in the loop on local bird reports, especially to keep up with eBird reports using different options.

Northwestern California Bird Alert In addition to calling the Bird Box (707-822-LOON), you can also have the bird alert e-mails delivered to you by subscribing to https://groups.google.com/ forum/#!forum/northwest-california-bird-alert.

When a report is made to the Bird Box, an e-mail is sent directly and immediately (almost) to your inbox.

Northwest Calbird If not already subscribed to the listserv, take the time to do so now. Like most Yahoo group listservs, this one allows you to choose to receive individual e-mails, a daily digest (all daily reports to the listserv bundled in one e-mail), or no mail and just look at the listserv when you wish. The Bird Lists Digest (http://digest.sialia.com/?region=2) is a handy way to look at e-mails sent to NWCalbird and also to

keep abreast of sightings throughout the state.

BirdTrax for eBird Probably the least-familiar method, BirdTrax is the best way to keep up with eBird sightings, even if you don’t use eBird: http://www.birdventurebirding. com/p/birdtrax.html. If you don’t have a specific homepage on your web browser, then you can use this simple webpage that I created. It has various BirdTrax gadgets to help local birders keep up with eBird reports in Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties: https://sites.google.com/site/ northwesterncaliforniabirdtrax. Bookmark this link for the Northwestern California BirdTrax gadgets and you will get daily individual sightings, reported rarities, or actual individual checklists back a whole month that are reported to eBird for all 3 counties.

(Note that I previously mentioned BirdTrax in my last eBird Tip from the February-March 2013 Sandpiper.)

Bird Alerts: In addition to BirdTrax, birders can also keep up-to-date on eBird reports with the various alerts that are available: http://ebird.org/ebird/ alerts. You can subscribe to the American Birding Association rarities (ABA code 3 rarities and above) by creating rare bird alerts for any county, state, country or province. If you are an active user of eBird, you can also create “needs” alerts for birds you haven’t entered into eBird for a certain region (county, state, country, or province), and you can set them to needs for the year or for birds you have never seen in your particular region of interest.

Reminder: Check the RRAS Website Many of you noticed a few glitches in the previous issue of The Sandpiper. First, instead of the October/November 2013 issue, it was a repeat of the August/September one. We can safely blame this on the vagaries of the publishing software program, and the Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC), the publisher of the Econews and thus The Sandpiper and many other organizations’ newsletter, quickly rectified the error.

In addition, the issue was later than usual. Thus, those who depend on the print Sandpiper for information about field trips and the RRAS monthly members’ meeting missed out on some of these events. Harriet Hill, Publicity Chair, does a terrific job of getting the word out about our birding field trips and monthly meeting, but there will always be a few people who don’t get this info. This is what the RRAS website (rras. org) was created for!

NEC is making an effort to get the issue out as close to the first of the month as possible, but if you don’t receive your Sandpiper within the first week, please check the website. For the Calendar of events, click on Events (top menu) or Events and Field Trips (sidebar).

Get recent eBird updates by exploring multimedia on eBird maps: This is an impressive new feature of viewing and exploring data in eBird. For example, look at pictures of the newly split “Sage Sparrow” into Sagebrush Sparrow and Bell’s Sparrow. You can now filter all eBird checklists to see just the ones that have photos of these 2 species, which can aid in learning how to distinguish them. Read more about this new feature here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ news/mmeb201310. eBird Hotspot Explorer: From the eBird website: “For the first time, birders can explore eBird’s site information in a map-based tool designed to provide quick access to the information they need. Discover the best places for birding nearby or around the world.

The Hotspot Explorer provides a completely new way to plan birding trips, putting millions of records from over 100,000 eBirders around the world into your hands. At a glance, you can see which birding locations have the most species.” Read more about it here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/hotspotexplorer.

The Sandpiper eBird tip is provided 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 liaison Rob Fowler at migratoriusfwlr@gmail.com. Rob reviews eBird records for Humboldt and Trinity counties and openly admits his eBird addiction.

Field Notes

By 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

September 1 to November 15, 2013 Field Notes is a compilation of bird-sighting reports for Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, and western Siskiyou counties.

Sources include the RRAS Bird Box (707-822-LOON), the online northwestern California birding and information exchange (nwcalbird@yahoogroups.com), eBird (http:// ebird.org/content/klamathsiskiyou), and reports submitted directly to the compiler. Reports may be submitted to any of the sources mentioned above or to Daryl Coldren: (916) 384-8089; QuiAvisPetit@aol.com.

FOS = first of season; HBBO = Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory; HSU = Humboldt State University; MOb = many observers; NC = Not Confirmed by another party/Not photographed; NWR = National Wildlife Refuge Humboldt County Snow Goose: 14, Arcata Bottoms-Jackson Ranch Rd, 18-20 Oct (KO); 2, Arcata Marsh, 18 Oct (AL); 2, Bayside Cutoff, 9 Nov (SB, CD) • Ross’s Goose: 1, Bayside Cuttoff, 8-9 Nov (BE, SB, CD) • Eurasian Wigeon: 3 (FOS), Arcata Marsh, 6 Oct (BE) • American X Eurasian Wigeon: 1 male, Arcata Marsh, 17 Oct (RF) • Harlequin Duck: 1, North Spit, 11 Oct (BE) • Long-tailed Duck: 2, Eel River Estuary-Cock Robin Island, 30 Oct- 1 Nov (TL, BE) • Cook’s Petrel: 1 (died in rehab), picked up 50 miles W of Eureka, 14 Sep (fide TD) • Cattle Egret: 1, Arcata Bottoms-V St Loop, 31 Oct- 8 Nov (RF, MOb) • Whitefaced Ibis: 1, Arcata Community Center, 19 Sep (KS) • Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk: 1 (juv), V St Loop, 23 Oct (KI) • Ferruginous Hawk: 1, McKinleyville-Azalea Hill, 22 Sep (GL); 2, Ferndale Bottoms-Substation Rd, 18 Oct (PC) • Rough-legged Hawk: 1, Loleta Bottoms-Cannibal Island Rd, 1 Nov (KO, PC, DS); 1, Arcata Bottoms-Seidel Rd, 5 Nov (PC); 1, Arcata Marsh, 9 Nov (RB, MOb) • Northern Goshawk: 1 adult, Indianola, 6 Sep (SB); 1, Blue Lake Cottonwoods, 17 Oct (PL) • American Golden-Plover: 1-2, Cock Robin Island, 28 Sep-5 Oct (TK, DS, CR, AT, MOb); 1-2, Ferndale Bottoms-Goble/Dillon Rd, 6-7 Oct (TK, RF, MOb) • Pacific Golden-Plover: 1, Clam Beach, 22 Oct (GL); 1, Goble/Dillon Rd, 6-7 Oct (TK, MOb); 5, Goble Ln, 3 Nov (PM, FT, CD); 1, Arcata Bottoms-Lanphere Rd, 5 Nov (KS) • Black-necked Stilt: 1, Eel River Wildlife AreaOcean Ranch, 17-22 Oct (TK, CR, BE, SB) • Red Knot: 15, Humboldt Bay-Jacoby Creek Mouth, 20 Sep (BE) • Sharptailed Sandpiper: 1 (juv), Goble Ln, 29 Sep (KB, JP) • Stilt Sandpiper: 1, Ferndale Bottoms-Salt River, 12-14 Sep (SM, MOb) • Rock Sandpiper: 2 (FOS), Humboldt BayNorth Jetty, 8 Nov (BE, SB) • Semipalmated Sandpiper: 1, Arcata Marsh-Klopp Lake, 3 Sep (KS) • White-winged Dove: 1, Indianola-Walker Point Rd, 6-8 Sep (CR, AT, RF, MOb) • Burrowing Owl: 1, Bear River Ridge, 19-27 Oct (TL, BE, SB, TK, MOb) • Long-eared Owl: 1, North SpitAirport Patch, 1 (BE) • White-throated Swift: 1, Lanphere Dunes, 26 Sep (AMe, BH) • Lewis’s Woodpecker: 1, Ammon Ranch-SE of Willow Creek, 10 Oct (MS); 1, Blue Lake, 12-15 Oct (KS, RF, MOb) • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 1 (ad), Orick Dump, 11 Oct (KS) • Prairie Falcon: 1, Ferndale Bottoms-Dillon Rd, 28 Sep (TK, CR, DS, AT); 1, McKinleyville-Crannell Rd, 9 Oct (KI); 1, Goble Lane, 2122 Oct (RF, MW, BE, SB); 1, Ferndale Bottoms-Pt Kenyon Rd, 4 Nov (PM, FT); 1, Orick, 11 Nov (TK) • Gray Flycatcher: 1, Arcata Bottoms-Dolly Varden Rd, 12 Oct (RF); 1, Bear River Ridge, 20 Oct (BE, SB) • Say’s Phoebe: 1, Cannibal Island Rd, 4 Oct (TL, SB, BE); 1, Mad River Co Park, 5 Oct (TK, RF, MOb); 1, Capetown-Mattole Rd, 5 Oct (AMe); 1, North Spit-Airport Patch, 18 Oct (AL); 1, Ferndale Bottoms-Morgan Slough Rd, 18 Oct (PC); 1, Capetown, 19 Oct (TL); 1, Mad River Rd/Miller Ln, 22-25

