EcoNews, April 2009 ~ North Coast Environmental Center

8/9/2019 EcoNews, April 2009 ~ North Coast Environmental Center

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In Tis Months ECONEWS

Eco-Movie NightsFree at the NEC!

Miners Petition Against Karuk Tribe.........3Navy to Further Militarize Pacifc Waters.5Fire Salvage Logging Plans....................... 6

Water Solutions..................................... 8-9Youth Demand a Green Power Shift.......10

Humboldt Land Use.................................11The End of An Oil Economy.....................13

Annual April Fools Quiz..........................17

The Good News Page...............................18EcoMania................................................. 19

by Sarah OLeary

ECONEWSInforming the North Coast on Environmental Issues Since 1971

Te Newsletterof the Northcoast

Environmental CenterApril 2009

Clam Beach: Still Risky For Plovers

Wolves: From Predators To PreyIn a blow to grey wolf recovery, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar last month upheld a federal decision to remove

them from the endangered species list in most of the West. Salazar said the wolf has successfully recovered in manyparts of the West, including Oregon.

Conservationists have criticized the decision as premature and misguided. The delisting applies to grey wolfpopulations in the western Great Lakes, Idaho, Montana and parts of Washington, Oregon and Utah. Wolves inother parts of the country remain listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Though we have lots of good habitat, and our prey populations are recovering, were unlikely to see wolves returnto Northwest California if wolves cant recover in Oregon, said Scott Greacen, an NEC board member.

What this decision really means, he continued, is that were going to say weve got wolves in Yellowstone andCentral Idaho, thats good enough. So now ranchers can feel free to shoot wolves in other parts of the West thatneed wolves just as much.

Salazar cited the successful recovery of the species as an example of how well the ESA works to prevent extinc-tion; however, many environmental groups disagree and are planning to challenge the decision in court.

Its an ecologically short-sighted decision that is not consistent with the commitment weve made as a society to

put these ecosystems back together, Greacen said. It was bad enough coming from the Bush administration, butits really disappointing to see the Obama administration just plowing ahead with this bad decision.

.

The start of yet another breeding season for the fed-erally endangered Western snowy plover has come andgone, yet little action has been taken to protect the birdsand their nests on local beaches. Recreational drivingcontinues unabated and a working management plan isstill not in place.

Conservationists are hoping, however, that this willbe the year that county ofcials begin to implement theprotection measures that were outlined in their MasterPlan back in 2006.

Humboldt County is considered to be an importantrecovery area for the snowy plover, which was listed asthreatened under the federal Endangered Species Actin 1993. The imperiled bird nests in 28 critical habitatsthroughout California and the west, and Clam Beach

with its long stretch of open sand is a particularly attrac-tive breeding location for the small birds whose eggs arecamouaged to look like sand.

Western snowy plovers are about the size of a sparrowand have lived on the Pacic Coast for thousands of years.

Their nests usually contain three tiny eggs and are barelyvisible even to trained eyes. Since they create nests innatural depressions on the beach, they are susceptible tobeing crushed. The recovery plan for the plover lists threefactors that have contributed to their decline predation,encroachment of non-native grasses on their nesting areas,and most signicantly, human activity. Vehicles on thebeach have been pointed to as especially destructive.

Because they nest in the sandy substrate, when avehicle, dog or jogger goes by it often ushes them outof the nests, said Jim Watkins, a biologist in the Arcataofce of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The resultingtracks then actually attract predators, he explained.

Environmental activists have been working to limit

vehicle access on Clam Beach for almost a decade. In

addition to the impact on snowy plovers and rare plants,many county residents have complained that recklesslydriven vehicles represent a danger to children and adultsrecreating on the beach.

For years the county has been relying on overnight gateclosures and sporadic beach deputy patrols to address theproblem. Despite these measures, two plover nests werestruck by vehicles last year, crushing one and severelydamaging the other.

Vehicles RestrictedFinally, in July of 2006 after two years of debate, the

Board of Supervisors voted to put seasonal limits on beachdriving to protect people, plovers, and plants. The vote wasin response to the Clam and Moonstone Beach CountyParks Access Management Master Plan, developed bythe Humboldt County Public Works department.

The Master Plan includes recommendations for enhancedpublic outreach and enforcement of existing ordinancessuch as requiring owners to keep dogs on a leash, and theprohibition of vehicle driving in the dunes or restrictedareas. It also recommended new limitations to beach driving

by locking the vehicle-access gate during plover breedingseason (March 1 through September 30) and developing apermit program for authorized vehicle drivers.

Commercial shermen, clammers, disabled individualsand senior citizens would be eligible for a permit. Theidea is to keep those who disobey the ordinances off

We are now showing an environmental or nature-oriented lm each week. Our current series is pre-sented in partnership with HSUs Redwood Chapterof Interpreters.

Join us at our World Headquarters at 1465 G Street, at7 p.m. every Thursday evening this April. Each episode

will be introduced by a club member and followed bya brief discussion period.April 2 - Coasts and DesertsApril 9 - Two lms. Life of Mammals: Meat Eaters& Strange Days on Planet Earth: Predators

April 16 - Encounters at the End of the World byWerner HerzogApril 23 - Wall-eApril 30 Planet Earth: Mountains and Great PlainsBig Petes Pizza and local microbrews (with ID) will

be available for purchase with proceeds benettingthe NEC programs. Please, no outside food. Personal

non-alcoholic beverages are okay. Space is very limited,so be sure to show up on time. For more information,contact the NEC at 822-6918.

Continued on Page 4

Western snowy plovers have lived on the Pacic Coast or thou-sands o years. They lay their eggs in small depressions in thesand, the nests and eggs are blend in with the sand and rocksand are oten dicult to see.Top: A plover nest in rocky sand ,an adult plover on the beach, Above: . Photos: Kerry Ross


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ECONEWSWelcomes Your Letters!Got something on your mind? Send it in! Please limitletters to 300 words or fewer and include your fullname and city of residence. We may edit for spaceand clarity. E-mail letters to [email protected] the20th of the month, or mail to address below.

Arcata Community Recycling Center Allison Poklemba [email protected]

California Native Plant SocietyJen Kalt (Secretary) [email protected]

Redwood Region Audubon SocietyC.J. Ralph [email protected]

Sierra Club North Group, Redwood ChapterMelvin [email protected]

Humboldt BaykeeperPete Nichols (President) [email protected]

Friends of Del NorteEileen Cooper [email protected]

Safe Alternatives For Our Forest EnvironmentLarry Glass [email protected]

Environmental Protection Information Center

Scott Greacen [email protected]

Jim Clark (Vice President) [email protected] Swett (Treasurer) [email protected]

NEC Board Of Directors

Volunteer submissions are welcome! Submit by the 15th ofeach month500 words or fewer... and dont forget yourphone number. Ideas and views expressed in ECONEWSare not necessarily those of the NEC.

Volunteer at the NEC! Call 707-822-6918.

Printed On Recycled Paper

ECONEWS is the ocial monthly publication of theNorthcoast Environmental Center, a non-protorganization, 1465 G Street St., Arcata, CA 95521; (707)822-6918; Fax (707) 822-0827. Third class postage paidin Arcata. ISSN No. 0885-7237. The subscription rateis $25 per year.

ECONEWS

Editor: Sarah OLeary [email protected]: Jocelyn Orr, Kayla GundersonAdvertising: Sarah OLeary and Damon Maguire,[email protected]: Midge Brown, Katherine McNeil, Sid Dominitz

Writers: Georgianna Wood, Jocelyn Orr, Kayla Gunder-son, Stormy Staats,Sarah OLeary, Lindsey Byers, AllisonPoklemba, Dr. Loon, Martin Orr, Sue Leskiw, Jen Kalt, CarolRalph, Natalynne DeLapp, Dana Stolzman, Kerul DyerArtists: Mark Jacobson, Terry Torgerson, Laura JonesCover Art: Adders Tongue by Patricia Sennott

NEC MissionTo promote understanding of the relations betweenpeople and the biosphere and to conserve, protect andcelebrate terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems

of northern California and southern Oregon.

2 www.yournec.org

Letters

Bouquet

Correction/ClarifcationThe March issue ofECONEWSincluded the statementthat 87 trees, mostly redwood, would be removed fromthe Richardson Grove area for the proposed Caltransproject. In fact, seven of the trees slated for removal areredwood. However, the project will require some cuttingof the roots of old-growth redwood trees.

More Letters on page 23

This months oral tributes go to:Richard Hansis, HSU Assistant Professor of Environ-

mental Science, who dedicated many years to promotingresponsible and sustainable development as a HumboldtCounty Planning CommissionerEPA officials who announced late last month that the

agency will review permitting for mountaintop mining,to assess the impacts of those projects on water qualityand aquatic life. Mountaintop mining extracts coal byblowing off the tops of mountains. The EPA has placedtwo mountaintop removal permits on hold.

