EcoNews Dec 2012/Jan 2013

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Over 40 Years of Environmental News

EC

Arcata, California

Vol. 42, No. 6 Dec 2012/Jan 2013

NEWS Published by the Northcoast Environmental Center Since 1971

Looking Back ,

Looking

Forward The Year in Review Raven/Plover Study Withdrawn | Lucille Vinyard’s Legacy | Sustainable Marijuana? Dangers of Atrazine | Eco-Poetry | Gas Prices Drive Behavior


EC

NEWS

1385 8th Street - Suite 215, 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, 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/ Southern Oregon bioregion. The subscription rate is $35 per year.

Editor/Layout: Morgan Corviday, morgan@yournec.org Advertising: ads@yournec.org Proofreaders: Karen Schatz, Midge Brown Writers: Sid Dominitz, Morgan Corviday, Dan Ehresman, Sarah Marnick, Dan Sealy, Jennifer Kalt, Brandon Drucker, Scott Greacen, Hezekiah Allen, George Clark, Anna Schwarzbach. Artist: Terry Torgerson Cover Photo: Dan Ehresman

the Northcoast Environmental Center: Our Mission

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

NEC Board Of Directors

Safe Alternatives for our Forest EnvironmentLarry 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 Society Jennifer Kalt, Secretary, jenkalt@gmail.com Humboldt Baykeeper - Jessica Hall, jessica@humboldtbaykeeper.org Redwood Region Audubon Society CJ Ralph, theralphs@humboldt1.com Sierra Club North Group, - Richard Kries, rgkreis@gmail.com At-Large - Scott Greacen, scott@eelriver.org

NEC Executive Director: Dan Ehresman, dan@yournec.org

Member Groups

North Group/Redwood Chapter of the Sierra Club, Redwood Region Audubon Society, North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, Humboldt Baykeeper, Safe Alternatives for Our Forest Environment.

Affiliate Groups

News From the Center

Autumn is most amazingly upon us, and the rains have returned. Oak woodlands are ablaze with burnt orange and amber. In conifer country, expanses of deep green are dappled with bursts of dogwood crimson and yellow-gold rivers of maple and alder. Amidst the colors of the turning hardwoods, even the orange and yellow of the burger joint in Willow Creek is looking a natural part of this beautiful time of year. This season also brings historic runs of Chinook and Steelhead. On rivers up and down the coast, these great fish are making their way back to their beginnings and giving the gift of life. Through this time of cyclical change, it takes not much more than a glance to the wild to recognize how much this corner of the world is blessed. In witnessing the splendor of the wild, so too we witness the negative impacts brought on by the landuse decisions of our own species— from poorly planned development, irresponsible timber operations, or abusive agricultural practices. To aid the continuing conversation about the environmental impacts of outdoor marijuana cultivation, new satellite imagery has been circulating that highlights the extent and scope of marijuana operations throughout our rural lands

Please join us on Wednesday, January 23 at the Arcata Playhouse for a party with NEC board, staff, and supporters for a new-year mixer and film night. We are pleased to announce that Dan Ehresman has officially stepped into the role as the NEC’s Executive Director. Mark your calendars to come out and celebrate with NEC staff and board to discuss the issues of the day. Call us at 822-6918 for more information, or visit our website at www.yournec.org. Find us on Facebook!

( w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=GMpu0kbsV7w). Clear hot-spots such as Trinity Pines raise questions of carrying capacity in our fragile watersheds. How many people, pot plants, and clearcuts can a watershed support and continue to be a healthy functioning ecosystem? The NEC will continue to address irresponsible land management and support agriculture that is truly sustainable, ecologically and economically. Communities are also working to address the harms of excessive indoor marijuana grows. In November, Arcata resoundingly passed Measure I, which will impose a 45% tax on households using more than three times the average usage. If other jurisdictions follow suit, such a tax could curb wasteful energy usage and lower the region’s greenhouse gas emissions. In other land use news, there has been a significant development in relation to Humboldt County’s General Plan Update. The Northcoast Environmental Center, in conjunction with our longstanding program, the Healthy Humboldt Coalition, is taking part in a collaborative effort to coalesce and streamline input from a diverse group of stakeholders on the Circulation Element of the General Plan Update. Other organizations represented as part of this Ad Hoc

Working Group include Humboldt Association of Realtors, Humboldt Partnership for Active Living, Complete Streets Working Group, Humboldt Coalition for Property Rights, Humboldt Baykeeper, Humboldt Builders Exchange, Humboldt Community Access & Resource Center, Northern California Association of Home Builders, Humboldt Trails Council, Mattole Restoration Council, California Center for Rural Policy, and the Humboldt Area Foundation. As a whole, the group intends for this process to inform, not replace the Supervisors’ deliberations on the General Plan Update. While it is ultimately the responsibility of our elected officials to balance the immense amount of public input and to make decisions with regard to the specifics of the plan, we hope that the Ad Hoc Working Group’s final recommendations will provide greater clarity to the Supervisors and assist them in their deliberations. Our work to date is available on the County’s GPU website under “Public Comments”: http://co.humboldt.ca .us/gpu/ documentspubliccomments.aspx. If you have questions or comments about the process or specific policy concerns, feel free to email us at info@healthyhumboldt.org or call the NEC at 822-6918.

Your Legacy: the North Coast Leave a lasting legacy by naming the Northcoast Environmental Center as a beneficiary of your will, trust, or other estate plans. Your gift will help us advocate for and educate about the North Coast and the Klamath-Siskiyou 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. Please consult your financial advisor for assistance determining the best planned giving options for you.

Environmental Protection Information Center, Friends of Del Norte, Mattole Restoration Council

NEC Sponsored Groups

Healthy Humboldt Coalition, Green Wheels

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

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

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


Mailbox

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Letters to the Editor The following is an excerpt from a letter written to President Obama, submitted to us by a relative of the author—

Mr. President, Congratulations on your election to a second term as the President of the United States of America! I do hope that you take this strong electoeral college win as a mandate to pursue your positions aggressively in your second term. Particularly with regards to Equal Rights for ALL citizens, including Women and LGBT citizens, and most especially to the critical Climate Change and Sustainale Society crises the world faces. I am a Ph.D. Chemist and Nanotechnologist working in the field of organic photovoltaic materials; previously as a Postdoc at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and currently as Principal Scientist for New Energy Technologies, Inc., developing an organic photovoltaic SolarWindow™ technology through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with NREL. The scientific community knows exactly how critical it is that we move immediately to combat climate change and put our society on a path to true sustainability. Our society is based almost entirely on fossil fuels. Not simply for energy production or transporation, but also most of our food supply, our manufactured goods, and our pharmaceuticals. If the fossil fuel supply was to run out now, our society would collapse completely. We need to move energy production and transportation off of fossil fuels, return to sustainable farming practices not based entirely on fossil fuel derived synthetic nutrients, and save their limited supply for feedstocks for high-value chemicals for pharmaceuticals, critical materials, and scientific research and discovery. At the same time, we must aggressively research renewable feedstock development using bioreactors, on-demand microfluidic reactors, and possibly genetically engineered plant sources. This last area of research must be pursued extremely cautiously, however, to rigorously control and prevent the release of any genetically engineered product without extremely thorough and rigorous testing to ensure compatibility with the entire ecosystem. —Sincerely, Scott R. Hammond, Ph.D. Wheat Ridge, CO

January 23 Join us for a special “New Year” mixer and screening of the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement!

Narrated by Robert Redford, A Fierce Green Fire features grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years—from conservation to climate change. From halting dams in the Grand Canyon to battling 20,000 tons of toxic waste at Love Canal to the promise of transforming our civilization... the film tells vivid stories about people fighting—and succeeding— against enormous odds.

Eat, drink and party with the NEC staff, Board, and old and new friends from 5:30-7:30pm (free admission)!

Film at 7:30pm - $10/sliding scale

Arcata Playhouse

www.yournec.org/films/fiercegreenfire

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Unwrap the Sun/ Eclipse Raven/Plover Study Withdrawn GMO’s After Prop 37 The Dangers of Atrazine Putting Your Garden to Bed Sustainable Gift-Giving Gas Prices and Drive Behavior Changes Changes to Christmas Bird Count Kin to the Earth: Lucille Vinyard Eye on Washington Year in Review Year in Review Humboldt Baykeeper Friends of the Eel River EPIC Mattole Restoration Council Sierra Club, North Group Redwood Region Audubon California Plant Native Society Good News Eco-Mania Creature Feature: Christmas trees Kids’ Page: All About Beavers

Bouquets Thanks to Representative Mike Thompson for your many years of service on behalf of Humboldt County residents, and particularly for the legacy you leave through wilderness protection. Thanks to Clif Clendenen, for your four years as Second District County Supervisor, working to make Humboldt County a better place. And a raucous rooooaaaar of appreciation for all our All Species Ball Volunteers! Thank you so much for helping this year’s Ball to run smoothly! We couldn’t have done it without you!

Interested in our local environmental history? Get involved with our historic EcoNews Archive project! Contact us at 822-6918 or write nec@yournec.org! EcoNews

Dec 2012/Jan 2013

www.yournec.org

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unwrap the sun

Calm before storm moonbow moment eclipse is anxious The rain too ... Is in a hurry to arrive

Poem by Jerry Martien Photo: Mihael Kavanaugh

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Winter green of huckleberry. Winter black alder cone. Bare wet branch. Splashing rivulet. The light before the rain. Light when the rain has stopped. The sun magnified by distance. Always in our eyes. Floating on the hazy air. The never quite drying air. Making us light fires. Light little suns indoors so we don’t forget. Sing so we don’t forget. Winter song shining out of mouths. Winter light in eyes of children. They see the sun is a child. Cradled in green. Wrapped in rain. Lullaby of overflow. Or bundled in snow. Little fingers of frost. Counting all we’ve lost. Looked for in every spark. Every drop. Fire and water spending the winter together. Giving one another gifts. Wrapped in green. Cradled in light. Every time you open your mouth to sing. Out comes the sun.

This season, give the gift of healthier communities, a cleaner environment, and protected ecosystems.

Holiday T-shirt Sale! Great gift idea!

Give the gift of EcoNews! A gift membership to the Northcoast Environmental Center gets a year of EcoNews home-delivered, and the comfort of knowing we’re working towards a better world—for you!

Or, give the NEC a special gift donation for the holidays!

