EcoNews Report

On this week’s episode of the EcoNews Report, host Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River is joined by long-time Eureka resident and fisherman Steve Rosenberg and Humboldt Trails Council’s Advisory Chair Karen Underwood. Alicia and her guests reflect on the history of losing public access to rivers and wild spaces, and discuss modern efforts underway to protect what remains. Featured is the recent issue of attempts to limit access to one of the few remaining fishing access points along the Van Duzen River at Fisher Road.

To learn more about this issue, please visit this link.

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Have you ever wondered what exactly the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District does, who runs it, and how on earth did they manage to get a $426 million federal grant for a Heavy Lift Terminal for building offshore wind turbines? Tune in for a conversation with Chris Mikkelsen, the District's new Executive Director.

For more info: 

• Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project
• The Biggest Federal Grant in Humboldt History?

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In politically progressive circles, a strange phenomenon can occur. Supply skepticism, the belief that housing prices are divorced from impacts to housing supply, abounds. On this week's EcoNews Report, Professor Vicki Been from the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, joins to discuss her metaanalysis of research into the relationship between housing supply and cost. (Hint: More housing moderates housing costs, generally.)

Required Reading: 

Supply Skepticism (2018)

Supply Skepticism Revisited (2023)

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Are there Coho salmon in small urban streams like Jolly Giant and Janes Creek? If so, how often, and how far upstream do they go? Our guests, fisheries biologists Colton Dixon and Darrren Ward, are studying these streams and have some answers that might come as a surprise. Tune in to learn more about these streams and the fish that call them home for a fairly brief but critical time in their life cycle.

For more fascinating info on the fish in our local streams and rivers and the people who study them, you can follow Colton Dixon on Instagram and TikTok @colt.j.dixon.

Also check out Humboldt Outdoor's Tour of Jolly Giant Creek - Part 2, which follows the part of Arcata's ~4 mile long Jolly Giant Creek as it flows through Arcata's urban downtown area. A tour of the upper half of the Creek can be seen in Jolly Giant Creek - Part 1. 

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Start your new year on a poetic note. Poets Jerry Martien and Katy Gurin join the EcoNews for our annual new year's poetry reading. 

Do you have an environmental-themed poem that you want read on air? Email [email protected] and you might hear your poetry read on the EcoNews.

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Humboldt's Queen of Quakes, Dr. Lori Dengler professor emeritus of geology at Cal Poly Humboldt, joins Gang Green to break down the 6.4 magnitude rumbler that hit  Rio Dell hard last December. It was the third most "shaky" recorded earthquake in California's history (as measured by peak ground acceleration), with 1.46 g-force of acceleration. 

Why was Rio Dell harder hit when the earthquake was centered closer to Ferndale? Why did this earthquake feel much more violent than other past earthquakes (which may have had higher magnitudes)? And what lessons can we learn from this earthquake to keep us safer in the future?

PS: Check out Thomas Dunklin's great virtual tour of the Mendocino Triple Junction.

Want more? 

• Earthquakes are not fun, make sure you are prepared for next one
• The complex relationship between small, large earthquakes

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On this week's EcoNews Report, spotted owl experts Dave Wiens and Peter Carlson join bird nerds Ken Burton and Tom Wheeler to discuss barred owls and their impact to West Coast ecosystems. The barred owl is in the news because of a draft strategy released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to cull the invasive owl to benefit the native northern spotted owl and California spotted owl. The impacts of barred owls are well-documented—together with habitat loss, barred owls are driving the spotted owls to extinction!—but the barred owl's impact to other species is a deep concern for ecologists. The more varied diet and higher densities of the barred owl result in significant and new impacts to basically anything that moves and is smaller than the barred owl, from birds to rodents to amphibians and crayfish.

Listen and nerd out!

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On this week's EcoNews Report, Humboldt's preeminent bird nerd, Ken Burton, drops by the show to discuss the bird buzz.

The Christmas Bird Count is coming up. This bird count is very important to understanding long-term trends in bird populations and identifying species that require conservation attention. If you would like to help our local Redwood Region Audubon Society with this year's count, please visit their website.

Local birders are atwitter because of a new visitor to the area: a purple gallinule! This striking bird boasts a purple, blue and turquoise plumage with long yellow toes. Often found in tropical settings, this is a first time visitor to our area who somehow got far afield from its Florida breeding grounds.

Bird names are changing! Out are bird's named after someone—no more Stellar's jay or Anna's hummingbird—in are more descriptive names to be determined. And you can help. Our Redwood Region Audubon Society is looking for suggestions for the birds that call our area home. Give them a hand!

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The Hoopa Valley Tribe is engaged in exciting work to help promote a greener, more resilient power grid. And they are being recognized for their good work! Linnea Jackson, the general manager of the Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District, is the California Energy Commission's 2023 "Tribal Champion" award winner and inductee into the Clean Energy Hall of Fame. Linnea joins the show to talk about the challenges of providing power, water and waste services for a rural district and opportunities to help better the Hoopa Valley through new investments in renewable energy.

If you want to celebrate with Linnea, you can join the ceremony in person or by Zoom. 

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How will California's coast deal with sea level rise? Journalist Rosanna Xia traveled across the state to talk with folks on the frontlines of sea level rise. Their stories are the focus of her new book, California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline. Rosanna joins Tom Wheeler of EPIC and Jennifer Savage of the Surfrider Foundation to discuss sea level rise and her work as an environmental journalist.

Bonus: Rosanna will be at CalPoly Humboldt on Thursday, November 30 from 5:30-7:00 pm in the Native American Forum (BSS 162) talking about climate communication and environmental storytelling, followed by book signing!

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