EcoNews Report

This week on the EcoNews Report hosts Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River and Tom Wheeler from EPIC discuss an experimental installation in the South Fork of the Eel River. Guests Marisa McGrew from the Wiyot Tribe's Natural Resources Department and Gabe Rossi and Philip Georgakakos, both research scientists with UC Berkeley, tell us all about the collaborative effort to install and manage a weir in the river. The primary purpose of the weir is to remove invasive pikeminnow from the river system and keep them away from prime rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead farther upstream.

Weir technology is ancient, it is a floating fence that allows researchers to monitor and manage fish populations as they migrate upstream into a trap. Native fish are released and invasive pikeminnow are removed from the river. A camera also monitors downstream migration to capture as much data as possible.

This collaborative project includes a large number of partners and community members named in the episode, and researchers are especially thankful to the landowner, Lost Coast Forest Lands, who is providing access to this site.

Click here to watch a video and learn more about this exciting project. (https://vimeo.com/832438472).

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Let’s face it: Broadway - that section of Highway 101 in south Eureka - sucks. Especially for people getting around on foot or on a bike. Thankfully, Caltrans recognizes the deep suckiness of Broadway and is committed to making it better. 

You may have seen cones and temporary bollards and wondered, “WTF?!” They are part of a “pop-up” demonstration of potential measures to make the road just a little bit safer — from bulbouts and curb extensions to improve visibility of pedestrians and to slow vehicle speeds when turning to islands in the left-hand turn lanes.  

When walking, biking, driving or moving yourself by some other unspecific means through or across Broadway, take note of how your behavior is modified by these demonstration pop-ups or whether you feel safer as a result. Caltrans wants to know! Go to this SurveyMonkey to share your feedback

Jeff Pimentel joins the show to discuss how Caltrans is considering safety improvements to Humboldt’s most dangerous road.

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RELATED READING:

• What the Heck’s Going on With Broadway in Eureka? Caltrans’ ‘Pop-Up Demonstration,’ Explained, May 24.

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It would seem unbelievable if it weren’t true. EarthFirst!, bombs, crooked cops, racists. This is the story of the redwoods, or rather, the fight to protect the redwoods, as told by one of the partisans of this fight, Greg King. His new book, The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals and Real Estate in the California Redwoods is part memoir of his own time as fiery young radical in the Redwood Wars and part of history of the economic and social history that set the stage for the Redwood Wars.

Greg joins the EcoNews to talk about his new book. Join us.

Read an excerpt of The Ghost Forest here. The Ghost Forest will be released on June 6th, preorder a copy today.

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For offshore wind to be successful, there will need to be considerable investment in Humboldt County — big infrastructure, like new transmission lines and substations, but also investment in housing, healthcare, childcare and other “human infrastructure.” On this week’s show, we talk about how we can draw community benefits from offshore wind development.

Erik Peckar of Vineyard Power joins the show to provide the experience and perspective of residents of Martha’s Vineyard, a community that has already negotiated community benefit agreements related to offshore wind. Eddie Ahn of Brightline Defense talks about his experience negotiating community benefit agreements for other non-wind projects. Katerina Oskarsson of the CORE Hub at the Humboldt Area Foundation discusses her organization’s work to develop community priorities for investments.  

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California has set a bold conservation goal to protect 30% of its lands and coastal waters by 2030. This “30x30” goal aligns with a global 30×30 movement to protect nature all around the world to avoid an extinction crisis.

The Power in Nature Coalition brings together environmental organizations, activists, and tribal nations to collectively push Sacramento to meet its 30x30 target. Advocates are urging the state to fund and protect key strategic lands and waters that will protect biodiversity, allow for better public access to the outdoors, and help to naturally sequester carbon. Josefina Barrantes of the Power in Nature Coalition joins Dan Sealy of the NEC and Matt Simmons of EPIC to chart a path forward for conservation. 

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The barred owl, not native to California, is quickly becoming established in the state, having flown down the West Coast. The barred owl’s presence is bad news for its cousin, the northern spotted owl, the iconic species of the Timber Wars. The barred owl outcompetes the northern spotted owl and quickly takes over its territory. 

With the northern spotted owl on the road to extinction, now is the time for desperate measures. To save the northern spotted owl, researchers have tested whether killing barred owls makes a difference. The grim but good news: when barred owls are removed, population declines of the northern spotted owl stabilize. 

Owl researcher Dave Wiens joins Gang Green to discuss the results of his recent research.

REQUIRED READING:

”Invader removal triggers competitive release in a threatened avian predator,” David Wiens et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Aug. 3, 2021.

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Running a transit agency in a rural area is hard work. Just ask Greg Pratt, General Manager of the Humboldt Transit Authority. Less dense development means longer distances between fewer people, both increasing operational costs (diesel is expensive, y'all!) and limiting potential ridership revenue. Despite these challenges, Humboldt Transit Authority is plowing ahead with new solutions to boost ridership and reduce tailpipe emissions from its fleet. Listen in to learn more. 

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Nordic Aquafarms recently announced that it was making a switch: yellowtail kingfish, a fish native to the warm waters of the Pacific, instead of Atlantic salmon. Biologically, the two fish require different environments, with yellowtail needing warmer, saltier water compared to chilly brackish water for Atlantic salmon. 

Yellowtail, perhaps better known as hamachi to our Japanese cuisine loving friends, also has a higher price point than Atlantic salmon, meaning that Nordic can make the same return on fewer fish. These changes will alter the environmental impacts from the project, conceivably for the better, with an anticipated reduction in total energy use, project footprint, and freshwater demand. Scott Thompson and Jacki Cassida of Nordic Aquafarms join the show to explain the change. 

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Local environmental groups have gotten very good at saying “no” to developments, whether it is a Liquid Natural Gas export facility on Humboldt Bay or cutting and paving over redwood roots at Richardson Grove State Park.

But some development is socially necessary and desirable, such as affordable housing projects. On this week’s episodes, leaders from Humboldt Baykeeper, the Northcoast Environmental Center, Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, and EPIC talk about the recent baseless lawsuit from “Citizens for a Better Eureka” that seeks to stop affordable housing development.

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Despite the wildly wet year, the Bureau of Reclamation has threatened to reduce flows in the Klamath River below the mandatory minimum for salmon. Such an action will dry up critical habitat for salmon at a time when salmon populations are critically low. Now, the Yurok Tribe and fishermen are in court together to challenge the low flows. 

Amy Cordalis, legal counsel for the Yurok Tribe and a tribal member, and Glenn Spain, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association join the show to discuss their new litigation and other issues imperiling salmon runs in the Klamath River.

REQUIRED READING:

• ”Yurok Tribe and Fishermen’s Associations Sue Feds Over Water Flow Reductions on the Klamath,” March 27, 2023.

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