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Controversial Plover/Raven Study Withdrawn was being used successfully elsewhere— including a poison used on corvids in A proposal to study the effectiveness Oregon and in other areas of California. of lethal predator control involving the Starlicide (DRC-1339) is a short-lived poisoning of ravens at Clam Beach has poison with an acute toxicity in black been withdrawn after the plan was met with birds—starlings, blackbirds and corvids in overwhelming public opposition. particular. Due to variations in physiology, The proposed study was the latest in a smaller dose is required to kill a crow than a series of projects over the last 12 years a starling, and an even smaller dose for a in a coordinated effort by Humboldt State raven—contrary to what one might think University ornithologist Dr. Mark Colwell, due to the size of the birds. The dose that Mad River Biologists, the CA Department of would have been present in this study— Fish and Game (DFG), county officials and intended only to kill ravens—reportedly others, attempting to increase the successful would have had no effect on other birds reproductive rate of snowy plovers at Clam Beach. of prey or scavengers, such as owls, hawks, Western snowy plovers are small, rare, foxes, or even dogs and cats. vultures, threatened shorebirds that nest on the open “It’s distasteful to have to do this,” sand of the western U.S. coastline. The Pacific stated Colwell, referring to the apparent Coast population of the western snowy plover need to kill ravens for the protection of is federally listed under the Endangered plovers. Th ey are charismatic, sentient Species Act, and is a Bird Species of Special Recently hatched western snowy plover chicks and egg. Snowy plovers typically lay creatures that people can relate to. But, he Concern in California. Wildlife officials 1-3 eggs. Photo: USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, flickr.com CC. says, “it’s not responsible to do nothing.” are therefore legally obligated to try to of the most intelligent of all Both Colwell and Watkins stressed Ravens are one recover the species. bird species, with an impressive vocal library and that the study proposal was just that—a Clam Beach is the preferred nesting site of an uncanny ability to learn and pass information study—to collect data in an effort to learn two-thirds of the snowy plovers on the North the eff ectiveness of this method of predator control from one to another, their intelligence is one of Coast, but birds nesting there have the lowest rate in achieving higher plover population numbers. the keys to their success as a species—and has of successfully rearing young to fledging. Over the The study was limited to two years, in a series of undoubtedly contributed to the current predicament. years, various measures have been put in place to ten day trials during the summer plover breeding “People are responsible for this problem,” try to protect plover nests on the beach—including season. It was never intended to be a permanent states Colwell. Opportunists to the core, raven banning vehicles, roping off nest areas, and placing management plan. populations have exploded alongside human exclosures around the nests to protect them from Even so, at an informational public meeting expansion, because people inadvertently supply a predation—but these methods have not resulted in at Azalea Hall in McKinleyville in November, the steady foodsource for the birds—garbage. Some successful recovery of the population. opinions expressed were.. Continued on page 7 people even feed them intentionally. The limiting factor at this point, states Jim As a result, populations of ravens along the Watkins, a wildlife biologist with DFG, is predation. coast have increased dramatically since the late Dr. Colwell agrees, adding that seventy percent of 1990’s—particularly in areas like Clam Beach, predation is due to ravens. Colwell and his students with high visitation, camping and the have observed, both in-person and by remote video inevitable associated garbage. Garbage management monitoring, ravens plundering plover nests and at the beach has improved, but not enough to make preying on recently hatched chicks. a significant difference. The nest exclosure experiments were abandoned in Since all other efforts have failed to achieve 2006, in part because while effective in preventing adequate success, including various predator aversion the theft of eggs, the exclosures (wire cages tactics, county park management requested a lethal placed around the nest) did nothing to protect corvid control proposal from DFG (to be proposed the precocial chicks after hatching. Once leaving to the Board of Supervisors for consideration), in the exclosure, the tiny birds were easy pickings a last-ditch effort to increase not only hatching for curious, intelligent birds like ravens, who in all success, but also survivorship of hatchlings. likelihood had learned to associate the presence of Ravens feeding on a dead gull on the beach. Photo: Anna L Conti, flickr.com CC. In developing the study, DFG looked at what exclosures with food. Morgan Corviday

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Dangers of Atrazine Keeping GMOs in the Conversation after Prop 37 in our Environment

George Clark Three hundred students, professors, officials, and community members packed the recent Biodiversity Conference in Arcata, where Dr. Tyrone Hayes, a Harvard educated scientist, summarized his many years of research on a single weed killer—Atrazine—that has staggering effects on our environment. Hayes states that at 1-part-per-billion (ppb), Atrazine not only reduces fertility and changes the sex of frogs, but the hormonal impacts continue for generations in offspring that were never directly exposed to Atrazine in the environment. The EPA, however, deems Atrazine “safe” for humans at 3 ppb. Atrazine is used on some of our local forest lands, including watersheds that feed our drinking water supplies. Atrazine triggers aromatase, an enzyme present in all animal species that both stimulates the production of estrogen, and is capable of turning testosterone into estrogen. Excessive quantities of estrogen can cause breast and prostate cancer in humans, among other things, yet eighty million pounds of Atrazine are sprayed annually in the U.S., along with a toxic soup of other petroleum-based herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, wood preservatives, and phthalates (in plastics) that are also suspected to stimulate the production of estrogen. Many pharmaceutical drugs now persist in fresh water sources as well; chiefly, estrogen from birth control pills. Herpetologists have been reporting rapid declines of nearly every species of amphibians and reptiles for years. We are also experiencing a global decline of many bird, fish, and mammal species—what scientists are calling the 6th largest extinction event in all of earth’s history—along with continually rising human cancer rates. The most logical and effective preventative solution is to immediately reduce, eliminate and replace industrial products with known links to cancer and species decline. The European Union has adopted “Precautionary Principles” requiring all companies to prove that their products are safe prior to distribution. Yet, in the U.S., “Cost Benefit Analysis” allows businesses to socialize (via government subsidies).. Continued on page 8

Kay Schaser While the defeat of Prop. 37 is deeply disappointing, the effort to label GMOs is NOT over—in fact, momentum is actually building. Currently, Washington State is in the midst of signature gathering, and 21 other states are in various stages of planning for initiatives or legislation. Any movement challenging an established paradigm requires persistent, protracted efforts before succeeding. In other words, be prepared for a long slog. The labeling of GMOs is just one aspect of a growing, multi-faceted food movement. Underlying the efforts of all involved is a common desire to wrest control of our food supply from the hands of the chemical and junk food companies— the same ones that willingly dumped over $40M into a campaign of misinformation and deceit to prevent one simple line on a label here in California. It only fairly recently came to light that the classification of genetically engineered foods as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) in 1992 involved a massive fraud. According to Steven Druker, an author and attorney who uncovered the information through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, “…the FDA fraud is the pivotal fraud that has allowed the commercialization of GE food. If the FDA had told the truth and acknowledged their own scientists and their own law, which required that every GE food be proven safe, these foods wouldn’t be on the market today.” In 2007, candidate Obama promised, “We’ll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they’re buying.” Even with the defeat of Prop 37, it’s time to show our leaders that the food movement is not backing down from that promise. Continue voting with your forks. Support— with your shopping dollars—the national organizations that immediately stepped up to the plate and backed labeling in California. Locally, McKinleyville Central Market, North Coast Co-op, Eureka Natural Foods, and Chautauqua are some of the stores that supported labeling GMOs. Buy a copy of Genetic Roulette and become a one-person lending library, invite friends over for a screening and discussion, or give copies out for Christmas with the caveat that the recipient “pay it forward,” or all of the above. Just don’t sit back and think someone else will do the work.

Organic bounty at the Arcata Farmers Market. Photo: Humboldthead Tony.

California Right to Know is morphing back into www.labelgmos.org and the Humboldt County group intends to remain active. We’d love to have you join us!

Do something. Keep the conversation alive.

In addition to ongoing and upcoming state actions, the labeling effort is being taken to the national stage by the organization Just Label It. Visit their website at www.justlabelit.org and take the following steps: • Sign the FDA petition calling for mandatory federal GE food labeling. • Tell your friends and family about the petition, and share it on social media. • Contact your elected officials in Washington, D.C., urging their support for GE food labeling. Kay Schaser is CA Right To Know’s NoHum co-leader.

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EcoNews


Putting Your Garden to Bed Dan Equinoss This time of year our intentions typically turn indoors and away from the garden. However, what we do with our garden now will directly result in its health and yield come spring. Not to mention there’s plenty to be grown and harvested in our moderate coastal climate during the winter.

Out with the old…

will protect the soil from frost. Unused beds and edible perennials (blueberries, currants, etc.) and fruit trees can be amended with compost as well. However, these are perfect locations to plant a green manure (aka legume cover crop)—roadcast, lightly rake in the seeds and cover with straw. Legumes fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it available to non-legumous plants. In the spring, just as the cover crop shows signs of flowering, cut them at their base and lay down as mulch. November and December are also ideal times to prune fruit trees and plant natives.

By now most summer and fall crops are spent and the rains have taken care of any plants that went to seed (be sure to plan for that next year and collect the seed). I prefer the no dig method to gardening. Soil communities Even though are integral to plant crops can be communities and grown in the digging disturbs winter, the regular maintenance them. Cut annuals is much less, at the stem where especially with it meets the ground the application and use it to mulch of mulch. This the soil right where leaves ample it was growing. If the time for planning plant was diseased or Winter garden in Trinidad, CA. Photo: Reba Melfa. garden expansion, infested it is important system integration and learning. Drawing a good to send it to the compost pile to not perpetuate the base map of the site is key to any design plan. A cycle. Mulching at the site will help with weed base map includes all the elements of the site suppression and return nutrients and minerals to including seasonal sun, shade and wind sectors, the soil. The tools that help us plant and harvest structures, slope, water sources and major our garden also require attention. Cleaning blades permanent plantings. Making copies of your base and edges with a wire brush and sharpening cutting map or using transparency sheets will allow you to tools with a file will increase the life and efficiency design concept maps, plan and create a timeline for of the tool. Coating edges and blades with olive oil implementation. with protect them from rust.

Plan for the best…

In with the new…

Last year’s compost should be ready for use by now and teaming with life. Spread it throughout all your beds and lightly cover with straw. The nutrients will slowly release with the rains and the mulch

Check out more from EcoNews’ ongoing Permaculture Series here: www.yournec.org/content/permaculture Dan Equinoss is the owner of High Tide Permaculture.