Dear ECONEWS,John Knight has been trying to change Trinity Countys

herbicide policy for some time. (See March ECONEWSLetters section.)As usual he is operating on incomplete andinaccurate information. Trinity Countys herbicide ordi-nances were upheld by the California Supreme Court but

were subsequently overturned by the State Legislature atthe urging of agribusiness, chemical and timber interests.

Johns desire to spray toxic herbicides on the banks ofthe Trinity River to kill Tree of Heaven is ill informed.

The spread of the Tree of Heaven is very effectivelystopped when cut close to the ground, covered with lterfabric, then a foot of wood chips. CalTrans has provedthis alternative to be successful. Organic herbicide made

from acetic acid is being used in Trinity County and SafeAlternatives for our Forest Environment (SAFE) hasadopted a policy of wait and see until more is knownabout its effectiveness and hazards.

Readers need to understand that John Knights job withCalre is to approve Timber Harvest Plans for Sierra PacicIndustries to clear-cut forests and convert them to tree farmssprayed with herbicides. The U.S. Forest Service, the Bureauof Land Management and CalTrans have honored localsentiment by not applying herbicides in the county, howeverSierra Pacic Industries continues to spray them.

Joseph Bower

Peanut

Forget PesticidesDear ECONEWS,

This is in response to John Knight from Weaverville, who wrote a letter headlined Herbicides SometimesNeeded. I strongly oppose his letter. We can not allowany pesticides or herbicides to be used in the environmentno matter what. I wrote a long article about the healthhazards to animals and humans through pesticides. You

Herbicide Letter Draws Ire

can nd it on myspace.com/nicolafour. All pesticides, which

include herbicides, fungicides and rodenticides, are ex-tremely health hazardous.I call his arguments loop-hole arguments, because he

is trying to use removal of invasive species as his loophole for applying herbicides. This is unethical. I questionhis motives for his letter, and I question his interest inthis pseudo-environmental issue. The growth of invasivespecies is unstoppable. It is also unavoidable because ofair trafc and boat trafc. Killing invasive species withpoisons that kill and torture animals is like causingArmageddon in order to prevent it.

I strongly support those environmentalists who want

all pesticides banned. There is no safe pesticide. They areall highly toxic and cause life-threatening illnesses.

Thank you,Nicola Grobe

Trails Give Goose Bumps

Clear-Cuts Never Green

Dear ECONEWS,What a fabulous idea, rail/trail banking. Yes a railroad

would be nice but every day without one ups the cost anddecreases the possibility of it really happening.

Time for some people to wake up, accept reality and start

making the railbed useful. Think about the longest rail totrail system in the county. Another attraction Humboldtbadly needs, and its so green I get goose bumps!

Thanks,

Chris Matthews, RNOBrien, Oregon

Dear ECONEWS,I truly appreciate your recent article, How Green is

Green Diamond.It is clear to me is that continuing to clear-cut forestland,

after so many years if this sort of slaughter, is absurdand outrageous, abusive and wrong. I know that GreenDiamond and others like it must receive much public

scrutiny, regardless of its new alias. Rightfully outragedneighbors and any concerned individuals must step up,letting the love in their hearts rule them.

I encourage all to observe the sickly bleakness that is theclear-cut result, and reject any proposals that pretend forestcreatures living life have no feelings and have no sight.

When appreciating the sense of peace trees inict andrespecting their divinely-gifted right to live, we are ap-preciating and respecting ourselves and stepping towardgreat serenity and tranquility.

Instead of wasting money on any divisive and short-sighted projectdivisive because cutting forests surely

promotes disconnectedness from forests and short-sighted because any shopping center surely can crumble lets work together to protect the connections thathold us together.

I think of the movie Hootthat I enjoy so much, itreminds me that a few people can make a HUGE dif-ference. This movie is relative to the situation here inHumboldt and all over. I call for an immediate andintensely considerate response for all life endangeredby economics. If you are looking for the answer, theanswer is YOU, so go on people and hoot!

Love is the ungovernable force that truly conquers all.

Most obviously, it is not green to clear-cut. It is notlove, none at all. Give a hoot!

Jillaine HuggardArcata, Ca


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NEC Gets Stuck in the Middle of the Road

The New 49ers mining club, head-quartered in Happy Camp, Calif., in-tends to shut down traditional shingfor the Karuk Tribe along the KlamathRiver, in retaliation for a petition the

Tribe led this year to restrict suctiondredging for gold.

Claiming that no group should havespecial rights and that suction dredg-ing doesnt hurt sh, the New 49ersannounced their own petition in earlyMarch. They are calling for an end todip net shing at Ishi Pishi Falls, sayingthat the Karuk Tribe is over-harvestingsh at the traditional site.

The Tribe, along with several con-servation groups, led the dredging

petition to speed up court-orderedchanges determining where and whenpeople can dredge for gold. The peti-tion, which was denied in late Januaryby the California Department of Fishand Game (DFG), called for immedi-ate emergency restrictions to protectimperiled sh by further regulatingthe mining.

Today, there is no regulation. Youpay your 40 bucks, get your miningpermit, and dredge with no oversight. Its meaningless,

said Leaf Hillman vice-chairman of the Karuk Tribe Wehave just been trying to get the responsible agencies todo their job.

After the Karuk Tribe sued DFG in 2005 for failing toprotect federally recognized threatened and endangeredsh species from suction dredging, the court ordered DFGto conduct a full environmental review and update regula-tions for mining by June of 2008. The State of Californiamaintains that budget constraints have inhibited theirability to fulll these requirements on schedule.

Mike Higbee, owner of a Grants Pass mining shop andNew 49er member, stated, If there is a problem with

the health and welfare of the sh, then anyone who isinvolved in the taking of sh should be looked at; thatincludes the Tribe.

Mining is a right to the citizens of the United States,shing is a privilege, Higbee added. His comment refersto the 137-year-old mining law giving Americans the rightto extract minerals from public lands. In fact, some feder-ally recognized tribes do have a legal right to sh.

Our shing impact is so miniscule compared to what

by Jenny Stormy Staats

From The Centerby Georgianna Wood

April 2009

has been taken from us. Anyone whosays Karuks should shoulder theburden needs a reality check, saidHillman. Within the rst three yearsof contact with the old 49ers, 80

percent of our population was gone.The federal government encouragedand subsidized the killing of Indiansin the form of bounties.

The Karuk Tribe historically oc-cupied about 1.4 million acres of theMiddle Klamath Basin and had over100 villages with associated shingsites. Their complex system of man-agement included ceremonies as anintegral part of maintaining a healthyshery. Over-harvesting became anissue when US governmental agen-cies began to manage the shery asa commercial resource.

The Karuk Tribe survived the USgovernments aggressive campaignto destroy their culture throughrelocation and eradication duringthe mid-1800s, at the height of

The NEC has a long history of being a clearinghouse, a hubof environmental activism and democracy. Over the course ofnearly four decades the Center has been involved in dozensof causes, and many of them have been controversial.

Although our varied members and member groups becomepassionate about different issues, the NECs work always falls

within its core mission: To promote understanding of therelations between people and the biosphere and to conserve,

protect and celebrate terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystemsof Northern California and Southern Oregon.Our structure is unique in that we are made up of both

individual members and member organizations, and wedont always agree. Our members may be as varied as thecobbles in our rivers, but we all share the same goals ofpromoting understanding about environmental protec-tion and conservation. We rally around our mission.

In addition to its seven member groups, the NEC iscurrently a scal sponsor for two growing groups: Green

Wheels and Healthy Humboldt. Occasionally we extendadministrative support to ad-hoc groups that form in

response to specic issues. One example of this is theSave Richardson Grove group that formed around CalTranss proposed project at Richardson Grove.

Last month the Save Richardson Grove group disre-garded our agreement and procedures by producing andairing radio advertisements that sounded for all practicalpurposes as though the NEC had produced them. Inactuality, the ads were produced by individuals afliated

with the Save Richardson Grove group alone. The NECstaff and board were not privy to the content of the adsbefore they were aired.

Its true that the consideration of the planned realignment

of Richardson Grove, just south of Garberville in HumboldtCounty, has run a line right down the center of our com-

munity even through the NECs own membership.It is our duty to address the environmental impacts of

projects such as the Richardson Grove realignment or theMarine Terminal. In fact, an environmental group failingto challenge a public project that would impact trees onpublic lands would be falling down on the job.

It is not within the scope of our mission to evaluateeconomic impacts or safety issues. Those topics fall under

the missions of other important advocacy groups.We regret the confusion and divisiveness that theradio ads caused our members, but this incident alsocreated an opportunity for us to reect on our role asan incubating organization. The NEC has a long his-tory of supporting grassroots and ad-hoc groups. The

Arcata Community Recycling Center is an example of agroup that got its start as a scally sponsored programof the NEC.