Oct (RF); 1, Arcata-Samoa Blvd, 22 Oct (KB); 1, Airport Patch, 8 Nov (SB, BE) • Tropical Kingbird: 1, McKinleyville-School Rd, 5 Oct (TK, RF, MOb); 1, Airport Patch, 13-14 Oct (TL, IG, MOb); 2, Eel River Estuary-Crab Park, 14 Oct (KS); 1, Capetown, 19 Oct (TL); 1, Coast Guard Station, 21 Oct (KS); 1, Moxon Rd Dairy, 21 Oct-6 Nov (KI, MOb); 1, Table Bluff, 22 Oct (SB, BE); 1, W. of Ferndale-Centerville Rd, 1 Nov (RF, CO); 1, Pt Kenyon/ Meridian Rds, 4 Nov (PM, FT); 1, Loleta Bottoms-7-Mile Slough Rd, 6 Nov (PM, FT); 1, Cannibal Island Rd, 10 Nov (BK) • Eastern Kingbird: 1, Walker Point Rd, 5 Sep (TK); 1, North Spit-Horse Pasture Patch, 6 Sep (BE) • Loggerhead Shrike: 1, Loleta-Quinn Rd, 27-31 Oct (GC, MOb) • Blueheaded Vireo: 1, Redwood National Park-Davison Rd, 24 Sep (TK) • Philadelphia Vireo: 1, Blue Lake, 30 Sep (PL) • Red-eyed Vireo: 1, Horse Pasture Patch, 11 Sep (KI) • Horned Lark: 3-4, Bear River Ridge, 27 Oct (TK, MOb) • Rock Wren: 1, Cape Mendocino-Mattole Rd, 5 Oct (AMe) • Red-throated Pipit: 1, McKinleyville Bottoms, 18 Oct (KS) • Lapland Longspur: 4, Crab Park, 5 Oct (RF, TK, MOb); 1, Redwood Creek Mouth, 10 Oct (KS); ~30, Crab Park, 14 Oct-6 Nov (KS, CR, TK); 1, Eel River Wildlife Area-Ocean Ranch, 17 Oct (TK, CR) • Smith’s Longspur: 1 (NC), V St Loop, 30 Oct (KI) • McCown’s Longspur: 1 (NC), V St Loop, 30 Oct (KI) • Northern Mockingbird: 1, Garberville, 20 Oct (JS, TL) • Northern Waterthrush: 1, Along the Mad River-N. Bank Rd, 5 Sep (RH); 1, Cock Robin Island, 7 Sep (SB); 1, Salt River, 10-12 Sep (SM); 1, Arcata Marsh-Log Pond, 11 Sep (DF); 1, Lanphere Dunes, 11 Sep (CS); 2, Mad River Estuary-Hammond Bridge, 12 Sep (PC, KO); 1, Manila Co Park, 16 Sep (TK); 1 banded, Lanphere Dunes-HBBO, 20 Sep (fide KO) • Black-andWhite Warbler: 1, Airport Patch, 11 Sep (TL, DC, RF); 1, Horse Pasture Patch, 12 Sep (KI, AL); 1, Eureka-Cooper Gulch Park, (BE, AL); 1, Arcata-Shay Park, 28 Sep (IG); 1, Shay Park, 10 Oct (SB, BE); 1, Redwood Creek MouthOxbow Patch, 27 Sep & 11 Oct (KI); 1, Shay Park, 4 Nov (KS) • Prothonotary Warbler: 1, Arcata, 25 Sep (TQ) • Tennessee Warbler: 1, McKinleyville-Widow White Creek, 2 Sep (RF); 1, Shay Park, 12-13 Sep (PC, JH, AMe, KO, MOb); 1, Airport Patch, 20-23 Sep (TL, BE, AL, CO); 1, Cooper Gulch Park, 21 Sep (IG); 1, Cock Robin Island, 27 Sep (TL); 1, Orick Dump, 6 Oct (KI); 1, Mad River Co Park, 11 Oct (AM, JH, MOb); 1, Arcata Marsh-Log Pond, 11 Oct (AL) • Virginia’s Warbler: 1, Horse Pasture Patch, 18 Sep (KS, KI) • American Redstart: 1 (female-type), Widow White Creek, 12 Sep (RF); 1 (female-type), Airport Patch, 12 Oct (GC) • Northern Parula: 1, Cooper Gulch Park, 15-21 Sep (TL, RF); 1, Arcata-Janes Creek (Zehdner Ave), 25 Sep (AL); 1, Shay Park, 5 Oct (AL, CD); 1, HSU Campus Library, 7 Nov (PC) • Blackburnian Warbler: 1, ArcataWestwood Area, 24-25 Oct (FW, KO, PC, RF, MOb) • Chestnut-sided Warbler: 1, Horse Pasture Patch, 11 Sep (KI); 1, Shay Park, 12 Sep (DF); 1, Janes Creek (Zehdner Ave) 18-23 Sep (GB, RF); 1, Shay Park, 20-25 Sep (KS, JH, BH, RF, MOb); 1, HSU Campus Library (AMu, MOb) • Blackpoll Warbler: 1, Shay Park, 12-13 Sep (PC, AMe, JH, MOb); 1, North Spit-Cypress Patch, 19 Sep (KS); 1, Orick Dump, 6 Oct (KI) • Prairie Warbler: 1, North SpitWaterhole Patch, 11 Sep (EI, TL); 1, McKinleyville-Little River Drive, 14 Sep (KI); 1, Eureka-Elk River Wildlife Sanctuary, 24 Oct (DB) • Palm Warbler: 2, Cannibal Island Rd, 4 Oct (SB, BE); 1, Crab Park, 14-21 Oct (KS, RF, MW); 1, Capetown, 19 Oct (TL); 1, V St Loop, 23 Oct (KI); 1, Cock Robin Island, 30 Oct (TL); 1, Sunny Brae, 7 Nov (JH) • Black-throated Green Warbler: 1 (NC), Sequoia Park, 2 Oct (SM) • Mourning Warbler: 1 (NC), Blue Lake, 6 Oct (PL) • Chipping Sparrow: 1, Cannibal Island Rd, 4 Oct (TL); 1, Crannell Rd, 9 Oct (KI); 1, Arcata BottomsBayschool Rd, 12 Oct (RF); 1, Moxon Dairy, 25 Oct (KI); 1, Little River Dr, 10 Nov (KI) • Clay-colored Sparrow: 1, Gold Bluffs Beach, 11 Sep (TK); 1, North Spit-Entrance

