ECONEWSThe Newsletter

of the Northcoast Environmental

Center

Inside This Issue Fire Safety Collaboration Goes Awry......3 Orleans Logging Operation Breaks AgreementsKlamath Conservation Partners..............5 NEC Continues To Work Toward Dam Removal Weaverville Community Forest...............5 Stewardship Contracting Means Healthy ForestsSpecial Climate Section........................6-7 Report from Copenhagen, Climate Justice, More Rare Plant Habitat Threatened...............9 Weed Intended To Mine Metal Now Taking Over

Eco-Kids Page....................................... 10 Contests Galore, Carnivorous Plants, Word PuzzleNorth Coast MLPA Update..................11 Locals Work To Transcend Politics As UsualDel Norte News......................................12 Pacific Shores Development, Airport ProjectKin To The Earth....................................14 Redwood Region Audubon SocietyEco-Mania...............................................15 A Monthly Melange of Salient Sillies

.

Continued on Page 4

When the cannabis growers who brought Humboldt County wealth and fame in the ‘70s and ‘80s started moving their farms indoors, they did so in reaction to market and political conditions.

Cops and judges harassed outdoor growers. The great urban mass of pot smoking consumers demanded dense indoor-grown bud. They paid half again as much for it as they did for outdoor-grown, far more than enough to offset growers’ electricity costs.

The local economy soon became dependent on indoor growing, just as it depended on logging in decades past. A real estate bubble inflated. People didn’t protest because it generated so much income. Humboldt was enjoying another boom based on another unsustainable extractive industry.

Like the loggers before them, some pot growers have ravaged local hillsides and waterways. And greedy indoor farmers have also wrought devastation in local rental homes, in distant coal and oil country, and in the common atmosphere.

Now, with steadily increasing energy prices and steadily decreasing weed prices, Humboldt looks poised to suffer another bust. Local landlords might be left with vacant, depreciated, moldy homes polluted with fertilizers and fungicides. Rural landowners might be left with properties littered with diesel, motor oil and mothballed generators.

To ward it off such a scenario, growers must embrace technology and techniques to mitigate their ecological footprint and improve their economic sustainability, and they must take advantage of the growing atmosphere of permissiveness to integrate into the mainstream economy.

Indoor’s Ecological FootprintAt Let It Grow hydroponics shop in Arcata,

salesman Josh Sacks greets a a slow trickle of customers one quiet December afternoon.

Bottles containing plant snacks line the walls – everything from chemical nitrate fertilizers to organic compost teas. Sacks said that some growers, unwilling to delve into the “nitty-gritty of organic micronutrients,” use cheap chemical fertilizers. Novice growers also frequently allow their gardens to be overrun by spider mites. Then they apply the acrid pesticides Flouromite and Avid in great quantities to save their crop.

Such techniques produce a number of common waste products, including exhausted growing mediums, excess fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides and broken equipment.

But even organic indoor growers put toxins into the soil and air.

A small-time 3000 watt indoor grow uses twice as much electricity by itself as does the average Humboldt home. Beckie Menten, the City of Arcata’s Energy Program Specialist, said the city’s residential energy usage increased by 30 percent between 2000 and 2006.

“There’s not a whole lot that could account for that besides [proposition] 215,” she said. She calculates that California growers use 15 million kilowatt-hours a year.

Arcata growers have helped foil the city’s ambitious greenhouse-gas reduction goals. According to Menten’s calculations, each 3000-watt grow is responsible for about 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide

every year. That’s the equivalent of flying round-trip from San Francisco to Singapore four times.

Can Indoor Pot Grows Be Environmentally Friendly?By Nathaniel Page

Old-Growth Forest Species Protected – Once Again

1000 watt HID lamps provide light for the legal cannabis growing at the Humboldt Patient Resource Center. Manager Kevin Jodrey said the dispensary has plans to convert to 600 watt lamps to save energy. Photo: Sarah O’Leary

Clean Air Act To Regulate Emissions? Not So Fast!In recent months U.S. climate activists have been

pressing the Obama administration to bypass the arduous process of congressional climate legislation, and let the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

In December the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) circulated a petition for a national pollution cap under the Clean Air Act.

More than 100 groups, including Friends of the Earth and Eco-Justice Collaborative, endorsed the petition which asked the EPA to cap carbon dioxide pollution at 350 parts per million, the level that leading scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.

Although the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has the authority and the obligation to regulate greenhouse gases two years ago, the agency didn’t act until it became clear that emissions legislation might be indefinitely stalled.

Late last year the EPA announced its findings that greenhouse gases endanger the public health and welfare of the American people. The EPA also determined that greenhouse gas emissions from on-road vehicles contribute to that threat. The announcement gave the Obama administration a fall-back position if Congress fails to pass a climate change law.

“Unlike the current anemic Senate bills, the Clean Air Act is the only existing tool that can ensure that the United States develops a truly science-based greenhouse-pollution cap,” said CBD’s executive director, Kierán Suckling, in December.

But now a Republican Senator from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, is spearheading a movement to prevent the

EPA from regulating emissions. She has introduced a “resolution of disapproval,” and if it passes, the administration will no longer have “plan B” for climate change.

Murkowski’s resolution would overturn the EPA’s December finding, and activists are gearing up for a fight. Even if it doesn’t pass, this action could cause wavering democrats concerned about the 2010 elections to back down even further and refuse to take a stand in support of the Clean Air Act

“A vote for the Murkowski resolution is a vote to gut the Clean Air Act and do nothing about global warming,” said Suckling. “With the Copenhagen talks failing to produce a legally binding, science-based agreement, and the planet warming faster than predicted, we need the Clean Air Act more than ever. The Senate should resoundingly reject Murkowski’s resolution.” y

A Seattle federal court has axed the last piece of the Bush Administration’s many attempts to boost logging in national forests where spotted owls make their home – in this case, a 2007 rulemaking that attempted to eliminate the “survey and manage” program. A previous attempt in 2004 was also overturned and the program restored.

The survey and manage program, which applies to forests from northwestern California to the Canadian border, requires the US Forest Service and other federal agencies to survey for certain species dependent on older forests before altering their habitat, and to protect species where they are found.

“Under the Bush Administration, the Forest Service tried endlessly to change its rules to make logging easier,” said Scott Greacen, executive director of EPIC, one of the plaintiff groups in the lawsuit. “But these rules had to be created because the Forest Service logged without respect for the needs of species that depend on intact, mature and old-growth forests.”

The U.S Forest Service adopted the survey and manage portion of the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994, along with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as a means to protect species that might not be adequately protected by landscape-level reserves for owls and salmon.

When the Bush administration took office in 2000, it immediately began dismantling the protections in the plan. A legal see-saw ensued with federal judges continually reinstating the rules and the Bush administration finding ways to drop them.

“Now that the federal courts have rebuffed the agency on every front, and a less insane administration is in place,” Greacen said, “we’d like to hope that the Forest Service will start living up to its commitments to protect rare species and clean water, so that its timber production can be sustainable.”

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski wants to stop the EPA from regulating grreen-house gases.

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org2

California Native Plant SocietyJen Kalt (Secretary) jkalt@asis.comRedwood Region Audubon SocietyC.J. Ralph theralphs@humboldt1.comSierra Club North Group, Redwood ChapterFelice Pace unofelice@gmail.comHumboldt BaykeeperPete Nichols pete@humboldtbaykeeper.orgFriends of Del NorteEileen Cooper upsprout@yahoo.comSafe Alternatives For Our Forest EnvironmentLarry Glass (President) lglass@foggy.netEnvironmental Protection Information CenterScott Greacen scott@wildcalifornia.orgAt-LargeJim Clark (Vice President) dancebirds@sbcglobal.netMartin Swett (Treasurer) mswett@pacific.netBob Morris (Trinity County Representive)bob.morris@wildblu.net

NEC Board Of Directors

Volunteer submissions are welcome! Full articles of 500 words or fewer may be submitted by the 15th of each month, preferably by e-mail. Longer articles should be pitched to the editor, contact sarah@yournec.org or call 707-845-3902. Include your phone number and e-mail with all submissions.

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

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

ECONEWS

Editor: Sarah O’Leary sarah@yournec.orgAdvertising: Sarah O’Leary, ads@yournec.orgProofreaders: Midge Brown, Sid DominitzStaff Photographer: Sam CampWriters: Nathaniel Page, Ian Jewett, Martin Swett, Corey Lewis, Kristyna Solawetz, Colleen O’Sullivan, Jen-nifer Savage, Eileen Cooper, Friends of Del Norte, Kaci Elder, Susan Nolan, John Emig, Sylvia Ann White, Allison Poklemba, Sarah Marnick, Dan Ihara, Jay Wright, Sue Leskiw, Jennifer Kalt, Maureen Jules, Rogue RiverkeeperArtists: Mark Jacobson, Terry TorgersonCover Art: Terry Torgerson

NEC Mission To promote understanding of the rela-

tions between people and the biosphere and to conserve, protect and celebrate

terrestrial, aquatic and marine eco-systems of northern California and

southern Oregon.

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

Arts! ArcataAt The NEC

News From the Center

Bouquets

We Want Your Letters!Feeling irritated by something you read here in ECONEWS? Or maybe one of this month’s articles made you jump for joy. Tell us about it! Try to keep your letter to 300 words or fewer and include your full name and city of residence. We may edit for space and clarity. E-mail letters to sarah@yournec.org, or mail to P.O. Box 4259, Arcata, CA 95518. We welcome your thoughts and comments!

This month’s floral tributes go to: Greg Anderson of Coldwell Banker Sellers Realty in Arcata for his excellent work in selling the NEC’s property at 1465 G Street. Greg’s experience and creativity allowed this transaction to close at the sales price we needed to ensure that all note holders were paid in full. The Karuk Tribe for working so tirelessly to stop the destructive practice of suction dredge mining, and for drafting California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) scoping comments to the California Department of Fish and Game on their SEIR proposed rules. Dr. James Hansen, of NASA and Columbia University, for his courage and persistence in speaking out on the threat that global climate change poses to humanity and ecosystems. Dr Hansen has done as much as any person on Earth to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of global warming, from his 1988 testimony to Congress to his 2009 book, Storms of My Grandchildren. Pete Nichols, our outgoing board president for expertly guiding the NEC through the changes of the financially troubled past year, and donating untold hours of personal time to NEC projects which ultimately helped to bring this organization back to its feet. y

The year 2009 was one of the most trying financially for the Northcoast Environmental Center. Not only were we impacted by the global financial crisis, the NEC also realized that it was carrying a financial burden from years past that was preventing the organization from focusing on North Coast conservation issues.

The good news in all of this is that although this past year started out rough, it ended with the NEC free of debt. With the successful sale of our former headquarters at 1465 G St. in December, the NEC has managed to survive the financial hardship we’d been experiencing over the past two and a half years.

To stay afloat during these tough economic times, the NEC Board of Directors made some very difficult decisions, cutting costs on all fronts. Earlier in the year, we sold one of two lots we owned on Ninth Street, the NEC’s home until the 2001 fire.

This, combined with the sale of our house on G Street, alleviated the NEC of nearly all of our mortgage debt. Our debt – which stood at nearly $700,000 in May – is now close to zero. Nobody is more pleased with this than I, the NEC’s treasurer.

The sale of the G Street property was not an easy transaction, but thanks to the diligence and experience of Greg Anderson of Coldwell Banker Sellers Realty in Arcata, the sale closed on December 10.

The goal of the NEC board was to shed our debt without causing any of our debtors to lose their investment, and, much to our relief, we succeeded despite the downturn in real estate. Those parties that lent the NEC money to buy the G Street house did so not because they felt it was a sound investment, but because they believed in the solid conservation work we were doing. The NEC is

very appreciative of their support and dedication. We cannot thank them enough for their patience and understanding.

The journey from deep in the red last spring to being in the black at the end of 2009 was a group effort. A special thanks goes out to Bob Schultz for preparing our property for sale, to Bill Chino from the Jacoby Storehouse for aiding us in our relocation, to Andie Ullsmith of Humboldt Land Title for putting in copious hours to make the sale work, and to the anonymous donor who helped us realize our goals. (You know who you are. Thank you!).

I also want to thank the volunteers on our Board of Directors who put in long hours to ensure that the NEC will survive well into the future.

We look forward to a successful 2010.

-Martin Swett, Board Treasurer

Dear ECONEWS,The idea of using greywater for

irrigation is a time tested and useful strategy to conserve water, as described in the December 2009 ECONEWS. The process can go awry, however.

When the installation is used primarily to escape the cost of installing an adequate on-site wastewater disposal system, the result is often an unsightly and smelly mess. It has no environmental advantage if the owner does not intend to produce an agricultural or ornamental crop.

The article defines greywater as: “wastewater from household sinks, showers, bathtubs and washing machines that has not been contaminated by bodily waste or toxic chemicals”. I submit that this a mythical substance unless there is continuous surveillance by the wastewater police.

Very little of the cleaning agents,

disinfectants, pesticides etc. from a home are flushed down the toilet, rather they are washed down the drain, and much of cleaning that takes place in the other fixtures is to remove bodily waste.

There is no reason that properly treated greywater cannot be used for irrigation. In fact the whole waste stream can be used with proper treatment. But grease and oils are of no use in crop raising and have to ultimately be dealt with. The same is true of lint from clothes washing.

The wastewater that percolates into the ground can reach a useable ground water table or a stream. It is no big trick to remove at least the biodegradable components, but this cannot be accomplished by simply running an open pipe onto the ground.

Dale WatsonCrescent City CA 95531

Greywater Needs Treatment

New NEC Board PresidentThe NEC Board of Directors welcomes Larry

Glass as the new president, effective immediately.Glass will assume the reins from Pete Nichols, who

guided the NEC through many difficult decisions during his two years as president and enabled the organization to recover from a fiscal crisis.

“I’ve been an environmental activist since the first Earth Day in 1970,” said Glass, who has served on the NEC board on and off for more than 30 years, including two previous stints as president.

An avid kayaker, Glass kayaks in the Humboldt Bay regularly, and won recognition last year for rescuing a woman who jumped off the Samoa Bridge.

In addition to owning and managing the retail store, The Works, which has locations in Eureka and Arcata, Glass serves on the Eureka City Council and as board president of Safe Alternatives For Our Forest Environment (SAFE), an NEC member group.

Over the years, he has been involved in many efforts to reduce herbicide use and improve timber harvest practices, particularly on public lands. He founded South Fork Mountain Defense, a Trinity County organization, and he represented the NEC on a Citizens Advisory Board focused on the environmental impacts of the pulp mills on the North Spit.

Glass also participated in the Humboldt Herbicide Task Force, a group that fought herbicide use in the 1980s, and played an integral role in convincing CalTrans and the Humboldt County road department to stop using herbicides on roadside vegetation. The Task Force eventually grew into Californians for Alternatives to Toxics (CATS), a statewide organization based in Eureka.

Larry’s unique combination of business skills, conservation advocacy experience, and long history with the NEC will serve the organization well, as we consider how best to conserve, protect and celebrate terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems of northern California and southern Oregon. y

Larry Glass. Photo by Peter Canclini

Join us on Friday, February 12 for our first Arts! Arcata celebration of 2010! As always we will host the event at our Arcata Plaza office on the ground floor of Jacoby’s Storehouse.

This month we are featuring the paintings of award-winning artist and radio producer, Neil Harvey, whose artwork and photographs have been shown in galleries in New York and Northern California. He currently resides in Trinity County.

Harvey will display his series of “Dream Paintings,” which were inspired by a single dream and nighttime visions while camping on a solitary retreat.

“Many abstract painters have written about pulling on inner resources and even transpersonal sources for their inspiration,” writes Harvey in his Artist Statement. “That is very much what is going on here. They are morning paintings each arising from sweet prompts that followed quiet meditation and reflection.”

Harvey is also senior producer and host of the radio series The Bioneers Revolution From the Heart of Nature and he was senior producer for New Dimensions Radio in the ‘90s.

Drop by the NEC on the 12th, and meet the artist, while enjoying an assortment of savory snacks and local wines provided by Libation.

Coming next month: We’ll gain host Arts! Arcata on Friday, March 12. The work of local photographer and NEC volunteer, Terry Schultz, will be on display. y

“The Turning: Green” by Neil Harvey.

CORRECTIONThe December/January “Kin To The Earth” column incorrectly referred to the Pacific giant salamder as North America’s largest salamander. In fact the Hellbender holds that distinction. Additonally, this species is not a reptile, as stated, but in fact is an amphibian. ECONEWS regrets the errors.

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 3

When news broke last December about a group of mostly Karuk activists blockading a road near Orleans to protest a logging project, it brought back visions of the timber wars of past decades. However, this direct action – carried out by a group known as the Klamath Justice Coalition - was motivated by frustration at the Forest Service’s failure to honor agreements developed in a three-year collaborative process.

The logging operation was part of a long-planned fuels reduction project for the area, meaning that brush and some smaller trees were to be removed or thinned in an effort to reduce the risks of fire to the community of Orleans and its surrounding homesteads. Such fire hazards have risen sharply, due both to extensive clear-cutting between the 1950’s and the 1980’s, and the Forest Service’s policy of fire suppression.

“The landscape is out of whack because fire has been excluded for so long,” said Will Harling of the Orleans/Somes Bar Fire Safe Council. “We are losing a lot of our fire-adapted ecosystems including oak woodlands and meadow habitats that, in the absence of fire, have been encroached upon by even-aged Douglas fir stands,”

These crowded young fir stands can burn dangerously hot during wildfire events, Harling added.