As an umbrella environmental group, we believethat it is appropriate to continue to extend our supportto ad- hoc groups that are working on issues that fall

within our mission.Ultimately it is the duty of the public to weigh thecosts and benets of projects such as Richardson Grove.Consider the gains, consider the losses, and decide whatamount of environmental collateral damage we all are

willing to underwrite for the potential economic gains.Its a democratic process, and works well only when

the public gets informed and engages.All of us at the NEC are proud of our mission and our

history of successful environmental activism in this area.Although we know that divisive and controversial issuesaffecting our ecosystems will continue to surface from

time to time, we remain committed to working to conserveand protect our environment and its creatures.

Miners are Dredging Up A Shameful History

Ron Reed practices traditional dip net shing at Ishi Pishi Falls on the Klamath River. A group o miners isling a petition asking state ocials to shut down the Karuk Tribes last dip net site.

The New 49ers believe that dredging operations such as this

should continue to be protected by law. Photo: Greg King

Continued on Page 8


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4 www.yournec.org

the beach, and keep appropriate users able to access thebeach, said Tom Mattson, director of the county Public

Works Department.Under the new ordinances, all vehicles would still have

access to the beach for ve months of the year, fromOctober 1 to March 1.

Initially, the new ordinances needed to implement thisportion of the Management Plan were expected in the fallof 2006. But lack of staff and other emergency prioritieshave delayed this action for almost three years.

Therefore, the February announcement from CountyPublic Works that they plan to present recommendationson implementing the permit program to the Board of Su-pervisors this April was welcome news to environmentaladvocates and conservationists.

We had been waiting a long time for this, said SueLeskiw with the Redwood Region Audubon Society.This was one of the last issues that our dear colleague,

Tim McKay, worked on before his passing less than twoweeks after the plan was rst approved.

However, even if the Supervisors approve the plan, atleast one more plover season will have likely come andgone before the new ordinances and permit systems areactually in place.

We must put the plan in concept before the Board, thenidentify permitted users, then look for funding for a locksystem, said Mattson. Although the search for funding isprobably the most challenging step in the process, it is notthe only hurdle. Any time you change access to the beachyou have to apply to the Coastal Commission, Mattsonsaid, describing yet another stop in the process.

Access Issue Not Just About Plovers

Not everyone is pleased with the impending permittingsystem, however. Dennis Mayo, lifetime McKinleyvilleresident, objects to the idea of restricting vehicle accessto Clam Beach.

Vehicles arent the reason therere not more ploverson Clam Beach, nor is horseback riding, Mayo said. Thenumbers have always been low and they always will be.

Although Mayo acknowledged that he thinks thecounty is trying to be fair, he thinks that people areoverreacting by placing the blame on vehicles. He does

not think its fair that a family would no longer be ableto drive out to the far end of the beach and have apicnic and a soccer game.

I know deputy sheriffs and re ghters who just workall the time, he said, adding that they often have to snatchthe few free hours they can and they might want to take

their families out on the beach. I cantsupport a plan that doesnt supportthem. Why should they be limitedfrom access?

However, other Humboldt Countyresidents disagree. Of the more than200 letters written in public commenton the Management Plan, 85 percentfavored some sort of restriction on

recreational beach driving. Althoughcurrent regulations set the speed limitat 15 mph, allow no driving in the dunesand no vehicle play, many drivers donot comply with these guidelines.

Twice I have almost been hit by atruck racing down Clam Beach whenit was foggy while I was walking mydogs, states one Trinidad resident ina comment letter. Other commentsnoted the danger to children, withmany residents saying they are afraid

to bring their children or grand-children to Clam Beach because ofspeeding vehicles.

It is about a small group of peoplespoiling the beach experience for all other users, saidLeskiw. Beachcombers, dog walkers, joggers, picnick-ers, wildlife watchers, children building sandcastles, allhave to watch out for vehicles driven where they are notsupposed to be, faster than they should be, engaging inmaneuvers that are not allowed. Restricting beach drivingis a safety issue to cut down on conicts during periodsof high use by both people and plovers.

Symbolic Fencing Important But Not EnoughMeanwhile, as the ideological debate continues, the en-

dangered birds continue to make their nests along the popu-lar beach. As awareness of the plovers plight has grown,different stopgap measures have been taken to encouragethe successful hatching and survival of the chicks.

One such measure is the installation of symbolicfencing on areas of the beach above the wave slope,

which is dened by the high tide line on any given day.The fencing, composed of colored rope supported withmetal posts, designates an area that is closed to people,dogs and vehicles, thereby providing a location where

breeding snowy plovers and their chicks are separatedfrom the disturbances wrought by human activity.

The symbolic fenced area is important for chick rear-ing, said Watkins. They bring their chicks there. We arenow seeing an increase in nesting in that area.

The fencing has been installed on Clam Beach since2004. Each year the Board of Supervisors must re-approvethe installation of the temporary barriers, and student

volunteers from the wildlife and biology departments atHSU do the actual labor. The materials are paid for by

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Mark Colwell, Professor of Wildlife Biology at HSU,

said that after eight years of studying the birds on ClamBeach he has noted that the fencing has denitely madea difference. He said that although many plovers stillmake nests in other areas of the beach, they bring theirchicks to be reared in the fenced area.

However, Watkins said that the existing level of fencingis not extensive enough. Other areas have stricter mea-

sures in place and have more success with hatching, hesaid. For instance, in Monterey Bay theres far more useof the area, but the symbolic fencing is used extensivelyand they dont allow any vehicle driving at all.

Watkins said that although Clam Beach has the mostindividual plovers in Recovery Unit 2 (which includesHumboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte counties), it hasthe poorest reproductive success.

We [Recovery Unit 2] have the worst reproductivesuccess of anywhere in the range, he said. Thats whymore attention should be given to this issue.

Watkins recommended more symbolic fencing and

removing vehicles completely from the beach. He is nota supporter of the permit program with its many excep-tions. In other areas clammers walk, he said.

While its not likely that vehicles will be restrictedcompletely from plo-

ver nesting groundson Clam Beach, manyare encouraged bythe impending movetowards implementingthe Access Manage-ment Master Plan.

I look forward to weighing in on the vehicle access per-mit program expectedfrom Public Works in

April, Leskiw said.Seasonal closure isthe true compromiseposition, it would allowcars on Clam during theve months when pe-destrian and equestrian

use is lowest and noplovers are nesting.

Clam Beach Vehicle Debate(continued from page 1)

Two plover chicks recently hatched rom their nest on the rocky sand. Westernsnowy plovers have been listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Actsince 1993. Photo: Kerry Ross

Some beach drivers ignore the regulations and drive reck-lessly and over the speed limit, posing a hazard beach usersand the threatened snowy plover. Photo: Heidi Waters.,North Coast Journal

In letters written to the Supervisors, many county residents

said are araid to bring their children and grandchildren toClam Beach because o ears o being run over.

Signs along Clam Beach alertbeach-users to Western snowyplover habitat. Photo: Sue Leskiw


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April 2009

The U.S. Navy has big plans for greatly expanded trainingand weapons-testing operations off the North Coast andbeyond. The proposed Northwest Training Range Com-plex covers more than 126,000 square nautical miles alongthe coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.

Due to complaints that public notication has beenpoor, the comment period for this project has been ex-tended until April 13 (See address below).

Although the Navy has conducted training exercisesand weapons testing in this area since before World War I,the proposed action would signicantly increase the leveland amount of activity offshore. The proposal includesthe use of new sonar threat signal emitters, testing of newaircraft and missiles, and the expanded use of underwaterexplosives and sonar.

Ensuring that Navy personnel are prepared to go intoharms way requires rigorous, real-life training in the air,on land and at sea, reads a statement on the Navy website devoted to the proposal.

Many residents of the affected areas remain uncon-vinced. The Navys plan is unsafe and irresponsible, saidDana Silvernale, Humboldt County Green Party CountyCouncil Chair. Our sheries are down. The Coho salmonare endangered. We cannot afford any more assaults onour environment.

Endangered Species Impacted

Activists are concerned that the Navys plan couldhave a negative impact on several listed and endangeredspecies, including the orca whale. Sonar and underwater

explosions, in particular, are known to disturb and eveninjure whales. Use of midfrequency active sonar wouldincrease under the plan.

A coalition of environmental groups is currently suingover the use of sonar, arguing that it damages whales andother marine mammals that use sound to communicate.

There is a lot of controversy right now about soundin the ocean and its effects on marine mammals, saidDawn Goley, Associate Professor of Biological Sci-ences at HSU. Goley said she could not comment on the

Navy proposal until she has anopportunity to study the DraftEnvironmental Impact Statement.(DEIS.) There are obviously sig-nicant concerns, she said.

The Navy is tryng to do the rightthing in terms of monitoring ma-rine mammals and I applaud themfor that, said David Mellinger,

Associate Professor at OregonState Universitys Hateld MarineScience Center. But I dont thinktheyre going far enough.