SCRAP Humboldt Makes Sustainable Gift-Giving Easy Do you love the holiday season, yet detest the waste generated during these few weeks each year? Consider creative reuse and non-traditional wrapping to reduce the amount of waste produced during the holidays! SCRAP Humboldt, a local nonprofit dedicated to creative reuse and environmentally sustainable living, is here to help. With extended holiday hours, (ThursdaySunday December 1-16th) SCRAP Humboldt’s Jacoby’s Storehouse shop has everything you need to wrap, decorate, and create your own personalized gifts. The shop also features a RE:Boutique which features one-of-a-kind, handmade, 100% local artist’s wares made from at least 75% reused materials. Wrap your gifts in reusable bags made from old bed-sheets, or gift boxes made from past calendars.

Make this season easy on your pocket book and on the planet!

After the holidays, SCRAP Humboldt will be collecting specific items from your holiday waste stream to be reused in future educational workshops. SCRAP Humboldt will hold a collection day at their Jacoby’s Storehouse location on January 5 from 10-4p.m., to gather specific materials such as: calendars, gift bags, gift boxes, ribbon and bows, cardboard wrapping paper rolls, metallic wrapping paper, large folded flat sheets of wrapping paper, working Christmas lights, cookie and popcorn tins, garland, tinsel, and tissue paper. But please note: Christmas trees are not accepted at this site—please bring your tree to any facility accepting green waste or yard debris. For more information about acceptable post-holiday donations, please visit our website:

www.scraphumboldt.org

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High Gas Prices May Drive Behavior Changes Anna R. Schwarzbach

A recent graduate research project at Humboldt State University indicates that when faced with high gas prices, Humboldt residents show an inclination to reduce fuel consumption. Humboldt has higher gasoline prices than most other areas in California, for many reasons, but many residents are reliant upon their vehicles as a primary mode of transportation due to the primarily rural nature of the county. Approximately seventy percent of respondents feel they are currently paying too much for gasoline in Humboldt County. In October and November of 2011, when gasoline prices varied between $3.50 and $4.10 a gallon, individuals around Humboldt County were surveyed regarding their potential behavior changes towards more sustainable transportation choices. Seventy-five percent of respondents reported that gasoline prices had affected their behavior and had begun to shift towards a change that reduced their commuting habits on some level. Reported behavior changes included (from most popular to least popular): • driving less, using alternate modes of transportation when feasible (including carpooling, bicycling, public transit and walking) • increasing the amount of consciously planned driving trips (in which all errands are done in one trip, and/or trips are more carefully planned) • staying at home/reducing social outings • switching to or planning to purchase a more fuel efficient vehicle • readjusting personal disposable budget in some manner (e.g. buying less food, not going out with friends as often) • planning ahead and filling up gas tanks in neighboring counties where gasoline is cheaper • seeking out the cheapest gasoline in the area, purchasing specifically from membership stations like Costco or Renner Given the potential for increases in gasoline prices in the future, results showing that individuals would be willing to shift their commuting behavior to a more sustainable option—one that uses a significantly less amount of gasoline —are encouraging.

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The number of individuals reporting a willingness to continue to purchase gasoline dropped significantly after $4.50 a gallon, and again around $5.50 and $6.00 a gallon. However, a spike in the number of those still willing to purchase gasoline at eight dollars a gallon indicates there are populations in Humboldt County who may have the disposable income to continue to purchase gasoline at higher prices than others. As the price of gasoline nears $6.00 a gallon, however, the results revealed an overall marked decrease in willingness to purchase gasoline, and suggested that individuals will plan to use other modes of transportation. The alternate modes of transportation chosen among Humboldt County residents varied, depending on individuals’ personal preferences and available resources. Residents indicated that they would be more likely to use alternate modes of transportation if Humboldt County were to increase and/or improve transportation services (e.g. public transit, bike lanes, walking pathways). Over 30% of respondents claimed they would use public transit and bicycle lanes more often as a primary mode of commuting if conditions were improved. The most desirable improvements were increased bus times, added bus stops in and around town, late night and weekend bus routes, more secure bicycle lanes or shared bicycle lanes, and support for a rails-totrails program. The average distance traveled for local needs among Humboldt County residents is between 0-10 miles, but a substantial percentage of residents travel over 20 miles to do errands (20.41%) and go to work (14.53%). It is clear that residents have an interest in using more alternative and public modes of transportation, were conditions and availability to be improved. In order to help residents adapt to increases in gasoline prices and reduce dependence on individual automobiles, Humboldt County needs to consider an overhaul of transportation options to give residents more sustainable choices. Anna R. Schwarzbach is a recent graduate of HSU’s Environment & Community Master’s Program.

Plover/Raven

Continued from page 4

A raven flies away with a stolen egg. Photo: SearchNetMedia, flickr.com CC.

..overwhelmingly opposed to the plan. Some were concerned about the suffering of the ravens (time from ingestion to death is about a day), others about the poison spreading into the environment (the poison degrades in less than two weeks in the presence of moisture and ultra-violet light—both abundant at the beach). Some didn’t oppose killing ravens, but suggested that shooting them would be easier and more effective (although the noise would disturb the plovers as well, and potentially endanger people). Others suggested trapping and banding the raven population in order to identify problem individuals (trapping ravens, however, is a monumentally difficult task, due to their wariness and intelligence). Wildlife and management professionals tend to view a given situation from a population management perspective, as opposed to focusing on concerns for individual animals—as the public tends to do. In this case, it is a matter of a highly threatened prey species with a very small population, verses an abundant intelligent predator. The odds are stacked, and the situation will likely require extraordinary measures for any chance of sucess. Regardless, within days following the meeting, the DFG announced the withdrawl of the study proposal. The DFG staff took diligent notes on the audience’s suggestions, and will, along with input from additional public meetings, attempt to formulate an alternative study to avoid poisoning the ravens. Ultimately, states Watkins, “the public needs to get on board” with regard to raven management. Education regarding the proper management of garbage, compost, pet food, dead livestock, open grains, and other food sources are absolutely necessary in order to minimize the attractiveness of the area to ravens, and thereby, hopefully, help the plovers on the beach survive. Morgan Corviday is a lover of ravens, a former HSU wildlife student, and current EcoNews editor.

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Atrazine

Continued from page 5 ..the costs of production that contaminate the environment, and then benefit from treating the victims—incentivizing the use of toxic, outdated technologies. The company that manufactures Atrazine, for example, has links to the Novartis Corporation—which manufactures drugs to treat the cancers Atrazine causes. The chemical industry spends millions to discredit research, but many countries around the world have already banned Atrazine. A lack of information, accountability and media coverage in the U.S. results in a relative lack of public concern about carcinogens in our communities. Our local annual testing reports, for example, omit inclusion of Atrazine and other contaminants if undetected at the time of testing—which keeps us in the dark about potential future impacts on wildlife and humans. A bill that would have banned the import and use of Atrazine was introduced back in March 2012 (HR 1483), but saw no action. If you are concerned about the effects of chemicals like Atrazine in our environment, talk to your friends and family, and write to your representatives! It’s up to us to get the U.S. back on track with the other industrialized nations making progress toward green, sustainable environments and economies. Dr. Hayes puts it bluntly, “Human life is dependent upon the health of other species that have no access to water filters or invitrofertilisation”. The problem is much larger than the water in our own taps. George Clark is a concerned community member and longtime member of the NEC.

EcoNews

Dec 2012/Jan 2013

New Changes to Annual Christmas Bird Count

T h i s De cemb er, birders and bird lovers across the region and acround the globe will look through their windows, binoculars, and spotting scopes to observe and document species for the 113th annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The longestDusky-capped Flycatcher in Arcata. running citizen Photo: © Rob Fowler. science wildlife survey in the world, the CBC will this year feature new changes to encourage more participation and build on the successes of the count year round. Participation fees will be dropped, and information for the count will be available in Spanish for the first time. The annual published report, American Birds, will go digital in 2013—to save more trees for the birds. In addition, conservation-focused observation efforts will be extended throughout all seasons in the coming year. Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold states, the CBC “harnesses volunteer power to gather knowledge that shapes conservation policy at enormous scales.” The Count is open to everyone—from experts to beginners. Those with limited knowledge will be paired with moreexperienced counters.

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Redwood Region Audubon Society is sponsoring 5 CBCs in our region between December 15 and January 2.

There are several ways to participate: * Give counters access to your property. * Keep a list of birds seen in your yard or at your feeder that day. * Join a team to cover territory in an area near you. * Or, travel to help areas that are understaffed. To determine if your property is within a local count circle, visit www.rras.org/cbc/cbc_ full_extent.htm, or call a number below for more information on count dates, locations, and team coordination. Arcata/Eureka—Daryl Coldren (916-384-8089; QuiAvisPetit@aol.com). Del Norte—Alan Barron (707-465-8904; flockfinder@yahoo.com) or Gary Lester (707839-3373; garys.lester@gmail.com). Willow Creek—Gary Lester (707-839-3373; garys.lester@gmail.com) Centerville– Gary Lester (707-839-3373; garys. lester@gmail.com) Tall Trees/Orick–Ken Burton (707-499-1146; shrikethree@gmail.com). To help counters prepare for identifying birds, RRAS is sponsoring a brush-up session on Friday, Dec. 14 featuring biologist/photographer Ron LeValley showing slides of winter birds. The evening will begin with a potluck dinner at 6 p.m., followed by the lecture at 7:30 p.m. Location is the Humboldt County Office of Education near Myrtle and West Avenues, Eureka.

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Kin to the Earth: Diane Fairchild Beck Referred to as the “Mother of Redwood National Park” by a Redwood National Park superintendent in the 1998, Trinidad resident Lucille Vinyard will celebrate her ninety-fourth birthday on December 17. Her life has been full and varied, with a lasting legacy of conservation on the North Coast. Lucille created the North Group of the Redwood Chapter Sierra Club with a few friends in 1964. Their overriding concern was to create a national park of what remained of the last intact ancient redwood temperate rainforest on the North Coast. Lucille was an endless advocate for the park at fractious local meetings and testified before legislators in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. She and her Sierra Club allies also trespassed, out of necessity, on commercial timberlands in order to get photographs—both of the magnificent old growth and the devastating clearcutting under way. Along with other allies, “That awful woman from Trinidad” fought against a great many very hostile adversaries to achieve the creation of Redwood National Park in 1968, and the expansion of the park in 1978. Her passion for environmental activism having been permanently ignited, Lucille began working in 1971 for passage of the California Coastal Zone Protection Act (the Coastal Act), and then spent nine years monitoring coastal development permits for Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties. Also in 1971, Lucille became a founding member of the Northcoast Environmental Center, and coordinated the NEC’s annual Coastal Cleanup Day for Humboldt and Del Norte Counties from 1985-90. She was actively involved with planning for the Bureau of Land Management’s King Range National Conservation Area, and also worked to get the Smith River added to California’s list of Wild and Scenic rivers. She went on numerous exploratory hikes and backpacks into the Trinity Alps primitive area, the Marble Mountains wilderness area, and the wild areas of the high Siskiyous when planning and lobbying for passage of the

Lucille Vinyard

The Mother of Redwood National Park

Back in 2001

the North Coast Journal featured a cover story about Lucille’s life and legacy, by George Ringwald. For more about Lucille’s experiences, perspectives, and personality, read his intimate and conversational article online at www.northcoastjournal.com/ 061401/cover0614.html

Lucille Vinyard at the NEC’s 30th Anniversary party, July 2001. Photo: Michael Diggles.