Several community groups and environmental organizations, along with the Karuk Tribe and the Orleans-Somes Bar Fire Safe Council, have worked with the Six Rivers national forest over the last three years to hammer out a plan to reduce fire hazards and protect Karuk cultural sites in the Pananmik World Renewal Ceremonial District.

The result was the Orleans Community Fuel Reduction and Forest Health Project . The work would involve a combination of hand-thinning units and careful commercial thinning in stands further from homes.

During this process an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was finalized with the filing of a Record of Decision (ROD). But the guidelines enumerated in these documents – and especially the accords reached to resolve the collaborative group’s objections to the project – were not reflected in the contract the Forest Service actually awarded, or in the logging that has been done to date, say Karuk and environmental sources.

Good Decisions Gone Bad“We got a lot of good decisions made during the

process,” said Bill Tripp, Eco-Cultural Specialist for the Karuk Tribe. “But they just didn’t get implemented once the project got into contracting,”

Tripp said that many of the problems are caused by the changes the contractor has said he needs in order to do the job efficiently. “The collaborative group specifically requested this contractor not get the bid because of the outcome of previous projects – like roads punched through cultural sites,” he said.

Using “best value” rules that were supposed to ensure the job was given to a contractor with a record of good performance, the Forest Service awarded the original contract to Yreka-based Timber Products, Inc., But that company then subcontracted the job to Mark Crawford Logging, the focus of community

concern. Now Tripp wonders if the original agreement can actually be enforced at the subcontracting level.

Both Harling and Tripp noted that their group did not get to see the contract before it was awarded. “We were supposed to have input into the contract process and review the contract before it was awarded to make sure that mitigations were there,” said Tripp.

Harling agreed that the main issue is that agreements from the EIS and ROD are not being met. These include the size of trees being taken out, the use of inappropriate equipment, logging along ceremonial trails and damage inflicted on hardwoods – despite the fact that the EIS specifies that damage will not exceed 25 percent of hardwoods in a given unit.

“Large hardwoods, including tan oak, black oak, and madrone, are culturally and ecologically significant species, and we worked hard to ensure they would not be damaged during project implementation,” Harling said. “The Forest Service is not enforcing language in the contract and EIS that’s supposed to require the contractor to directionally fell trees to save large hardwoods.”

He added that hardwoods have been given to this contractor for sale in past projects, creating an economic incentive for them to take as many as they could.

Harling said that throughout a long series of meetings, the Forest Service insisted yarder corridors could be kept to 10 foot widths, and thus claimed that very few large overstory trees would be removed. This stipulation was included in the EIS. However, in the first units harvested, 20-40 foot wide corridors were created, apparently targeted the large overstory trees that fire scientists say should be retained.

“Old growth and late seral closed canopy forests keep undergrowth down and have higher humidities that lessen fire intensity and spread. When too many canopy trees are taken out it changes the structure of a stand and no longer meets the purpose of the project,” said Harling.

Additionally the EIR called for the establishment of multiparty monitoring of the project that would have involved local residents, the Tribes, and the collaborative organizations, but this was never followed through.

“If it had been done it would have helped set priorities,” said Tripp. “At least impacts to other areas would have been reduced, such as to the World Renewal District.”

Tribal Concerns Ignored AgainAccording to the Klamath Justice Coalition,

this is not the first time that Forest Supervisor Tyrone Kelly has shown insensitivity to Tribal cultural issues. Last year he oversaw the bulldozing of an area disputed to be Indian Trust Land. A home, a contemporary dance ground and a nearby archeological site were all destroyed.

The activists who blockaded the logging road in December believe that this logging project looks like just another timber harvest that disregards the concerns of the community.

“We are shocked that the Forest Service thinks it can get away with lying to our community,” said Annelia Hillman, Karuk Tribal member.

“We want fuels reduction, but we will not accept the destruction of Karuk sacred sites or a timber sale disguised as a fuels reduction plan.”

In January, the Karuk Tribe filed a formal complaint with the State Office of Historic Preservation because the Panamnik World Renewal Ceremonial District is eligible for listing under the National Historic Preservation Act. The letter cited a long list of violations of the programmatic agreement that will negatively affect the Ceremonial District, topped with the fact that an archaelogist has not been on site as promised.

“Now we’re applying some pressure through whatever means we have to because these are significant issues,” said Tripp. y

Forest Service-Citizen Fire Safety Collaboration Goes SourBy Sarah O’Leary

Federal biologists have proposed to designate 70,000 square miles of ocean as protected habitat for the federally endangered leatherback turtle – the largest sea

turtle in the world.The turtles can measure up to nine feet long and

weigh upwards of 1,200 pounds. Biologists estimate they have a life span of 40 to 100 years. Listed as endangered in 1970, the turtles migrate thousands of miles in late summer and fall from as far away as Papua New Guinea, swimming across the Pacific Ocean to forage for food on our West Coast.

The new regulation, proposed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would restrict projects that harm turtles or their food such as liquefied natural gas terminals

and wave energy plants. NOAA would examine such projects not only for their potential effects on the turtles, but on jellyfish and other turtle food sources.

But some conservation groups say that the proposed protections are not comprehensive enough. The critical habitat designation does not include most of the Humboldt-Del Norte coast, nor southwestern Oregon, though it encompasses northwest Oregon and the entire Washington coast.

Although the proposed protected areas also extend from Point Arena south to Point Vincente in Los Angeles County, and extend 200 miles out to sea, environmental groups say that the turtles consistently use the areas off of northwest California and southwest Oregon and that these areas should be included.

Additionally, conservationists believe that the proposal dangerously overlooks commercial fishing gear as a threat to the leatherback’s survival. Turtles are often accidentally caught by fishermen using drift nets or long lines, a leading cause of death for leatherbacks.

“This proposal marks the first step in making sure these giant turtles have a safe and productive place to feed after their amazing swim across the entire Pacific Ocean,” said Andrea Treece, attorney for the Center For Biological Diversity.

“Now the government needs to take the next step and improve its proposal by incorporating more of the species’ key habitat areas and addressing one of the worst threats to leatherback survival – entanglement in commercial fishing gear.” y

Kimberly Baker looks at an especially large Douglas fir, cut during the logging operation that was part of the Orleans Fuels Reduction Project. Fire resilient trees such as this are supposed to be retained whenever possible. The tree is located along the historic Prospect Mine trail in Orleans and knocked down another large tree when it was cut. The trees are jack-knived right across the trail making it nearly impassable. Photo courtesy of Klamath Forest Alliance.

Help On The Way For Giant Sea Turtles – But Is It Enough?

TAKE ACTION!The proposed rule is open for public comment until March 8. Submit your comment online here:http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2003

Mail your comments to:David Cottingham Chief, Marine Mammal/Sea Turtle ConservationOffice of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service 1315 East-West Highway Silver Springs, MD 20910Read the proposed rule in its entirety here:http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/E9-31310.htm

By Sarah O’Leary

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org4

Diesel DisastersRural growers use diesel generators to power

their indoor farms. In exchange for inflated property values, their neighbors endure the constant roar of industrial-strength generators, clouds of carcinogenic smoke and the occasional Valdez scenario.

In May of 2008 a grower near Miranda spilled a thousand gallons of diesel into a tributary of Salmon Creek. Creek inhabitants – including salamanders and invertebrates – and other growers were nearly poisoned. The absentee landowner was fined more than $200,000, lost the property and later died, reportedly from the stress of the ordeal.

Just before that spill, two groups of southern Humboldt citizens organized in opposition to “diesel dope.” They called themselves “Put ‘Em in the Sun” and “Citizens Addressing Pot Pollution” (CAPP). Both groups aim to promote growing outdoors and educate consumers about the ecological effects of indoor buds.

“Outdoor growing is not without its sins,” conceded Miranda-area resident Tyce, an affiliate of CAPP. “Water use in the summer when its dry, all that.”

Fearful of repercussions for speaking out, he also said that indoor growing was understandable “back when we were getting flown hard.” But lately the CAMP helicopters have backed off, he said, leaving rural indoor growers little excuse for their conduct.

Tyce listens to three generators running all night long. Friends tell him of appliances blown out in weird grow-related power surges.

“The first time I saw one of these things, I thought it was the stupidest thing in the world,” he said, referring to diesel generators. “[It’s] the most unsustainable way of growing imaginable. Diesel scenes make slash-and-burn look kind of silly.” He pointed out that diesel generators lack emissions controls and, when run continuously, require an oil change every few days.

Melissa Martel of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services said that she responded to six instances of diesel leaks in the hills last year. Sometimes, tiny leaks build up over time. One drop of diesel per second equals 400 gallons a year. Martel said she started digging around what looked like a small leak and eventually uncovered a giant inverted plume of diesel soaked into many tons of soil.

Freelance writer Kym Kemp, who is affiliated with “Put ‘Em in the Sun” and who covered the Salmon Creek incident for the Northcoast Journal, remembers that spill as “a hellish scene.”

Kemp dreams of cannabis gardens flowering under the sun and said that only Prohibition stands in the way. “My hope is that if they legalize marijuana the environment will be saved,” she said.

MitigationA row of fat succulents languishes in the display

window at Let It Grow. Above them hangs a square lamp dotted with 120 weakly glowing light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Sacks demonstrates that the lamp has more red LEDs than blue ones, producing a spectrum suited to flowering. It takes 45 watts and could replace a 250 watt high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp – if it worked efficiently. It costs $140, but would pay itself off quickly in energy savings, he said, especially if electricity costs go up.

Although they are barely in use now, Kevin Jodrey, cultivation director at the Humboldt Patient Resource Center, sees LEDs as “a very promising future technology, like hydrogen cars.”

Let It Grow owner Thomas Gronek said he reckoned that LED technology will improve to the

point of usability in five years. “Most of the light from an HID is wasted,” he points out, because the plant can’t use it. But LEDs produce no heat or sound, last for years, and can be individually localized onto plant foliage.”

Jodrey said that he must grow indoors because his

patients need medicine with consistent qualities, and he cannot achieve such consistency outdoors. But he said the center is incorporating energy-saving features in its new grow room in Aldergrove Industrial Park.

They’re switching to digital ballasts, which are 15 percent more efficient than their magnetic counterparts. They’re also cutting their lamp wattage by about 40 percent. Jodrey believes he can grow the same amount of product with the smaller lamps by getting more units of light per watt onto the plants.

Gronek and his store manager, Joanna Berg, say that improved hood designs can help growers do just that. They also suggest growers mount their lamps on mover tracks, which reduce the number of fixtures necessary for a given grow room. Another energy efficient improvement would be to use fluorescents instead of HIDs for most of the vegetative growth period.

Sacks suggests growers concerned about their electricity use switch to a “sea of green” cultivation technique. With this method, growers cultivate bonsai plants. They grow many more plants but only for half the length of time. The method squeezes a higher volume of product out of each kilowatt.

Some growers try to get as much bud as possible out of as few plants as possible, thinking that their plant numbers are legally relevant. But the Humboldt County Code prescribes a limit of 100 square feet of garden canopy for each marijuana patient. There is no limit to the number of plants or watts allowed. Sacks suggests growing 100 tiny plants on one square foot each, for one month.

Even though he’s a legal grower, Jodrey said that he’s had problems getting rid of agricultural wastes from his grow rooms, such as shake and stems, because local farmers are afraid to possess large quantities of weed. He hopes that the increasing legitimacy of the marijuana industry will aleviate such problems.

Illegal growers are loath to draw attention to themselves and often dispose of their wastes in a surreptitous manner. Some toss bags of the common growing medium rock wool into the forest. They crush up mercury-filled HID lamps and toss them into public dumpsters. They pour fertilizers down the drain, which can cause fish-asphyxiating algae blooms in streams and in the ocean.

Eddie Tanner, an organic farmer in Arcata, said he won’t take growers’ exhausted soil because he’s not sure what’s in it. The presence of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides in his soil could endanger his farm’s organic certification. Tanner suggests that growers dump old soil in a compost pile and let the rain wash through it. Another option is to take it to Freshwater Farms in Eureka, which accepts it free of charge.

Rock wool is made out of spun mineral fiber. As long as it is not full of fungicides or pesticides, Tanner suggests churning it into the ground, where it will aerate the soil. The same goes for liquid fertilizer. It is best disposed of by pouring it into a compost pile, where microbes can eat it.

HID and fluorescent bulbs must be disposed of at Hazardous Waste in Eureka, which is open on the first Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Humboldt Hydroponics also accepts them for $5 apiece.

Environmental Toll of Indoor Grows Continued from page 1

To eliminate the necessity for chemical pesticides, Sacks suggests applying neem oil to the foliage of the plants early and regularly to ward off mites before they can establish themselves.

Indoor growers who use generators should consider installing containment tanks and automatic cut-off valves around their fuel tanks, Kemp said. They should also consider switching to nontoxic biodiesel. The vast quantities of used motor oil should be disposed of at proper waste transfer centers.

Ultimate FutilityGovernment policies towards energy and marijuana

markets and consumers’ preference for indoor bud – although it contains less THC than outdoor and fewer cannabinoids overall – have fueled the indoor boom. Legal weed and a carbon tax may bring the next economic bust. Growers and dispensaries should plan accordingly.

Even if the end of Prohibition makes growing in the hills and in bedrooms obselete, the ecological benefits will be a silver lining. Besides cannabis, no plant in the world is grown entirely indoors. In the future, high-grade marijuana will likely be grown in places well suited to its cultivation, perhaps further inland, in greenhouses with supplemental LED lighting.

Joe at Humboldt Hydroponics was refreshingly laconic when asked how to improve the ecological sensitivity of an indoor grow. “As long as that light’s on,” he said, “Ain’t nothing environmentally friendly about it.” y

LED lights could cut the carbon footprint of indoor grows – once the technology improves enough for them to work efficiently. One 45 watt lamp could replace a 250 watt high-in-tensity discharge (HID) lamp, saving significant amounts of electricity.

Organic and chemical fertilizers fill the shelves of a local hydroponics shop. Organic treatments are far superior, but even organic indoor farmers put toxins into the environment. Photo: Sarah O’Leary

Many buyers prefer indoor-grown bud (top left), and medical dispen-saries grow indoor because of the consistency of quality that can be acheived with the method. But the environmental toll is large, espe-cially if the grower is not mindful of disposal methods. Diesel genera-tors used in rural indoor grows go through gallons of motor oil each week, which then requires disposal. Even small indoor grows “on the grid” use twice as much electricity as the average household.

“Put ‘em in the sun.” Outdoor grown weed requires far less electrity, but com-mercial grows still consume large amounts of water and fertilizers.

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 5

The Northcoast Environmental Center formally announced its withdrawal from the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA) in December. We remain particularly troubled by the continued linkage of Klamath dam removal to the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA), which the NEC withdrew from in April 2009.

On January 8, the Klamath Settlement Agreement parties announced the finalization of the KBRA, presented as a combined package along with the KHSA. We believe this approach is flawed and think the prudent course is a separation between the issues of dam removal and basin-wide restoration. This is why the NEC has joined with eleven other conservation organizations in forming the Klamath Conservation Partners to seek clean and clear dam removal legislation.

In the December 2009 ECONEWS, we outlined four key issues: (1) separation of dam removal from the restoration agreement; (2) a timeline for dam removal significantly shorter than 2020; (3) a federal funding contribution towards dam removal; and (4) interim measures strong enough to ensure water quality standards are met. Though the KHSA does advance a framework for removal of four dams on the mainstem Klamath, it still does not contain provisions to address these concerns.

Since we announced our formal withdrawal from the Klamath Settlement Agreements, we have been criticized in the press and by other parties as being “anti” settlement. There has been speculation that the NEC and other conservation groups skeptical of the KBRA framework are seeking to derail or “blow-up” the settlement deals at any cost.

That is not our intention: rather, we seek to increase the likelihood that a final Congressional deal will actually result in dam removal in the relatively near future, and that such a deal will protect and restore both the lower basin’s river and the upper basin’s refuges.

We have consistently acknowledged the respect we have for the Klamath Settlement Group partners and the progress they’ve made toward setting a new framework for management in the Klamath Basin. The NEC recognizes a long-term commitment of shared interests with its lower basin partners and seeks a solution that, in the end, will not be divisive or

prejudicial towards the interests of any of the Tribes in the Basin.

At this writing, the Klamath Conservation Partners coalition includes: Oregon Wild, Center for Biological Diversity, WaterWatch of Oregon, Salem Audubon Society, Siskiyou Land Conservancy, Humboldt Watershed Council, Friends of Del Norte, Umpqua Watersheds, Lane County Audubon, Cascadia Wildlands, and Redwood Region Audubon Society. Together, we are seeking a clean and clear legislative alternative to Klamath dam removal that is unburdened by the costly and controversial KBRA.

Then and NowThe NEC originally engaged in settlement talks as

an alternative to dam removal and as a solution to the long-standing, complex, and intractable conflicts that existed in the Klamath Basin. We believed then as we do now, that settlement presented the best opportunity for basin-wide ecosystem restoration. However, we found that our concerns were not being addressed within the settlement talks.

We now believe we can be more effective working with other groups on the outside to seek an alternative legislative path. We see this as a change of tactics, not a departure from the shared central goal of Klamath restoration and recovery. It’s likely there will be considerable legislative compromise in getting to a final Klamath dam removal package. The Settlement Agreement parties have consistently stated that there are no viable alternatives to the KBRA/KHSA deal. We respectfully disagree, and will continue working with our Klamath Conservation Partners to sharpen and refine alternative legislative text.