Painted Bunting, Oct 2013, Arcata Marsh, HUM, © Rob Fowler

Patch, 14 Sep (TL); 1, V St Loop, 21 Sep (PC); 1, Blue Lake, 22 Sep (PL); 1, Redwood National Park-Carruther’s Grove, 2 Oct (MM); 1, Arcata Bottoms-Warren Creek Farm, 20 Oct (CR, TK, AT); 3, Moxon Dairy, 20-25 Oct (TK, CR, MOb); 4, Ferndale Bottoms-Camp Weott Rd, 21 Oct (RF, MW); 1, Gold Bluffs Beach, 23-24 Oct (TK); 1, Freshwater Farms Reserve, 27 Oct (RF); 1, Loleta Bottoms-John Helt Rd, 6 Nov (PM, FT) • Brewer’s Sparrow: 1, Orick-Redwood Creek Levee, 14 Oct (LB); 1, Arcata Marsh-“Sparrow Alley,” 16 Oct (KI, TK, CR); 1, E. of Capetown-Prescott Rd, 19 Oct (TL) • Vesper Sparrow: 1, Shay Park, 13-15 Sep (RF, KB, AL, MOb); 1, Jackson Ranch Rd, 30 Sep (RF); 1, Redwood Creek Mouth, 10 Oct (KS) • Lark Sparrow: 1, Lanphere Road, 11 Sep (RF); 1, Cannibal Island Rd, 17 Oct (TK, CR); 1, Camp Weott Rd, 21-22 Oct (RF, MW, SB, BE) • Black-throated Sparrow: 1, Mad River Slough Wildlife Area, 25 Oct (KI) • Grasshopper Sparrow: 1, Table Bluff Rd, 21 Sep (RF, MW); 1, Kneeland, 16 Oct (SB, BE) • Swamp Sparrow: 1, Sparrow Alley, 18 Oct (DF); 1, Crannell Rd, 19 Oct (KI); 1, Crab Park, 21 Oct (RF, MW); 1, Gold Bluffs Beach, 24 Oct (TK); 1, Blue Lake, 31 Oct (PL); 1, Humboldt Bay NWR, 10 Nov (DF, MOb) • Whitethroated Sparrow: 1 (FOS), McKinleyville, 29 Sep (DF) • Harris’s Sparrow: 1, Centerville Rd, 28-31 Oct (SB, BE, MOb); 1, Loleta-Hawks Hill Rd, 4 Nov (TL) • Indigo Bunting: 1 female, Sparrow Alley, 14-16 Oct (KB, IG, RF, MOb) • Painted Bunting: 1 (female), Sparrow Alley, 12-21 Oct (SH, MH, DS, MOb) • Dickcissel: 1, Arcata Marsh, 17 Sep (DF); 1, Lanphere Rd, 20 Sep (KO, MD, MOb); 1, V St Loop, 23 Sep (SB); 1, Moxon Dairy, 20-22 Oct (TK, MOb) • Bobolink: 1 flyover, McKinleyville, 4 Sep (RF); 1 flyover, Arcata, 4 Sep (GB); 1, Arcata Marsh, 18 Sep (AM, JH); 2 flyover, McKinleyville, 18 Sep (RF); 1 flyover, McKinleyville, 20 Sep (KB); 3, V St Loop, 20 Sep (RB); 2, V St Loop, 23 Sep (SB); 1, Mad River Co Park, 29 Sep (AM); 2, V St Loop, 30 Sep (RF, PC); 1 flyover, top of Humboldt Hill, 30 Sep (DC); 1, Arcata Marsh, 12 Oct (BZ, TG); 2, Gold Bluffs Beach, 24 Oct (TK) • Tricolored Blackbird: 1 (male), Mad River Rd, 28 Oct (KS) • Yellow-headed Blackbird: 1, Arcata Bottoms-Pacheco Rd, 29 Sep (BE) • Great-tailed Grackle: 1 (NC, heard only), Cock Robin Island, 12 Sep (TL) • Orchard Oriole: 1, Centerville Rd, 29 Oct-1 Nov (KB, TK, CR, RF, CO) • Hooded Oriole: 1, Arcata, 2 Sep (GB); 1, Sunny Brae, 6 Sep (JH).

Del Norte County Harlequin Duck: 3 (FOS), Battery Point Lighthouse, 3 & 24 Oct (DB) • Long-tailed Duck: 16, Point St George, 9 Oct (KS) • Pacific Golden-Plover: 1, Crescent City Harbor, 30 Oct (DB) • Say’s Phoebe: 1, Battery Point Lighthouse, 9 Oct (DB) • Tropical Kingbird: 1, Crescent City Airport, 14 Oct (LB) • Horned Lark: 1, Tolowa Dunes State Park, 15 Oct (TK) • Northern Mockingbird: 1, Smith River, 8 Oct (DB) • Swamp Sparrow: 1, Lake Earl, 3 Nov (PM, FT, CD) Field Notes Acknowledgements on page 3

ZWH Helps the North Country Fair Reduce Waste there are many worthy worldwide environmental causes. The Natural Resources Defense Council has made gifts of targeted donations easy with more than 50 great gift ideas “from defending polar bears to protecting clean water...from reviving rainforests to promoting renewable energy…you will find the perfect gift for someone who cares deeply about our planet’s future. “ See www.nrdcgreengifts.org for more information.

4. Re-gifting. The giving of a never used or good-as-new item that was originally a gift to you is wholly embraced by eco-etiquette. If you’ve found a better match for a gift, it’s just plain smart, resourceful, and appreciated as a re-gift.

Holiday Gift-giving Tips

Overconsumption in the U.S. has been called pathological. The holiday season’s gift giving traditions can be waste-free and free of ozone layer destruction and the guilt of natural resource depletion. The popular revival and appreciation for homemade, handcrafted, and repurposed gifts—combined with environmental concerns— has created a growing trend for reducing holiday waste. It just takes a little advance planning and creative thinking. Here are a few resources and tips for you: 1. Make your gifts. Local crafters, makers, artists, and educators have mobilized a grassroots movement at Scrap Humboldt on South G Street in Arcata, a great place for gift ideas. Humboldt County has dozens of secondhand stores and thrift shops with quality materials and creative people to advise you on making gifts.

2. The best gift for friends and loved ones is your time, services, and talents. Invite them to dinner. Plan a river trip. Teach them how to play music. Chop firewood. Host a party. Take care of the kids. Provide or subscribe to a baby diaper service. Take them to a cultural event.

Upgrade their website. Give a basket of produce you’ve grown. Do something for them that they can’t do well for themselves.

Water Coolers for Community Events

Zero Waste Humboldt has two 10-gallon water coolers available for non-profit organizations to be able to serve local tap water at their events without single-use water bottles. To request the use of these water coolers, email contact@ zerowastehumboldt.org.

2014 New Year’s Resolutions

Zero Waste Humboldt has two 10-gallon water coolers available for loan to non-profit organizations to serve local tap water at events, reducing the need for single-use water bottles.