From the NEC: On behalf of the Board and staff over the years, we offer our sincere gratitude for your dedication to protecting wild places and inspiring generations of activists.

California Wilderness Act in 1984. Lucille was a charter member of the Redwood Natural History Association and served on its board of directors. She actively opposed construction of the final segment of the Gasquet-Orleans haul road (“G-O Road”) in Six Rivers National Forest and a proposed massive realignment of Highway 101 in Del Norte State Park that would have destroyed over 200 oldgrowth redwoods. In 1999, Lucille received a Special Service Award from the National Sierra Club in San Francisco. And in 2003 she received the Woman of the Year Award in Sacramento from Assemblymember Patty Berg for her steadfast efforts on behalf of the environment over the previous 40 years. The North Group founded the Lucille Vinyard and Susie Van Kirk Environmental Education Fund—which sends several kids to environmental camp each summer—in honor of those extraordinary environmentalists. The North Group and Redwood Chapter are particularly indebted to Lucille for the time and energy she has expended as variously chair, secretary, officer of both over the years—and for her goodwill, optimism, and everlasting spirit as a true Kin to the Earth.

Happy Birthday, Lucille!

And, Thank You!

Diane Fairchild Beck is a longtime Sierra Club member and former representative on the NEC Board of Directors.

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California’s New Congressional Delegation

First, a reflection on the results in the Congressional races in California. California recently used a bipartisan committee to redraw the state’s congressional districts. This was a unique effort by California that resulted in some interesting elections, not the least of which was our own new U.S. House Representative, Jared Huffman. Mr. Huffman, who has a solid pro-conservation record, will be going to Washington with over 70% of voters agreeing with his point of view. At the same time, our former representative, Mike Thompson, was re-elected in his new district with a 74% voter approval. Those numbers give them a solid mandate for their collaborative conservation work. We look forward to positive results in the coming years. In addition, Rep. Sam Farr from the Monterrey area, who is championing reauthorization of the marine debris program, won by 72% and Rep. Nancy Pelosi garnered an impressive 84% of voters in her district. All these representatives can conduct their work with a sense they are supported by the citizens they represent.

A Greener Congress

Although the majority in the Senate and House did not change, the membership changed in some significant ways. With the election of new Democrat Senators—including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and the Independent, Angus King, new Senator from Maine—joining the Democratic caucus, the Senate will reflect a stronger face of progressive conservation. At the same time, some U.S. House Representatives who have not been particularly helpful, such as climate change denier Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, Florida Rep. Alan West, and California Rep. Dan Lundgren, (who was targeted by the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) as one of their “Flat Earth Five”), are not returning to continue their

Eye on

Washington war on science. In fact, the LCV helped to defeat 11 of the 12 “dirtiest dozen” while enjoying wide success in candidates the LCV endorsed. Climate change denier extraordinaire, Oklahoma’s James Inhofe, will no longer be the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works—although his replacement, Senator Vitter from Louisiana is expected to be only marginally less harsh. As the new Congress gets to work we will watch and report on the new make-up of Senate and House committees that determine much of our ability to conserve and preserve our nation’s natural resources. We hope Arizona Rep. Grijalva, who was successful in his re-election bid, will continue to serve as the very effective minority ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee.

Change in the Air?

There has been a sense by conservation organizations that conservation is not on the radar of the President—nor Congress as a whole. While the President’s staff has certainly pressed for adequate budgets to perform their work including the Endangered Species Act, National Parks, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the President returns with a broader support for many important conservation issues. The President and important members of Congress understand they owe some of their successes to environmentalists. They will have many opportunities to show that support right off the bat. We will be following bills on wilderness, new public lands, and increased enforcement of environmental laws.

Supreme Court Appointments

Three members of the Supreme Court are over 70. Cancer survivor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, 79, is a liberal voice and it is assumed that if she decided to retire, a person of similar progressive position would be selected as her replacement. If Justice Anthony Kennedy, 76, a Reagan appointee who is known as a swing vote decided to retire in the next 4 years, President Obama would have an opportunity to appoint a more progressive member. And if Justice Antonin Scalia, perhaps the most socially conservative justice decided to retire (he is 76), the President would have an opportunity to appoint a justice with a significantly different point of view. Additionally, the President will continue to appoint federal district judges nationwide who determine environmental cases at local and state levels that may set precedence over programs and laws nationwide if Congress does not act.

Economic Reality

The United States’ economic problems will, to an extent, limit some new conservation efforts—as well funding for current programs. There are many issues, however, the President and his Cabinet could pursue that are not directly tied to the budget concerns, and some that have potential to deliver an economic benefit. For now, however, the refrain of “environment vs. jobs” takes a slightly different ring as we look over a theoretical fiscal cliff. All in all, there are more strong voices for the environment this coming year, and we look forward to many opportunities to champion and support their good work. Dan Sealy is the NEC’s Legislative Analyst—our eyes (and ears) in Washington, D.C.

greenwheels www.green-wheels.org Humboldt’s Advocate for Transportation Choices

Stay safe and dry during the winter months, and keep up with us online! Our full page will return in the Feb/March 2013 issue of EcoNews!

EcoNews

Dec 2012/Jan 2013

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the Northcoast Environmental Center

2012 Year in Review

For over forty years, the NEC has been at the forefront of environmental activism here in the Klamath/Siskyou bioregion. Beginning in April of 1971 with a meeting of scrappy young idealists sitting on the floor of what is now Adventure’s Edge, the NEC has endeavored to bring the various environmental groups together to strategize and take action. Over the past four decades, in collaboration with agencies, individuals and other organizations, the NEC has made substantial contributions to protecting our environment while working for a more informed and engaged public. Some of our capstone accomplishments include the expansion of Redwood National Park, protection of public lands and Wilderness areas, and a 30+ year Coastal Cleanup Program. The NEC continues to be a much-valued presence on the North Coast. We are have settled into our home at the Greenway Building and celebrate daily the proximity to some great neighbors. We are also just now realizing our vision of our own recording studio to give more flexibility to bring even more information to our listeners of the Econews Report, which airs every Thursday at 1:30 on KHSU.

In the past year the NEC has been convening around difficult community issues. From the County’s General Plan Update, ShellWind and Humboldt’s Energy Future, and the complex issues relating to marijuana and the health of our environment, the NEC continues to play a significant role in convening and working with diverse members of the community. By continuing to engage in these discussions with a wide range of participants, we are making true progress towards a healthy and sustainable future here on the North Coast. This year we celebrated our 28th anniversary with the Coastal Commission for the annual Coastal Cleanup Day. Around 850 volunteers removed over 13,000 pounds of trash (and 400 pounds of recycling) from North Coast beaches and waterways! Building on this amazing energy, throughout the next year the NEC will be working with students, agencies, and other groups to monitor and clean up debris from the catastrophic tsunami in Japan as it washes up on our shoreline.


We’ve had great fun getting out and about with our comrades at Green Wheels for the Historic Arcata Bottom Bike Tour and with the Humboldt Trails Council for their fundraiser bike ride on the new Hiksari Trail in Eureka. Thanks to all who have come out to NEC events—including our benefits with Jim Page and this October’s All Species Ball, NEC’s Earth Day Mixer, and of course the glorious All Species Parade at the North Country Fair. And thanks most of all to the generous supporters and volunteers who continue to sustain the NEC’s work—it is your help and conviction that has kept us going these last few years!

What issues are important to you? What stories you like to see covered in EcoNews? Send us your thoughts! Write nec@yournec.org, give us a call at 822-6918, or find us on Facebook!

What’s next?

2013

Looking Back, Looking Forward

EcoNews has settled into its bi-monthly, journallike format and will continue to be distributed in print as well as online. A huge thanks to Morgan Corviday for serving as EcoNews editor, layout manager, and cat-herder. Of course we could not provide such a great newsletter without the many amazing contributing writers, organizations, and the generous support of our members and advertisers. We will continue to provide you with the best coverage we can while expanding content for online audiences as well. We’ve also had a great year celebrating and supporting other great organizations in our neck of the woods. We played in the sand with Friends of the Dunes at the Sand Sculpture Festival, took part in beautifying our communities with Northcoast Children’s Services at Pastels on the Plaza, and attended some great mixers, strategic planning sessions and conferences with many other partners throughout the region.