Mellinger added that the Navydoesnt seem to be paying attentionto how far their sonar signals cantravel and how the sound progaga-tion in the environment will affectthe level of sound.

In addition to testing new ex-plosives and weapons, the Navyspreferred alternative includes thedevelopment of an underwatertraining mineeld that would beafxed to the ocean oor and the deployment of morethan 9,651 sonar-emitting sonobouys each year.

Little Notice, Little Time

Although the DEIS was released on December30, its sheer bulk (728 pages plus attachments) de-

manded more time than one month for citizens toreview and comment.Five public hearings were set in different locations

throughout the Northwest during the months of Januaryand February, including one in Eureka; however, most weresparsely attended, due to poor public notication.

A public affairs spokesperson for the National MarineFisheries Service was unaware of the Navys new proposal

when contacted for this article. Many elected ofcials haveonly recently learned of the plan.

The Mendocino Board of Supervisors issued a letterin early March to the U.S. Navy requesting an extension

of the public comment period, which was then set toclose on March 11.The letter states that no public hearings were held

anywhere throughout the county during the originalcomment period and that no notication was publiclydistributed in our area prior to the February 2, 2009,hearing in Humboldt County.

The DEIS has come under critique from lawmakers,scientists, environmentalists and sheries, many of whomare calling for a more rigorous review of the plan. NorthCoast congressional representative Mike Thompsoninitially expressed opposition to the project on a radio

show for KXYX and Z evening news, after seeing theletter from the Board of Supervisors.I am opposed to what the Navy is trying to do unless

they can prove its not going to be a problem for the sher-ies, Thompson stated on the March 6 radio program.

However, since the comment period has been ex-tended, Thompson has taken a more moderate stanceon the issue.

Im pleased that after I met with the Navy, theyagreed to extend the public comment period and alloweveryone more time to weigh in. The Navy will come toMendocino and hold a public meeting to hear concerns

and answer questions from the community. Ive asked theNavy and shing organizations to look more closely at

the impact this proposal will have on ocean wildlife andshing families, said Thompson.

The public comment period on the DEIS, now end-ing April 13, is part of the scoping process. Next, a nalenvironmental statement that responds to all comments

will be released for public review. This is scheduled for

September 2009.The Northwest Training Complex web site providecomprehensive information about the northwest PacicOcean and its marine life, including a video.

However, many citizens opposed to the military expan-sion in our waters are unimpressed. They actually havea video right on the front page of their ofcial website,extolling the incomparable beauty and diversity of ourgeography and wildlife in this part of the world. Why dothey wish to blow it up? asked Shaye Harty, HumboldtCounty resident and Green Party member.

Coming Soon to a Coastline Near You: Explosionsby Sarah OLeary

More information at

Blue Dolphin Alliancewww.bluedolphin.or

888-694-2537

Save the Dolphin

Save Yourself

A Stealth Bomber leads a multi-carrier Strike Group in ormation. According to the USNavys plan to expand the Northwest Training Complex, ships, submarines, planes,and drones will test and train live re ordinance rom Sonoma County to the Cana-dian border. Photo: US Navy

An Air Force B-2 bomber ies over Navy Strike groupsduring a training exercise. An element o the expandedNavy training plan is to integrate joint training among

U.S. miliary orces such as the Airorce and the Navy.Photo: U.S. Navy

Take Action!View the DEIS, the 44-page Executive Summary,and a series of Navy-produced fact sheets on theproject at http://www.nwtrangecomplexeis.com

Or view the printed copy at the Humboldt CountyLibrary in Eureka.

Submit your comments online:http://www.nwtrangecomplexeis.com/NtrcCom-mentForm.aspx

Submit written comments to:Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest,

1101 Tautog Circle, Suite 203, Silverdale, WA98315-1101, ATTN: Mrs. Kimberly Kler - NWTRCEIS.

Sign the Green Party Pacic Coast Sanctuary Petition:http://www.mendocinocountry.com/gpomc/ocean-sanctuarypetition.html


6/24

6 www.yournec.org ECONEWS

Fire Salvage Projects Questionable

Following the historic 2008 re season, the U.S. For-est Service has proposed 8,000 acres of post-re salvagelogging projects in national forests across NorthwestCalifornia. This is in addition to hundreds of post-relogging projects on private industrial lands, which receivedno public scrutiny and no environmental review.

According to the Forest Service, the projects are in-tended to reforest blackened areas and reduce resistanceto future re ghting. But conservationists warn thatlogging after res creates serious ecological damage tore-dependent wildlife and actually inhibits recovery.

Stephanie Tidwell, executive director for the KlamathSiskiyou Wildlands Center said that forests get hit twiceby these policies. This agency burns forests to stopres natural progress, and then comes back in, to furtherinterfere with the natural re ecology during recovery toprovide logs to industry, she said. Theres somethingfundamentally wrong with this approach.

The proposed projects have garnered the attention ofseveral conservation organizations and community groupsacross the region and will meet strong opposition becauseof their proximity to wilderness areas and disruption ofsensitive areas trying to recover from res.

Kimberly Baker of the Klamath Forest Alliance ledcomments with the Forest Service and expressed concernabout all of the projects. These four salvage proposalsare all in Tier 1 Key watersheds which provide criticalhabitat for salmon recovery and would log fragile, steepslopes on re-burned soils, said Baker.

One of the most controversial of the projects, Ironsides

Mountain, is near the New River, in the Shasta TrinityNational Forest.It would open up202 acres for log-ging, in a remotearea borderingthe Trinity Alps

wilderness withinold growth andriparian reserves.

The Forest Servicewants to use a Cat-

egorical Exclusion(CE), which wouldpreclude full envi-ronmental review

under the National Environ-mental Policy Act (NEPA).

We wouldnt want to doanything that would furtherdegrade this site, we wouldntpropose anything that would

be harmful to the watershed,said Carl Varak, a Forest Ser-

vice silviculturist, about thissalvage project.

There is such a contrastbetween traditional ecologi-cal knowledge and agency repolicy, Tidwell said, explain-ing the successful indigenousre management of forestsin the region. We haveexamples of what we could

do to work with re, yet theagencies continue to workagainst it.

Another salvage sale, Pan-ther Fire, is also in the Kla-math National Forest. Two-hundred-fifty-four acres

would be cut in Elk Creek,a tributary to the KlamathRiver near Happy Camp. Some units are directly aboveNorcross Campground and the Bear Lake Trail Head.

These popular spots mark a gateway for those entering

spectacular high country around Kings Castle in theMarbled Mountain Wilderness.

In addition to the conventional logging operations,huge roadside projects within the Six Rivers and Shasta

Trinity National Forests would clear all dead and dyingtrees alongside hundreds of miles of roads.

While standing snags can create safety hazards for mo-torists along roads, the large dead trees can stay uprightfor decades. According to Varack, typical roadside salvageefforts cut dead trees as far down and up the roadsideas the trees are tall. The projects prioritize merchantabletimber, and often disregard small dense stands that con-

servationists say create the real danger.The ultimate effect of these roadside projects will beeven more brush zones, said Scott Greacen, ExecutiveDirector for the Environmental Protection Information

Center (EPIC). The best practice that we know now isto create shaded fuel-breaks to prevent re-prone stands,

which are the most dangerous.Forests have burned for millennia from natural igni-

tion, and were managed by indigenous communities inNorthwest California for improved game habitat and foodproduction. Forests naturally burn in mosaic patterns, withless than 10 percent burning at high severity. The viabilityof the proposed logging projects, intended to re-plantstands and create less dangerous situations for re ghtersof the future, remains an issue of hot debate.

Baker believes that public involvement in land manage-ment has raised the bar on Forest Service projects. Sheencourages people to get out to the re areas this springand summer, to check out the natural regeneration andsee for themselves how forests can heal.

Kerul Dyer is Outreach Director and Forest Advocate for theEnvironmental Protection Information Center, or EPIC. To learnmore, write [email protected], or call (707) 822-7711.

Forest Service wet weather logging operations at Norcross Campground in the KlamathNational Forest, as a result o the Panther Fire. Photo: Kimberly Baker

by Kerul Dyer

Are you struggling with your feelings about the many crises unfolding in our world today? Do you sometimes feelso inundated with the challenges faced by our communities every day that you nd yourself becoming numb to thefeelings deep within you - your pain for the world - your grief, your rage, your despair, your fear, your sorrow?

Paul Cienfuegos and Jacqueline Mayrand invite you to join their Despair and Empowerment workshop series,

based on the work of Joanna Macy. The workshop will be offered overve Monday evenings in Eureka beginningApril 13, in a supportive and small group setting.

The world and our very lives are in danger. If we do notallow our painful feelings to surface and nd expression,we risk going numb to our love for this beautiful and exquisite world as well - since our love and our pain live on thesame continuum. To speak our despair for the world also cracks open our love for the world. And precisely because

we speak it, we can move through it and beyond it to a new place that is more connecting and less self-isolating, aplace that holds much more energy that we can use in our own work for the planets wellbeing.