3. Support a cause of personal significance to honor them. There’s no shortage of local organizations that do good work. The Northcoast Environmental Center, Northern California Association of Nonprofits, and Humboldt Area Foundation are just some examples of local organizations that thankfully accept donations in honor of your friend or loved one. Of course,

Zero Waste Humboldt will launch its Choose to Reuse Campaign on January 1st to inform Humboldt County residents of the convenience, cost-savings, and benefits to choosing a variety of reusable, zero waste alternatives to the many single-use shopping bags, diapers, coffee cups, water bottles, cameras, batteries, other single-use products and packaging in our daily lives. Join the Choose to Reuse campaign in January! For more information, contact@zerowastehumboldt.org.

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Dec2013/Jan2014

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12

Friends of the Eel River

Join us for

Coastal Currents every Wednesday at noon on KHUM, 104.3 and 104.7

Baykeepers of the Year

The 2013 Baykeeper of the Year Award recipients, Michael Welch and Mike Manetas, have been watchdogging PG&E’s Humboldt Bay Power Plant for decades. One of the first nuclear plants in the country, it operated from 1963 to 1976. Michael Welch and his colleagues at Redwood Alliance were instrumental in ensuring the plant was permanently shuttered when numerous earthquake faults were discovered beneath and adjacent to it. Mike Manetas, a Humboldt State University engineering professor, joined forces with the Alliance in the 1980s to fight to dismantle and decommission the plant, which has been underway for several years now. For decades, Welch and Manetas advocated diligently for the best design for temporary storage of the irradiated fuel rods.

The rods were recently moved from the spent fuel pool to underground concrete casks, where they will remain until a permanent national storage facility is designated by the federal government. Baykeeper is pleased to recognize their years of hard work and dedication to protect Humboldt Bay and the people who live here, now and for future generations.

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Local Quarry Violates Clean Water Act Jessica Hall On November 20, Humboldt Baykeeper and California Trout reported a serious Clean Water Act violation at the Halvorsen Quarry in Bayside. Baykeeper and a resident witnessed and documented the violation.

The quarry is adjacent to Rocky Creek, a cohobearing tributary to Humboldt Bay, where nearly $1 million in public funds have supported fish habitat restoration.

To ensure water quality is protected, state and federal law require that quarries must be operated with a stormwater permit and associated Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) in place. We caught Halvorsen Quarry operating without the permit or the SWPPP. In the past year, Humboldt Baykeeper and California Trout have repeatedly insisted that the permit and SWPPP were required for the quarry’s Reclamation Plan—with Humboldt County batting down our assertions based on the incorrect premise that the quarry’s operations for personal use exempted it.

On November 1, Baykeeper was alerted that trucks were entering the quarry and leaving loaded. Photos document not only this, but also their arrival at a construction-related company.

If that isn’t enough evidence, Baykeeper also found the quarry operator’s classified ads for the quarry rock in a local construction-related newsletter.

We believe that, given the requirement that mining must operate under a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and the resident’s observations of truck activity in and out of the mine, the violation may in fact have been ongoing for years. With Humboldt County’s annual mine inspections, the County should have been aware of mining activity all this time—and yet was either lax or ignorant of their obligation to enforce water quality protections.

This comes at a particularly difficult time for the mine operator. Our appeal of the Halvorsen Quarry Reclamation Plan is scheduled for December 10. The County’s planning staff actually conceded several points of our appeal—that water quality testing should be required, that a berm should be removed upon completion of reclamation, and that special measures should be taken to protect sensitive bird species. But the quarry operators argued against requiring a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, part of the Clean Water Act permit, even though

they certified their environmental documents on the grounds that the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan was in place to mitigate water quality impacts.

Again, in case it’s not clear—there is no Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for the site. We believe the county is failing to uphold its responsibilities as a lead agency under the state environmental laws and its obligations to protect water quality.

It is this failure to enforce environmental regulations that leads to a decline in our environmental resources and health. We need a robust economy—and that means industrial as well as commercial enterprises. But we need all businesses to follow environmental laws, or to even innovate on how to improve practices for greater environmental protection. It will be a loss for the construction industry if the quarry closes, but it won’t be the fault of environmentalists or the law—it will be the result of the quarry operator’s refusal to follow the legal standards other quarries have operated under for years, and the County’s willingness to turn a blind eye.

King Tide Photo Initiative Dec. 31, Jan. 1 & 2

On Dec. 31, Jan. 1 & 2, Humboldt Baykeeper volunteers and staff will photo-document the highest tides of the year around Humboldt Bay, also known as King Tides. This winter features a whopping 8.56’ tide predicted on New Year’s Day. By capturing images of these high water events, environmental planners across the state hope to gain insight into how rising sea levels will impact coastal areas in the future.

To volunteer to help us document this year’s King Tide, email us at KingTidePhotos@gmail.com.

For more information about King Tide monitoring and sea level rise, visit our website at www.humboldtbaykeeper.org (go to the Sea Level Rise page on the upper left).

To view the Humboldt Bay King Tide Photo Initiative album visit www.flickr.com/groups/ humboldtbaykingtides/.

After two good falls, a disastrous summer for fish.

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Dec2013/Jan2014

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of the Eel River

Salt River Project Resurrects Lower Eel River Tributary Humboldt County Resource Conservation District Celebrates Milestone in Estuary Restoration

Scott Greacen In October, the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District (RCD) announced completion of the first phase of the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project (SRERP). With the removal of three coffer dams, the benefits of a project nearly two decades in the making began to add up almost as quickly as the waters began to flow into the restored lower section of Salt River and a newly created 300-acre tidal marsh area.

Though designed to address flooding impacts on the southern side of the lower Eel River estuary, the project is also expected to have substantial benefits to the whole Eel River ecosystem, including imperiled native fish. For example, while the new tidal area will help maintain the width and depth of the Salt River channel, it will also enhance rearing habitat and migration conditions for coho and Chinook salmon, steelhead and coastal cutthroat trout.

In the late 19th century, the Salt River carried sea-going ships up to the docks at Port Kenyon. As the watershed was reshaped with levees and dams to ‘reclaim’ estuaries and wetlands for agricultural use, its ability to carry water and sediment rapidly diminished. The conflicts between landowners trying to secure the productive value of their lands and shippers came to a head in a historic legal battle at the turn of the 20th century.

The Russ family dammed a slough tributary to the Salt River to keep their land drained. Public officials sued to force removal of the dam. The public interest finally prevailed when the California Supreme Court ruled in 1901’s People v. Russ that “(d)irectly diverting waters in material quantities from a navigable stream may be enjoined as a public nuisance. Neither may the waters of a navigable stream be diverted in substantial quantities by drawing from its tributaries...If the dams upon these sloughs result in the obstruction of Salt River as a navigable stream, they constitute a public nuisance.” People v. Russ (1901) 132 Cal. 102 (64 P. 106.)

The Russ decision is cited in the famous Mono Lake case as an early instance of California courts’ recognition of public trust values—in this case, functional waterways. While the case was won, the

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Dec2013/Jan2014

effort to keep the Salt River flowing and actually navigable failed—at least for the century now past.

Agricultural uses and heavy upslope logging led to a lot of erosion, exacerbating the inherently highly erosive nature of this landscape. Excess sediment filled stream channels, further reducing the watershed’s capacity to drain flood waters to such an extent that, by the turn of the 21st century, even a few inches of rain led to floods Above, an aerial view of the Salt River Project (the Eel River is at left). Below, workers inside one of the newly excavated channels. Photos courtesy of threatening homes and property.