First Flush Finds Fecal Coliform CFU/100 mL

First Flush arrived in Jolly Giant Creek E. coli Concentra;ons, Oct. 2012 the Humboldt Bay area on 18000 October 16. Since 2005, 16000 Humboldt Baykeeper’s Citizen Water Monitoring 14000 Program has sampled 12000 streams from Elk River to 10000 Little River. This year, we Dry Weather 10/10/12 8000 focused on Jolly Giant Creek First Flush 10/16/12 in Arcata to try to pinpoint 6000 sources of fecal coliform. 4000 First Flush monitoring 2000 involves collecting water 0 samples during the first A32 A25 A34 A33 A2 major rainstorm of the year— Sample S ite when accumulated pollutants are flushed off streets, down We sampled E. coli levels at 5 sites representing storm drains, and into streams, Humboldt Bay, and a range of land uses, including forested areas, a coastal waters—and compare the results to samples restored section of creek, former industrial areas, collected during dry weather. and residential areas. These samples were analyzed Over the years, we’ve analyzed turbidity, for E. coli levels by North Coast Laboratories in nitrates, phosphates, heavy metals such as lead Arcata, and will also be analyzed at Humboldt State and copper, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, oil University using molecular techniques to identify and grease, pesticides, and other indicators of source animals based on gene sequencing. During water quality. Our results have consistently found First Flush, we found the highest concentrations high levels of the fecal coliform E. coli, a bacteria of E. coli in the downstream sites (see graph). that is widely regarded as an indicator of other Jolly Giant Creek has shown consistently high fecal bacteria and viruses from warm-blooded fecal coliform levels in our past monitoring events, animals, including humans, livestock, pets, and and is thought to be a major contributor to fecal wildlife. These microbes can pose a variety of coliform levels in Humboldt Bay. Through these health concerns, especially for children, who are efforts we hope to identify sources and eventually more likely to ingest water. develop solutions that could reduce or eliminate Our monitoring efforts have found E. coli this form of water pollution. concentrations that often exceed safe levels for Thanks to Todd Kraemer of Pacific Watershed human physical contact, such as by swimming, Associates; Kerry McNamee, Anthony Baker, and fishing, surfing, and wading, especially during the Racquel Selcer of Humboldt State University; rainy season. The regulatory maximum for streams funding from the Cereus Fund and Humboldt where people are likely to contact the water is Area Foundation; and all of our past and present 400 CFUs/100 mL. High fecal coliform levels Citizen Water Monitors—too many to list here! have resulted in posted closures of several local * For a map of testing sites, visit this article online at beaches by Humboldt County’s Ocean Monitoring www.yournec.org/baykeeper/firstflush. Program. High levels of E. coli can also impact the local economy by suspending commercial oyster harvesting for several days after rainstorms, when Join us for these contaminants wash into Humboldt Bay from Jolly Giant Creek and other tributaries. First Flush brought approximately 1.23” of rain on October 16 in Arcata. On October 10, we every Wednesday at noon collected dry weather samples in partnership with on KHUM, 104.3 and 104.7 Humboldt State University students.

Coastal Currents

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www.yournec.org

Baykeeper Welcomes New Director, Jessica Hall Greetings! As the new Executive Director of Humboldt Baykeeper, I am excited to be joining the Humboldt environmental community. Many may wonder what a landscape architect (me) has to contribute to Bay-related efforts and initiatives. With training emphasizing ecosystem functions and regenerative design, my career literally and figuratively followed the buried or otherwise forgotten streams of Los Angeles. As a nonprofit designer, agency watershed coordinator, and private landscape architect consultant, I’ve advocated and designed conceptual daylighting and restoration projects, fought for stream protection, and worked to raise awareness of watershed issues and enhancement opportunities. The common thread is a commitment to elevating and promoting the health and restoration of urban streams while maintaining perspective of the larger issues shaping, and at times competing, with watershed enhancement efforts. I bring this perspective and experience to Humboldt Bay. There’s no rubber-stamp template to apply here, rather a way of seeing and interpreting the landscape. I’d like to share with you that the first thing I saw, besides the obvious beauty of this landscape, was the difference in elevation between the water surface of Humboldt Bay to the west of 101, and the ag lands to the east of it. I recognized the potential flood hazard, and since, I have come to understand that my observation reflects the urgency for sea level rise planning and responsible development in the low lands. I’ve also been struck by the legacy of toxics from decades of lumber milling and other activities. With this in mind, I’m committing to maintaining and hopefully expanding Humboldt Baykeeper’s programs focused on legacy toxics, citizen science and water quality monitoring, advocacy, sea level rise, and watchdogging of activities that could pose threats to the Bay’s habitat and water quality. Humboldt Baykeeper is celebrating its 8th year this month, and as followers of Econews know, our contributions have helped to improve the quality of life and habitat in the Bay. Come celebrate with us on November 30th, 6-9 p.m. at the Beachcomber Cafe in Bayside. I’d love to meet you and listen to your experiences of Humboldt Bay and hopes for its future.

Dec 2012/Jan 2013

EcoNews


Changing the Climate of Marijuana Cultivation Scott Greacen

appalling, share of our collective carbon footprint. There’s a lot to be said about how to best confront the challenge of climate change driven by human carbon emissions, but it’s impossible to justify the energy-intensive production of a plant that

environmental harms is the diversion of streams and springs to irrigate marijuana. Though the weed is not a particularly water-intensive crop, it Federal law enforcement priorities and funding does most of its growing during NW California’s have long driven the evolution of Northwestern long dry season, when stream flows are already California’s marijuana economy. For decades, low, water temperatures high, and native fish federally-mandated prohibition campaigns already stressed under normal conditions. pushed outdoor cultivators into the shadows, Given that weed can be grown almost is for these reasons that water diversions created powerful incentives to grow indoors perfectly sustainably, there's absolutely It can easily push bad conditions to lethal, and under energy-intensive lights, and maintained no excuse for not doing so. sometimes even dry streams up entirely. a steady pressure on weed supplies that kept Individual diversions may seem prices high enough to ensure that growers grows perfectly well under the summer sun. This inconsequential, yet they can add up to big would always try for another crop. is even more true of so-called ‘diesel dope’ offproblems. On the South Fork of the Eel River at the Today, however, even as public attitudes— the-grid grows, where the electricity to run the Miranda gauge, data over the last 72 years shows a and with them state and local law enforcement lights is produced by diesel generators. Only under disturbing trend: even with a wet spring, flows in priorities—have shifted pretty dramatically, federal prohibition could the economics of indoor growing the South Fork have now diminished to well below policies remain stuck in a Drug War timewarp. ever appear to make sense. the historic average. There are many factors at play Outdated federal policies continue to drive growers’ here, including landscape-scale changes behavior, however unfortunately, and now (younger trees are much thirstier than old must be seen as a key cause of the often ones, and the ground itself does not store serious environmental harms caused by water as well as it did eighty years ago) but unregulated marijuana production. there’s no credible suggestion that water The Green Gold Rush really took diversions are not part of the problem. off in the North Coast hills after the While even the region’s environmental 1996 passage of Proposition 215—which community doesn’t agree on every point gave marijuana growers an affirmative concerning what should be done, we do defense against prosecution in state court. have broad consensus on some core points: Since then, steadily increasing levels Scale matters: the bigger the grow, the of marijuana production throughout more likely it will have impacts that aren’t the region have sparked rising concern effectively managed. Likewise, site matters: about environmental impacts associated the same installation can have big impacts with the industry. in one site, and nearly none in another. It’s very important to keep these There’s no justification for marijuana impacts in perspective. In all but the production in the region’s remote and most egregious instances, marijuana’s precious wildlands. Similarly, growing impacts pale against those generated by weed under lights is a crime against the the timber industry across the region, or for that matter those of the wine industry Indoor marijuana grow room with overhead lights. Photo: Coleen Whitfield, flickr.com CC. climate and future generations, whether it’s technically illegal or not. in the Russian and Napa River watersheds. Given that weed can be grown almost perfectly By the same token, though, there’s no real dispute Biologically persistent rat poisons spread around sustainably, there’s absolutely no excuse for not that marijuana-associated impacts can be serious very large scale outdoor marijuana plantations doing so. Consumers should be able to choose it— and significant for the region’s critically important have now been proven to be causing widespread and growers should be able to produce it—without biological resources. In fact, the impacts associated death of Pacific fishers in some of the region’s most being targeted just for doing something that with weed cultivation are often so concerning remote areas. Poisoning dramatically increases the California voters have said is okay. precisely because they compound the persistent already unacceptably high risk of extinction that Ignorance can and must be corrected through legacy impacts of logging and roadbuilding. the species faces. The slow-decaying poisons also education and social pressure, but greed and Three different kinds of serious potential threaten a wide range of forest life, including the shortsightedness needs something stronger. harms roughly frame the larger discussion of the rodents growers are trying to kill, raptors and every That’s why the legal system needs to focus on real environmental impact of marijuana cultivation in other species that preys on rodents, and even deer. harms—not to let growers off the hook, but to NW California: Other poisons are also regularly used in marijuana hold them accountable. Indoor production (growing under lights) has production, including copper-based fertilizers and been credibly estimated to consume an astonishing insecticides that can cause serious harm to fish proportion of the region’s electricity use—and when even very small amounts get into streams. Scott Greacen is Executive Director of Friends of the contribute a similarly large, and altogether A third arena of potentially serious Eel River.

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This Holiday, Give the Gift that Matters Donate to EPIC Today! Help our Grassroots Grow 145 G Street, Suite A, Arcata, CA 95521

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EPIC Work to Protect Environmental Democracy Supports Community Solutions Natalynne DeLapp

For thirty-five years EPIC has played a vital and necessary role in the protection of the natural environment of northwestern California. The organization’s mission is to protect and restore ancient forests, watersheds, coastal estuaries, and native species in Northern California. EPIC uses an integrated, science-based approach, combining public education, citizen advocacy, and strategic litigation. An essential part of this strategy is how EPIC champions and promotes access to environmental democracy. What is environmental democracy? Environmental democracy is about government being transparent, accountable, and involving people in decisions that affect their lives and their environment. In many parts of the world, citizens are still fighting for these basic freedoms that many in the United States take for granted. Indeed, it is likely that a large sector of the American public does not even think about access to environmental democracy. Government regulators are charged with upholding the public interest and ensuring that citizens have access to information and fairness. However, sometimes the very regulators that are responsible for watching industry and polluters simply fall down on the job. Whether it is through complacency or corruption, industry and polluters

Name_________________________________________ Email_________________________________________ Address_____________________________________ Phone (________)________________________

can get their way despite the overwhelming public interest in environmental protection. That is where citizen watchdogs and public interest organizations like EPIC play a critically needed role, ensuring that this nation’s laws are followed and not undermined. EPIC is committed to promoting broad public participation in decision-making. Back room deals and secrecy have never been compatible with an open society. By demanding that government agencies and private corporations operate out in the open, we are working towards ensuring that a cornerstone of our democracy is vibrant and functioning. EPIC has exposed numerous proposed actions where government officials have attempted to short circuit the public’s role in the decision making process. One example of this denial of public participation is the use of Categorical Exclusions or Exemptions from environmental analysis. Rather than receive public scrutiny over a proposal, the exemption process truly results in secretive and closeddoor judgment calls that are poorly researched and counter to the public interest (see sidebar). Even when an open public process is ongoing, it is absolutely critical that the best available science and most recent research are presented to the public for consideration. EPIC identifies and offers solutions to environmental problems by gathering and advancing the best available science to agencies, private parties and the general public.

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Little Cronan Timber Sale on the Klamath National Forest, a categorical exclusion. Photo: Kimberly Baker.