Jacqueline is a local MFT Intern who wrote her Masters thesis, Tending our Grief: Healing the Self-NatureSplit, about work she did with a small group of individuals whose focus was to share their experience of grieffor the world. Paul was trained to lead Despair and Personal Empowerment in the Nuclear Age workshops by

Joanna Macy, Chellis Glendinning and others in 1982, and led dozens of them for the next three years while livingin rural Scotland.

For more information, please go to www.100res.com/Despairor call Paul at 707-443-4483.

Transform Your Despair Into Power Like What Youre Reading?Help keepECONEWSafoat by

supporting our advertisers.

Tell them you saw it inECONEWS!

Steep slopes directly above the camp-ground are included in the Panther Firesalvage proposal. Photo: Kimberly Baker

Photo Sam Camp / campphoto.com


7/24

April 2009

Drop Beets not Bombs!, Make Lettuce, not War!,Hoe! Hoe! We Want to Grow! Such cries to action,reminiscent of World War II days, may be near at handagain as the current food crisis continues to grow in ourcountry. Slogans such as these underscore the value ofa grow-it-yourselfapproach to healthy living and feedingthe hungry.

The National Gardening Association predicts a 40percent increase in the number of home gardens thisyear, as compared to two years ago a forecast that isborne out in burgeoning seed sales.

Our sales are way, way higher this year and we arescrambling to keep up, said Betsy Bruneau of BountifulGardens of Willits, Calif. They are affected by peoplesfear and concern about the food supply, both its quantityand its safety, and also by the economy. Planting a gardenis an inexpensive thing that a family can do together,instead of buying things or traveling, and it might savemoney as food prices increase

Many food advocates have been encouraging the gov-ernment to renew a nationwide campaign for VictoryGardens. These gardens became popular during World

War I as a way to help supply Americans and our allieswith food during and after the war. During World WarII, victory gardens were revived inspiring Americansto grow 40 percent of their own food in nearly 20 mil-lion gardens.

With America currently at war overseas and a full-

scale assault being launched on our food system, the

victory garden movement may be just the answer we needfor real homeland security said Michelle Wyler of theHumboldt Chapter of Community Alliance with FamilyFarmers (CAFF).

On February 12th, the anniversary of Abraham Lin-colns birthday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack brokeground on a new Peoples Garden at USDA headquartersin Washington D.C.. According to a USDA press release,this garden will utilize compost from the cafeteria, and it

will grow a large assortment of fruits and vegetables thatwill be donated to local food banks.

Although this garden is considered to be a good rststep toward encouraging Americans to grow their own,food advocates have their sights set on the White House,and have been petitioning since November for a victorygarden to be re-planted on the historic front lawn.

It wouldnt be the rst time. Eleanor Roosevelt planteda victory garden at the White House during World WarII, as did Woodrow Wilson in World War I; he also usedthe lawns for grazing sheep.

Now add Michelle Obama to the list, as the rst ladybegan the installation of a vegetable garden on the southlawn in March. Ms. Obama has said that this garden willfeed the Obamas, and will also serve as an educationaltool for local elementary students to learn about wheretheir food comes from.

Food activists, represented by CAFF and other orga-nizations, believe that growing a garden not only sup-

ports healthful eating, it is a direct action to reduce yourcarbon food print. According tothe Center for Urban Sustainable

Agriculture, food items travel anaverage of 1,500 miles from eldto plate. They also estimate that forevery 10 kcal of fossil fuel energythat goes into our food system, onekcal of energy is produced as food.

Additionally, nearly 1/3 of the wastein landlls across the country comesfrom food packaging.

Food security is a top concern in these troubled times.CAFF believes that food security is primarily about pro-viding access to tasty, healthy foods which support theenvironment. Its time to expand the Buy Local sloganand support a Grow Local commitment.

And remember: theres no place more local than yourown yard, porch, windowsill, or community garden.

Lindsey Byers is the AmeriCorp VISTA member for theHumboldt County chapter of the California Alliance forFamily Farmers (CAFF)

Hoe! Hoe! We Want To Grow!The Revival of the Victory Garden Movement

by Lindsey Byers

We grow a food garden for you,

in your own yard.We provide the

labor, experience, materials, & equipment.

You get a weekly basket of fresh produce.

We Do The WorkYou Reap The Bounty

Neighborhood Farms& Victory Gardens

(707) 498-1659 Eureka, CA [email protected]

Year-round growing guide provided by Neighborhood Farms and Victory Gardens.

TAKE ACTIONSign the White House Victory Garden petition atwww.eattheview.orgStart your own garden, or participate in one of thecommunity garden projects listed on this page.

Service Learning OpportunitiesVolunteer at Redwood Roots Farm located in Baysideon Fridays. [email protected] at the Arcata Educational Farm.Contact [email protected] Community Farm offers a structuredfteen-week internship comprised of 7 hours ofin-eld training and one hour of lecture/discussioneach week. Mandatory orientation meeting Sunday,April 5th, 11am-1pm. E-mail [email protected].

Potawot Community Food Garden needs on-goingvolunteers to garden at Potawot. Volunteers neededevery Monday-Friday, 9am-3pm and every 2ndSaturday, from 10am-12pm. Call 826-8476 for moreinfo.

Other ResourcesCooperative Extension has many resources avail-able to home gardeners. Humboldt County Ofce islocated at 5630 South Broadway in Eureka.The Humboldt Kitchen Gardenerby Eddie Tanner, abook written by a local author and gardener provideslocally relevant info to help you successfully raise or-

ganic food for yourself, your family, and your friends.


8/24

8 www.yournec.org ECONEWS

Concerned with climate change, student health andunprecedented levels of ocean pollution, local students arelaunching a campaign to encourage the consumption oflocal drinking water and the use of rellable containers.

Students from HSUs Environmental Science Practicumclass have commenced a new educational campaign called

HSU Takes Back the Tap. The goal is to reduce negativeenvironmental impacts associated with bottled water.

To accomplish this goal, they are educating students andfaculty about the environmental and health costs associ-ated with plastic water bottles. They also hope to pass aresolution through the Associated Students governmentthat would support a phase-out of the sale of single-use

water bottles. Additionally, the students are writing a grant to the

Humboldt Energy Independence Fund (HEIF) in orderto provide an alternative to bottled water. If approved, thegrant will fund the retrot and replacement of existing water

fountains on campus with ltration systems and goosenecksfor convenient relling of reusable drinking containers.

I really dont like the taste of chlorine in the drink-ing water; if the drinking fountains were equipped withlters I would not hesitate to take advantage of them,said Laurel Hoffman, HSU student.

HSU Takes Back the Tap is partnering with the Foodand Water Watchs national campaign TakeBack the Tap, the Humboldt Bay Municipal

Water District and the City of Arcatas localcampaign Tap the Mad, along with the HSUCampus Recycling Program and HEIF, both

student organizations.We are really hopeful that this coalition will

help to usher in the cultural shift necessary toaccomplish the goal of the campaign not juston campus but ultimately in our community,and the rest of the nation, said Beth Oates,student member ofHSU Takes Back the Tap.

The many problems associated with single-use plastic water bottles include embeddedenergy costs of water bottle production andtransportation, the life span of plastic andhow it is disposed of, and the potential health

risks of plastics.

Bottled water is sold in containers made frompolyethyleneterephthalate(PET) resin. Producing the PET bottles tomeet global bottled water demand requires approximately50 million barrels of oil per year. This includes both thePET material and the energy required to turn PET intobottles. The Pacic Institute found that the production of

bottled water requires as much as 2,000 times the energycost of producing tap water.

The manufacture and transportation of PET plasticuses large amounts of energy and resources and gener-ates greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global

warming. In his paper Economics and Climate Impact ofBottled Water at Humboldt State Universi ty,HSU student JeffSteuben, estimated that the university sells about 33,150bottles of water each semester, and this results in 2,354pounds of carbon dioxide emitted from trucking.

Additionally, the Food and Water Watch estimatesthat less than 14 percent of single-use water bottles are

recycled; and they are often incinerated, releasing toxicchemicals into the air or disposed of in the ocean wherethe plastic is broken down into smaller and smaller pieces.Plastics can take thousands of years to decompose whendisposed of in landlls.

The Marine Pollution Bulletinreported in 2001 thatsix pounds of plastic are oating in the North Pacic

subtropical gyre for every pound of natu-rally occurring zooplankton. Marine animalsmistakenly consume plastics instead of food,often leading to starvation or the buildup oftoxic chemicals within the ocean food chain

which impacts both wildlife and humanhealth. Other studies show that plastics canleach carcinogenic chemicals into bottled

water where they can be directly absorbedby the consumer.

We are determined to provide studentswith free, safe drinking water and to stem theow of dangerous plastics through HSU intoour environment, said Oates. Lets stop pol-luting our planet by drinking local water.