Doreen Hansen/RCD. As RCD watershedNorth Coast fisheries would benefit from coordinator Doreen Hansen explained on KHSU’s more projects like this one, and the City of EcoNews Report (www.yournec.org/econewsArcata’s McDaniel Slough restoration project report, November 7 show) the need to address on Humboldt Bay. As sea level rise and land these problems actually led to the creation of the subsidence combine to increase already-marginal RCD. The RCD is an independent public agency lands’ vulnerability to saltwater intrusion, floods, formed to help landowners with a watershedand extreme weather events, the conservation scale, cooperative approach. Thanks to the vision value of restoring highly productive—and indeed of the RCD’s founders, the organization’s ability protective—saltmarsh, wetland, and estuaries to secure funding, and above all its staff ’s tireless come to exceed the diminishing value of declining community outreach, the RCD was finally able to agricultural productivity. excavate the old Salt River channel.

That work started this spring in May 2013.

In just a little over five months, slightly over two miles of setback berm were built, two miles of the lower Salt River channel were restored, and the 300-acre tidal marsh area constructed. As work on the first phase started to wrap up, the next phase began, removing the vegetation choking the channel upstream.

Though the SRERP has restored the Salt River’s historic channel, there’s no question of leaving the Salt to meander across the Eel River floodplain.

“You don’t just make it and leave it,” said the RCD’s Hansen. “It’s going to be a highly managed system.

We want it to stay the same as we made it.”

Fisheries scientists emphasize the importance of estuaries and off-channel habitat as key to the feeding success of young salmonids. Providing areas for young Chinook, coho, and steelhead to feed up before they enter the ocean may be one of the most important things we can do to improve their chances of coming back as adults. www.yournec.org

14

The Environmental Protection Information Center

Fire - the Truth in Northern California Salmon River Watershed Photo: Thomas Dunklin

Kimberly Baker

First, the Good: Our watersheds need fire. In fact, here in Northern California, most fires burn at less than 10% high severity, meaning that 90% burn at low and moderate severity, clearing and opening the forest floor. This was true for the nearly 50,000 acres that covered this summer’s fires in the Trinity Alps Wilderness and Salmon River watersheds.

Post fire landscapes are ecological treasures that are alive and vibrant. They provide for an array of plant and animal species and are considered to be one of the most rare and least protected habitats in western U.S. forests. Stand-transforming fires that create this habitat are not damaging. They are advancing ecological restoration and doing the work for us.

The Bad: Fire suppression and the military style of fire fighting can be ineffective, extremely destructive and expensive, costing taxpayers up to a million dollars a day. Tactics include using chainsaws, bulldozers and setting high severity “backburns” or “burnouts”. Nearly 50 miles of ridgelines were cleared to bare soil in our watersheds this summer alone. In 2008, over 500 miles of bulldozer fire-lines were constructed on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest (NF).

Hotelling Ridge dozer-line reconstructed for the Butler Fire.

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The Ugly: Post-fire logging on fragile soils inhibits and damages natural growth and recovery.

Logging snags (standing dead trees) and trees on these landscapes removes vital forest habitat and structure and often results in significant impacts to soils and hydrology. The Forest Service (FS), after nearly every large fire, proposes logging as soon as the smoke clears. This year will be no different.

The FS is currently planning to eliminate post-fire habitat in the Salmon River watershed.

Post Panther Fire logging, Elk Creek watershed Klamath NF.

Still Standing EPIC has protected hundreds of hillsides and miles of salmon streams.

Often it takes the federal court system to uphold the law.

Past victories include the Megram Fire battle of 2002, which protected 1,050 acres. The court found the FS ignored evidence showing the project would damage soils, fish

and wildlife habitat and would impede ecosystem recovery. In 2005, thousands of old-growth snags in Northern Spotted Owl habitat were spared after a preliminary injunction was granted compelling the FS to cancel the project.

More recently, after a concerted effort by the conservation community, the Klamath NF cancelled plans to helicopter log the Kangaroo Roadless Area after the Geoff Fire. Attempts to remove snag forest habitat after the 2012 fires on the Mendocino NF were annulled. The North Pass Fire project would have significantly impacted water quality in the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Eel River watershed, deemed critical for salmon recovery. A federal judge canceled the Mill Fire project because the FS failed to take a “hard look” at the environmental consequences and failed to meet requirements of the Endangered Species Act. The FS in this instance did not adequately consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on how the project would affect the Northern Spotted Owl and its Critical Habitat.

Solutions Landscape level strategic planning is underway on the Mendocino, Klamath and Six Rivers National Forests. EPIC is advocating for: concentrating and prioritizing defensible space around homes and communities, treating plantations (old clearcuts) which are proven to be highly flammable, maintaining shaded fuel breaks along strategic ridgelines, retaining forest canopy, treating brush along major ingress/egress roads and incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge, which includes prescribed burning. While weather has the ultimate say, there is work we can do in order to create resilient watersheds and fire-adapted communities, so that over time we may one day be prepared and ready to welcome fire.

George Sexton of KS Wild stands by an old-growth snag on the Klamath NF, saved from logging in 2008.

www.yournec.org

Dec2013/Jan2014

EcoNews

Prairie Restoration on Prosper Ridge Some ranchers have improvised a remedy by heavily discing or chaining Breaking out of the forest onto a the ground, or by equipping a bulldozer ridgetop prairie usually sends me into with long teeth and cables to dislodge a paroxysm of “Sound of Music,” one what they can. This approach, however, that would make Julie Andrews cringe. involves a heavy impact. Instead, in We have probably all experienced that Phase 2 of the Prosper Ridge Fuels flood of feeling when the land opens Reduction project, several acres were into an expanded view. Humans have cleared by pulling individual plants up long cherished ridgetop prairies for with an excavator. many reasons, in addition to the view.

Piles were then burned with the They allow easy hiking access from assistance of Petrolia Volunteer Fire one watershed to the next, serve as Department and the Prosper Ridge natural firebreaks, provide habitat for a Firewatch Association. One of the myriad of creatures, as well as graze for reasons this project was selected for livestock. But, as anyone who observed funding was due to the amount of the prairies in the Mattole over time can private participation—as well as being tell you, they have been shrinking. This adjacent to the King Range National change brings a host of new restoration Conservation Area. The best part of the and management needs. project has been the enthusiasm and Decreasing grassland habitat is not the only restoration problem. Before (above) and after (below) photos of grasslands restoration sites on Prosper Ridge. energy of the landowners themselves.

There are a total of eight participating Encroaching young Douglas-firs Photos: Mattole Restoration Council. landowners (on separate parcels) who and brush are also adding intense have donated their time or funding fuel loads to prairies that had been toward the project. historically managed through burning.

Once all the piles were burned, In addition, the altered composition of some seeding and mulching over the prairies—from native bunch grasses disturbed ground was implemented. that flourish despite long dry seasons We encouraged landowners to choose and fire regimes, to annual grasses—has to replant with native grass seed or decreased nutritional availability while grass plugs. However, due to the cost, increasing fire risk. MRC has been we did not make it a requirement of working to reduce fuels inside historic the project. Native bunch grasses, prairie boundaries while addressing the because of their long tap roots, stay above challenges in prairie restoration. greener longer and thus are less prone The Prosper Ridge Fuels Reduction Project, Phase 2, targets the reduction to volatility. Some great patches of of volatile brush and Douglas-firs native bunch grasses exist in the project within historic ridgetop prairies on area that we hope to enhance with Prosper Ridge. Funding was provided landowner support. by the National Fire Plan (from the There are many more acres in Cooperative Fire Program of the U.S. the Mattole where reducing fuels is a Department of Agriculture, Forest high priority as our forests thicken, Service, Pacific Southwest Region), our grasslands shrink and the climate through the California Fire Safe Council. Fifty Though coyote brush is a native plant, it was changes. Here at the Mattole Restoration Council, percent of the project’s budget had to be matched historically less conspicuous due to periodic fires. we hope to support fuel reduction projects by landowner and organizational contributions.