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing to log an old-growth forest stand using a “categorical exclusion” without an environmental analysis. The project would log nesting habitat for the northern spotted owl, build landings, and a road over a trail leading to the Marble Mountain Wilderness within a watershed that is critical for salmon recovery. EPIC was successful at halting this project for over a year, based on Forest Service violations of the Endangered Species Act; however the Forest Service is again circulating this timber sale that ignores the best available science, public comments, the law, and undermines the public’s trust in its actions. EPIC is prepared to challenge. Have your voice heard, go to WildCalifornia.org to take action to protect oldgrowth forest stands for the future generations.

One of the best ways to stay informed and help protect the forests, rivers, and coast of northwest California is to become a member of EPIC. If you’re already a member please consider a gift membership for a friend or loved one. Basic membership is $35 a year for an individual or $50 for a household. To send a check or credit card information by mail, please fill out this form and mail it to: EPIC P.O. Box 543 Redway, CA 95560

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The objectives and purpose of the Mattole Restoration Council are the protection and restoration of natural systems in the Mattole River Watershed and their maintenance at sustainable levels of health and productivity, especially in regards to forests, fisheries, soil, and other native plant and animal communities.

www.mattole.org

Some Medicinal Plants of the Mattole Angelica (Angelica hendersonii) seeds are good for acid indigestion, extended nausea, vomiting. The roots are a good antispasmodic and can be used for intestinal cramps and menstruation discomfort with a primary colon effect. California Mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana) tea is good for chronic gastritis and ulcers. It acts to decrease the degradation of cells in the stomach and esophagus that are causing the irritation. It is a diaphoretic and can be used to break fevers. The tea is also antifungal and antimicrobial so it can be used for first aid Gum Plant (Grindelia robusta) can help sooth bronchial conditions with thick mucus and difficult expectoration. A fresh plant tincture is also good for soothing poison oak rashes. Sneezeweed (Helenium bolanderi) makes an excellent external liniment for sore joints, sprains, bruises and sore muscles. A mild tea is good for internal bruises and dull aching. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is good for acute fevers, slow bleeding, chronic dull menstrual pain, and is an anti-inflammatory. The roots can also be chewed to help with toothache and gum problems. Yerba Buena (Micromeria chamissonis) tea can be used as a diaphoretic (promotes sweating) for a mild fever with dry skin. It can also be used in a wash for skin rashes.

We propagate and grow tens of thousands of plants each year to supply our restoration projects. Photo: Mattole Restoration Council.

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707-629-3514 mrc@mattole.org

‘Tis the Season to Plant Natives!

Fall and winter in Northern California bring bountiful rains. This is a reason to celebrate because it means that perennial native plants have a chance to establish a deep strong root system with little to no help from you! This will also reduce the amount of care and maintenance they need during the dry season. The ground softens with the rains making planting easy and fun. Winter storms often bring waves of rain broken by beautiful days. Those brilliant moments when the rain takes a break are an ideal time to escape the indoors and plant some natives. The Mattole Restoration Council operates a nursery in Petrolia where Volunteer days at the nursery are great reason to visit Petrolia. Photo: MRC. attract native pollinators and bird species. They we grow a variety of native grasses, shrubs, conifers, will not become invasive plants in the ecosystem and hardwood trees. The facility includes two and once established in the right conditions need propagation greenhouses which double as shade less care than exotic ornamental plants. There are structures, a small mist house for the propagation native plants to suit your needs or site whether you of cuttings and an additional open shade structure. are looking for plants for a shaded wetland area or Over the last several years the nursery has supplied a dry ridge top garden and everything in between. hundreds of thousands of plants to restoration Many plants are edible or have medicinal value. projects throughout the Mattole. We have several plants available for immediate Throughout our watershed we restore both purchase. We do not ship any native plant stock— perennial bunchgrass prairies and riparian areas. To you must be able to pick up the plants at the nursery. support these activities, we grow over 47 different Occasionally we can arrange for delivery to other species. We operate in a closed system where parts of Humboldt County. We can also accommodate our revegetation efforts are supplied with native larger orders if you are planning a restoration genetic seed stock suited to—and often collected at project or installing a large garden. Large orders or near—the planting site. Growing our own plants must be placed one year in advance. For information from seed collected in the Mattole is compatible on plant availability please see our website at with our restoration goals because it allows us to www.mattole.org/content/native-plants-sale, or use a diverse palette suited to each site, it allows us contact Monica by calling 707-629-3514 or by to foster genetic diversity within species and grow email at monica@mattole.org. rare and endemic species, all the while decreasing the carbon footprint of our projects. We would not be able to accomplish our restoration goals without Come learn more about the a native plant nursery. Mattole Restoration Council at our For years we have focused our efforts on Annual Membership Meeting! meeting the demands of our own projects. In Saturday, January 18 at Beginnings in Briceland. recent months we have realized that we are capable Highlights will include: of producing surplus plants. Bringing home and • A program report from staff detailing planting some of these surplus plants is a great accomplishments over the last year opportunity for you to discover that native plants • Board of Director’s candidates forum are beautiful, easy and fun! These plants are adapted • Dinner and dancing to our soils, moisture levels and day length. They are hardy, less susceptible to disease and pests, and www.yournec.org

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North

Events and Updates ~ North Group, Redwood Chapter

OUTINGS & MEETINGS The regular meeting of the North Group takes place on the second Tuesday of each month at Eureka’s Adorni Center beginning at 7 p.m. There are no outings scheduled for December or January.

How the Sierra Club is organized

Founded by John Muir and others in 1892, the Sierra Club is one of the oldest environmental organizations in the USA and in the world. It is also the only major American environmental organization which is organized democratically. Sierra Club members elect the national board of directors which hires staff, sets policy and oversees operations. While other national environmental organizations have what they call members, unlike the Sierra Club those members do not elect the boards of directors. The North Group is the local arm of the Sierra Club in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. We are one of six Sierra Club groups that comprise the Redwood Chapter. Our chapter encompasses counties on the west side of the Coast and Klamath Mountain Ranges from San Francisco Bay to the border with Oregon. Most states have only one chapter, but California has 13. For a full list of Sierra Club Chapters see www.sierraclub.org/chapters. Each chapter and each group has an elected executive committee responsible for organizing and overseeing programs, outings and activism. Group and chapter members get involved in Sierra Club’s national campaigns; they also work on local environmental issues, organize opportunities for environmental education and offer hikes and other outings.

You can get involved

There are many ways to get involved with the North Group; most activities are open to nonmembers as well as Sierra Club members. With low cost senior, low income and student memberships available, however, Sierra Club membership is easy to obtain and brings with it a subscription to Sierra Magazine (www.sierraclub.org/sierra). Members are encouraged to work on National Sierra Club’s priority campaigns. (www.sierraclub.org/goals). These include the Resilient Habitats Campaign which has the California Coast as one of ten North America focus areas. On the California Coast, Sierra Club activists are working to address the impacts of rising sea level (www.sierraclub.org/habitat). The North Group meets on the second Tuesday of each month at the Adorni Center in Eureka beginning at 6:45 p.m. Included is an Executive

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future generations. Thanks to the work of groups like our own EPIC, as well as a host of forestry activists, we’ve made some progress toward controlling water pollution from logging, but agricultural regulation has lagged. Compliance with the Clean Water Act by agricultural producers has been voluntary and voluntary compliance has not worked. Finally controlling agriculture pollution through an effective regulatory program is also an essential step toward recovery of Northcoast Salmon and Steelhead. That’s why Johnson Creek in the Scott River Valley of the Klamath River Basin: Feedlots along the Redwood Chapter and the North streams result in sediment, temperature, nutrient and bacterial pollution Group are attending meetings, commenting on draft regulations, and advocating for Committee meeting as well as discussion of effective implementation. conservation issues and member concerns. If you would like to get involved monitoring If you want to work on a national or local agricultural pollution, reporting discharges of environmental issue, get involved in environmental waste and advocating for effective regulation, send education, or lead hikes and outings, come to an e-mail to North Group Water Chair Felice Pace the monthly meeting and join the fun! We also have at unofelice@gmail.com. openings on the North Group’s Executive Committee.

Bringing Clean Water Act regulation to Northcoast agriculture

One local/regional issue on which the Redwood Chapter and North Group are currently focused, is development of a program to apply the federal Clean Water Act to discharges of pollution from agricultural operations. Both the Redwood Chapter and North Group water chairs are on the advisory committee the North Coast Water Quality Board has established to help it develop the regulatory program for agriculture. This is important work; the EPA tells us that pollution from agriculture is—along with urban run-off—the #1 factor degrading rivers and estuaries nation-wide. Because the Clean Water Act is 40 years old, one would have thought that agricultural pollution would have been regulated many years ago. However, for a long time it was federal policy to implement the Clean Water Act first for so-called “point sources,” that is, pollution that enters a stream or other water body via a “discrete conveyance”—in other words, a pipe or ditch. Non-point sources of pollution—including most pollution from forestry, urban run-off and logging—was deferred, probably for far too long. It has taken the dogged work of activists nation-wide to bring clean water regulation to agriculture and other non-point sources of pollution. Effective regulation of logging and agricultural pollution is key to restoring swimmable and fishable North Coast rivers and streams for current and www.yournec.org

Taking on billboards

The Sierra Club encourages its members to take action on behalf of the earth; those who stay in the Club long-enough usually catch the activist bug. Long-time North Group leader Lynn Ryan definitely has the activist bug. EcoNews readers may remember that Lynn lead local efforts to pass Mike Thompson’s North Coast wilderness bill. Recently she decided it was time to do something about a different kind of pollution – the billboards that line Route 101 between Arcata and Eureka. The collective billboard eyesore pollutes one of the North Coast’s emblematic views—the sweep of Humboldt Bay. Lynn is working with Harbor Commissioner Mike Wilson to track down ownership of the land on which the billboards rest. It appears that owners along that part of Route 101 are hard to find. Only where an owner can be identified can the billboard be eliminated.

Get plugged in

You can view listings of upcoming outings and meetings on the Redwood Chapter website at www.redwood.sierraclub.org/north. But the best way to get involved remains our monthly meetings. Come on by the Adorni Center at 6:45 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month. Get to know us, find out why it is so hard to get rid of billboards, learn about how we are working to regulate agricultural pollution and more. You never know, the activist bug just might bite you!

Dec 2012/Jan 2013

EcoNews


S andpiper

The

DECEMBER 2012/JANUARY2012 2013 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Redwood Region Audubon Society www.rras.org

WelcometotoRedwood RedwoodRegion RegionAudubon AudubonSociety’s Society’s“Least “Least Sandpiper.” Welcome Sandpiper.”