A special area of concern to the NEC is whether the anticipated KBRA flow regime gets us beyond merely preventing jeopardy to salmonid and other important cultural aquatic species. We want assurances that the margin for salmon recovery is robust and adequately precautionary given the unknowns of climate change and the strong potential for prolonged drought over the next 50 years.

The recently completed Klamath flow models need careful review to determine whether, given the guaranteed water diversions to the Klamath Project in the upper basin, the lower basin flows provided for in the KBRA will be sufficient to prevent late summer or early fall fish kills. We agree with our Hoopa Valley Tribal partners that an open and transparent, scientifically validated and peer-reviewed flow study analysis must be conducted.

The NEC has endeavored over the past year to return to our grassroots origin. Remember that it is “Your NEC”. The Board of Directors invites your continued input and commentary on the direction we are taking in the Klamath Campaign.

Please submit your comments to: The Northcoast Environmental Center, P.O. Box 4259, Arcata, CA 95521, or e-mail: jay@yournec.org. y

Klamath Conservation Partners OrganizeBy Jay Wright, NEC KLamath Campaign Coordinator

Federal agencies are taking a novel approach called Stewardship Contracting to manage the Trinity County timberlands around Weaverville as a community forest.

The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) retain public ownership but cooperatively work with the Trinity County Resource Conservation District (TCRCD) to manage forest-based objectives defined by the community: protecting view sheds, maintaining and improving forest health through timber harvesting, recreation and education, fuels reduction, firewood collection, salmon habitat improvement and invasive weeds eradication.

Funds generated from sales of forest products pay for management, and excess funds are deposited in an account that pays for subsequent projects that meet the objectives of the stewardship agreement.

For Weaverville and surrounding communities, this unique model offers an opportunity for multi-use, community-driven forest management that creates and retains living-wage jobs in an otherwise economically challenged rural community. The goal is to provide timber for the town mill, educational and historical venues for local and tourist populations and high visual quality for the town residents.

The Stewardship Contracting (SC) tool specifically encourages and supports the implementation of public lands management goals that meet local rural and community needs. It further allows certain revenues that are generated from land use activities on SC-designated lands to be retained in a special account. The money is not sent back to the US Treasury, but is spent on other forest health projects.

In the Weaverville Community Forest, for example, a tree-thinning project for fuels reduction and stand rejuvenation on 200 acres resulted in logs being sold to the mill, chips hauled to Anderson and more than $150,000 generated for the stewardship account. This money has been used to prepare the next 200 acres for treatment, as well as to augment other funds for trail construction, blackberry eradication using goats, road rehabilitation and water-quality monitoring. Perhaps the most popular benefit so far is a firewood sale each fall.

The Resource Conservation District has calculated that for each dollar the community forest produces, six more dollars are generated through other grant and in-kind contributions, plus hundreds of volunteer hours. Recently the BLM successfully burned piles created by fuels reduction projects, with plans to conduct multi-year burns for forest health improvement.

The Forest ExpandsThe success of the BLM’s stewardship contract with

the TCRCD to manage 1000 acres as a community forest encouraged the Weaverville Community Forest (WCF) steering committee to ask the Forest Service to embrace a landscape-level forest for the Weaverville basin. In 2005 talks began to include basin lands in a stewardship contract under Forest Service authorities.

Two years of intense meetings culminated in the signing of a stewardship contract in December of 2008. This act brought to fruition the vision and desires of the community in managing federal lands with local partners.

When WCF community meetings were held to scope peoples’ interest in where and how much to expand, most liked the idea of having a watershed-defined forest. They pushed the boundaries out to Rush and Bear Creeks, to Musser Hill and Oregon Mountain, up

to SPI lands in between the forest and the Wilderness, and they included the many acres that comprise the Weaverville Basin trail system.

The proposed stewardship area needed to be approved by the Forest Service before taking the next steps. When the GIS mapping was completed, and general agreement was reached on the forest area, it totaled more than 12,000 acres.

It also included what is known as The Browns Project, a ten-year forest health effort that entailed over 1,000 acres of fuels treatment, watershed work and timber harvesting. Most of the non-controversial work had been or would soon be completed; the timber harvest part presented thornier issues.

Meetings were held over a two-year period with numerous field trips to the timber sites. Concerns were voiced from both sides of the timber debate, with much of the discussions centered on various sivilcultural practices that could be applied to The Browns. The primary issues of contention centered on the diameter of trees proposed for harvesting, the percent canopy closure of the trees after harvesting, the size of the landings, the method for marking the trees, and the number and length of roads needed for the timber work.

The ultimate decisions contributed to the crafting of the Record of Decision (ROD) that accompanies the Environmental Impact Statement.

The Browns is important because the revenue from the timber will help to fund the Weaverville Community Forest’s other important activities, like wildlife habitat improvement, water quality enhancements, and continued fuels reduction projects. Timber receipts will now be generated so that they fund projects that continue to improve the health of the Weaverville Community Forest – our common community goal. y

Iron Gate Dam, the spillway and holding pens or adult spawners. Iron Gate is one of four dams on the Klamath River proposed for removal. The NEC is working in coaliton toward a dam-removal deal that will result in dismantling the dams in the relatively near future, and that will protect and restore both the lower basin’s river and the upper basin’s refuges. Photo: Thomas Dunklin

Fed-Local Partnership Aids Trinity TimberlandsBy Colleen O’Sullivan

View of Weaverville from BLM portion of Weaverville Community Forest. Photo: John Veevaert.

Colleen O’Sullivan is the current chair of the Board of Directors for the Trinity County Resource Conservation District, former county natural resources planner and a HSU grad. She is also the chief note-taker for the Weaverville Community Forest steering committee meetings.

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org6

I’m standing in the Arcata Community Forest, with a group of HSU students, most of whom have never seen a redwood before. Even the most cynical and citified of new students—the nature-phobic pavement dwellers—find themselves “ooohing” and “aaahing” as shafts of feathery light angle down from the high canopy and through the towering pillars that surround us.

I’m tempted to break out into some Gregorian chant, or to play heavenly bars of classical music, as the mood of the group seems to have suddenly turned ecstatic, and religious. As sword and bracken fern wave in the wind and the lush moss covering fallen logs glows in vibrantly green carpets, I can feel, and I’m sure the students feel it too, a constant wave of vibrating energy, of life, surrounding and infusing us, from root to crown.

At the start of each semester here at Humboldt State University, I find myself welcoming a group of students to our special place in the world. “Welcome to the North Coast,” I always begin, “You are now safely ensconced behind the Redwood Curtain!” As North Coasters we often joke about the “Redwood Curtain” locking us in and others out, but we all benefit from the protection our geography and local ecology provide.

The redwoods that surround us—the 2,000 year old giants in Redwood State Park and along the Mattole, as well as their younger siblings in the community forest and our local parks—do much more than provide us with a natural buffer, and beautiful places to hike, play disc golf, and camp. They also give us drinking water and clean streams for salmon, by stabilizing soils, and purifying rainfall.

Although we might think ourselves far removed from the First Nations people who lived here sustainably before us, we, like the Wiyot, still depend on the redwood for food, water, and shelter.

Most importantly, redwoods play a vital role in stabilizing the planet’s climate. Redwoods are so efficient at taking in sunlight, for example, that a grove can absorb over 90 percent of the light hitting its canopy. In fact, redwood forests have the highest carbon density per acre in the

world, with older and larger trees absorbing even more carbon than younger ones; this makes the preservation of old growth redwood forests the most vital in the world.

I discuss these issues with the students as we weave our way through the maze of well-used forest trails. From the raucous calls of ravens overhead to the

opalescent flowering of trillium underfoot, the beauty of this place emphasizes our academic discussions.

As the tallest tree in the world, with some Titans standing almost 400 feet high, one of the most unique features of the redwood is its ability to pull water directly out of the air.

Tree height is limited, for most species, by their ability to siphon water up, against gravity, from roots in the ground. Redwoods, however, have evolved ways to “drink” water directly from the thick, seasonal fogs that are specific to our North Coast region. A redwood’s needles, in fact, grow in a propeller shape that creates mini vortexes of swirling air out of which each needle can more efficiently absorb water.

This ingenious adaptation to our climate, however, has also made the redwood uniquely vulnerable. Without seasonal fog to supply moisture, redwoods cannot grow. Hence, they are unique, or endemic, to our region.

As the planet warms, however, and climates shift, most models show our fog layer marching to the north. How fast can redwoods run, I wonder, as I thread my way around their massive bowls and strain my neck to peer up at the towering canopy hanging above me. Will the seeds of these giants be able to follow the fog north, and fight against the thick forests of Douglas fir, to establish themselves in a new homeland? Or, will these aging giants be the last of their kind to root in, and soar above, the earth?

Either way, the North Coasters of our distant future may no longer have our beloved Redwood Curtain to protect them. Unless we succeed at reducing the rate of climate change, they will no longer have the great monarch of trees, Sequoia sempervirens, the immortal one, to grace and protect their hills and shores. y

Corey Lewis is a professor of Environmental Writing and Literature at Humboldt State University, specializing in outdoor environmental education, and supervisor of the Humboldt Outdoor Wilderness Leaders and the Arcata Educational Farm.

Although all glaciers expand and retreat over time, warming temperatures related to climate change have caused the relatively small glaciers of Bolivia to melt and virtually disappear at an alarmingly rapid rate.

The disappearance of the looming glaciers – part of a centuries-old majestic landscape – has resulted in water shortages in the neighboring cities of La Paz and El Alto, each populated with about a million people.

The poorer of the two cities, La Paz, may become the first large urban casualty of climate change if the water shortage problems cannot be solved.

A 2008 World Bank report stated that many glaciers in the Andes will be eliminated within 20 years due to climate change. The disappearance of the glaciers threatens the existence of nearly 100 million people, and an untold number of plant and animal species.

Special Climate Section

South American Glaciers Disappear

By Corey Lee LewisOur Majestic Redwood Curtain: Headed North?

An Ocean of Climate ChangeBy Ian Jewett

Photo: Sam Camp © campphoto.com

Arcata Photo StudioThese measurements of a Bolivian Glacier spanning 1940, 1962, 1993 and 2005 illlustrate the rate of melting.

Changes in the ocean could jeopardize many of the activities North Coast residents enjoy – such as whale-watching, surfing and bird photography.

Scientists report that as weather patterns shift due to climate change, seas are warming and becoming more acidic – causing reefs to die, whales and seabirds to change migratory patterns and toxic algal blooms to grow.

In Washington, an algal bloom killed tens of thousands of seabirds and led to respiratory problems for local kayakers. In Hawaii, researchers found that the oceans are getting louder. Shellfish populations are declining worldwide for reasons beyond overharvesting.

Research suggests that these seemingly separate issues are related, and that increased carbon dioxide could be even worse for the oceans than originally suspected.

When carbon dioxide is absorbed and dissolved in the ocean, carbonic acid is formed. Increased oceanic acidity means that the ocean is becoming less alkaline. Marine organisms that rely on calcium carbonate, which is alkaline in nature, to make shells and skeletons are now in trouble.

The loss of shellfish could mean the collapse of ecosystems, human fisheries, and increased pollution due to the filter-feeding capacities of these organisms.

Increased acidity also creates an environment more transparent to low-frequency sound. Ship and propeller noise, as well as some sonar, fall into this low frequency range and this noise is travelling farther. Scientists fear that louder oceans may disrupt marine

mammals as they use low frequencies to find food and communicate with one another.

Acidity may also play a role in algal blooms that are covering larger areas and lasting longer than ever before. Many of these blooms are responsible for massive, localized die-offs of shore birds, and they threaten human health

Evidence is mounting that the health of the world’s oceans will depend on the degree to which climate change can be slowed. y

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 7

Special Climate Section

Report from Copenhagen A Perspective By Dan Ihara

December’s Climate Summit in Copenhagen, known internationally as COP 15, resulted in the non-binding agreement known as The Copenhagen Accord.

Many have criticized the Accord, however, a good case can be made that the outcome was actually favorable. In fact it may have been the best of the possible outcomes, given the political situation.

The Accord is basically an agreement between the U.S. and about 20 countries – including China, Brazil, South Africa and India – that recognizes the threat of climate change and the need to address it. It acknowledges the importance of preventing global temperatures from rising 2° Celsius. It agrees that deep cuts in emissions are required but states that poverty eradication is an overriding priority in developing countries.

Funding for ”reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation” was also included in the accord, as was an agreement that developed countries would provide “adequate, predictable and sustainable financial resources, technology and capacity-building” to help developing countries implement measures to adapt to rising temperatures.

A major criticism is that the Accord was “not binding.” But this is not the fault of the Obama Administration, but due to the fact that the Senate had not even begun to debate climate change legislation. Andrea Tuttle, former chief of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection summed up the political problem in her blog for Pacific Forest Trusts:

“President Obama also avoided a political trap….While some hoped for a surprise announcement of a higher greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, Obama stuck to the lowest number proposed by Congress … 17 percent GHG emissions reductions by 2020, rising to 80 percent by 2050.

Developing nations and the EU were critical of the seemingly modest goal, especially in light of the 30 percent contingent pledge by the European Union. But a unilateral pledge from the Administration for a higher commitment would have instantly backfired back home, complicating any negotiations with Congress.”

China has also been faulted. As a still developing country, it made a major concession in de-linking its CO2 emissions from its growth rate of GDP. That it wouldn’t commit to “binding” constraints is understandable given the uncertainties of the world’s largest country undertaking such a challenging task.

The Conference had already passed its closing time of Friday evening December 17, and extended into Saturday. Rather ending the Summit with no agreement or – as was proposed Friday night by the European Union – a rival agreement, the Copenhagen Accord was submitted.

For all of these reasons, I believe the Copenhagen Accord should be viewed with an open mind, and arguably may have been the best of the possible outcomes. y

Global warming skeptics have been disturbingly effective at confusing the American public about climate change. But climate is different than the weather. Weather describes day-to-day, even moment-to-moment temperature and precipitation changes. Climate is the change of the weather system as a whole.

Why don’t planes fall from the sky? Because of the Bernoulli Effect, which refers to the lower pressure above the wing of the airplane compared to the greater pressure below the wing. Few question the validity of the Bernoulli Effect, but the Greenhouse Effect is also an established scientific phenomenon.

In the Greenhouse Effect, certain gasses called greenhouse gases (GHGs) trap specific spectra of light as they bounce back from the earth before it reaches outer space, as can be shown in spectographs. These GHGs warm the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent greenhouse gas accounting for 60 percent of the anthropogenic (human caused) greenhouse effect.

Our climate has changed since the dawn of the Industrial Age. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued four reports; the last published in 2007 in which 2,500 scientists concurred with the data and the conclusion: The average temperature has increased 0.6 degrees Celsius (about 1 degree Fahrenheit) since the Industrial Age began.

Average global temperature should not be confused with weather or with human ranges of comfort. And greenhouse gasses aren’t all bad. It has been estimated that if greenhouse gases weren’t present, the average air temperature at the surface of the Earth would not be a relatively balmy 15°C, but a bone-chilling -18°C.

A two-degree rise in global average temperature has been recognized as dangerous. Although people can move to escape higher temperatures, plants such as trees cannot. They die and sometimes burn, as in forest wildfires. Therefore, a major objective of the

recent Copenhagen Climate Summit was for countries to agree on strategies to prevent such a rise in global temperature.

To stabilize atmospheric concentrations of GHGs, primarily CO2, existing annual emissions need to be reduced more than 80 percent. The longer it takes to do this and the greater the peak of emissions before they begin to decline, the higher the average global temperature will be.

Imagine your favorite place damaged or destroyed by these temperature increases and you will have just one reason to be concerned about climate change.

Think of the millions of people who will be forced to move from their homelands and you have another. If you consider all the benefits of industrial life and realize that changing

them soon is better than losing them altogether, that is yet another reason climate change matters.

What are we in the United States going to do about it? This spring climate change legislation will again be debated in Congress. Additionally, the Obama administration is now considering allowing EPA regulations to be used to lower emissions (see related article on page 1). Let your lawmakers know how you feel. y

Why Climate MattersBy Dan Ihara

Economist Dan Ihara has attended three Climate Meetings of the Conference of the Parties – in the Hague, Montreal and most recently in Copenhagen. He will give an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) presentation on the outcomes of Copenhagen on Feb. 23, and will present on Sustainable Humboldt on March 10. Both sessions are Noon-1 pm in the HBAC 203 in Eureka across from the Marina and are free to OLLI Members.  Read Dan’s blog at: http://NewWindsOfChange.com.

Trends in air temperature in the northern hemisphere over the past 1,000 years.The solid horizontal line is the average temperature between 1961 and 1990 that is used as the zero point baseline.The solid wavy line is the number of degrees above or below this baseline of each year’s average annual temperature. The irregular grey band reflects the level of uncertainty in the temperatures estimated from tree rings, ice cores, corals or thermometers. Graph from the International Panel on Climate Change.

The Time Has Come For Climate JusticeDespite the (mostly American) climate deniers, world

leaders are seriously concerned about climate change – as evidenced by the appearance of so many heads of state at the recent Copenhagen Climate Summit.

However, it has become obvious that the most influential of these leaders are not willing to take the political risks necessary to bring emissions down to the targets recommended by climate science experts. And their negotiations are mostly focused on the effects of climate change and emissions reductions in their own countries – despite the forceful protests that took place outside the Bella Center in Copenhagen.

A growing global Climate Justice Movement, led by indigenous peoples, and leaders and citizens in poorer countries and small island states is gaining power and momentum as the climate debate heats up. They point out that climate change disproportionately affects the world’s poorest peoples, who ironically are least responsible for its existence.