In the absence of fire, once established, it is difficult where we can. For more information, please visit This was the first project in Northern to remove. Plants spread readily and have long www.mattole.org.

California that specifically targeted prairie fuels. roots that can easily re-sprout. Weed wrenches By reducing fuel loads in the prairies, the project have successfully removed smaller plants, but To learn more about our projects, aims to clear a series of ridgetop fire breaks that older plants have larger dimensions than a wrench or to make a donation to support us, in turn provide important access for fire-fighting can handle. The task of removing coyote brush equipment. Removed fuels include coyote brush can also be daunting when attempting to remove a please visit www.mattole.org.

(Baccharis pilularis) and young Douglas-fir. large amount over many acres.

Ali Freedlund

EcoNews

Dec2013/Jan2014

www.yournec.org

16

NORTH GROUP REDWOOD CHAPTER The Sierra Club, Coal and Community-based Power Generation The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign (http://content.sierraclub.org/coal/about-thecampaign) is one of the Sierra Club’s signature national programs. Beyond Coal aims to: • Retire one-third of the nation’s more than 500 coal plants by 2020 • Replace the majority of retired coal plants with clean energy solutions such as wind, solar, and geothermal • Keep coal in the ground in places like Appalachia and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.

In order to accomplish these ambitious goals, the Sierra Club endorsed the Obama Administration’s energy policies early on—policies that stress aggressive development of mammoth solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative energy sources on public lands. Some grassroots Club members objected. These large projects have huge impacts— particularly in sensitive environments like the California Desert. Some California members also objected to the Club’s support for large, centralized power developments located far from where the energy would actually be consumed.

Those members argued that the Club should support Distributed Energy Generation.

Distributed Power Generation is decentralized to produce power as near as possible to where it will be consumed. This avoids the need for massive transmission lines and towers which are vulnerable to terrorist attacks and which lose up to 25% of the power they carry before that power is delivered to customers. Some Club staff and members argued, however, that Distributed Generation could not be developed soon enough at the scale needed to end the fossil fuel use driving climate change.

The Sierra Club’s energy policy percolated through the Club’s democratic process and eventually a compromise was reached: the Sierra Club now supports Distributed Generation as well as large, centralized alternative energy development when that development can be done in a manner that respects and sustains local ecosystems and wild lands.

In Humboldt County, the electricity used by most citizens comes from PG&E’s Humboldt Bay Generating Station (HBGS) which uses natural gas and, at times, diesel fuel.

While electricity generation using natural gas is an improvement over the nuclear and fossil fuels used to produce electricity at Humboldt Bay in the past, natural gas and diesel must be imported into the area.

What would a plan to move the Northcoast to local sources of renewable energy and decentralized power generation look like? Well,

17

North Group Supports HSU’s Biodiversity Conference

the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) at HSU has been working on that very question with a variety of partners. In March of 2013 the Center— along with the Redwood Coast Energy Authority (RCEA)—completed a three-year study. RePower Humboldt is a plan to meet greater than 75 percent of Humboldt County electricity needs using local renewable resources. You can learn about the plan and download a copy at this link: www.schatzlab. org/projects/policyanalysis/repower.html.

Look for a criticial examination of RePower Humboldt and especially proposals to use woody biomass to generate electricity by the North Group in a future issue of EcoNews.

Picnicking with Audubon

Approximately 20 members of North Group Sierra Club and Redwood Region Audubon attended a picnic on September 28 at Patrick’s Point State Park in Trinidad. The day began with a 10 a.m. bird walk led

by Tom Leskiw, followed by a potluck picnic at noon.

The weather was passable, the food enticing, and the conversation stimulating. Thanks to Sue Leskiw for organizing the event.

Chowing down at the picnic. Photo by Sue Leskiw.

www.yournec.org

Amid Humboldt State’s Centennial celebration and record warm temperatures, the HSU Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology held its Biodiversity Conference October 4, 5 and 6. North Group members took part in tabling at an expo of local conservation groups, and in at least one formal panel discussion.

Tyrone Hayes, the keynote speaker, described his extensive work on endocrine-disrupting toxins (Atrazine in particular) and their destructive effects on amphibians and most other vertebrates at concentrations well below legal limits. Dr. Hayes, in deconstructing, and celebrating, the word “activist,” closed by invoking Albert Einstein: “Those who have the privilege to know, have a duty to act.”

In the Klamath Basin Water Rights and Dam Removal Forum, Humboldt County Supervisor, Mark Lovelace, introduced the discussion with a history of the science and politics of the four dams on the Klamath, including the disastrous fish kill of 2002, and the emergence of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and Klamath Hydro Settlement Agreement.

North Group Water Chair Felice Pace, several tribal reps, and PCFFA’s Glen Spain participated.

Some numbers: 64,000 dead salmon in 2002; the four dams generate less than 1 per cent of Pacificorp’s portfolio; recent salmon runs are down to 2 per cent of historic levels; annual economic assistance to the region has been running at $18 million since 2001; 10 to 12 thousand birds died in the Klamath Basin refuges in 2013; under the Agreements, the four dams would be removed starting in 2020, starting with the farthest upstream to minimize downstream impacts.

An alternative path to removal would be the FERC 401 certification process, whereby the impending license renewals would need to meet current requirements such as fish ladders, an economically prohibitive cost that may lead to removal. Several participants indicated an interest in both the FERC and KBRA/KHSA potential outcomes. About 80 people attended the panel discussion.

Tom Stokely, a longtime Trinity River advocate and scientist, spoke on “Twin Tunnel Impacts on the Trinity and Klamath Rivers,” making a strong case against the joint state-federal effort to “improve” the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta with a huge construction project. According to Stokely, the net effect would be to further exacerbate the problems of low flows in the North, and lead to further over-allocation of water, beyond the sixfold discrepancies of recent years.

Dec2013/Jan2014

EcoNews

NORTHCOAST CHAPTER

Evening Programs Second Wednesday evening, September through May. Refreshments at 7 p.m.; program at 7:30 p.m. at the Six Rivers Masonic Lodge, 251 Bayside Road, near 7th and Union, Arcata.

Botanical FAQ’s: At 7:15 p.m. Pete Haggard (or another presenter) shares a brief, hands-on demonstration and discussion of a botanical topic.

December 11, Wednesday. 7:30 p.m. Native Plant Show and Tell. An informal evening for anyone to share photos, artifacts, readings, or food relating to native plants and their habitats. Presenters include Donna Wildearth’s favorite flowers, Dave Imper’s discoveries atop Mt. Ashland, Michael Kauffmann’s adventures in the Miracle Mile, and more!

January 8th, 2014, 7:30 p.m. John DeMartini talks about plant galls—“A Brief Delving into the Cryptic Lives of Gall Wasps Primarily Infesting Oaks”.

Retired professor John DeMartini will lead us into the Lilliputian world of tiny cynipid wasps that form galls on a variety of plants, notably oaks, Quercus spp. These wasps, of the family Cynipidae, also form galls on a variety of plants, of which certain members of the families Rosaceae and Fagaceae are good sources in northern California. He will illustrate their interesting natural history, life cycles, sites of galls, predators, and other organisms influencing these minute but important insects.

Which is Grand Fir? Which is Redwood?

Hikers on a recent CNPS field trip compared the foliage, bark, and shape of the five conifers in Russ Park in Ferndale. The 3-mile loop trail takes you through what Michael Kauffmann, author of Conifer Country, describes as the southern extent of the Pacific Northwest temperate rainforest.

For more details and later additions, visit:

WWW.NORTHCOASTCNPS.ORG

Sign up for e-mail announcements:

Northcoast_CNPS-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Photo: Carol Ralph.