HSU Takes Back the TapBy Natalynne DeLapp

TAP THAT!HSU TAKES BACK THE TAP

the California Gold Rush. Only recently has the federalgovernment recognized the Karuk as a sovereign tribalgovernment, and they do not have a reservation. Until theCalifornia DFG granted permission for limited shing atIshi Pishi Falls, tribal members were routinely harassedfor catching sh at their traditional site.

The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors passeda resolution supporting the New 49ers petition. This isanother case of the State paying a bounty on the headsof Indian people. Its based on racism, fear, and wantingto control and extract resources, said Hillman.

The club does not have a problem with the Karukpeople, they have a problem that there are no studies thatshow suction dredge mining is harmful to sh, Higbee

countered. Studies on the harmful impacts of suctiondredging in California include reports by Peter Moyle Ph.D,Harvey & Lisle, and the Sierra Funds mercury report.

Were not trying to place all the blame on the miners,but now with all of the impacts on the shery, the addedstress caused by [suction dredging] needs to be moreclosely regulated, said Hillman.

California Senator Pat Wiggins, chair of the JointLegislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture,introduced a package of bills last month focused onprotecting wild salmon. Senate Bill 670 proposes totalprohibition of suction mining until the court overhauls

regulations governing mining. (See story at right)Many of these other groups and individuals are not

only respectful of the salmons place in our overall environ-ment, they have also shown a historical commitment toensuring the continued survival of these magnicent sh,

Wiggins said, speaking about the New 49ers petition.While Id prefer to avoid name-calling or nger-

pointing, the fact is that suction dredge mining is a perni-cious practice that kills sh, and it is particularly harmfulto young salmon.

Jenny Stormy Staats is a Klamath river re sident and environmentaljustice activist. She is currently working on a short lm about dredgemining with the Klamath Salmon Media Collaborative.

Dredging vs. Karuks(continued from page 3)

A coho salmon rom Cougar Creek on the Klamath River. Coho are

one o the threatened species o salmon whose spawning and rear-

ing habitat is afected by suc tion dredge mining.

Photo: Klamath Salmon Media Collaborative

In an effort to restore and protect California salmonpopulations, State Senator Patricia Wiggins introduceda package of bills in March.

Senate Bill 539 requires the Ocean ProtectionCouncil to provide a reportto the Legislature that rankssolutions on how to reversethe decline of salmon and

steelhead and lists costs ofimplementation of action.

Senate Bill 670 prohibitsthe use of suction dredgemining equipment in riversand streams that give criticalhabitat to spawning salmon.

The prohibition would re-main in effect until the stateDept of Fish and Game(DFG) completes its court-ordered overhaul of suction

dredging regulations.

Senate Bill 778 requires California DFG to furnish athorough accounting of funds generated from commer-cial shing permits, commonly referred to as salmonstamps. The funds are supposed to be spent on sher-

ies and habitat restorationbut some in the shingindustry are concernedthat the money is not be-

ing used for top priorityprojects. Through use ofan audit, this bill wouldstrengthen the programand it will also increasethe price of the stamp,if shermen agree, in aneffort to increase protec-tion efforts.

Three Bills To Protect Salmon

Threatened coho salmon. Photo: Klamath Salmon MediaCollective

Natalynne Delapp is director of HSUs TakesBack the Tap, and is studying environmental

policy at the university.


9/24

April 2009

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Although living on the North Coast can leave us feel-ing insulated from the California drought now enteringits third year, its important for everyone to start thinkingbeyond water conservation and address water storage.

The folks at Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt

County (DUHC) have taken that step. With the help ofNicole Vincent, an engineering student at Humboldt StateUniversity, Democracy Unlimited built a 2,500 gallonrainwater catchment system for their home ofce. It islarge enough to capture rain throughout the wet seasonand keep their gardens, ducks and chickens happy duringthe drier months.

While Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, executive director ofDUHC, says rainwater catchment is one of the easiestsystem changes a household can make towards sustain-ability, it turns out they had to ght to build their systemin Eureka.

During the initial design phase Vincent checkedwith the City of Eureka to see if water storage tanksneed a permit. When the answer was no, the projectproceeded. However, after building a 10 x 10 cinderand concrete pad and placing the 2,500 gallon tank,they received a notice that their new structure did notmeet set-back requirements.

Set-backs are the prescribed distance that structuresneed to be from the sidewalk and street. Sopoci-Belknapsaid that the irony is the entire house doesnt meet set-back requirements.

The City staff were very helpful andhonest in letting us know that they didntgrant [variances] very often, said Sopoci-Belknap. After we proved that the site wechose was the only one possible and stated

that it was within the Citys General Planfor sustainability and water conservationthe staff recommended approval.

The planning commission grantedthe variance, an exception to require-ments, on the condition that they builda fence to separate the storage tankfrom the sidewalk.

Although the tank was technically in violation of City Code, it was the rightthing to do in terms of sustainability andthe City wanted to acknowledge that, said

Sopoci-Belknap.We hope we made it easier for peopleto build rainwater catchment systems.

There is now an examplefor people to refer to whenthey apply for a variancefor set-backs before theystart building.

Catch That RainBy Jocelyn Orr

Learn MoreBuild your own rainwater catchment system,nd instructions on Nicole Vincents Appro-pedia page: http://www.appropedia.org/M_Street_Eureka_rainwater_catchment

Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County:http://www.duhc.org/ (707) 269-0984

Above: An example o a rainwater catchment system. Inset: The newsystem at the DUHC home oce. Photos: Nicole Vincent

Catcher In The WrongSome states have passed laws that limit rainwater harvesting. Rainwater catchers in both Colorado and Utah

are breaking state law. TheLos Angeles Times recently reported on the Colorado law, [A]ccording to the state ofColorado, [rainwater] should be allowed to fall to the ground and ow unimpeded into surrounding creeksand streams....to become the property of farmers, ranchers, developers and water agencies that have bought therights to those waterways.

Every drop counts in these dry states and apparently the school of thought is that water only belongs to thosewho pay for it.


10/24

10 www.yournec.org

Last month I joined four other HSU students in travel-ing to Washington D.C. to attend Power Shift 09. Theevent brought together 12,000 young leaders from acrossthe nation to engage with their legislatures and push them

to take action against climate change.During the days leading up to the conference I prepared

myself to learn not only about current issues in climateand energy policy but about the issues affecting my peersall over the country. I felt determined to approach bothas a good listener and with an open mind.

Once we arrived at the Convention Center, I was over-whelmed by the sheer volume of people, as well as the lengthylist of workshops, panels and well-respected keynote speak-ers. I was also thrilled to note the presence of several HSUalumni and another student, Matthew Duran, who took theinitiative to get to Power Shift on his own steam.

What I did not anticipate was to be moved to tears,to feel chills travel up my spine, as Majora Carter, Van

Jones, Lisa Jackson and others spoke to my generationand inspired us to continue the ght.

Part of the excitement came from knowing that we hada new administration to work with, one that the youth ofthis country actively helped to elect through campaignssuch as Power Vote. Majora Carter told us that we are nowin the Obama Era, explaining that Obama is not just thename of our president, but an acronym. She said, OBAMAmeans Ofcially Behaving As Magnicent Americans.

Jessy Tolkan, executive director of the Energy Action

Coalition, the force behind PowerShift, reminded us thatthe most important part of the event would be Mondayslobby day.

And indeed, this was a day when we students wereempowered to take concrete action. On Monday, March

2, thousands ofyoung peoplemade more than350 lobby visits.

On the sameday 2,500 otheryoung peopleconverged onthe Capitol PowerPlant in South-east WashingtonD.C. to demandaction on global

warming.I struggled

with my decision

of which con-gressperson tolobby. Should itbe a Californialegislator thestate where I amregistered to voteand where I havelived for the pastfive years orshould I lobby alawmaker from

my home state ofIdaho?As people

began divid-ing them-selves by state, I realized that California was well repre-sented and remembered that Idaho needs all the help itcan get. I ran across the Convention Center to Idahosdelegation. I found myself reunited with Idahoans, whereI was one of six student lobbyists instead of one of sixhundred.

Our delegation narrowed to four, and we all felt a

bit nervous visiting the ofces of three Idaho congressmembers. I was thankful for the opportunity to tell eachof them my mothers story a woman who poured nearly20 years of work into an Idaho-based corporation onlyto be laid off when times got tough.

I sat in their elegant ofces and told them that we couldput Idahoans back to work by investing in renewableenergy and creating green jobs. I told them my motherdeserved to be able to work where she lives and not inMinnesota or San Jose. Together we asked our congressmembers to support and pass bold climate and energy policythat prioritizes renewable energy, green jobs, and an aggressive

cap on carbon emissions.For most of my life I have been interested in envi-

ronmental and social justice issues. The climate changemovement is a place where I feel these two issues meetas one. It is an area where my energy doesnt have to bedivided, the way my time is between Idaho and California.