Its purpose purposeisisto tohighlight highlightsome someofofthe thearticles articlesthat thatappear appearininour ourSandpiper Sandpiper newsletter, which is now published Its newsletter, which is now published exclusively complete information onon thethe items below andand more! exclusivelyonline onlineatatwww.rras.org. www.rras.org.Visit Visitour ourwebsite websiteforfor complete information items below more! Highlights of of the December 2012/January 2013 Highlights 2012 Highlights of the the October/November October/November 2012 Sandpiper (posted at http://rras.org/docs/ Sandpiper (posted at http://rras.org/docs/ Sandpiper (posted at http://rras.org/docs/ sandpiper/2012-October-November.pdf oror dandpiper/2012-December-January.pdf or sandpiper/2012-October-November.pdf reached byclicking clicking on “News” from the home reached by on “News” from the home clicking on “News” from the home page and selecting “TheSandpiper” Sandpiper”byby bydate): date): page and page and selecting selecting “The “The Sandpiper” date): • 7 • 7 7 • • • 7 • • 7 7•

Our October 12 Mike and Our December 14program program features features Ron Leslie Anderson sharing marvelous photos LeValley brushing us up features on bird Mike identification Our October 12Hungary program and Leslie from trips to and Kenya. just before Christmas Bird Counts start the

7

with a Halloween twist. Appreciation Event.

Anderson sharing marvelous photos from trips to next day. It’s a potluck dinner, so come early

Th e second annual RRAS Volunteer Hungary and Kenya. (6 p.m.) with a dish to share. Appreciation Event is set for Friday, The second annual RRAS Volunteer Appreciation Peruse the first annual financial statement November 2. Everyone who donated time Event is set for Friday, November 2. Everyone that RRAS has prepared for its members. to our chapter during the past year will be who donated time to ourand chapter during with the past invited to eat, drink, be merry, a • Have fun looking at people wearing strange year will be invited to eat, drink, and be merry, Halloween twist. hats during our second annual Volunteer

• 7 7 •

Details on our ourfivefive local Christmas Bird Details on local Christmas Bird Counts Counts will get you thinking about how you will get you thinking about how you want to want to participate this winter. participate this winter.

• • Did Did you you know know that that the the Godwit Godwit Days Days 7 organization is sponsoring a “mini-festival” Appreciated volunteers Gary Lester, Tom Leskiw, Joe on organization sponsoring a “mini-festival” 7 on October 13-14? up at www. Ceriani, and Linda Doerflinger. © Leskiw October 13-14? Sign upSign atSue www.godwitdays. godwitdays.org to enjoy low-cost, smallorg to enjoy low-cost, small-group field trips group fi eld trips or even a pelagic voyage • Details localvoyage Christmas Bird or evenona five pelagic during fallCounts migration. 7• during fall migration. • • •• • •

7 7 7 •

will help you decide how you want to help. Read first-person accounts of two September Read fiarst-person accounts of two Read remembrances of the Harris. events: RRAS pelagic triplate andLorie Steve Shunk’s September events: a RRAS pelagic trip and woodpecker Learn results workshop. ofwoodpecker our late September Toyota Steve Shunk’s workshop. Together Green ivy bash in Trinidad.

• • Our new Facebook Report page is is up up to to 60 • •• Chet Ogan’s covers Our newConservation Facebook page likes. Visit us at www.facebook.com/ Clam Beach corvids, Arcata-Eureka rail/trail, likes. Visit us at www.facebook.com/ RedwoodRegionAudubonSociety or and the Klamath and Trinity rivers. or through RedwoodRegionAudubonSociety • through our home page. page. • Getour thehome skinny on upcoming field trips, plus field notes, eBird New Year’s resolutions, and columns by Tom Leskiw and RRAS Prairie Warbler, Prairie Warbler, president Jim Clark. Humboldt Bay National Humboldt Bay National • Wildlife Refuge, Wildlife Refuge, • Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook. 2012•09•16 2012•09•16 com/RedwoodRegionAudubonSociety. ©© Greg Chapman Greg Chapman

7 7 7 7 7

Go towww.rras.org www.rras.org viewthese—and these—and other—articles entirety. GoGo totowww.rras.org to these—and other—articles intheir their entirety. totoview view other—articles in in their entirety.

HAPPENINGS News and Events from the North Coast Chapter 7

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.

in Europe, and someone sharing scenes from the Sanger Lake and Youngs Valley field trip. If you would like to contribute, contact Dave Imper at dimper@suddenlink.net or 444-2756.

EVENING PROGRAMS

RELATED 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 some other presenter shares a brief, handson demonstration and discussion of some botanical topic. December 12, Wednesday. Native Plant Show & Tell. An informal evening for anyone to share photos, artifacts, readings, or food relating to native plants and their habitats. Contributors will include Ned Forsyth showing many years of record shots of Mt. St. Helena, Jenny Hanson and Elaine Allison sharing botanical fun from Upper Klamath Lake, and Rita Zito showing a few floral summer spectacles, Carol Ralph sharing botanical moments

EcoNews

Get the skinny on upcoming field trips, plus

the skinny on upcoming field trips, • • TryGet to relocate rarities from the Arcata and plus 7 fifield notes and columns by Tom Leskiw and 7 eld notes and columns by Tom Leskiw counts on an all-day field trip led and 7 Centerville RRAS president Jim Clark. president Jim Clark. by RRAS Rob Fowler on January 5.

Dec 2012/Jan 2013

Prairie Warbler at Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 20120916 © Greg Chapman

December 6. Thursday. A Wild American Forest, a film about the Klamath Mountain Region. 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Arcata Playhouse, 1251 9th Street. Spend an evening reveling in the diversity and history of our mountain “backyard.” UC Davis ecologist Dr. Susan Harrison will augment the movie with a discussion of her work in the serpentines and in re-sampling plots laid out by R. H. Whittaker in the 1960’s in the Siskiyou Mts. Sponsored by Northcoast Environmental Center, CNPS, Natural History Museum, Back Country Press, and Geos Institute. Admission $3-$5 sliding scale; beer, wine, cider, and snacks available for a donation. January 9, Wednesday. Program To Be Announced.

Please watch for later additions on our Web site (www.northcoastcnps.org) or sign up for e-mail announcements (Northcoast_CNPS-subscribe@yahoogroups.com) www.yournec.org

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GOOD NEWS Good News Diablo Canyon Seismic Studies Denied

The California Coastal Commission recently denied a PG&E proposal to blast the ocean floor with high-powered air guns to study a network of faults surrounding the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Southern California. Over 150 people showed up at the Coastal Commission’s November meeting to protest PG&E’s plan to use the air canons to shoot high-decibel soundwaves deep into the ocean floor, which could have had devastating impacts on ocean wildlife. The Coastal Commission staff report agreed, stating that more than 7,000 acoustically-sensitive sea mammals, including whales, porpoises and other marine mammals would have been affected—and possibly killed—by the tests. Millions of larvae from fish and invertebrate species might also have been destroyed. The test area included portions of two state marine protected areas and is near a national sanctuary. After two hours of public testimony by environmentalists, fishermen and residents, overwhelmingly opposed to the seismic testing, the Commission voted unanimously to deny the permit.

Drakes Bay Oyster Farm Renewal Denied

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar denied the renewal of Drake’s Bay Oyster Company’s lease, ending more than a century of shellfish production in the heart of Point Reyes National Seashore. Salazar directed the National Park Service to allow the existing lease to expire without renewal in order to allow the area to return to wilderness, as was intended by Congress in 1976. Drakes Estero is considered the “ecological heart of the park,” home to tens of thousands of endangered birds, the largest seal colony on the coast, and is the only marine wilderness on the continental West Coast. “The estero is one of our nation’s crown jewels, and today we are fulfilling the vision to protect this special place for generations to come,” Salazar said in a statement. This decision guarantees vital protection to the hundreds of fish and wildlife species that rely on the Estero and fulfills a longstanding promise to the American people. Drake’s Bay Oyster Company has 90 days to remove all trace of its operations from the bay.

More Good News online!

www.yournec.org/content/good-news-decjan

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Tell the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) Not to Raise the Shasta Dam! As part of Governor Brown’s ill planned Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), corporate agribusiness interests are backing the raising of the Shasta Dam. This action is needed to support the building of the peripheral tunnels and would allow the export of more of Northern California’s water south. The BDCP threatens California’s top salmon producing rivers including the Trinity, (the Klamath’s largest tributary) and the Sacramento and would cost tens of millions of dollars. The raising of the dam not only aids this action, but also would flood out sacred and village sites for Northern California Tribes and greatly impact wildlife. It is time to stand up for our rivers and for religious freedom for native people.

Tell the BOR:

• The public does not support Brown’s Tunnels, nor more of Northern California’s water being sent to Southern California, • That the public supports the Winnemem Wintu’s religious freedom and does not want the Tribe to lose any more of the sacred sites, or villages that important to their culture, • The BOR should disclose where this extra water will come from and what species will be impacted by this decision, • Any activities at the Shasta Reservoir should address the need for fish passage and salmon reintroduction as asked for by the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, • It is time the BOR stops wasting tax-payer money on ill planned actions that threaten salmon, and people and start dealing with water conservation. For more information on what you can do to help , check out the Winnemem Wintu Tribe on Facebook or call at (530) 710-4817 or go to www.facebook.com/SaveTheKlamath TrinitySalmon?ref=hl

Comments due Dec. 28 Write to: Ms. Katrina Chow, Project Manager, Bureau of Reclamation 2800 Cottage Way, MP-720 Sacramento, CA 95825-1893. Phone: 916-978-5067.

www.hightidepermaculture.com

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Dec 2012/Jan 2013

EcoNews


Eco-Mania

ROOTWORM RESISTANCE: The EPA will investigate the developed resistance of corn rootworms to a protective chemical made by a genetically modified corn called YieldGard and produced by Monsanto in 2003. Corn rootworms are one of the most damaging farm pests in the U.S., impairing corn’s ability to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Resistant rootworms could further damage corn crops that have already suffered the hottest, driest summer in the Midwest in more than 70 years.

by Sid Dominitz

FEWER KIDS: The U.S. birth rate fell to an alltime low in 2011. The drop is tightly tied to the economic downturn. Couples, fearing they can’t support them, are having fewer children—and more women joined the work force because their salaries are vital to household income.