Answer: Grand Fir is on the left.

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

ARCTOSTAPHYLOS - UVA-URSI Donna Wildearth This plant, commonly known as bearberry or kinnikinnick, is a handsome, low-growing woody shrub, one of many manzanita species in the Ericacae (heath) family. It grows from 6” to 2’ high and can spread as much as 15’. The long trailing stems, which root as they touch the ground, are reddish brown, and the evergreen, leathery leaves are fairly small, usually no more than 1” long. Spring brings small dense clusters of bell-shaped, pink or white flowers— reminiscent of other heath family plants such as evergreen huckleberry and blueberry. In winter, bearberry displays bright red fruits (technically drupes), giving it a cheerful seasonal appearance.

In this picture the seasonal spirit is enhanced by fluffy coastal reindeer lichen (Cladina portentosa ssp. pacifica) which at first glance suggests snow. This lichen is a holdover from a cooler climatic period, and at the Mal’el Dunes, where I took the picture, the lichen reaches almost the southern extent of its range.

The person who gave bearberry its botanical name must have had a sense of humor. The genus name Arctostaphylos is Greek for “bear berry,” and the species name uva-ursi is Latin for—guess what—“bear berry!”

EcoNews

Dec2013/Jan2014

The common name kinnikinnick is derived from a Native American language and means something like “smoking mixture,” referring to the fact that dried bearberry leaves were sometimes used as a form of tobacco.

Bearberry can be found on dunes, coastal bluffs, dry rocky slopes, and in chaparral and coniferous forests. In California it grows along the north coast as far south as Marin and on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada.

It also grows worldwide at higher northern latitudes.

Bearberry makes a good groundcover and has been widely used in landscaping.

However, it is slow to become established, and it is important to prevent tough weeds such as dandelions from seeding around the plant.

From personal experience I can testify that trying to remove weeds growing through bearberry is difficult and painful!

www.yournec.org

Donna Wildearth is a teacher and the owner of Garden Visions Landscape Design in Eureka. She is passionate about native plants. Bearberry and coastal reindeer lichen photo, below, by Donna Wildearth.

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Explore Your Natural History Conifer Country Conifers of the

Pacific Slope

BACK COUNTRY PRESS KNEELAND CALIFORNIA Available from these, and other, independent bookstores

Northtown Books, Booklegger, Eureka Books, Jefferson State Books, and The Northwest Nature Shop or from

backcountrypress.com

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Book Review: Conifers of the Pacific Slope Gabriel Howe When author Michael Kauffmann was 13 years old, he saw his first redwood on a family road trip from Virginia. For the last twenty five years he’s been exploring the west, drawn by its remote conifer forests that have lasted throughout the warming and cooling of geologic time.

And now Kauffmann’s self-published his second book, Conifers of the Pacific Slope. The 142-page field guide provides descriptions and identification guides for each of the 65 conifers that grow from northern Mexico to southern Canada.

The book includes a horizontal identification key. And the introduction is a good source for those wanting to delve deep into the west’s wild natural history. But what lies after could be the most comprehensive and user-friendly tool to identify conifers available.

Each ID includes easily discernible and high quality, colored pictures of unique identifying characteristics. Accompanying the pictures are detailed descriptions of each tree’s bark, needles, and habitat, which will lay to rest any arguments or settle any bets over the identification of every conifer found in Oregon, Washington and California.

The book is especially unique because it transcends borders often held by extension services and audubon chapters, National Forests and Bureau of Land Management Districts. And if you are looking for rare conifer populations, like the Baker’s cypress population near Miller Lake in southern Oregon, this is the book for you.

Take the distribution maps available for each conifer and cross reference them with USGS topos

www.yournec.org

and district maps to locate the rare finds Kauffmann has taken outstanding pictures of. His shots bring these giant plants to life, and the photographers (including SMC volunteer Brandon Andre) incorporate scale to provide perspective on just how giant they are. Kauffmann’s objective was to create something accessible.

“I’ve published some academic papers,” Kauffmann says, “but only the academic elite reads that stuff.”

He’s worried natural science is slipping through the cracks and modern science is too dominated by controlled laboratory studies. “I think natural history is a lost art, but it’s coming back around,” he says. “I think there’s a natural history renaissance happening.”

Kauffmann has spent the last quarter-century hunting conifer populations like a miner for gold.

His migration to northwest California from Virginia even follows the density of his favorite gymnosperms.

He’s found populations of rare species in areas they were never documented. And, Kauffmann gives us a taste for the stories that brought him there, though some readers may walk away wanting a little more of Kauffmann’s own narrative. Maybe at some point in the future he will offer that to us.

All in all, Conifers of the Pacific Slope is the best field guide for the west coast’s many conifers. And, it fits into your back pocket.

Pick up Conifers of the Pacific Slope at www.backcountrypress.com or select local retailers and never look at a conifer the same way again.

Gabriel Howe is Executive Director of the Siskiyou Mountain Club. This review was originally published online at www.siskiyoumountainclub.org and reprinted with permission.

Dec2013/Jan2014

EcoNews

Eco-Mania

VIVE LA TAX: Starting next year, France will tax fossil fuel and the money will be used to further reduce emissions.

Fuel use is already taxed in France, but now part of this tax will be determined by the fuel’s greenhouse gas emissions. The move is predicted to raise billions of dollars a year by 2016, which can then be spent—for instance—on tax breaks for home insulation.

France will become the seventh European country to have a carbon tax, after Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Ireland.

A merry melange: salient or silly.

ADIEU APES: Almost half of the world’s 634 primate species face extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Habitat loss is a major cause, but many monkeys and apes also are being hunted for food or Chinese medicine, especially in forests of Vietnam and Cambodia. “It’s cheaper to go into the forest and kill a monkey than to raise a chicken,” says JeanChristophe Vié of the IUCN. PET TRICK: A new website claims to offer condoms for dogs and cats—but it actually is a campaign from the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The gullible customers are told, “C’mon, there’s only one real fix: spay or neuter your pet.”

BALL-BUSTER: The pacu, a species of fish known to mistake human testicles for tree nuts, which they can crack with strong jaw muscles, was caught by an angler off New York City.

The exotic fish, an Amazon native, can weigh up to 55 pounds. Two men in New Guinea recently died from blood loss from falling victim to the fish.

FOUND CRITTERS: A chocolate-colored frog and a tiny kind of dung beetle are just two of the 60 unknown species recently discovered in southeast Suriname, one of the most unexplored places on Earth.

The discoveries in the country north of Brazil included 11 fish, six frogs, a snake and several insects.

NO NUKES: A huge cluster of jellyfish forced the world’s largest boiling-water nuclear reactor to shut down—but only for three days.

Tons of jellyfish clogged the pipes that bring in cool water to the plant’s turbines. The boilingwater reactor uses the same technology as the one in Japan which suffered a catastrophic failure when a tsunami breached the facility’s walls and flooded its equipment.

WHY DID THE CHICKEN...: A company in England—interestingly named Omlet—has launched high-visibility, fluorescent jackets for chickens to help them safely cross the road.

They come in two colors, bright yellow and shocking pink, and cost about $20.

BIRD BROTHER: That’s what they’re calling Gautam Sapkota of Nepal, a 30-year-old school dropout who has been doing “crow shows” to raise awareness about nature and the conservation of birds.

He says he can imitate the sounds of 251 kinds of birds and hopes for recognition of his talents from the Guinness Book of World Records. “I want to preserve the sounds of birds which may eventually become extinct, by keeping them in recordings,” he said.

Conservationists say 149 of Nepal’s 871 bird species face the threat of extinction.