In the nascent days of the movement a few years ago, the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative issued this statement to define Climate Justice:

Climate justice is a vision to dissolve and alleviate the unequal burdens created by climate change. As a form of environmental justice, climate justice is the fair treatment of all people and freedom from discrimination with the creation of policies and projects that address climate change.

Climate justice activists, along with the leaders of countries most affected or likely to be affected, insist

that developed countries owe a “climate debt” – money that could be used to mitigate damaging effects as well as to work to sustainably develop these poorer nations so they do not join their developed counterparts in spewing out carbon dioxide-rich emissions.

The idea of such a climate debt was met with skepticism by representatives of developed countries, especially the U.S, in Copenhagen. But the final draft of the Accord does “agree” that developed countries shall provide financial resources to support adaptation to climate change in developing countries.

The island states of Tuvalu and Maldives are already shrinking due to rising waters, and the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports make it clear that a two-degree rise in temperature would be disastrous for the small island states. In addition to the crisis these island-dwellers will face, countless plant and animal species will be lost.

Additionally, shrinking water supplies in already arid countries coupled with rising temperatures and devastating storms will create billions of climate refugees – forced to leave their homelands in search of sustenance.

Although the various groups within the climate justice movement have different goals and use different tactics, many of them unified at the Copenhagen Summit to demand recognition of the plight the world’s most marginalized peoples face if temperatures are allowed to continue to rise.

Although Climate Justice activists were ultimately unsuccessful in their demands for a binding agreement

in Copenhagen, their movement continues to grow and gain strength. True and lasting change may ultimately come from the bottom up. y

Get Involved!Learn more about the Climate Justice move-ment by visiting these web sites:www.climate-justice-action.orgwww.actforclimateustice.orgwww.timeforclimatejustice.orgwww.climatelaw.org

By Sarah O’Leary

Climate Justice activists march through the city of Copenhagen during the recent International Climate Summit.

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org8

...working with clients to improve the social, economic and environmental performance of their organizations and projects.  

REGENERATIVE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING AND RESEARCHCHANGE MANAGEMENT

  www.greenwaypartners.net                                                                707.822.0597

The only Certified OrganicGrocer on the North Coast!The only Certified OrganicGrocer on the North Coast!

• Bakery• Espresso

• Full Deli• Free Wi-Fi

• Bakery• Espresso

• Full Deli• Free Wi-Fi

Full ServiceNatural Foods Grocery Stores

ARCATA CO-OP8th and I Streets

822-5947

EUREKA CO-OP4th and B Streets

443-6027 www.northcoastco-op.com

Full ServiceNatural Foods Grocery Stores

• BEST Green Friendly Store

2009

After a holiday visit to my family in the Midwest, which was buried under a foot and a half of snow, I returned with renewed delight to Humboldt County’s mild winter. I escaped Iowa just before a week of brutal sub-zero temperatures, and the verdant North Coast seems like a paradise. Things grow here! They actually thive in winter.

The same temperate North Coast climate that presents challenges to ripening tomatoes in late summer offers abundant opportunity for farms and gardens throughout the winter. Though some farmers opt for a break, most Humboldt farms continue producing throughout the winter. A succession of hardy, cool weather crops provide variety and comfort to North Coast dwellers. Fresh-picked kale, carrots, beets, baby bok choi, brussel sprouts, cabbage and potatoes are all readily available to the public through local grocers.

Some community supported agriculture farms (CSAs), which provide their members with weekly shares of produce throughout the growing season, offer an extended winter share.

Janet Czarnecki of Redwood Roots Farm has gradually expanded her winter crops since 1998. To minimize work requirements, she makes her cool season produce available to members of Redwood Roots CSA as a winter U-Pick. Eddie Tanner’s Deep Seeded Community Farm extended his regular season by six weeks, selling separate winter shares chock full of carrots, potatoes, leeks, squash, lettuce, turnips, and chard.

“With a loyal (CSA) member base, the risks are minimal,” says Czarnecki of winter farming in Humboldt. “I choose hardy varieties. They are meant to survive in cold weather conditions.”

Backyard gardeners can also cultivate cool-season crops such as winter greens and root vegetables and fill the family soup pot and plates all winter long.

The real challenge of growing cold season crops is timing. When temperatures become consistently cool and we receive less than ten hours of sunlight a day,

plant growth slows significantly. This means farmers and gardeners must plan ahead and start winter crops in the height of summer in order to achieve plant maturity before the first frost.

The first week of December brought a series of frosts that chilled plants but didn’t cause lasting harm to mature cold weather crops. On the contrary, cold snaps can set the sugars in root vegetables like carrots and parsnips say many farmers. In his book, The Winter Harvest Handbook Elliot Coleman recounts a story of a customer who “tolerates summer looking forward to eight months

of intensely flavorful winter production.”

The environmental benefits of eating locally produced foods are enormous. Take for instance three main items in a simple winter stew or roast: carrots, potatoes and onions This meal in Iowa would likely draw carrots from California’s central valley, potatoes from Idaho and onions from Oregon. One winter roast’s humble accompaniment would travel 3,960 miles just to get to a grocery store in Des Moines.

Compare that to a trip to the Co-op where all three items are grown within 100 miles, or better yet to a walk out to your own garden. Moreover, most Humboldt farmers are disinclined to drench their crops in petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides.

Year-round, intensive farming can positively impact farm ecology as well. Mild temperatures and winter rains reduce the need for irrigation

and diminish insect populations. Additionally, growing crops throughout the winter benefits the soil.

Many farmers use winter cover crops, affectionately called “green manure.” These cover crops manage water infiltration from heavy rains and reduce erosion of topsoil. Some cover crops can be turned into the soil in the spring to add nutrients as they decompose. Diligent farmers keep careful records of what grows where to ensure frequent rotation.

Due to our mild North Coast winters, and the enthusiasm of our local farmers, we can all enjoy delicious and ecologically sustainable produce all year round. y

As a self-proclaimed environmentalist it is easy for me to conjure up images of environmental change in California. But it’s not often that I think about that change in the context of deep time, or geologic time. While human history is but a hair on the geologic time clock, our species has been remarkably successful at rapidly transforming our environment.

An exciting new project explores environmental change in California over the past two billion years as well as the fundamental nature of our relationship to that change – both presently and into the future. The California Environmental Legacy Project is a multi-institutional, multi-platform endeavor bringing together a wide range of scientists, educators and media professionals to promote public understanding about environmental change in California and our place in this changing world.

HSU’s Redwood Science Project is a founding sponsor of the Legacy Project, which recently received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to produce several key pieces of this project. The centerpiece is a four-episode PBS documentary for national broadcast in 2012.

A second component is the Changing Places Initiative, which will bring the Legacy Project exploration to five regions in the state, including our North Coast’s Redwood Forests. Short films, podcasts, and other media are in production for distribution in parks, museums, and science centers throughout the state.

Additionally, the online Education Portal will engage users with opportunities for streaming media and accessing materials and resources. Lastly, the K-12 school programs will provide teachers with professional options to enhance learning experiences for their students.

The Legacy Project will help make understanding California’s changing environment accessible, digestible, and maybe most importantly, meaningful for a wide range of audiences, including television viewers, students, park visitors, and online users.

Learn more about the Legacy Project at www.humboldt.edu/~rsp/celp/ yAllison Poklemba is the CREEC (California Regional Environmental Education Community) Network’s regional coordinator. www.creec.org/region1.

By Kristyna Solawetz

Winter Farming: A North Coast Boon

Janet Czarnecki of Redwoots Roots Farm has expanded her winter crops to meet the needs of her CSA members. Photo: Kristyna Solawetz

Project Explores State’s Environmental Legacy

By Allison Poklemba

Kristyna Solawetz is the AmeriCorps VISTA member for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

Eco Threadz Formerly Conscious Home

Now Under New Ownership!Same Location Even more great products to enhance

your healthy & sustainable lifestyle

1480 Nursery Way, Next To NHSIn the Miller Business Park in McKinleyville

Mon-Sat 10:30-6:30 • Sun. 11-4 (707)840- 0776

All OrganicKitchen, Bath and Clothing

Money won’t be all your savings when you shop at Eco Threadz!

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 9

Local botanists urge northwestern Californians to be on the lookout for two newly-introduced European species, commonly known as yellowtuft (Alyssum corsicum and Alyssum murale), which were planted in southwest Oregon with the intent of mining nickel from native serpentine soils.

The botanically unique serpentine areas in southwestern Oregon and northern California are the largest in North America. This area is now at risk of invasion by these two plants; they recently escaped cultivation and have spread onto public lands, where they threaten native plant species.

Serpentine soils have natural concentrations of metals such as copper, chromium, and nickel at levels toxic to most plant species. Interestingly, that very toxicity has resulted in high concentrations of certain rare plant species.

More than 12 percent of California’s plant species are only found on these heavy metal-laden soils, even though only 1.5 percent of the state’s soils are serpentine.

“Nearly all of Oregon’s serpentine soils occur within Josephine, Jackson and Curry Counties, which make up only six percent of Oregon’s land area, said Kelly Amsberry, Conservation Botanist for Oregon Department of Agriculture, in an e-mail. “However, 28 percent of the rare plant collections in the Oregon State University Herbarium (the repository of the state’s floral diversity since the 1880’s) were collected in these three counties. These collections represent not only the high concentration of rare species that inhabit southwest Oregon’s serpentine, but also the public’s long-standing interest in these unique plants.” 

Yellowtuft was originally examined by the USDA for use in removing metals from polluted soils. These species showed promise because of their unique ability to extract metal and accumulate it into their tissues. A Texas-based company, Viridian Resources, then proceeded to use yellowtuft in an attempt to commercially mine naturally occurring nickel from serpentine soils near Cave Junction, Oregon.

Despite inadequate information about potential invasiveness, the Oregon State Extension Service promoted yellowtuft as a new farm crop. In 2002 Viridian Resources planted dozens of acres of yellowtuft throughout Josephine County’s Illinois Valley, including a 50-acre field at the county airport immediately adjacent to the floristically diverse Rough and Ready Botanical Area.

In 2006, two long-time Illinois Valley residents independently discovered yellowtuft growing on National Forest land near a popular swimming hole. This discovery led to increased vigilance and careful documentation of the plants’ expansion into wildlands. By 2008, it became clear that yellowtuft was invading rare plant habitat well beyond the cultivated fields.

In August of 2009, after reviewing a formal Pest Risk Assessment and hearing public and private testimony, the Oregon State Weed Board voted unanimously to list both Alyssum species as Noxious Weeds.  Viridian Resources agreed to eliminate the fields that had been planted in Oregon – but invasion into wildlands had already begun.

Widespread ImpactWhile mining serpentine soils with heavy

equipment would impact plant communities and water quality, nickel mining with yellowtuft presents environmental problems of its own.

”Because both species of yellowtuft are restricted to nickel-containing soils in their natural ranges in southern Europe, these two species represent a unique threat to our flora,” said Amsberry.

Ken French, Noxious Weed Specialist for Oregon Department of Agriculture agreed, adding, “Plants

on serpentine soils have historically been less susceptible to invasion because of the high metal soils with low fertility. Now, along comes a plant that is specifically adapted to serpentine. Unless yellowtuft is stopped, the future of these serpentine plant communities are at a higher risk of invasion which could alter plant community composition, structure and function.”

“If yellowtuft invades, it has the potential to crowd out and displace rare plants,” said Amsberry. “Rare plants receiving legal protection on Oregon’s publically-managed serpentine areas include McDonald’s rockcress, Cook’s desert parsley, Howell’s mariposa lily, and Howell’s microseris. Twelve additional rare serpentine plants could also be impacted.”

One of the most difficult aspects of managing invasive species is their ability to reproduce by seed. Once seeds enter the landscape, controlling them becomes an unpredictable and expensive affair. It is unknown how long yellowtuft seeds remain viable in the soil, but it is likely that the more seeds that are produced, the longer and more expensive it will be to eradicate. y

Rare Habitat Threatened By Imported Weeds

Early Detection Is KeyWhen an invasion is at the beginning phases like this one, early detection makes a big difference. Yellowtuft is most likely to be spotted near California along the Wimer Road (Forest Road 4402), along Highway 199. In Oregon, detecting spread along the forks of the Illinois River downstream of the Rough and Ready mill will be critical.

If you learn of any plantings or you discover yellowtuft spreading into nature, please contact the Humboldt-Del Norte Weed Management Area Coordinator at: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/go/HumboldtWMA, or the Invasive Plants Coordinator of the North Coast Chapter, California Native Plant Society at: http://northcoastcnps.org/.

For more information on the plant diversity and natural history of serpentine habitats in the Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/communities/serpentines/index.shtml.

Dear EarthTalk: What are the primary environmental concerns in the aftermath of the big earthquake in Haiti?

– Frank Dover, Portland, OR

As would be the case after any natural disaster, water-borne illness could run rampant and chemicals and oil could leak out of damaged storage facilities as a result of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that ripped apart Haiti on January 12. Surprisingly, no large industrial spills have been found during initial post-quake rescue efforts, but of course the focus has been on saving human lives and restoring civil order.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the biggest issue is the building waste; some 40 to 50 percent of the buildings fell in Port-au-Prince and nearby towns. “Thousands of buildings suddenly become debris and this overwhelms the capacity of waste management,” says UNEP’s Muralee Thummarukudy, who is directing efforts to collect the waste for use in reconstruction projects.

Even before the quake Haiti had major environmental problems. Intensive logging beginning in the 1950s reduced Haiti’s forest cover from 60 percent to less than two percent today. This lack of trees causes huge soil erosion problems, threatening both food and clean water sources for throngs of hungry and thirsty people.

“If you have forest cover, when heavy rain takes place it doesn’t erode the land,” UNEP’s Asif Zaidi reports. “It doesn’t result in flash floods.” He adds that, due to its lack of forest cover, Haiti suffers much more during hurricanes than does the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Compounding these ecological insults is Haiti’s fast growing population, now 9.7 million and growing by 2.5 percent per year. This has pushed millions of Haitians into marginal areas like floodplains and on land that could otherwise be used profitably. “Most fertile land areas are often used for slums, while hillsides and steep landscapes are used for agriculture,” reports USAID’s Beth Cypser. The resulting sanitation problems have

Even before the earthquake Haiti had major environmental and economic prob-lems. Intensive logging beginning in the 1950s has reduced Hait’s forest cover from 60 percent to less than two percent today. Huge soil erosion problems, threaten both food and clean water sources. The earthquake has only exacerbated problems in this country of 9.7 million people. Photo: Remi Kaupp, Wikipedia

By Maureen Jules and Jennifer Kalt

stepped up cases of dysentery, malaria and drug-resistant tuberculosis among Haiti’s poverty-stricken population. Trash-filled beaches, smelly waterways, swarms of dead fish and tons of floating debris stand testament to Haiti’s water pollution problems—now exacerbated by the earthquake.

“We need to…create mechanisms that reinforce better use of natural resources,” says UNEP’s Zaidi. Prior to the quake, UNEP had committed to a two-year project to bolster and restore Haiti’s forests, coral reefs and other natural systems compromised by the island’s economic problems. Providing access to propane to encourage a shift from charcoal-burning stoves is an immediate goal. Longer term, UNEP hopes the program will help kick-

start reforestation efforts and investments in renewable energy infrastructure there.

Perhaps the silver lining of the earthquake in Haiti is the fact that millions of people around the world now know about the plight of the country’s people and environment, and donations have started to pour in. Anyone interested in helping relief efforts in Haiti can send a text message triggering a small donation to the American Red Cross (text “HAITI” to 90999 and $10 will be donated and added to your next phone bill).

Those concerned about clean water specifically should donate to World Water Relief, a non-profit focusing on the installation of water filtration systems in Haiti and other distressed areas of the world. y

CONTACTS: USAID, www.usaid.gov; UNEP, www.unep.org; American Red Cross, www.redcross.org; World Water Relief, www.worldwaterrelief.org.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

Alyssum corsicum, seen here in the foreground, has grayish white oval shaped leaves about 0.5-1.5 cm long and covered by dense silvery hairs. Alyssum murale, seen in the background, has gray-green leaves 0.5-1.0 cm long that are wider near the tip than at the base. Photo by Maureen Jules.

Yellowtuft grows to about one meter tall. Because most of the leaves drop when the plants bloom dur-ing early summer, the two species look nearly identi-cal in flower. Both are fast growing perennials which become reproductive within a year or two. Photo by Ken French, Oregon Department of Agriculture.

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org10

New EcoBroker

Helping buyers and sellers make “Green” decisions about Humboldt County real estate.

Call to learn more today!Karen OrsolicsBroker/Owner707 834-1818 655 F Street Arcata, CA www.arcataproperty.com

Margaret Draper Attorney at Law 707-826-9072

“Helping families make decisions” Estate planning, wills, trusts, and power of attorney for life transitions

PO Box 176, Bayside, CA 95524 maggi@humboldt1.com

Apple computers • Mac software & accessories • Apple authorized serviceInternet set-up • Network services

info@simplymacintosh.com • www.simplymacintosh.com

sales • service • solutions

O F K B Y I O E M U S N O C

A W R T U I B A C T E R I A

E P S E M Y Z N E O M N I R

P A R T Y L F S U N E V T N

A N I T Y I P N S T Z T H I

C Y A D A P T A T I O N C V

S M H T T P I P Z T E E S O

E O R C I E J T Y G B I J R

U Y E A N V M R M I E R H O

R F G R S H E A E U A T F U

T Y G N E F T P T N Y U A S

C P I T C H E R P L A N T O

A B R A T Q S D B I E K I M

M E T H O D O F R G E A R Z

Did you know .......that some plants eat animals? They are called carnivorous plants. These types of

plants usually eat insects but some of the bigger ones have been known to consume frogs, lizards and small mammals. These plants live in soils that do not have a lot of nutrients and so they have adapted to get their nutrients from animals.

