On this week’s EcoNews Report, we take an audio tour of the Siskiyou Crest with Luke Ruediger, chief evangelist for the rugged and wild mountain range that connects the Coast Range with the Cascades along the Oregon/California border. The crest is renowned for its amazing biodiversity, including species, like the Siskiyou Mountains salamander and Baker cypress, found nowhere else on the planet. Yet Trump’s new push for more timber from public lands is putting this place at risk.

Want to learn more? Check out the Siskiyou Crest Coalition!

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This week on the EcoNews Report we're excited to share that the comment period for Eel River dam removal has finally opened! Tune in to hear co-hosts Tom Wheeler of EPIC and Alicia Bales of the Redwood Chapter of the Sierra Club talk with Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River about this important moment. The Wild and Scenic Eel River offers an unparalleled opportunity to restore native fish populations. With vast, high-quality habitat protected in wild landscapes and fish that retain their wild genetics, dam removal will reconnect hundreds of miles of prime spawning and rearing habitat, restore natural sediment flow, reduce methylmercury buildup, and improve downstream water quality. Taking down the Eel River dams is the single most important step toward recovering the river’s once-abundant salmon, steelhead, and lamprey runs. Supported by Tribes, fishers, recreationists, and conservation groups, the Free the Eel movement invites everyone to help heal a century of harm and restore this iconic river.

Learn more and find information about upcoming comment workshops and instructions for submitting comments at eelriver.org.

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The Yurok people are a fishing people. Since time immemorial, the Klamath River provided for the Yurok, with salmon, eels, eulachon, and other food. Colonization fundamentally upset the balance that existed. The Yurok faced genocide, and those that survived were confined to a small portion of their territory. The Klamath, once a mighty salmon stronghold, was choked by fish-killing dams. But the Yurok persisted. In her new book, The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life, Amy Bowers Cordalis details the long struggle by her family and people to resist, restore and renew tribal sovereignty and the Klamath River. 

Come see Amy and get a copy of her new book signed at CalPoly Humboldt on Thursday, November 13th from 4:30-7:30pm at the Behavioral & Social Sciences building, room 162, as part of their Decolonizing Sustainability Speaker Series.

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On this week's EcoNews Report, historian Jerry Rohde joins the show to discuss his new book, Northern Humboldt Indians, which you can download as an e-version here. In his book, Jerry details the history of the seven tribes of Northern Humboldt County, with many newly colorized photographs and transcripts of interviews that help to bring to light the indigenous people of the area. The book is the companion to Jerry's 2022 book, Southern Humboldt Indians.

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Approximately a third of U.S. residents are non-drivers. Some by choice, but many are physically incapable of driving or financially cannot afford to. The Week Without Driving is an annual campaign that encourages people, especially those who drive, to go a week without their car — use alternative methods, like public transit, walking, biking, or riding-sharing to meet their transportation needs — to see what life is like for non-drivers. The week highlights barriers to transportation and aims to promote better-designed transportation systems and infrastructure for everyone. 

This year, Humboldt County Supervisor Natalie Arroyo attempted a week without driving. She joins hosts Tom Wheeler and Colin Fiske to discuss her experience and the work of local governments to make our transportation system better.

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Assemblymember Damon Connolly joins the program to break down what was a historic legislative session. The legislature made major revisions to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with the stated purpose of helping to build more housing but some folks—like Assemblymember Damon Connolly—are concerned that the legislature may have gone too far and a "clean-up bill" is needed. Asm. Connolly shares his thoughts on how we balance environmental protection with the "Abundance agenda" sweeping Sacramento. 

The legislature is set to distribute billions of dollars from the state climate bond. What is coming for the North State that excites the Assemblymember? 

And we celebrate a win. Governor Newsom recently signed AB 263, legislation sought by the Yurok and Karuk Tribes and sponsored by Asm. Rogers, Connolly and Ramos. What responsibilities does a legislator have when representing sovereign tribal nations? 

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For decades pesticide-intensive farming of Easter lily bulbs on the Smith River Plain has contaminated groundwater and surface waters of the Smith River estuary, threatening the health of wildlife and humans along one of California’s healthiest, most ecologically pristine rivers. Now the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is considering new regulations to address this persistent pollution. Greg King, Executive Director of the Siskiyou Land Conservancy, joins the program to discuss an important upcoming townhall meeting—October 8th at 6 p.m. at the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors Chambers or participate remotely online—and what it would take to effectively regulation pesticide pollution. 

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High-severity wildfires that burn communities are obviously bad. But what about high-severity fire that burns in the backcountry? Guest Dr. Dick Hutto, Emeritus Professor of biology and wildlife biology at the University of Montana and author of the recently published book A Beautifully Burned Forest: Learning to Celebrate Severe Forest Fire, makes the case that high-severity fire has been unfairly demonized and this fire forms an important and transitory habitat type. 

Rethinking high-severity fire has policy consequences. Do we invest as heavily in fire risk reduction for wildlands or is funding better spent in and near communities? Do we invest as heavily in fire suppression where fires are burning far from human habitations? And what do we do after fires burn—do we log and replant or leave it be? Listen to hear Dr. Hutto’s prescriptions.

Want to learn more? Check out Dr. Hutto’s website on fire ecology. 

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On this week's episode of the Econews Report we discuss restoration planning in the Eel River with a rockstar team of restoration experts. Your host Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River is joined by Kaydee Boozel from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marisa Parish-Hansen and Ruth Goodfield from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Julie Weeder, former NOAA staff and current FOER staff and CDFW volunteer. Tune in for a discussion of how state and federal agencies are working with the local community to develop restoration solutions for the Lower Eel River that work for fish and for people. We’ll discuss upcoming ways for you to participate.

After listening, mark your calendars for the Eel River Community Meeting on Saturday September 27 from 11 am - 2 pm at the Gene Lucas Community Center in Fortuna. Email [email protected] with any questions.

See below links for additional information:

Eel River Community Meeting

NOAA SHaRP

CDFW ShaRP

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Humboldt County just took a big step towards protecting our night sky! In August, the Board of Supervisors approved the Inland Outdoor Lighting Ordinance, regulating outdoor lights to limit light pollution and light trespass. This is a significant win for the dark sky movement and will require new development on unincorporated land to use light fixtures and bulbs that reduce light pollution.

But this isn’t just about seeing more stars — light pollution disrupts the natural rhythms of wildlife and humans alike. Bright lights left on at night can alter the timing of bird migrations, interfere with seasonal flowering cycles, and affect our own sleep cycles.

Sylvia van Royen, GIS & Policy Analyst for Humboldt Waterkeeper, joins us to discuss the new lighting ordinance and how Humboldt residents can adapt their outdoor lighting to be friendlier to migrating birds and support the biological rhythms essential to our region’s biodiversity.

To learn more:

• Humboldt Waterkeeper Light Pollution Factsheet
• DarkSky Approved lighting fixtures
• DarkSky International’s explainer on What is Light Pollution? &Glossary of light-related terms.
• Light Pollution Webpage from the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
• New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness

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