Attending PowerShift 09 was invaluable in helping meclarify my priorities, and I am now excited to return to

Idaho and visit the ofces of my State Representativeand Senator. Its time for me to do my part to help putpeople to work in a clean, green economy.

Green-Minded Youth Converge on WashingtonA Personal Account of PowerShift 09

by Jocelyn Orr

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Youth rally on the Capital Lawn. Donning green hard hats to symbolize the desire or green jobs, the youthdemanded that Congress Get to Work! to pass strong climate legislation in 2009. 12,000 young people at-tended PowerShit 09 in Washington DC last month. Photo: PowerShit 09.org

The PowerShit conerence culminated in a coal plant demonsra-tion, attended by 2,500 people, and a Lobby Day when thou-sands o students were able to lobby their state congressionalrepresentatives. Photo: PowerShit09.org

Get InvolvedVisit wwwpowershift09.org to learn more aboutthe climate and energy movement and to viewthe keynote speakers at PowerShift 09.


11/24

April 2009

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Who will determine where future development occursin Humboldt County? Will it be the people who live and

work here, or will we allow others, who represent mar-ket forces to make those decisions for us? Like mostcitizens of the county, the Healthy Humboldt Coalition

wants vibrant communities and a prosperous future for

Humboldt County residents.Healthy Humboldt is a group of six local organizations

whose goal is to involve citizens in creating a General Planthat protects and promotes the best interests and healthof Humboldt and all who dwell here. The coalition iscomprised of the North Group Sierra Club, Humboldt

Watershed Council, Democracy Unlimited, GreenWheels,Humboldt Baykeeper and your NEC the NorthcoastEnvironmental Center.

Humboldt County needs excellent planning to meetthe needs of all our different types of communities. Thecurrent system is outdated. The problem with consistently

driving development toward suburban expansion is thatits rules are not suited for either urban or rural areas. Oururban areas face critical development issues like sewagetreatment capacity and trafc congestion, and our ruralcommunities deal with equally important issues like lowsummer water levels in streams used for domestic watersupply. All our communities development and land useneeds must be considered in concert to ensure the well-being of the County and all its residents.

You can help make the decisions that determine howHumboldt County residents will live in the next twentyyears. Ask yourself questions like these: Should we build

expensive new sewer and water infrastructure to areas likeHumboldt Hill, Dows Prairie, and Cutten? Or shouldwe try to maintain those communities rural qualities?Do we want our communities to center around serviceslike schools, stores, parks, and trails, minimizing privatetransportation costs? Do we want to retain as much pro-ductive farmland and timberland as possible?

Our opinions - the opinions of people whose livesare affected by the answers to such questions - must bemade to count.

In the Countys General Plan Update (GPU) process,the Housing Element is nearing completion and the LandUse Element is next to be tackled. Land use decisions willdetermine how much future growth will be accommodatedin our urban, suburban, and rural areas. The GPU is re-quired to examine zoning to ensure that there are enough

parcels to house the population increase projected by thestate of California over the next 20 years.

Right now there are approximately 16,000 developableparcels in unincorporated areas of the County, includingnearly 2,000 vacant, developable rural residential parcels.

The shortfall is in residential parcels within Urban De-velopment Areas the areas that are already served bymunicipal water and sewer systems. These are the parcels

we need most, and they are the ones least costly to developand least costly in terms of our tax burden. We are faced

with a choice to rezone the land in town to t more hous-ing, or to rezone existing agricultural and timber land to

accommodate residential building. The decisions on landuse are critical and need your consideration and input.Healthy Humboldt Coalitions mission is to engage

citizens in the Humboldt County General Plan Update toensure the adoption of a General Plan that works towardhealthy communities and a prosperous future. The HHCbrings a great array of expertise to the Update process.

Specically, we work toward a General Plan that doesthe following:

Creates ample & affordable options for living andcommuting

Builds a resilient & prosperous local economy

Secures clean air & water for our families & wildlifeProvides access to parks, trails, & nature Fosters safe, caring, & connected neighborhoods Protects working lands & the jobs they support

For more information on how the General Plan Updatecan meet these goals and to learn how to express your

views, visit www.healthyhumboldt.orgor call 682-5292.

Moving Toward A Healthier Humboldtby Jen Kalt

Take Action:Attend Planning Commission Hearings for theCounty General Plan UpdateApril 16: Land Use Element: Urban LandsApril 23: Land Use Element: Forest and AgriculturalResourcesHearings begin at 6:00 p.m. at the SupervisorsChambers in Eureka. They are broadcast live onHumboldt Access Channel 10, or you can orderDVDs from the Community Development Depart-ment.The above schedule was released on March 6.For updates to the schedule, seehttp:/co.humboldt.ca.us/gpu/schedulePlanning.aspx#glance.

Get Your Tickets Nowfor the NECs 25th

Annual Art Auction & DinnerSaturday, April 11, 2009

Arcata Community Center 321 Community Park Way5 pm: Doors Open, Live Auction Preview

6 pm: Dinner - Catered by Abruzzi7 pm: Live Auction Begins

Tickets Available at The Works in Arcata &Eureka, Humboldt Baykeeper Ofce, and the

NEC on 1465 G St., ArcataStorm Raven by Suza Lambert

As Conservation Chair for the California Native Plant Society, Jen Kalthas been following the General Plan Update for several years, and is amember of the Healthy Humboldt Coalition Steering Committee.


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12 www.yournec.org

Since 1886, Arcatas weekly newspapers have captured the towns colorful history 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 Arcatas history

sometimes familar, often surprising but always as fascinating as the town itself.In On This Day In Arcata, youll read all about the installation of the statue of William

McKinley and the Arcata Womens Christian Temperance Union fountain, the opening

of the Hotel Arcata, Minor Theatre and Humboldt State Universitys Founders 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 Arcatas 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 Arcatas 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 history

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Our California tax refund will just about cover whatour accountant charges to gure out that we dont owethe state any taxes. So I ask her, If the state is broke,and pays the refund with an IOU, can I just give it to you

and call it even? Shes less than enthusiastic, so I writeher a checkmy IOU instead of Arnolds. The moneycould be anywhere.

We use it every day. We work for it, beg for it, steal andcheat, dance and sing, all for something we only vaguelyunderstand. Which is ne, as long as it gets us what we

want or need. Only when it fails do we wonder whatmoney is. Or was.

In this region, money has been shells, gold, paper,and now some say marijuana. Or even more ephemeral,e-dollars, the electronic transfer of wealth. Money doesnthave value, it expresses our values. It could be anything.

In the 1930s, in Crescent City, clam shells that began aslaundry tickets were circulated as money. Whatever youput your faith in.

Credit: credo, what I believe. My accountant thinks Immore credible than Arnold, and I love her for it.

The trouble is, we put such blind faith in bad money.We submit to its whims, like love or the weather or a crazygod. When Germany, in order to pay huge reparations for

World War I, simply printed millions more Deutschmarks,its citizens were soon going to the bakery with a wheelbar-row full of money. No one questioned the bills, or thebad decisions they represented. Instead they

asked, why has bread gotten so expensive?Its the Jews, someone said.When someone noticed that Icelands

borrowing far exceeded its actual wealth,the krona collapsed and the entire nation

went into default. Some people were re-lieved. Now they could go back to beinga little nation of volcanoes and shing

villages and rock stars. Icelanders requireda bailout, not just of IMF dollars, but of

belief. When money is at odds with natural factssay thecondition of the Atlantic cod sherythen money is nolonger creditworthy, and people no longer know what tobelieve in. Its a symptom of deep depression.

Ecology is natures economy. Its bookkeeping teachesus that everythings connected. That there are lines be-neath the bottom line. Its not coincidence that droughtand soil lossthe Dust Bowlaccompanied the GreatDepression. Or that this not so great one, in its scale,depth and duration, will be a t companion to globalclimate disruption.

We need a deeper, greener money. Something not forspeculatorsgive them Monopoly dollars to play with.Deep green money buys food and shelter, a fair wage fora fair days work, honors the person youre doing business

with, and the place you live. Deep green money puts its trust

in natural wealth, creates real bonds of community.Deep green money could be anywhere. We could

make our own, and might have to. What if our countygovernment had to pay a portion of wages in IOUs?

What if they were redeemable for property taxes? Orwhat if watershed councils issued salmon stamps, to beredeemed when the salmon return? I leave it to my ac-countant to work out the details. Like I keep telling her,the money could be anywhereshell or metal or paper,animal or vegetableits only as good as the things weinvest our faith in.

During the recession of the late 1970s Dr Loon wroteabout money for local newspapers. He is the author ofTusk Shell, Gold Dollar, Pulp Note and Weed: FourEconomies in the Six Rivers Region, in Reinhabit-ing Another Country (Planet Drum Books). Sincethen, whenever money has taken another of its historicdownturns, his writings reappear in the mailboxes ofhapless local editors.