There are a number of different ways they capture their prey. I’ll talk about two and let’s see if you can find out the three other basic types.

Our most famous native carnivorous plant, the California pitcher plant (Darlingtonia californica), uses a “pitfall trap” method. It has leaves that are in the shape of tubes. Some parts of these tubes are clear, like little windows. Confused insects fly into these tubes and can’t find their way out. The tubes are filled with digestive enzymes or bacteria that break down the insect so the plant can absorb the nutrients, kind of like how your stomach gets nutrients from the food you eat.

The Venus flytrap uses a different method for capturing its prey, called a “snap trap” method. Little hair-like structures, called trigger hairs are on the inside of the trap. When an insect or spider goes onto the trap, the hairs feel it and cause the trap to shut with the prey inside. The trap then seals shut making a stomach so it can absorb the nutrients from the insect. y

Kids Can Win Big in National and Local ContestsEndangered Species

Art ContestThe deadline is March 26 for a national Endangered Species Day Art Contest for students grades K-12. The winner will be recognized

at a reception in Washington, D.C. in May. Winners will be chosen in four grade-level categories, and from these one national winner will be selected.

The contest celebrates the fifth annual national Endangered Species Day, May 21, 2010. Artwork should highlight one or more endangered species found in the United States.

For more information, or to sign up, go to: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6014/signUp.jsp?key=1716 y

Bird Art ContestStudents from kindergarten through high school

are invited to enter the 7th Annual Student Bird Art Contest by the deadline of March 26. Drawings must be of one of 40 selected bird species, and special prize(s) will be awarded for the best rendition of a bird in its natural habitat.

More than $500 in prizes will be awarded, and winners will be announced at the 15th Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival on Saturday, April 17. Entries will be displayed at the Arcata Community Center during the Festival and copies of winning artwork will be shown at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center during May.

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

Flyers with complete rules and a list of eligible birds are available at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center and Strictly for the Birds in Old Town Eureka or by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to Louise Bacon-Ogden, 2337 B Street, Eureka 95501.

Artwork may be dropped off at Strictly for the Birds, 123 F Street, Eureka, or the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center, South G Street, Arcata, or mailed to Sue Leskiw, 5440 Cummings Road, Eureka 95503. Entries must be received by Friday, March 26.

The contest is co-sponsored by Friends of the Arcata Marsh and Redwood Region Audubon Society. y

Winning Entry, 2008 Student Bird Art Contest

Nature Writing Contest

The deadline is March 22 for the Fifth Annual Student Writing Contest, sponsored by Redwood Region Audubon Society.

Cash prizes will be awarded for the best essays or poems by a student in grades 4-12 on the topic, “What nature means to me.”

The winning essay will be published in the May 2010 children’s issue of the RRAS newsletter, The Sandpiper.

Entries should be 200-300 words in length; one entry per person. Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, bird feeding, duck hunting, animal rescue, and observations of the natural world.

Include student’s name, home address, phone number, teacher name, grade, and school. Send submissions by March 22 as text within the body of an e-mail to tomleskiw@suddenlink.net or mail a printout to: Tom Leskiw, 5440 Cummings Rd, Eureka 95503.

Award(s) will be presented during the Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival in mid-April. y

ADAPTATIONBACTERIACARNIVOROUSCONSUMEENZYMESESCAPEINSECT

METHODNATIVENUTRIENTPITCHER PLANTSNAP TRAPTRIGGER HAIRSVENUS FLYTRAP

Learn About Plants That Eat Bugs

California Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia Californica)

Photo: Michael Kauffmann

Find these words on the puzzle below

By Sarah Marnick

Bella Vista Plaza at the corner of Central Ave & Bella Vista Rd.

1225 Central Avenue, Suite #4, McKinleyvilleDavid Tyndall

Tax Preparer826 -1996

Email: david@BellaVistaTaxCenter.com

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 11

A KLAMATH MOUNTAIN CABINPeaceful and Private

Nearby great swimming, hiking & bikingFor more info contact Max or Nena Creasy

530-469-3413 Somes Bar, CA www.vrbo.com Property # 7696

Athing Wellness CenterChiropractic, Massage and Acupuncture

James Athing, Doctor of ChiropracticSoft Tissue Specialist

Work, Auto & Sports Injuries735 12th Street, Arcata (707)822-7419 www.athingchiropractic.com

Since its initial 1999 passage, the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) hasn’t had much rest – especially these past few months. The Marine Life Protection Act requires improving California’s existing hodge-podge of tiny underwater parks with a science-based system of marine protected areas (MPAs) designed to protect ocean habitat and biodiversity.

The law is being implemented on a regional basis and new protections have already been developed or adopted between Point Arena and Mexico. The North Coast Planning effort is just getting underway.

A North Coast Science Advisory Team, which includes local experts Dawn Goley, Eric Bjorkstedt, Dave Hankin, Ron LeValley and Craig Strong, has been meeting with a Blue Ribbon Task Force to discuss regional needs.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force includes three new members to represent our local issues: Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith, former North Coast Assemblymember Virginia Strom-Martin, and Roberta Cordero a lawyer/mediator and co-founder of the Chumash Maritime Association.

External marine protected area plans were due on February 1. Members of the Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) – the local folks charged with designing marine protected areas– were chosen from a field of 80 nominees to include sport and commercial fishermen, Tribes, seaweed harvesters, and conservationists from all three counties. For a list of members, see dfg.ca.gov/mlpa. The Regional Stakeholder Group will meet Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 9.

A New Way Of Doing ThingsOn the North Coast, efforts to find the balance

between the economic benefits of resource extraction and the need for environmental protection dominate our recent history. The MLPA raises economic, social and cultural and environmental issues similar to those during the timber wars. But this time, many local stakeholders hope to evade polarization and transcend politics as usual by working together to develop solutions.

In response to requests for increased local input, a new step was added to the marine protected area planning process, providing an opportunity for the North Coast community to develop their own marine protected area proposals in advance.

Many North Coast residents and interest groups took advantage of the opportunity to develop marine protected area designs.

These local folks participated in a Tri-County Working Group, a collective of environmentalists, fishermen, kayakers, divers, seaweed harvesters and other ocean enthusiasts. They worked closely together over the winter months to develop an MPA proposal that will hopefully provide a solid starting point for the Stakeholder Group.

Each county (Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino) requested and received grant funding from the Resource Legacy Fund Foundation to facilitate idea sharing among stakeholders both prior to and during the official process. In Humboldt, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District is the organizing agency. Marine Ecologist Pete Nelson

evaluated proposed MPAs and HSU professor Betsy Watson facilitated the meetings.

The Harbor District also recently received a Headwaters Fund grant to be used toward assessing potential economic impact associated with the creation of marine protected areas. In addition to the MLPA staff contract with economic consulting firm Ecotrust to develop and analyze extensive data related to commercial and recreational fishing, the Harbor District will contract with Impact Assessment, Inc. to understand possible “beyond the dock” implications of proposed marine protected areas.

Tribal IssuesThe customary uses, including subsistence, cultural,

and ceremonial activities of indigenous people were not recognized or included in the Marine Life Protection Act.

On the North Coast, the need to rectify this flaw has become particularly clear: citizens of our many indigenous Tribes have worked to educate MLPA Initiative staff, as well as Blue Ribbon Task Force members and the Science Advisory Team about the need to acknowledge these Tribal customary uses and ensure they are not infringed upon in any way.

Support for the Tribes has been universal among the North Coast community working on MLPA issues. A speedy, acceptable resolution is hoped for – a lack of resolution will threaten the North Coast MLPA process.

Special placesSometimes the seemingly endless acronyms and jargon

obscures what’s really at stake with the Marine Life Protection Act: our ocean, the great Pacific. Inspiration for a thousand iconic California images, crucial to our earth’s survival and yet only a small percentage of our sea is protected.

The task of the North Coast Regional Stakeholder Group will be to find the right balance between improving marine protected areas to preserve ocean habitats and wildlife, and avoiding favored fishing spots to prevent harm to the fishing and seaweed harvest industries.

Some locations being discussed as possible marine protected areas are Pyramid Point, False Klamath Cove, Reading Rock, Patrick’s Point, Punta Gorda, Usal and Point Cabrillo.

These areas all offer valuable habitat for sea life, including birds and mammals, plus other features that make them worthy of special protection. False Klamath Cove, for example, hosts some of the region’s most extensive seabird colonies, as well as tidepools that offer important protection for young rockfish. y

Get InvolvedStakeholders expect to receive input from the public, and public comment is invited at all upcoming meetings.See dfg.ca.gov/mlpa for dates and locations.Written comments are also accepted throughout the entire planning effort. Sign up for the mailing list at:dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/mailinglist_n.asp.

Provide Feedback To MLPA Initiative StaffEmail: MLPAComments@resources.ca.gov.Call: (916) 654-1885.Mail: Marine Life Protection Act Initiativec/o California Natural Resources Agency1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311 Sacramento, CA 95814 For more information, visit CalOceans.org

Marine Life Protection On The North Coast: Balancing Conservation, Economics And Culture

False Klamath Cove in Del Norte County, just north of the town of Klamath, hosts one of the areas’ most extensive seabird colonies, and being considered for designation as a Marine Protected Area. Photo: ECONEWS archives.

By Jennifer Savage

Jennifer Savage resides in Manila and is Ocean Conservancy’s North Coast Program Coordinator. She can be reached at jsavage@oceanconservancy.org or 707-477-8283.

BRANT ELECTRICCalif. License #406330

COMMERCIAL/RESIDENTIAL/INDUSTRIALNEW CONSTRUCTION/REMODELS

(707)822-3256

More information at

Blue Dolphin Alliance www.bluedolphin.org 888-694-2537

Save the Dolphin

Save YourselfEnvironmentalists, landowners and fishermen are gearing up for a fight following the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) approval of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in southwestern Oregon.

The coalition, which includes Rogue Riverkeeper and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, has filed a petition for rehearing, and Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski and the National marine Fisheries have also appealed the decision.

The project includes a terminal to import foreign-sourced LNG to Coos Bay and a 234-mile pipeline, which would cross the Coos, Umpqua, Rogue and Klamath watersheds before connecting to an existing

pipeline at the California border.

“FERC has failed to do its job and conduct the kind of environmental analysis that is required

under multiple federal statutes,” said Oregon Attorney General John Kroger. “The United States should be striving for energy independence instead of relying on fossil fuels imported from countries like Russia and Iran. This takes us in the wrong direction.”

Opponents to the LNG project cite a plethora of problems including the destruction of habitat for coho salmon, spotted owls and other species, the clear-cutting of hundreds of acres of old-growth forests on public lands and the safety of those living along the pipeline, including Coos Bay residents.

In addition, project developers would use eminent domain to seize private property for the pipeline. This project could handcuff the West Coast energy grid to fossil fuels coming from politically unstable countries while displacing investment that could support cleaner, renewable alternatives.

“I am appalled that FERC would grant approval for a project of this nature with its enormous threats to Oregon’s waters, forests and communities without due diligence in fully analyzing its necessity or impacts,” said Rogue Riverkeeper Lesley Adams.

For more information, visit: www.kswild.org/rogueriverkeeper. y

Coalition Fights Oregon LNG ProjectSubmitted By Rogue Riverkeeper

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org12

The Development is Approved! Each lot is next to a 17-acre private forest preserve and

within walking and biking distance to HSU and the PlazaJust 5 lots available in this green and connected neighborhood

Roger or Peggy Pryor (707)822-0222 www.trilliumcreek.org

A visiting judge’s anticipated decision could seal the fate of a largely phantom and decades-old real estate development that threatens Del Norte County’s Lake Earl, the largest coastal lagoon in the West.

On one side is a lot owner, living illegally on the site and “standing in” for the development’s now-dissolved water district. On the other is the state and the county, along with lot owner Maxine Curtis and the NEC as interveners represented by the Stanford University Environmental Law Clinic and local counsel.

At issue is the Pacific Shores subdivision – 1535 half-acre lots in the dunes and wetlands of the Lake Earl coastal lagoon – which was laid out in 1963 and to this day lacks any development permits or completed studies.

The land includes several Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas as designated by the California Coastal Commission, is home to the federally threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly and is one of the proposed developments that inspired passage of the Coastal Act.

A Perennial Loser

Yet the subdivision has refused to die, and until recently was represented by an elected California water district. For nearly 20 years, the district collected taxes from lot owners and wasted these millions on unfinished studies and unsuccessful lawsuits against anybody who could conceivably be blamed for their disastrous choice of real estate. The district did not win a single lawsuit.

Subdivision officials had urged lot owners not to sell “for less than $100,000 – just hold on!” But in recent years, the State of California began purchasing lots from willing sellers and in record time wound up with more than half the properties. Based on an appraisal, the state paid an average of $4,000 each for most of the 760 lots it now holds in public trust.

Then, in August 2008, Del Norte’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) dissolved the district after a two-year examination of the issue that included a generous nine-month appeal period extended to some unhappy lot owners.

The water district responded by immediately filing suit. When a Del Norte Superior Court Judge denied its request for a temporary restraining order, the district asked for a visiting judge to review its request to overturn LAFCO’s dissolution.

Suit By SubstituteMonths later the District realized that it couldn’t

sue – because it didn’t exist anymore. So lot owner Janice Wilson was substituted as the plaintiff. Wilson is among those living illegally, without any permits, in the subdivision; she was served with a cease and desist order by the California Coastal Commission a few years ago, to no effect.  

The remaining unfortunate lot owners have nowhere to turn now to unload their properties. People cannot even legally camp on their lots without a permit from the Coastal Commission, although some do.

The Del Norte Board of Supervisors shut down the state’s acquisition program nearly two years ago, citing their policy of “no net loss” of private property in the county. Even though the California Department of

Fish and Game is the majority property owner in the subdivision, the State Coastal Conservancy and Wildlife Conservation Board will not offer a lifeline to hurting lot owners unless the Board of Supervisors give their okay.

Some owners simply default on their property taxes and lose their lots to the county. The subdivision already had an unusually high rate of default, and it is likely that the Board of Supervisors’ policy is causing these unfortunate trends to accelerate.

In the past other desperate lot owners have sold their properties to real estate auction companies for around $1,000. These companies have then resold the lots for $8,000 or more

Yes, even after 46 years of an infamously failed subdivision, new unsuspecting buyers are still being snookered by the Pacific Shores dream. y

Friends of Del Norte (FDN), along with the Coastal Commission, has succeeded in compelling the Airport Authority to redesign their plans for an airport terminal to reduce its effect on environmentally sensitive areas.

The area is home to a threatened forest type known as shore (beach) pine that includes Sitka Spruce. It grows in a narrow band along the coast, usually where development is concentrated, and is associated with wetland and dune systems.

The originally proposed terminal would have removed and fragmented Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHAs) of forest and wetlands, and degraded the highly scenic Point St. George Coastal Conservancy and County Park

Friends of Del Norte appealed to the California Coastal Commission, as did several coastal commissioners. FDN also hired a planning consultant who showed how the impacts were avoidable, then redesigned a road system and modified the terminal placement.

The good news is that the Coastal Commission has agreed that the original plan would affect sensitive habitat areas, and the consultant’s redesign is being incorporated into a new airport proposal.

People come to this county because of its unparalleled natural beauty and diversity, and will want to return to a community that recognizes this and seeks to protect it and value it. Therefore it is appropriate that Del Norte airport terminal plans recognize the economic values of environmentally sensitive planning. y

The Del Norte Development That Refuses To DieSubmitted By The Friends of Del Norte

Plans Aren’t Terminal For Del Norte AirportBy Eileen Cooper

707-923-3606

Dave MoutonOwner-Builder Permaculturalist

“Avant Gardening...”#601215 business license

Consultations Labor Pool Referrals

taz@asis.com 707-822-8366

October is landscape planting season.We specialize in water conserving installation of native

and beneficial plants.Contact Dave now for a free consultation

Shop♥!Bargains & Treasures

the Hospice

Shop♥!Bargains & Treasures

the Hospice Shop♥!Bargains & Treasures

the Hospice

Go more green by shopping the Hospice Shop!Re-Use • Renew • Recycle

Gently used clothing, furniture, linens, artwork,

housewares, shoes jewelry & more

6th & H Streets Arcata

Open 10am-5pm Mon.-Sat. 826-2545

Aerial view of Pacific Shores subdivision, built in the dunes and wetlands of Lake Earl without development permits. Photo courtesy of Friends of Del Norte

(707) 498-1659 Eureka, CA 95502 GrowMyFood@gmail.com

To busy to get a garden going?Let us do it for you!

Neighborhood Farms & Victory Gardens

We Do The Work You Reap The BountyCall or e-mail for a consultation

Visit us at our Willits store: 515A South Main St. Hwy 101www.sol-solutions.com • 800-828-2965

Add On PV Panel Special!

PLUSFREE LED BULB!

Clean, silent, 12 volt DC, or 120 volt AC electric power for home, work, recreation, or anywhere you go; without the noise, fumes, fuel or hassle—just pure energy from the sun.Point of use, renewable energy device, bundled in a compact,portable package.Designed & assembled locally by:

PLUG & PLAY GREEN POWER NOW!