EcoNews

Dec2013/Jan2014

TUSKS FOR GUNS: Elephant poaching for ivory contributed part of the funding for al-Shabaab, the group which invaded a mall in Kenya in September, leading to 69 deaths.

Many poachers said that they were increasingly selling to al-Shabaab, which then sells the ivory in Asia at a huge mark-up. A more significant source of funding for al-Shabaab is illegal exports of charcoal.

CREATION FOLLY: Texas again leads the way— back into the 18th century.

If creationists get their way, high-school students might be reading biology textbooks that cast doubt on evolution. Five of the 15 members of the Texas State Board of Education have sought to introduce amendments undermining the teaching of evolution. www.yournec.org

TECH IS THE NEW BLACK: A new line of clothing that incorporates tiny, flexible LEDs right into jackets and dresses was recently shown at the International Symposium on Wearable Computers in Zurich, Switzerland.

All have LEDs that can be controlled by a smartphone app and are enmeshed in fabric so they don’t touch the wearer’s skin. Their electronic components are designed to be easily removable so that the clothes can be washed.

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Western Bumble Bee Bombus occidentalis

Factors contributing to the decline of B. occidentalis Bobby Shearer are typically cited as the Bumble bees are fuzzy, docile, charismatic, synergistic effects of and native pollinators that contribute important pesticide/herbicide/fungicide ecosystem services, with significant economic use, climate change, modern agricultural practices implications. In addition to being the primary and lack of adequate foraging and nesting habitat. pollinators of many wildflowers, whose fruits and These, in turn, lower the bee’s ability to fight nuts feed countless wildlife, bumble bees are also diseases. Dr. Robbin Thorp, renowned UC Davis significant pollinators for many agricultural crops, bee expert, hypothesizes that commerciallyincluding blueberries, cranberries, cherries, tomatoes reared North American bees being kept in the and cucurbits. Their annual contribution to the US same facilities as European bumble bees acquired a economy can be measured in the billions of dollars. pathogen from the non-native bees. The American The western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, bees lacked the resistance the European bees was once very common in the western US and had acquired and the pathogen spread to several Canada. Identified by its characteristic white other closely related species of bumble bees via B. rump (in some parts of its range), B. occidentalis occidentalis. Bombus franklini, a related west coast can still be found in the northern and eastern parts species known as Franklin’s bumble bee, is currently of its historic range. However, the once common feared extinct, likely due to the same causes. populations west of the Cascade-Sierra Crest (in There has been a dramatic decline in B. BC, WA, OR and CA), have nearly disappeared. occidentalis populations since the late 1990’s.

Over the last few years, Above, illustration by Dr. Carin Bondar. Below, high-speed photo of a rare western bumble bee in however, efforts to locate flight. Photo: Oregon Zoo photographer, Michael Durham. any remaining populations along the west coast have intensified, sparked largely by the citizen science efforts of the Xerces Society (www.xerces.org), curious biology students and bee geeks. After 15 years of very few sightings, the last year has yielded several exciting finds. A single 2012 sighting in Briar, WA was the first sighting west of the Cascades in over 10 years. This summer a Xerces bumble bee survey in Mt. Hood National Forest (OR) yielded over a dozen sightings. Also this summer, an HSU biology grad student, Carrie

Lopez, hand-netted 2 specimens on Horse Mtn. in Humboldt County!

Two other sightings in California sightings have occurred, verified by Xerces biologists, providing hope that B. occidentalis may still be able to repopulate its historical range.

Today, a bee’s best friend is an educated public that talks to their friends about the dangers of chemicals and actively creates a pollinatorfriendly community—rich in native plants and bee nesting habitat.

Wondering what you can do in your garden and community to help B. occidentalis and other native bees? The two most important things bees need are nesting and foraging resources.

A tidy garden is not a bee-friendly garden! Bumble bees nest in the ground, often in old rodent holes, so think twice before turning over garden soils, mulching and trying to eradicate ground-dwelling vertebrates. When pithy, hollow plants die back do not remove them, as small native bees (though not bumble bees) may be overwintering in them. In addition to nesting habitat requirements, bumble bees need floral resources, like nectar and pollen.

Planting a diverse array of native plants provides floral resources from early spring until late fall. If at all possible, be sure to avoid the use of chemicals.

Overuse of combinations of chemicals— especially neonicotinoid pesticides—is frequently cited as a primary cause of colony collapse disorder, and is likely a primary driving force behind bumble bee declines as well. Those that don’t kill the bees directly, disorients them so they cannot find their nests and diminishes their capacity to forage and fend off disease or parasites. Research has demonstrated that many common classes of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, especially in combination with each other, are detrimental to the health of bees, regardless of labels declaring products bee-friendly.

B. occidentalis, based on recent finds, may be one species that can still “bee” saved. Plant native flowers, avoid chemicals and have fun learning more about the amazing little creatures that help feed the world, people and wildlife alike!

Bobby Shearer is an HSU biology student whose research investigates pollination and floral ecology. He is the president of the HSU chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology (www.conbio.org) and the creator of HSU’s Biodiversity Conference. He can bee reached at RLS511@humboldt.edu. ...working with clients to improve the social, economic and environmental performance of their organizations and projects.

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REGENERATIVE DEVELOPMENT

PLANNING AND RESEARCH

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Dec2013/Jan2014

EcoNews

the Kids’ Page:

Merry Mistletoe?

Did you know

that mistletoe is a parasite!?!?

A parasite is an organism that feeds off of another organism. Mistletoe is a shrubby plant commonly hung in doorways during the holidays. Mistletoe is considered a hemi-parasite, which means it gets part of its food from another living host organism. You can find it growing on trees and shrubs.

So how does this work? Mistletoe has very sticky berries that birds love to eat. Commonly, a bird eats some berries, excretes (poops) onto a branch of a host plant, and the seed gets stuck. Days later, the seed sends out a special root, called a haustorium, which drills down through the bark and into the host plant. The mistletoe uses this to tap into the food source. The mistletoe then grows to 2-5 feet, makes berries, and repeats the process. It’s considered a hemi-parasite because it also uses photosynthesis to convert the sun’s light energy into food energy.

Mistletoe is often easy to find, especially this time of year when the deciduous trees have lost their leaves. Mistletoe is an evergreen shrub, so it does not lose its leaves. Look up next time you’re out for a hike and look for the green mistletoe in the bare trees!

by Sarah Marnick Above right, a meadow spittlebug rests on a leaf. Photo: wolfpix, Flickr CC. Below, a spittlebug nymph surrounded by bubbles. Photo: Goshzilla - Dann, Flickr CC.

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A woman in Florida marries a Ferris wheel--the preacher said, “I tie you flesh to steel”—and a man in Argentina marries a tree. He gave the tree a kiss and received a ring.

Florida outlaws gay marriage but says nothing about humans marrying fairground rides. The bride said, “My heart was pounding as we went up the platform...I felt like I was being taken by this ride.”

In Argentina, the male activist, dressed in a white suit and blue hat and carrying flowers, read the vows to a tree (which remained as silent as the Ferris wheel) in a local park. He said the spectacle was meant to draw attention to environmental issues.

Here at the NEC, no such nuptials are planned but we we also draw attention to environmental issues: the contentious Humboldt County general plan, the Klamath River dams, the fracas over fracking, the left-over nuclear waste, even the high-jinks over Highway 101.

The list is very long and the NEC has been leading the way or at least deeply involved in virtually all of them—for more than 40 years.

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So spare us the matrimonial vows (although tree-kissing is acceptable) and please pledge support to the NEC. For $50, your entire family—fathers, daughters, Ferris wheels and brides—can become members and join us in the uphill battle for environmental sanity.

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