Deep Green MoneyEco-nomics with Dr. Loon

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

Robert Berg, D.D.S.


13/24

April 2009

Espresso & Freshly Roasted Coffee PastriesBreads Desserts CateringWedding & Specialty Cakes

Soup, Salad & Lunch Entrees

Ramones Bakery&Cafe

www.RamonesBakery.com

OPEN

DAILY

At Wildberries, Arcata 826-1088

In McKinleyville 839-3383

IN EUREKA:

2223 Harrison Ave. 442-1336209 E St., 445-2923

At Piersons

476-0401

Reviews

Soil Not Oil:

Environmental Justice in an Ageof Climate Crisis,by Vandana Shiva, 144 pages, SouthEnd Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2008, $15

With both our plan-et and our economy atthe tipping point, Soil

Not Oil, byVandanaS h i v a ,s h o u l dgive freshinspirationto those already ac-tive in the creationof a sustainablefuture and provide anaccessible introduc-tion for those morerecently attuned to thechallenges we face as aspecies.

Many of those de-voted to the defense of

our environment are intimately familiar with Shivas work.Few authors have offered humanity a more compellingmessage of reconciliation and survival.

In Soil Not Oil, Shiva connects three most pressingthreats: climate change, peak oil, and food security. Sheconvincingly argues that these problems cannot be ad-dressed in isolation, that piecemeal attempts to perpetuatebusiness as usual cannot succeed.

While many treat climate change as an impendingproblem,Shiva demonstrates that in fact this problem is happeningnow, people are dying as a result, now.

Climate change is the nal manifestation of what she

calls eco-imperialism. After the colonization of landand water, the atmosphere is now being traded as anothercommodity through the sale of carbon offsets. Shivaargues that these offsets make no contribution to theglobal reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and theysubsidize practices that should instead be prohibited.

Shiva cautions against faith in the technological solu-

tion. She disabuses the reader of the notion that nuclearpower is safe and carbon free, pointing to a genocidaland petroleum-based nuclear fuel cycle. She demonstrateshow unrealistic it is in the face of peak oil and masshunger to expect biofuels to save us, and she chal-lenges the wisdom of deploying alternatives that areunsustainable.

The element that ties climate change, peak oil, and foodinsecurity together is the car. The automobile infrastructure

ensures the rapid depletion of oil and water, leading toclimate change and crop failure. It displaces those leastable to afford the luxury of private transportation tomake way for factories and highways. These highways,in turn, make human- and animal-powered locomotionimpracticable or illegal. Shiva argues that we must focuson the needs of people, rather than seek a more efcientgas-guzzler or a non-existent replacement for oil.

A recurring theme in Shivas work is that the distributionof people on the land, the modes of transit we employ,and the kinds of development to which we are sub-

jected have nothing to do with the workings of markets.Rather, these are political decisions, favoring internationalcapital and local elites, and their implementation is rife

with blatant corruption.Instead of implementing development in any meaning-

ful sense of the term, these policies distort economiesby subsidizing the automobile economy, destroying local

markets, and externalizing social costs. Rather thanencouraging prosperity and democracy, these poli-cies ensure poverty and the violent repression ofthose who would challenge power: A top-downmodel for sustainability, she writes, results [only]

in pseudo-sustainability and eco-imperialism.

Some readers, those most alert to breakingdevelopments in science and politics, may ndfew surprises. Arguably, the book may best serve

as a primer for those beginning to take notice of the cri-ses in climate, energy and food. Still, Shivas knowledge,

wisdom and passion ensure that even the most seasonedand informed environmentalist will come away with freshideas, more evidence, and renewed commitment.

Although change is always a collective effort, whenwe succeed in the struggle toreclaim our planet, VandanaShiva will stand with those

to whom we owe specialthanks.

Dr. Martin Orr is AssociateProfessor and Chair of the De-partment of Sociology at BoiseState University in Idaho.

Searching for Justice at End of the Age ofOilby Martin Orr, Ph.D.

October 2009-April 20101st Weekend of the Month 10:00-4:00 p.m.

Clinical HerbalismVisiting Teachers Series

Register Online or Call 707-442-8157www.dandelionherb.com

Dandelion Herbal [email protected] PO Box 4440, Arcata, CA 95518

The Herbalists Come To You!Teachers: Cascade Anderson Geller, Mindy Green,

Candis Cantin, James Green, Karin Uphoff,Pam Montgomery & Rosemary Gladstar.

The element that ties climatechange, peak oil, and food

insecurity together is the car

Vandana Shiva

TOFU SHOP


14/24

The dune systems of the North Coast represent but a narrow swath of ourbioregion yet are abundant with diverse life forms that even the youngest ofexplorers can appreciate.

The Friends of the Dunes Coastal Nature Center in Manila is the regionsgateway to kid-friendly dune exploration. The newly inaugurated self-guided

Wildberries Trail begins at the Centers front doorbe sure to grab an interpre-

tive brochure to make the most of your visit.A spring visit to this sandy, meandering path found it drenched in sunlight asit guided me through open swales, sheltered shore pine forest, owering willowthicket, over bridged wetlands, to dune crests and nally the beach edge. Allthiswithin 0.35 milesmakes for an easy and pleasant trek (for a longer hiketurn north or south at the foredune trail intersection to explore the Ma-lel orManila Dunes).

The trail is dotted with artistic markers highlighting animal life that frequenteach of the unique dune system habitats. The animal tracks are sculpted intothe markers for children to touch and then seek out.

On the day of my particular visit my search for the gray foxs footprintsfound them crossing a series of tracks made by ve inch long sneakers. Just

beyond this meeting of fox and child, a long-eared jackrabbit stood on herhind legs to gain a better view of my puttering before scampering into thewillows leaving yet another set of fresh tracks in the sand for me and othervisitors to observe.

14 www.yournec.org

Go Play Outside: Discover the Dunesby Allison Poklemba

If You GoFrom Route 255 in Manila turn west on StampsLane. Stay left to follow the gravel road up to theHumboldt Coastal Nature Center and trailhead.Open daily during daylight hours. For moreinformation visit www.friendsofthedunes.org

The gray ox trail marker leads visi-tors under a dense canopy o shorepines.Photo: Allison Poklemba

Green Building Products

906 Redwood Dr., Garberville 923-1296

www.organicgrace.com

Organic Bedroom

EcoHome

Humboldts Full Service GreenGeneral Store

Everything you need to create a healthy home

Earth-Based Plasters and PaintsSustainable Flooring

Denim InsulaonRecycled Roofing

Organic Coon & Wool orNatural Latex Maresses

Organic and Wool BeddingNatural Baby Nursery

LED & Full-Spectrum LighngEMF ProteconStainless Steel Bakeware

...and so much more!

Allison Poklemba is the CREEC (California Regional Environ-mental Education Community) Networks regional coordinator. Tolearn more about environmental educational opportunities for youthvisit www.creec.org/region1.

Conservation groups, including the NEC, are consid-ering legal action to oppose the California Departmentof Fish and Games intention to approve Incidental

Take Permits (ITPs) for coho salmon in the Shasta andScott River watersheds.

The CDF is expected to move forward in approving

Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs)for the ITPswithin the next month.

If the EIRs are approved, legal action may be neces-sary because coho will not be recovered. CDFG will beacting illegally,and the precedent that these permits wouldset throughout the state would be extremely damagingPacic salmon recovery efforts.

Friends of the Arcata Marsh (FOAM) is sponsoring severalfree tours of the Arcata Marsh in April. All walks begin

at 2 p.m. at the Interpretive Center on South G Street.Call 826-2359 for more information.

Saturday, April 4, Rich Ridenhour leads a 90-minutewalk focusing on the birds of the marsh.

Saturdays, April 11&18, Art Barab leads a 90-minutewalk focusing on the history, birds, and ecology ofthe marsh.Saturday, April 25, Alan Laurent leads a 90-minute walkfocusing on the citys renowned marsh system.

Free Marsh Tours

New Threats ToCoho Salmon

I i bll id i


15/24

Iwant to start an organic vegetable gar-den in my yard and I would like to knowhow to combine crops to make better useof time and space. -- Val Thomason, Denton, TX

Most commercial farms concentrate on growing afew select crops to supply a wide variety of customers,but gardening at home is a different story entirely. Mostbackyard food gardeners are looking to augment their

familys diet with a variety of seasonal fruits, vegetablesand herbs throughout the growing season.For those of us who face time and space constraints in

our gardening endeavors, combining crops within the sameplanting areas makes a lot of sense. Such techniques areparticularly well-suited to organic gardens where chemicalfertilizers and pesticides arent used to articially boostcrop productivity.

The most common way to combine garden cropsis via an age-old technique called interplanting, whichin essence means planting various garden edibles withdifferent growth and spacing attributes together in the

same soil

Documents

EcoNews, April 2009 ~ North Coast Environmental Center