Green Power Ideas and Products for Home and BusinessAlternative Energy, Solar and LED Lighting Solutions

MOBILE SOLAR GENERATOR

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 13

Want a Cabin by a River?Have Ours

Jade River LodgeJoe & Sally Gillespie

jaderiverlodge.com (707)954-1641

Wildebeest in a Rainstorm: Profiles of Our Most Intriguing Adventurers, Conservationists, Shagbags and Wanderers, by Jon Bowermaster, 252 pages, Menasha Ridge Press, 2009Reviewed by Kaci Elder

Bowermaster has a gift of setting the scene. When we meet Reneé Askins in the lobby of a Montana lodge in 1994, the author introduces her reddened eyes, emptied

Styrofoam cups and doodled notepad before he tells us that she is preparing a speech on reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone National Park.

When Askins later passionately explains why the predators belong in the park, we aren’t reading her argument as disembodied text on the page; we hear a woman with reddened eyes and the flu, and we see her propped up in a chair by the fire.

Bowermaster is in the scene too, as he takes us through the 22 profiles of that comprise this collection, yet he manages to avoid inserting himself as another character. It’s rather like he’s chatting on the telephone—with us—and in the room with him is, maybe, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., or indigenous activist Winona LaDuke. And Bowermaster wants to tell us all about it.

Using play-by-play details (on former Gap CEO Doug Tompkins: “between phone calls he pads around the house on Buin Street in a buttoned Scandinavian sweater”) and context (on Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai: “as she’s traveled abroad to accept award after award for environmental and political heroism, she has come to be harassed, arrested, beaten, and threatened with rape”), the author brings us into the fold of the person behind the image.

Sometimes, it only takes a single sentence. Encapsulating wildlife photographer Peter Beard, Bowermaster writes that “Over the decades he has been diversely labeled a naturalist, fashion photographer, prophet of doom, stoic, diarist, garbage collector, felon, bum, racist, anthropologist, social chameleon, raconteur, celebrity, schizophrenic, court jester, despiser of mankind, and eighties existentialist. All and more are true.”

Yet this isn’t a particularly timely book. Though released in 2009, the 22 profiles of “Conservationists, Artistes and Sportsmen” are magazine reprints from the last two decades, specifically the ‘90s.

A brief “Where are They Now?” concludes each reprint, ostensibly to satisfy our curiosity. However, the curt summaries of the subject’s life in the eight or 10 years since the original was published contradicts the languid tone of the original piece.

For example, after the engrossing account of Peter Beard in Kenya, which at the time of the original writing had been his adopted homeland for 40-plus years, the postscript off-handedly says that, these days, Beard “rarely visits Africa.” But why? What happened? It’s as though, where once Bowermaster shared the play-by-play over the telephone, suddenly he’s got to go and with a brief goodbye, hangs up. Still, we enjoy the details he does provide. y

The Sibley Guide to Trees, by David Allen Sibley. 427 pages, Knopf,  2009, $39.95  Reviewed by Susan Nolan

Sibley’s birding guides have become the standard, so publication of a Sibley tree book is an event.

Halfway between an encyclopedia and a field guide, this ambitious volume “covers the identification of 668 native and commonly cultivated trees

found in the temperate areas of North America north of Mexico,” according to its introduction.

Common and scientific names, a range map, and habitat description are given for every species. Major species may receive a whole page, with paintings of leaves, bark (at as many as three stages of growth), fruit, flowers (including catkins), fall color, twigs, and the typical shape of the tree.

Variable forms may have several depictions. The thoroughness of illustration is a real strength. This book improves on most others by its consistent attention to buds and twigs, which are important points of identification, especially for deciduous trees in winter.

Sparse text concisely yet vividly sketches out important points, eschewing filler. Helpful charts sort through the conifer family, as well as similar but unrelated deciduous leaf shapes.

The book has some minor flaws. The mingling of horticultural and native species serves no clear purpose. With everything north of Mexico plus dozens of ornamental species, its sheer bulk limits its usefulness as a field guide. Organization is somewhat confusing within large genera, oaks and pines for example. A subtle East Coast bias is apparent, and small errors could have been caught with more review.

Still, it is an excellent book. If Sibley produces a version just for the West, as he did with his very popular bird guide, we’ll have a wonderful new tool. y

One Square Inch of Silence: One Man’s Search for Natural Silence in a Noisy World, Gordon Hempton and John Grossmann, 368 pages, Free Press, New York, $16.00Reviewed by John Emig

In One Square Inch of Silence Gordon Hempton documents his travels from Washington’s Olympic Peninsula to Washington DC, in his woodstove-equipped

‘64 VW van. The purpose of his journey is to convince the National Park Service to protect one square inch in Olympic National Park’s Hoh River Valley from human noise. This tiny sanctuary would affect many square miles just as a point source of noise does. Along the way, he searches for the naturally quiet places that remain in the U.S. and concludes there are, in fact, none east of the Mississippi.

The US Department of Justice says noise decreases property values, increases hostility and discourages community building. The Southern Medical Journal reports that noise is “associated with both an increase in aggressive behavior and a decrease in behavior helpful to others.” Recent studies point to “a clear correlation between (long term) exposure to high levels of road traffic noise and cardio-vascular disease.” The 1999 U.S. Census reports that Americans cite noise as the number one neighborhood problem.

However, humans to one degree or another accept or even encourage noise. What happens to wildlife with no say in the matter?

As an international acoustic ecologist, Emmy Award-winning sound recorder, surfer and botanist holding advanced degrees, Hempton writes authoritatively of spirituality, camping, wildlife and terrain while offering extensive descriptions of sound along the way.

From resonance inside driftwood Sitka Spruce (used for guitars and violins), to an entire valley echoing with thunder, his book is a brilliant exploration of the music of nature. He then documents how human noise changes the way wildlife behaves and thrives, such as preventing hearing predators, making feeding and mating more difficult, and even unnaturally shaping the evolution of bird song.

Noise more insidiously affects the health of humans and wildlife than even water or air pollution. This book offers a heightened consciousness of the issue, sets an example for addressing it constructively through raising awareness and legislation, and provides practical advice for dealing with it personally.

With quotes and stories from John Muir’s life throughout, the author advocates protecting natural quiet to enable its healing and spiritual power for humans while preserving a place for wildlife to flourish.

The book includes a CD of soundscapes and photos from his trip. The first 100 pages are available free via Google Books. y

Books To Inform, Educate & Inspire - At The NEC!The NEC is continually adding to its library, which is brimming with environmentally-oriented books from all disciplines. Scientific guides, meditative treatises, stunning

collections of photography, and how-to guides on sustainable living are just a few of the genres our members find when they come in to browse our library. Our office and library is open to the public Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Fridays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Libaray books are available for loan for short periods of time.

Here is a sampling of our recent additions. All reviews are written by members and volunteers. For more member/volunteer-written book reviews, visit our web site at www.yournec.org. y

Independence Days – A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage & Preservation, by Sharon Astyk. 368 pages, paper, Friesens, Canada, 2009, $`19.95Reviewed by Michele Noble

Sharon Astyk provides a treasure trove of information on how to live an independent life. She covers the particulars of food preservation, ranging from how to increase the size of your

pantry to preparing canned meals your children will enjoy. Independence Days provides details on holistic and sustainable methods for food storage, eating locally grown foods and cooking.

Astyk explains the different ways to store all the foods in your garden, including instructions on canning, dehydration, fermentation, root cellars and season extensions. This guide packed with assorted recipes that use pantry foods; my favorite example is Creamy Greens Casserole.

Astyk suggests an array of simple ideas to decrease independence on grocery stores and eat locally year round. One tip is to plant one thing in the garden each day in the spring and then can one food item each day in fall.

This book will greatly assist those who are beginning to journey into the realms of food storage and need the motivation to get started. It includes an uncompromising The amount of oil wasted on food transportation will make you think twice about buying bananas from far away countries.

Independence Days reminds you why you want to gain independence from the food industry. The first step to improved self-sufficiency and an independent life begins with planting a garden. Happy canning. y

GLOBAL VILLAGE GALLERY

TextilesBeads

ClothesJewelry

973 H Street * Arcata*826-2323Open 7 days a week

SolutionsHemp * Recycled * Organic Largest selection of hemp, organic cotton clothing, recycled papers

858 G Street * Arcata plazaReal Needs since 1990 707-822-6972

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org14

212 J Street Eureka, CA 95501 707-445-0784

Robert Berg, D.D.S.

Kin to the Earth

The words “Audubon Society” may bring to mind images of nerdy birdwatchers glued to their telescopes and notebooks, intent on a chance to spot a new species. But our local chapter, Redwood Region Audubon Society (RRAS), is just as involved in environmental activism as in organizing bird-watching tours.

“We go toward the activist side as a chapter in general,” said Jim Clark, longtime member and incoming President-elect.

Several years ago RRAS participated in a lawsuit involving non-mitigated construction of a subdivision on a wetland in McKinleyville. The organization ultimately won a settlement of around $75,000, which became seed money for a sanctuary fund. Later that money, combined with donations, bought 160 acres of mudflats adjacent to Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Clark explained that local Audubon Society chapters are all autonomous. “They can have a different opinion about certain environmental situations than state or national [Audubon Societies],” he said, adding that RRAS doesn’t have to go through a hierarchy when it wants to take a position on a local environmental issue.

New Public Trust RRAS has is in the beginning phases of a long-

term project involving their acquisition of a public trust over Parcel 4 (just west of the Bayshore Mall), which the City of Eureka dedicated back to the Coastal Conservancy last year.

“The Coastal Conservancy offered the public trust for the open space to RRAS,” said Clark. “Essentially we have control over space above the parcel.”

Clark said that the organization’s goals include enhancing the area for wildlife habitat and for public viewing of wildlife.

“Those are the specific mandates on the space that we signed with the Coastal Conservancy,” he said, adding that this use will be compatible with the coastal trail being planned for that area.

Clark acknowledged that the cleanup and upgrading of the parcel is going to take a great deal of hard work in addition to grant funding, and he said that RRAS will be working with the City to achieve its goals.

“I think people will fall in love with [this property] once it’s accessible and safe,” he said.

In addition to being a spot to view wildlife, the parcel is an historic mill site and the plans include interpretive historical signage about past uses throughout the

centuries and possibly even an interpretive center in the Mall.

“Parcel 4 is a big responsibility for us,” said Chapter President, Ken Burton, “but I think we’re up to the challenge. We have an incredible opportunity here and if we do it right it could even help revitalize commerce in the area while creating a great place for education and recreation right in the city.”

Collaborative ProjectsRRAS was recently

awarded three grants from Audubon California for snowy plover conservation. It is partnering with Friends of the Dunes (FOD) on all three and is negotiating with FOD towards future collaboration on the new Coastal Nature Center.

“We see a lot of value in partnerships,” said Burton. “There’s no point in competing for limited resources or reinventing the wheel. Our niche in the local environmental community is advocating for birds and using our leverage as part of a much larger organization to support good work that other folks are doing.”

RRAS coordinates many other projects and activities, including a weekly interpretive walk through the Arcata Marsh. Monthly tours are also offered at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge year-round, and at Palco Marsh from fall to spring.

RRAS also leads birding and natural history field trips to locations all over northwestern California, and an evening program is presented the second Friday of each month, September through May. The programs feature slide shows, movies and talks by experienced naturalists and biologists.

Every year the chapter holds a banquet and auction to celebrate its accomplishments and raise money for its work, this year’ on February 20 featuring Brian Sullivan of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology as guest speaker. Tickets are available until February 14.

Christmas Bird CountRRAS just wrapped up its annual Christmas Bird

Counts, in which members and other volunteers counted birds throughout the region, including Willow Creek, Crescent City and Ferndale.

“The CBC is the longest-running biological survey in the world,” said Burton, “and serves as a valuable monitoring tool for bird conservation.”

The results of continent-wide Audubon Christmas Bird Counts are published in North American Birds magazine and are available online at audubon.org.

Anyone is welcome to join in this bird counting effort, which takes place every year from mid-December through early January. “It’s a good way to learn about birding,” said Clark.

“But our chapter is not purely about birding,” he said. “There is so much to do and members don’t need to be expert birders.” Members can help out with the annual student bird art contest (see page 10), with publicity, and with the Chapter’s booth and café at Arcata’s annual Godwit Days event.

Community members who would like to get involved with RRAS can find more information on its website, www.rras.org, and/or in The Sandpiper, the monthly newsletter inserted in each edition of ECONEWS. y

If you find yourself wandering the coastal forests between dusk and dawn be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the “shaggy night wanderer.” No, this is not a reference to Bigfoot, but instead comes from a loose interpretation of the Latin name, Lasionycteris noctivagans. But most people know this creature as the silver-haired bat.

This bat is aptly named. The fur is nearly black and appears frosted as if glazed with ice or dew. Finding these bats in roost is the surest way of making a positive identification between this species and the many other species native to California. It is nearly impossible to identify bat species in flight for obvious reasons – they are quick and most active after the sun sets.

The silver-haired bat spans a huge range from Alaska to Mexico and is well known for its transient tendencies. Monitored individuals have been recorded making journeys over open ocean to Puerto Rico and, even more astoundingly, Bermuda (more than 1,000 miles from the contiguous United States).

Mating occurs in autumn when both sexes

congregate for migration. One to two young are born in late June to early July and are able to forage independently between 20 and 40 days after birth.

On a nightly basis, individuals maintain large hunting territories upwards of the size of a football

field. Though common, this species is rarely seen due to an erratic population distribution, secretive roosting habits, and a predominately solitary lifestyle.

This species migrates to warmer climates during the winter and also hibernates or remains relatively inactive during the winter months. The silver-haired bat seeks high, old-growth snags for roosting, but is a generalist often using open sheds, abandoned tree cavities and piles of human debris as a resting place.

Due to its forested landscape and wet, mild winter climate, the North Coast is a frequent target for short-term residency or pit stops during its annual migration.

The silver-haired bat is not threatened or endangered, but few extensive studies have been recorded on this relatively shy mammal. Deforestation and increasing feral cat populations are the biggest threats to a stable population. If you happen to find some roosting bats this year in an open shed or redwood cavity, check to see if you have come across the shaggy night wanderer as it may be a once-in-a-lifetime sighting. y

Life Form Of The Month

Redwood Region Audubon Society: More Than Just BirdingBy Sarah O’Leary

Silver-Haired Bat: The Shaggy Night Wandererby Ian Jewett

Photo: Wendell Wood

Dandelion Herbal CenterClasses with Jane Bothwell

10-Month Herbal Studies Program Februar y - November 2010

Meets 1 Weekend a Month 3 weekend Field TripsHerbal Travel Adventure

Guadalupe Hot Springs • Baja, MexicoMarch 24-29, 2010

Register online • www.dandelionherb.com 707-442-8157 • janeb@arcatanet.com

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 15

TOFU SHOP• Fresh • Locally-Made •

• Certified Organic •• Waste-Reduction Award Winner•

Look for Tofu Shop products in fine markets, delis, and restaurants.

www.TofuShop.com

Eco-ManiaA monthly melange of

salient sillies....

❂

❂

PRIVATE OUTDOOR HOT TUBS • TRADITIONAL SAUNA CABINS

CAPPPUCCINO • JUICE BAR • PASTRIESCorner 5th & J Arcata 822-2228 reservations

OLD GROWTH: A tree-ring study indicates that Great Basin bristlecone pines have grown faster in the past 50 years than they have in the thousands of years before that – because of rising temperatures.

UNK FOOD JUNKIES: Bacon, cheesecake and Ho Hos produce addictive behavior in rats similar to how they act addicted to heroin, according to a Scripps Research Institute study.

Pleasure centers in the brains of rats hooked on high-fat, high-calorie diets became less responsive as binging wore on, making the increasingly obese rats consume more and more food.

What’s more, they continued to pig out even when given shocks. And when the junk food was taken away and they had access only to nutritious chow, the fat rats refused to eat.

ABOUT SPROUTS: An English aquarium has lowered the water level in the tank of a green sea turtle named George because his flatulence after eating Brussels sprouts can trigger overflow alarms – like it did last year after he dined on sprouts for their vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Elsewhere in England, two women have published a recipe book in which every dish features Brussels sprouts. They hope to boost the popularity of many people’s least favorite vegetable with such recipes as sprouts ice cream and a cake with raisins, coconut and sprouts.

THE COST OF CAFFEINE: It takes almost 53 gallons of water to produce the coffee, milk, sugar and cup for just one regular takeout latte, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

HOLD THAT TIGER: Louisiana wildlife officials are allowing a truck stop in the town of Grosse Tete to keep the state’s only privately owned tiger.

Michael Sandlin, owner of the Tiger Truck Stop, must abide by conditions that include staff training, liability insurance and providing a veterinarian-approved diet for nine-year-old Tony the tiger.

ARE YOU HAPPY? If passed by Congress, the HAPPY (Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years) Act will give pet owners a tax deduction of up to $3,500 for care expenses for any “legally owned, domesticated live animal.”

SIZE MATTERS, FOR DUCKS: Hungarian researchers decided to compare data on the prevalence of flu strains in various duck species with the anatomy of their reproductive parts.

They were surprised to discover that the duck species with the shortest penises had the highest flu levels. They had no explanation, and added that it was a bit counter-intuitive since copulation with a larger phallus should further promote virus transfer.

SUPER-VOLCANO? New Zealand researchers peering under Mount St. Helens have found what may be an extraordinarily large zone of semi-molten rock, which would be capable of feeding a giant eruption.

Scientists agreed that if it is indeed a vast bubble of partially molten rock, it would be comparable in size to the biggest magma chambers ever discovered, such as the one below Yellowstone National Park.