OYSTER STOUT: That’s the name of a beer made out of... bull testicles. The Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver described the beer as an “assertive foreign-style stout, slightly viscous, with a deep brown color. It has equally deep flavors of chocolate syrup, Kahlua and espresso, along with a palpable level of alcohol. It finishes dry and roasted with a fast-fading hop bite.” MAFIA CUTTING DOWN FORESTS: Up to 90 per cent of tropical deforestation can be attributed to organized crime, according to the U.N. Environmental Program. Common ploys include forging permits, hacking trade databases, bribing officials, concealing timber’s true origin and hiding illegal timber amid legal stocks. So in June, Interpol established a pilot program called Law Enforcement Assistance for Forests (LEAF), which will coordinate the efforts of police and intelligence agencies.

HOT ROCKS: Engineers working for Seattlebased AltaRock Energy got the go-ahead from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to inject water into cracks two miles below Oregon’s Newberry volcano so it can return to the surface as steam to drive turbines and generate electricity. The $44-million Newberry project was granted permission only after independent studies demonstrated that the project did not risk triggering earthquakes near the volcano or contaminating groundwater. The firm says the system could rival the cost-efficiency of fossil fuels. ANIMAL SEXUALITY: Male lions can mate 50 times a day, pigs’ orgasms last more than 30 minutes and the swan is the only bird with a penis.

LITERAL DOGS OF WAR: U.S. military scientists have developed robotic hounds that can carry 400 pounds and travel 20 miles over rough terrain. Now the Marine Corps is making plans to have them talk. MORE PROOF (THOUGH NOT NEEDED): There was less sea ice in the Arctic in September than ever before, a further substantiation of global warming. The ice was down 12% from the previous low, set in 2007, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported. POT SLACKENS SEIZURES: Cannabis can control epileptic seizures with fewer side effects than anti-convulsants prescribed now. Scientists at England’s Reading University investigated the anti-seizure properties of cannabidivarin, a little-studied chemical found in cannabis, and found rats and mice had fewer severe convulsions and lower mortality than animals given a placebo. The decision about whether to test the drug in humans will be made next year.

EcoNews

Dec 2012/Jan 2013

ABOUT OIL: The struggle about a chain of tiny remote islands that led to angry anti-Japan protests in 100 Chinese cities in September is all about control over oil and gas in the East China Sea. The islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, were handed by the U.S. to Japan after World War II, but China says that it has a prior claim. It’s not clear how much oil and gas is there, or whether it would be economical to drill for it. www.yournec.org

SQUIRRELY: Fire that destroyed an apartment house in Holland Township, Michigan, is being blamed on a resident who tried to cook a squirrel with a propane torch. The man planned to eat the animal and was burning off its fur on a third-floor balcony, but the deck caught fire and spread to the roof, destroying eight apartments and damaging others. Luckily, no one was injured. Sid Dominitz has been an integral part of the NEC since the early days, and served as EcoNews editor from 19762005. EcoMania is illustrated by Terry Torgerson.

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Creature Feature

Christmas Trees

Pseudotsuga menzeisii Abies grandis

Brandon Drucker The North Coast bioregion is home to several of the conifer species most commonly used as Christmas trees across the United States. While with a little imagination any tree can be a Christmas tree, those traditionally grown are conifers in the Pinaceae family, usually of the genus Abies (true fir) or Pseudotsuga (Douglas-fir). These species are chosen for their full and symmetrical growth forms as well as their ability to retain their needles long after the tree has been cut from the ground. These chosen trees are also generally easy to cultivate and grow quickly. Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menzeisii, easily takes a top spot among Christmas tree species sold around the country. Prolifically occurring on the North Coast, Douglas-fir is also found in narrower ranges down the coast to Santa Barbara, across the Sierras, and up the Rocky Mountains into British Columbia. O f t e n growing amongst redwoods, D oug l a s fir is also one of the tallest tree species in the world, reaching Douglas fir needles and distinctive cones. Photo: RVWithTito (flickr.com CC By 2.0). up to

200 feet in height. As any California logger Douglasknows, fir is also notable as the major timberproducing species in North America, growing rapidly and with ease through its natural range and beyond. The species is easily identifiable by its cone bracts, which have three distinct prongs and were said by Native tribes to resemble the Douglas fir trees ready for the Christmas harvest on an Oregon farm. Photo: USDAgov (flickr.com CC BY-ND 2.0). back end of a mouse trapped between the cone scales. fir, and white fir. Long before these trees were ever Grand fir, Abies grandis, is another particularly considered for their ornamental value, they shaped attractive Christmas tree option found readily on the landscape and character of the North Coast, the North Coast. With full branches of rich green providing materials for shelter, wildlife habitat, needles, grand fir has a very showy presence. erosion control, and carbon sinks. While some may Grand fir’s range includes the California coast prefer to appreciate these conifer species in their north of Mendocino County stretching just into living rooms, they also look impressive outdoors south coastal British Columbia, as well as the where they play an absolutely vital role in our Idaho panhandle. The needles of this species local ecosystems. stand out for their characteristic glossy-looking Over 34 million trees are cut down each year, appearance and irregular asymmetrical lengths. most from tree farms, for decoration during the Also common amongst redwoods, these trees holiday season. An alternative option is to buy a live reach heights of around 150 feet. Grand fir foliage tree in a pot. Leave it in the pot for the holidays, carries a light citrus-like smell further adding to its then plant it outdoors after Christmas! Christmas tree appeal. Brandon Drucker is an Environmental Management Other popular Christmas tree species found in and Protection and work-study student at the NEC. or around the North Coast include the noble fir, red ~ Certified Herbalists ~ Effective, Natural & Economical

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Dec 2012/Jan 2013

EcoNews


the Kids’ Page:

Big, Busy Beavers! Word Search

Did

you know.. that the Beaver is the largest rodent in North America? C E L Q M L W Z N O S M Z W U

Beavers can weigh 35-70 lbs., grow up to 3 feet long with a 1-foot long tail, and live up to 20 years! They are semi-aquatic mammals found only in North America. They live in ponds and streams near woodlands, and feed on water lilies, berries, leaves, and the green layer under tree bark, called cambium. When beavers dive under water, they are able to close their nostrils and ears, and they can stay under water for up to 15 minutes! Their feet are webbed and a beaver’s tail is wide and flat like a paddle—which helps them swim. They also slap their tail on the water to alert others of danger. Beavers can’t see very well but have a good sense of smell, which is how they recognize members of their family.

Beavers change the landscape more than any other mammal, except for humans. Beavers build dams in rivers and streams by using their long strong front teeth to gnaw down trees. Beavers’ long front teeth are orange-red because of a special layer that has iron in it—to make the teeth stronger. The beavers drag large trees up and down in the stream for brackets to hold the rest of the dam in place. They take smaller trees and put them going across, kind of like boards on a deck. (Take a look at the background photo of the dam below). They then use smaller trees to fill in the gaps. When the dam is finished, the land around it looks much different than before the dam. The stream floods and makes a pond, or wetland. The new wetland becomes home to many types of animals that weren’t there before the dam. Beavers also use sticks to build their homes, called a lodge. There are only a few rooms in the lodge, including a living area, a room by the entrance to dry off, and a space for food. The entrance to the lodge is underwater, which protects them from predators. Beavers stash away food in the home for the winter and they will go into the water and bring back smaller sticks that were used for the dam. Beavers don’t hibernate. The female beaver has 1-6 babies a year, called kits. The kits live with mom and dad until they are about 2 years old when they leave to find a mate and build their own lodge, usually nearby.

W D R N Z K O V T E D U O I N

X I K N O B Y D M H L I E U D

W X L H J O F C E J Y L Q Q S A K U I V B Q O A K K Q E E T P U R L Y M J I Q S A N R R A S Q M A T Q U T X E N R I J A M S Q E I M D V M U I M W A U L M S A I E C O G I O Z N C D T V S G E J G G O A R R O N J H P U D E P D E Z R X E Q C F I E V V L R S W L D T M B M A C E A N N J J O X B E A Y J M N G Y N V R B X I I F V E D W K C G E R W A T E R N S G H S

BEAVER CAMBIUM KITS LANDSCAPE LODGE MAMMAL

PREDATORS RODENT SEMIAQUATIC UNDERWATER WOODLANDS

Photos (from flickr.com, Creative Commons): Top left, A beaver swims underwater at the Oregon Zoo; Photo: kvnbrwn33. Lower left, a beaver-chewed log; Photo: burgundavia. Below, a beaver munches on a twig; Photo: Stewart Ho. Background, logs and branches creating an otter dam, and the pond behind, in a forested area. Photo: USDAgov.

by Sarah Marnick

EcoNews

Dec 2012/Jan 2013

www.yournec.org

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BECOME A MEMBER Your tax-deductible membership donation will get EcoNews delivered right to your mailbox—and help us to continue to educate and inform the public about crucial environmental issues that affect this region and our entire planet! Mail this membership form to: NEC, PO Box 4259, Arcata, 95518 or join online at www.yournec.org/donate. Yes! I would like to join or renew my annual membership! Attached is my payment of:  $25 Student/Low income  $35 Regular  $50 Family  $1,000 Lifetime

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Agoraphobic Owl Although Gandalf is a Great Grey owl, he is afraid of flying outside. So, his owner built him an aviary near Liverpool, England, inside a brick shed. He now spends his days watching the world go by outside his window. “He is a bit of a wuss as he doesn’t like flying in big open spaces,” said owner Janet Southard. “Instead he loves sitting at the window and watching the other birds.” We at the NEC urge everyone to not be like Gandalf, watching others do while he sits by the wayside. We want you to get involved, even something so simple as writing a letter or calling your Congressperson. Don’t quietly accept the status quo. Come into our office—at the hard-to-find, in the back of the building on the second floor towards the western end of Eighth St.—and we’ll help you find out how to contribute. Be a citizen activis—and not a wuss. Fly in big open spaces. Thank you.

January 23

Join us..

for a special “New Year” mixer and screening of the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement!

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Narrated by Robert Redford, A Fierce Green Fire features grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years—from conservation to climate change. From halting dams in the Grand Canyon to battling 20,000 tons of toxic waste at Love Canal to the promise of transforming our civilization... the film tells vivid stories about people

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fighting—and succeeding—against enormous odds.

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Eat, drink and party with the NEC staff, Board, and old and new friends from 5:30-7:30pm (free admission)!

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Film at 7:30pm - $10/sliding scale

Arcata Playhouse www.yournec.org/films/fiercegreenfire


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