Such chambers can erupt as so-called super-volcanoes. The Yellowstone one did about 650,000 years ago.

SEX FOR SECURITY: Female fiddler crabs mate with their neighbors in exchange for protection, according to studies at the Australian National University.

The discovery is the first known case of male and female neighbors teaming up to defend territory in any species, researchers said after studying the burrow-dwelling crabs on beaches in South Africa and Mozambique.

ENTREPRENEURS: An Illinois family is raising

deer not as pets or for breeding but so they can sell one-ounce spray bottles of deer urine to hunters.

Kevin Cox and his family started with three fawns in a pen, and now run a three-acre operation with 14 deer to produce the filtered product. He plans to start a Web site for online purchases.

FROM THE DEEP: Among the new animals described in a marine-life census as living thousands of yards underwater in deep-sea darkness are an octopus that flaps ear-like fins to swim, a worm that feasts on whale bones and another that dines on crude oil leaching from the sea-floor.

NO MYSTERY: After 60 years, the British Ministry of Defense has announced it will no longer investigate UFO sightings.

The $80,000-a-year operation dealt with 12,000 reports over the decades, admitting that about five percent of them remain unexplained.

❂

❂

❂

❂

NORTH GROUP NEWSA List of Events & Conservation Updates From the North Group Redwood Chapter Sierra Club

CNPS HAPPENINGSNews and Events from the North Coast Chapter of the California Native Plant Society

!

ARCATA

Wildberries Market826-1088

EUREKA

2223 Harrison Ave.442-1336

209 E Street445-2923

At Pierson’s476-0401

MCKINLEYVILLE

Shopping Center839-3383

Freshly Roasted CoffeeEspresso • Breakfast PastriesSandwiches, Soups & Salads Wedding & Specialty CakesCookies • Truffles • BreadPizza • Desserts • Catering

Ramone’sBakery &Cafe

OPEN DAILY

FebruaryMarch ECONEWS www.yournec.org16

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

EVENING PROGRAMSThese free programs feature guest speakers and are presented every second Wednesday, September through May, at Arcata Masonic Lodge, 251 Bayside Road, near 7th and Union. Refreshments 7:00, program at 7:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Audrey Miller, (707) 786-9701, taudreybirdbath@suddenlink.net February 10, Wednesday - “Poisonous Plants of Northwest California.” Professor Emeritus Dr. James P. Smith, curator of the HSU Herbarium, will explore what we mean by “poisonous” or “toxic,” how we contact poisonous plants, and how they work. His examples will include the most violently poisonous plant in North America, the garden escape that once provided the active ingredient in a witch’s recipe to cure dropsy, the plant that is second only to the common cold in causing lost days of work in California, the weed that poisons animals when they are exposed to sunlight and that appears on lists of most popular herbal remedies, the common roadside plant that is always associated with the death of Socrates (but perhaps not in the way it is traditionally presented in our textbooks), and the familiar plant that has its devastating effects not on the animal that consumes it, but on its offspring. March 10, Wednesday - “Blooming Beauties and Graceful Glaciers in the Swiss Alps.”The Swiss Alps are rich in botanical treasures and beautiful landscapes. Botanist Birgit Semsrott will share her pictures of Grindelwald, Switzerland. Located in the Bernese Oberland Region, Grindelwald is in the heart of a massive mountain range and surrounded by majestic, ice-clad peaks. Many of Birgit’s pictures were taken at Schynige Platte Alpine Garden, one of only a few botanical gardens in the world that show alpine plants in their natural environment.

FIELD TRIPS & PLANT WALKSPlease check our web site (www.northcoastcnps.org) for new additions. Everyone is welcome, no botanical knowledge required. We are out there to share and enjoy.February 27, Saturday - Coastal Trail Day Hike. Mosses, red-flowering current, canyon gooseberry, violets, and a giant purple wakerobin should be glorious along the Coastal Trail from Requa, on the north side of the mouth of the Klamath River, to Lagoon Creek, where Highway 101 meets the ocean north of Klamath. We will shuttle a car to one end and start at the other so we only need walk the four miles one way. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at Pacific

Union School, 3001 Janes Rd., Arcata, or arrange a place farther north. Dress for the weather!

Bring lunch and water. Return late afternoon. Please tell Carol Ralph you are coming. (707) 822-2015.March 21, Sunday - Arcata Community Forest Day Hike. The far reaches of this great city park are beyond the casual stroll. We will explore some of the farthest trails, hiking a long loop or shuttling cars to a different

trailhead. We can count trillium for fun, practice spotting false azalea, learn at least five conifers and five ferns, and watch for fetid adder’s tongue (aka. slinkpod), and other early signs of spring. Meet at 9 a.m. at the trailhead at the top of Diamond Drive. Dress for the weather in the shady redwood forest, and for walking about 4 miles on dirt roads and paths. Bring lunch and water. Return mid- or late-afternoon. Information: Carol Ralph, (707) 822-2015.April 11, Sunday - Humboldt Redwoods Day Hike. Roadside stops and walks on several short trails in Humboldt Redwoods State Park should find milkmaids, western trillium, and, hopefully, fawn lilies, as well as other early bloomers under the magnificent redwoods of southern Humboldt. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at Pacific Union School, 3001 Janes Rd., Arcata, 9 a.m. at the McDonalds end of Bayshore Mall parking lot, or arrange another place. Dress for the weather. Bring lunch and water. Return late afternoon. Please tell Carol Ralph you are coming (707) 822-2015.

SPECIAL WORKSHOPFebruary 27, Saturday - Introduction to the Sedges of Northwestern California: A Hands-on Workshop. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Humboldt State University, Science Building D, Room 161. Participants should bring: dissection equipment, including extra-fine forceps, Jepson Manual, and lunch. $60 for CNPS Members, $95 for non-members. To register, send a check made out to “NC CNPS” with your contact information, including email address to: CNPS, PO Box 1067, Arcata, CA 95518-1067. For more information contact Gordon Leppig, gleppig@dfg.ca.gov

Watch for new additions on our website:www.northcoastcnps.org. Sign up for e-mail announcements at :NorthCoast_CNPS-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Join a native plant gardening discussion group at: NorthCoast_CNPS_Gardening:subscribe@yahoogroups.com. y

Election ResultsNed Forsyth, Gregg Gold, Felice Pace, and Jennifer Wood were elected to 2-year terms on the North Group Executive Committee. Officers and committee chairs will be selected at the January 31 retreat.Get Signatures for State ParksOn January 8, supporters – including Sierra Club California – officially launched a volunteer signature-gathering campaign for the California State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010. This statewide ballot measure would give California vehicles free admission to state parks in exchange for a new $18 vehicle license fee that would be specifically dedicated to state parks and wildlife conservation. Some 700,000 signatures are needed by mid-April to qualify the measure for the November 2 statewide ballot. If you would like to help get signatures, e-mail Alan Carlton (carltonal@yahoo.com) or visit www.calparks.org. Additional information is posted at www.yesforstateparks.com.Best Year for Outings AchievedOutings Chair Al Muelhoefer reports that during 2009, the number of outings more than doubled from the previous year – to 25 – and the number of participants was up to 152 (highest of the last five years). North Group would like to thank our leaders for sharing their time and knowledge about great places to hike in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. However, there is always a need for more leaders, so if you would like to help people explore our beautiful North Coast, contact Al at almuelhoefer@gmail.com.The Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA)North Group is part of Redwood Chapter which encompasses five Sierra Club Groups from San

Francisco to the Oregon border. While Redwood Chapter strongly supports removal of PacifiCorp’s four destructive Klamath River dams and restoration of fisheries in the Klamath Basin, we believe that the KHSA does not establish the best path to ensure a reliable and timely removal of the dams. The inextricably linked Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA, the “water deal”) is fundamentally flawed and contains troubling policy implications that need to be addressed.Because the Klamath River Basin includes parts of several Sierra Club chapters in two states, the KHSA is an issue of interest not only to Redwood and other individual Chapters, but also to Sierra Club National. In such cases, local Club entities are free only to make recommendations to National. The Redwood Chapter is recommending against supporting the KHSA and for supporting clean dam-removal legislation that is unencumbered with the KBRA. As of mid-January, National’s process toward a decision is continuing.North Group to Sponsor Science Fair AwardFor the fourth year, North Group will be sponsoring an award at the annual Humboldt County Science Fair held in mid-March at Humboldt State University. A $50 prize will be given to the best project dealing with environmental issues.

Outings & MeetingsTuesday, February 9 – Executive Committee Meeting. Join us for a discussion of local conservation issues between 8 and 9 p.m., following the business meeting starting at 7 p.m. at Adorni Center on Eureka Waterfront. Info: Gregg, (707) 826-3740.Saturday, February 13 -- Headwaters Forest Reserve. This 11-mile hike is level for the first four miles, passing through second-growth redwood along Elk River. Last

mile is a steep climb through old growth. Carpools meet at Herrick Park-and-Ride at 9 a.m. or trailhead parking at the end of Elk River Road, at 9:30. No dogs. Call leader Xandra for more info, (707) 441-0702.Saturday, February 27 – Table Bluff /Mouth of Eel (Nine miles, medium difficulty, less than 500-foot elevation change). Hike begins below Table Bluff and follows the beach south 4.5 miles between ocean and sloughs, estuaries, and marshlands of Eel. Abundant wild flora, occasional birds and wildlife in varied coastal environment. Return along dunes and McNulty Slough. Carpools meet at Herrick Park-and-Ride at 9 a.m. or beach below Table Bluff at 9:30. Call leader Xandra for further info, (707) 441-0702.Tuesday, March 9 – Executive Committee Meeting. (See February 9 listing.)Sunday, March 14 – Skunk Cabbage Trail, Redwood National Park (Nine miles, medium difficulty, less than 500-foot elevation change.) Trail begins in Sitka forest, passes through luxuriant understory, including impressive skunk cabbage, rises gradually into second-growth redwoods, reaches a coastal overlook, then descends to the beach. Must register in advance with leader Melinda, (707) 668-4275 or mgroomster@gmail.com.Saturday, March 20 – Headwaters Forest Reserve. (See February 13 listing.)Saturday, March 27 – Centerville Beach/Mouth of Eel (11 miles, medium difficulty, less than 500-foot elevation change). Hike begins at Centerville Beach County Park, follows beach northerly between dunes and tide line. View dunes, meadows, marshlands, farms. Abundant wild flora, occasional wildlife. Return route along Salt River. Carpools meet Herrick Park-and-Ride at 9 am or at beach at 9:45. Call leader Xandra for additional info, (707) 441-0702. y

Top: Trillium ovatum (wakerobin)Left: fetid adder’s tongue. Photos: Sylvia Ann White

The Good News Page

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 17

“We Help You Understand Nature’s Pharmacy”

• Local Herbal Products

• Glassware, Bottles & Jars

• Custom Formulas

• Books

• Herbs for Pets

• Recipes & Advice

• Healing Crystals

• Organic Culinary Herbs & Spice Blends

300 2nd Street, Old Town, Eureka(707) 442-3541 • www.humboldtherbals.com

Over 300 Bulk Medicinal Herbs • Certifi ed Herbalists Effective, Natural & Economical

Feel good in your body.

Wine Appreciation Course Four Classes on Tuesdays

Feb. 23, Mar. 2, 9 & 16, $25 per classPrepay 3, Get the 4th Class Free! Space Limited

8th Street on the Plaza, Arcata 825-7596

Open 7 Days a Week

Winemaker’s Pouring with Brooks Winery,

Wilamette ValleyWednesday February 17

5-8 p.m $5.00

The EPA has proposed a rule requiring pesticide manufacturers to publicly disclose all the ingredients in their poisonous products, and they are now accepting comments.

More than 350 “inert” pesticide ingredients are toxic, carcinogenic, flammable, or otherwise dangerous, including formaldehyde, sulfuric acid, and benzene. But current law requires that only ingredients classified as “active” be listed on product labels.

Disclosing inert ingredients would better inform consumers about pesticide formulas hazardous to both wildlife and people.

The EPA believes public disclosure is one way to discourage the use of hazardous inert ingredients in pesticide formulations. The agency is inviting comment on various regulatory and voluntary steps to achieve this broader disclosure.

Mail letters to: Lisa Jackson, EPA AdministratorOffice of Pesticide Programs EPA Regulatory Public Docket (7502P) 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.Washington, DC 20460-0001

Or submit comments online: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1969 y

The threatened green sturgeon may have a chance at survival, since the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced in November its intention to develop a recovery plan.

Loss of suitable spawning habitat is a major threat to green sturgeon, and the southern population only spawns in the Sacramento River system below Shasta Dam, making it especially susceptible to habitat destruction.

The green sturgeon is one of the world’s most ancient fish species and remains unchanged in appearance since it first emerged 200 million years ago. It is among the largest and longest-living fish species found in freshwater, living up to 70 years, and it can grow to 7.5 feet in length and weigh as much as 350 pounds.

Like salmon, sturgeon migrate to the ocean and return to freshwater to spawn. Only three known spawning grounds remain: the Sacramento and Klamath rivers in California and the Rogue River in Oregon. Biologists estimate that green sturgeon populations in the Sacramento River plummeted by 95 percent between 2001 and 2006.

In October, as a result of a lawsuit settlement NMFS moved to protect 816 million acres of critical habitat for the southern population of green sturgeon in California, Oregon and Washington. The protected area includes the Sacramento River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and coastal areas from Monterey Bay to Cape Flattery, Washington.

“Recovery planning and habitat protection are the keys to bringing this rare and majestic fish back from the brink of extinction,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Studies have shown that species with critical habitat and recovery plans are much more likely to recover than species without. The recovery plan for green sturgeon will provide a blueprint for actions that will promote recovery and identify goals for its conservation. y

The marbled murrelet will remain a threatened species and continue to receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced January. The agency cited

the continued declines in populations in Washington, Oregon and California.

The announcement comes in response to a petition filed by the American Forest Resource Council, a timber industry lobbying group, that sought to remove the western states’ population of murrelets from the list of federally protected species.

“The timber industry’s effort to force delisting was always ludicrous, basically exactly the opposite of what conservation science has been telling us about the murrelet’s actual status,” said Scott Greacen, executive director of the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC).

“What’s needed now is for Fish and Wildlife to stop responding to the industry’s cynical, anti-science agenda and start taking concrete steps that will actually improve the murrelet’s chances of survival,” Greacen continued.

The threatened marbled murrelet is a small seabird that flies inland to nest on the mossy limbs of old-growth trees. During the past century, California’s murrelet population dropped from 60,000 to approximately 4,000 individuals. A 2009 Fish and Wildlife Service review of the species showed the population from San Francisco Bay to the Canadian border declined as much as 34 percent between 2000 and 2008.

Humboldt Redwood Company’s (formerly Pacific Lumber) ancient redwood groves in Humboldt County are one of three remaining nesting areas in California. y

Extraordinary birding awaits at the 15th Annual Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival, held April 16-18 at the Arcata Community Center. Pre- and post-festival events extend the event from April 15 to 21.

The 2010 program consists of more than 100 field trips, workshops, lectures, boat trips, a banquet, and events like the “Big Day,” where participants travel by bus around Humboldt County to spot over 110 bird species.

The program is not limited to birds, but includes sessions focusing on reptiles & amphibians, botany, mammals, and insects. Leaders are trained professionals, local biologists, and experts in bird and other wildlife identification.

Free events for the local community include an opening reception and Friday night lecture, Bird Fair vendor booths, art show, live birds of prey on display, family nature activities, and selected field trips and lectures that require preregistration.

The keynote speaker, Jeff Bouton, is a research biologist and professional nature tour guide. His lecture is on April 17 at 7:30 p.m.; all registration plans include a keynote ticket.

Visit www.godwitdays.com to review the event schedule and to register. Phone registration is available at 707-826-7050 or 1-800-908-WING. y

Pesticides Exposed

Ancient Sturgeon Gets Needed Recovery PlanMurrelet Keeps Protected Status

Godwit Days Celebrates 15 Years

The NEC Seeks A Web Intern!Practice your web design skills and gain valuable experience while helping us to add to and update our new web site.Internships are a great way for students and professionals to gain new skills and valuable experience for future job searches. Some knowledge of and experience with web design software preferred. Interested? Send an e-mail listing your skills and qualifications to: sarah@younec.org

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org18

The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District held its Water Resource Planning “Phase II” meeting in Eureka in mid-January. This event was designed for the public and stakeholders to learn more about the options available for the District to use the water to which it has been granted rights.

The District provides drinking water to the greater Humboldt Bay area, including Eureka, Arcata, and McKinleyville, and much of its infrastructure was built to provide untreated industrial water to two pulp mills on the North Spit. Currently 60 million gallons per day designated for industrial purposes are no longer being used due to the closure of both pulp mills

California water law has a “use it or lose it” policy, threatening a possible water grab by thirsty water users to the south if beneficial use is not implemented.

As reported in the last issue of ECONEWS, in public meetings last October citizens spelled out criteria by which to evaluate potential options for use of the water. (View the December 2009 ECONEWS online at yournec.org).

The day-long January meeting featured background and educational presentations, with one hour devoted to small group discussions focused on three water use options:

Instream flow to benefit the health of the Mad River, its estuary, and its fish and wildlife populations;

Sale of water for use within the District’s service area for agricultural, industrial and/or residential uses; and Out-of-District export.

The increased sale of Mad River water, whether within or outside Humboldt County, raises a number of environmental concerns. Participants were interested in the beneficial use of water that allows for the enhancement of fish and wildlife resources. However, how such use could generate income for the District remains in question.

“Phase III” meetings to evaluate options will be held within the next couple of months. Stay tuned for this opportunity for public input.

For information on the Water Resource Planning process and schedules of upcoming meetings visit the Water District website at www.hbmwd.com, and click on the “Water Resources Planning” button on lower left.

To submit a comment to the District on the three options currently under consideration, send an email to wrpinput@hbmwd.com.

The January 19 Water Workshop airs on Access Humboldt Cable Channel 11 on the following dates:

•Wednesday, February 3, 5:30 pm•Friday, February 5, 6:00 pm•Saturday, February 6, 3:00 pm•Sunday, February 7, 9:00 amTo request a DVD of the program, call the District

office at 707-443-5018. y

A public forum to discuss the proposed Richardson Grove highway-widening project is set for February 16 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bayside Grange.

The forum will be hosted by the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), in coordination with the Richardson Grove Coalition. A second Richardson Grove forum will take place in in southern Humboldt on February 24 at the Vets Hall in Garberville at 7 p.m.

The project’s final Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Assessment are both expected to be released at the beginning of March, and Caltrans has indicated it will not accept further public input on the plan once these final documents are released.

The agency reported last month that planners have made major changes to the original project proposal to address concerns brought forward through public comment.

EPIC staff and volunteers painted and installed a roadside billboard in January to alert passing northbound motorists of the planned project to take out some trees in the Richardson Grove corridor to allow for highway widening.

“This billboard is just one element in our

grassroots, community-based campaign to stop this ill-advised construction project proposed by Caltrans,” said Kerul Dyer, EPIC’s Outreach Director. “It lets all passing motorists know that the cathedral grove within Richardson Grove State Park faces real threats and encourages them to learn more about the issue at our website, wildcalifornia.org.”

“There are many levels on which this proposed project is a bad idea,” added Scott Greacen, EPIC’s Executive Director. “This project will negatively impact Richardson Grove’s immediate environment and potentially damage protected species’ habitat.” y

Environmentalists are gearing up for another fight since Richard Pombo has announced that he is going to run for the Republican nomination in California’s 19th Congressional district, which includes Yosemite National Park. 

The former seven-term congressman was defeated in 2006 after a coalition of environmental organizations mounted a campaign that exposed his close ties to Big Oil and other special interests.

Pombo is alleged to have ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and since leaving Congress, he has worked for the lobbying firm Pac/West Communications, the same firm that previously supported Pombo’s efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, rewrite the Endangered Species Act, and clear-cut national forests.

“Pombo’s aim for a comeback is nothing but a shameless attempt to exploit the revolving door that remains all too common in Washington” said Bruce Hamilton, Sierra Club deputy executive director. 

“After doing the bidding of Big Oil and other special interests during his years in Congress, he literally went to work for the same lobbying firm that backed some his most egregious activities, and now he wants to be sent back to Congress to represent a district where he doesn’t even live.”

Pombo was named one of the “most corrupt members of Congress” by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, based on his alleged violations of Congressional ethics rules and federal laws, including the ties with Abramoff.

“We’re not about to stand by and watch Pombo grab his carpetbag and return to Congress a mere four years after we worked so hard to oust him,” Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund President Rodger Schlickeisen said in a statement. “If he runs, we’ll be there to remind voters about his corrupt record and why he was booted out of Congress in the first place.” y

Water District Planning Effort Continuesby Jennifer Kalt

Pombo Redux?

Public Forums Tackle Richardson Grove

Like What You’re Reading?Help keep ECONEWS afloat by

supporting our advertisers.

Tell them you saw it in ECONEWS!

Photo © Sam Camp / campphoto.com

Since 1886, Arcata’s weekly newspapers have captured the town’s colorful history ą the wonders and woes, celebrations, calamities, milestones and always-interesting people, places and things that make Arcata the most intriguing city in Humboldt County. Now, in an unprecedented collaboration, Arcadia Publishing presents On This Day In Arcata, featuring stories from the archives of the Arcata Union and Arcata Eye newspapers. Using images from several local collections, On This Day In Arcata offers insights into Arcata’s history sometimes familar, often surprising but always as fascinating as the town itself. In On This Day In Arcata, you’ll read all about the installation of the statue of William McKinley and the Arcata Women’s Christian Temperance Union fountain, the opening of the Hotel Arcata, Minor Theatre and Humboldt State University’s Founder’s Hall and Behavioral and Social Sciences Building, the creation of the iconic Humboldt Honey and the fires that have changed Arcata through the years, plus the scandalous deliberations of Arcata’s Spinsters’ Matrimonial Club, and more! Compiled by Arcata Eye editor Kevin Hoover, author of The Police Log: True Crime and More in Arcata, California, and The Police Log II: The Nimrod Imbroglios, On This Day In Arcata connects Arcata’s past and present, bringing history to life as never before. Available at stores locally.

New book, On This Day In Arcata,honors and makes Arcata newspaper historySun Frost

Energy Efficient Refrigerators & Freezers

Customized To Fit Your Needs

4 Available in DC or AC

4 Select From Over 10 Models

4 Choose from 1000’s of Colors, Finishes & Woods

“Higher efficiency standards for refrigerators have saved the equivalent of all the energy

generated in the US by wind and solar.”Dr. Chu, US Secretary of Energy

Please Contact Us For More InfoP.O. Box 1101, Arcata, CA 95518

tel: (707)822-9095 • fax: (707)822-6213 info@sunfrost.com • www.sunfrost.com

ECONEWS February/March 2010 www.yournec.org 19

• FOD Humboldt Coastal Nature

Center Restoration, Meet at 220 Stam

ps Lane in Manila, 9:30 a.m. Info:

444-1397 • RRAS Del Norte County Field Trip, Meet at Espresso 101 at 7 a.m

. Info: 822-5095 or 616-9841• NGSC 11-m

ile Headwaters Forest Reserve Hike, Meet at trailhead park-ing lot at 9:30 a.m

. Info:441-0702

SundayM

ondayTuesday

Wednesday

ThursdayFriday

Saturday1

23

6

78

910

13

1415

1816

1719

20

2122

23

Upcoming Events In M

arch • M

arch 6, Lanphere Dunes Guided Walk, 10 a.m

. - 12:30 p.m. Meet at Sam

oa Boat Ramp. Info: 444-1397

• March 6, Lanphere Dunes Guided W

alk, 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m

. Meet at Pacific Union School. Info: 444-1397• M

arch 13, Humboldt Coastal Nature Center Restoration, 9:30 a.m

. - 12:30 p.m. Meet at Hum

boldt Coastal Nature Center. Info: 444-1397• M

arch 14, Humboldt Coastal Nature Center Tour and Guided Bird W

alk, 2 - 3:30 p.m. Meet at Hum

boldt Coastal Nature Center. Info: 444-1397• M

arch 20, Manila Dunes Restoration, 9:30 a.m

. - 12:30 p.m. Meet at Manila Com

munity Center. Info: 444-1397

• March 20, M

anila Dunes Guided Walk, 10 a.m

. - 12 p.m. Meet at Manila Com

munity Center. Info: 444-1397

• March 27, M

a-le’l Dunes Restoration, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m

. Meet at Ma-le’l Dunes south parking lot. Info: 444-1397• M

arch 27, Ma-le’l Dunes Guided W

alk, 2 - 4:30 p.m. Meet at Ma-le’l Dunes south parking lot. Info: 444-1397

EcoNews Report, 1:30 p.m

. KHSU FM

90.5

EcoNews Report, 1:30 p.m

. KHSU FM

90.5

• Friends of the Dunes (FOD) Lanphere Dunes Guided W

alk, Pacific Union School at 10 a.m

. Info: 444-1397• Redwood Region Audubon Soceity (RRAS) Arcata M

arsh and W

ildlife Sanctuary Hike, Meet at parking lot end of South I St at 8:30 a.m

. Info: 442-5444

• Richardson Grove Public Forum,

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Bayside Grange.

Info: 822-7711

• California Native Plant Society (CNPS), M

ember’s “Show

and Tell” Night, Info: 677-0147

EcoNews Report, 1:30 p.m

. KHSU FM

90.5

• FOD Manila Dunes Restoration,

9:30 a.m. Info: 444-1397

• FOD Manila Dunes Guided W

alk, 10 a.m

. Info: 444-1397• RRAS Arcata M

arsh and Wildlife

Sanctuary Hike, Meet at parking lot end of South I St at 8:30 a.m

. Info: 442-5444

• FOD 32nd Annual Lupine Bash, 9:30 a.m

. Info: 444-1397•RRAS Hiller Park Field Trip, Meet in parking lot of Hiller Road at 9 a.m

. Info: 839-4365

• NGSC 9-mile Table Bluff

Hike, Meet at beach below Table Bluff at 9:30 a.m

. Info:441-0702

2425

2627

28

• FOD Property Tour, Meet at 220 Stam

ps Lane in Manila, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Info: 444-1397

Arts! Arcata at the NECArtist: Neil Harvey

Jacoby Storehouse, 6 to 9 p.m.

Info: 822-6918

DAILY CALEN

DAR

• Redwood National and State Parks call 464-6101 for road, trail and campground info.

Centers open daily in Crescent City 465-7306. Prairie Creek, Jedediah Smith, and Kuchel.

Call for times.

• Every Saturday Friends of Arcata Marsh tours of Arcata M

arsh or Wastew

ater

Treatment Plant at 2 p.m

. Info: 826-2359• Every Saturday Redwood Audubon Society’s free field trips of the Arcata M

arsh and W

ildlife Sanctuary at 8:30 a.m. at Klopp Lake Parking Lot.

• Arcata Comm

unity Recycling Center open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m

. daily. Info: 822-4542• Eureka Com

munity Recycling Center open 9 a.m

. daily. Info: 442-2541, For m

ore recycling options visit www.humboldtrecycling.org

• Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center, 569 South G St. Hours: Tues.-Sun. 9 a.m

. to 5 p.m.,

Mon. 1 to 5 p.m

. Info: 826-2359• Every Tuesday “The Environm

ental Show,” KMUD-FM

, 91.1(88.3 FM Arcata) at 7 p.m

.• County Hazardous W

aste facility open every Saturday from 9 a.m

. to 2 p.m.

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NWWashington, D.C. 20500

Comments: 202-456-1111Switchboard: 202-456-1414

www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

Senator Barbara BoxerWashington, D.C.

112 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510202-224-3553 or 415-403-0100 boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/

index.cfm

Senator Dianne FeinsteinUnited States Senate

331 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510Phone: 202-224-3841 or

415-393-0707 feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.

cfm?FuseAction=ContactUS.EmailMe

Congressman Mike

Thompson

231 Cannon Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515Phone: 202-225-3311317 3rd Street, Suite 1

Eureka, CA 95501Phone: 269-9595

mikethompson.house.gov/contact/e-mail.shtml

Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerState Capitol Building

Sacramento, CA, 95814Phone: 916-445-2841

gov.ca.gov/interact#email

Assemblym

an Wesley Chesbro

State CapitolP.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA

94249-0001Tel: 916-319-2001

710 E Street, Suite 150Eureka, CA 95501

Tel: 445-7014legplcms01.lc.ca.gov/PublicLCMS/

ContactPopup.aspx?district=AD01&

Humboldt County Board of

Supervisors825 Fifth Street, Room 111

Eureka, CA 95501(707) 476-2384

co.humboldt.ca.us/board/

California Department of

Forestry Humboldt-Del Norte Unit HQ

725-4413118 S. Fortuna Blvd, Fortuna,

95540-2796Mailing Address: PO Box 944246,

Sacramento, CA 94244-2460Physical Address: 1416 Ninth Street,

Sacramento, CA 94244-2460

North Coast Regional Water

Quality Control Board 5550 Skylane Blvd., Suite A

Santa Rosa, CA 95403-1072 707-576-2220 or 707-523-0135www.swrcb.ca.gov/northcoast/

about_us/contact_us.shtml

Secretary of AgricultureU.S. Department of Agriculture1400 Independence Ave. SW

Washington, DC 20250 AgSec@usda.gov

Environmental Protection Agency

www.epa.gov/epahome/hotline.htm

Air Pollution Hotline1-800-952-5588

Hum

boldt Bay Municipal Water

District828 Seventh Street/P.O. Box 95

Eureka, CA 95502Phone: 443-5018

www.hbmwd.com/contact_us

California Coastal Comm

ission45 Fremont Street, Suite 2000San Francisco, CA 94105-2219

415-904-5200710 E Street, Suite 200

Eureka, CA 95501445-7833 or 445-7834

www.coastal.ca.gov

Speak Up and Speak O

ut

EcoNews Report, 1:30 p.m

. KHSU FM

90.5

1112

Environmental Book Reading

Author Douglas Bevington reads from

his new book and discusses grassroots environm

entalism.

Northtown Books, 7 p.m.

• RRAS PALCO Marsh Field Trip,

Meet in parking lot of West Del Norte

Street at 8:30 a.m. Info: 839-4365

• Friends of the Dunes (FOD)Little River State Beach Restoration, 9:30 a.m

. Info: 444-1397

• FOD Ma-le’l Dunes Guided

Walk, 2 p.m

. Info: 444-1397

45

• North Group Sierra Club (NGSC) Executive Com

mittee

Meeting, 6:45-8 p.m

. at Adorni Center. Info:826-3740•Discoverying Phytoplankton, 7 p.m

. BLM King Range Office. Info: 986-5411

St. Valentine’s Day

Washington’s Birthday

• RRAS Humboldt Bay National

Wildlife Refuge Hike, Meet at the

Refuge Vistor Center off Hookton Rd. at 9 a.m

. Info: 822-3613

• RRAS Conservation Meeting, Meet

at Golden Harvest in Arcata at noon Info: 442-9353

• Richardson Grove Public Forum,

7-9 p.m. at Garberville Vets Hall.

Info: 822-7711

•EPIC Brews & Views Discuss conservation issues in an inform

al setting. HumBrews 4-6 p.m

•EPIC Brews & Views Discuss conservation issues in an inform

al setting. HumBrews 4-6 p.m

•EPIC Brews & Views Discuss conservation issues in an inform

al setting. HumBrews 4-6 p.m

•EPIC Brews & Views Discuss conservation issues in an inform

al setting. HumBrews 4-6 p.m

• TOMORROW

! Saturday, Feb. 13 W

inter Plant Hike, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m

. Nadelos Cam

pground. Info: 986-5411

February/March 2010 ECONEWS www.yournec.org20

ECO

NE

WS

Vol. 40, No. I Feb/M

arch 2010A

rcata, California

Informing Th

e North C

oast On Environm

ental Issues Since 1971

Ind

oo

r Po

t Gro

ws

Versus T

he En

viron

men

t Sto

ry Insid

e

Also:

Kla

ma

th C

on

servatio

n P

artn

ersO

rlean

s Fuels R

edu

ction

Sp

ecial C

lima

te Sectio

nD

el No

rte New

s

E-m

ail

Nam

e

City

Zip

Address

Join the NEC and support

our conservation work.

In our fast-paced lives, the indispensable life supports like air, w

ater and wild nature are often

overlooked. Your tax-deductible mem

bership donation w

ill get ECON

EWS delivered into your

mailbox every m

onth – and allow us to continue

to educate and inform the public about crucial

environmental issues that affect this region and

our entire planet. M

ail in this mem

bership form, or join

online at ww

w.yournec.org.

Mem

bership Levels:

$20 Student/Retired $35 Regular

$50 Fam

ily $65 O

verseas

$1,000 Lifetime

My check is enclosed

Please bill my credit card:

VISA M

asterCard

Or sign up for a m

onthly pledge and enjoy the com

fort of knowing that you are continually

supporting our efforts to protect this region.M

onthly Pledge Am

ount $__________

Bill my credit card

Send me a pack of envelopes

C

redit Card #

E

xp. Date

State

Phone

Northcoast Environm

ental Center

791 Eighth St., P.O. Box 4259 A

rcata, CA

N

ON

-PRO

FIT OR

G.

U.S. PO

STAGE

PAIDArcata, C

APER

MIT N

O. 3

The recent financial bailouts

being paid for by all of us amount

to a bill that could easily top $4.6 trillion, experts say.

How

much m

oney is that, anyw

ay? Well, according to one

economic analyst, it’s bigger than

the Marshall Plan, the Louisiana

Purchase, the Apollo m

oon landings, the 1980s savings and loan crisis, the K

orean War and the

total cost of NA

SA’s space flights – all added together, and even adjusted upw

ard for inflation.So you can see w

hat a bargain N

EC m

embership is – and ads in

this publication are inexpensive, too.W

hat’s more, your contribution

would have m

uch more of an

impact on the N

EC bailout plan

than it could on those for General

Motors, C

itibank and their ilk.W

ith times tough all over,

especially for nonprofits like the N

EC, w

e’ve had to do bailout belt-tightening. T

hat, alas, includes m

aking this a bimonthly

and not a monthly publication, at least for a w

hile.Th

e situation can and will change once our alw

ays-generous mem

bers and donors reflect on how

the NEC

has benefitted the North C

oast for going on four decades.

As w

e leave the double-zero decade, please consider making a

meaningful contribution to your environm

ental center, now ensconced

on the ground floor of Arcata’s Jacoby Storehouse (open from

9 a.m. to 1

p.m. w

eekdays).D

onations of up to a trillion are welcom

e. Thank you.

Trillio

ns? W

ha

t’s Trillio

ns?

Visit Y

ou

r NE

C O

nlin

e at o

ur N

EW

Web

Site!

http

.you

rnec.o

rg

Read:

Top StoriesListen:

Econews

Report R

adio Show

s

View:

Latest NEC News

Action A

lertsU

pcoming

Events