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COVER
STORY | PUBLISHER | CALENDAR
Sept. 26, 2002
An
arboreal confrontation
by ANDREW
EDWARDS
Arcata businesswoman and forest
activist Lia Alcantara, 35, didn't start out wanting to sit up
in an old-growth Douglas fir.
When Humboldt County Superior
Court Judge John Golden issued a "stay" on documents
associated with several Pacific Lumber Co. logging plans late
last month, she thought that logging in the Mattole watershed
would be halted, at least temporarily.
The next day, however, she received
a call from Remedy, a tree-sitter in the Freshwater area, saying
that logging was still going on.
In response she called the California
Department of Forestry -- they said they weren't going to do
anything; PL spokeswoman Mary Bullwinkle -- she said nothing
had changed; and Sheriff Dennis Lewis -- who said he had no comment.
So she decided to go out an
see for herself if PL was complying. They weren't so she decided
to take action.
"I saw they were logging,
so I went up in the tree sit," Alcantara said.
She hadn't been up very long
when sheriff's deputies and PL representatives showed up. Among
them were Carl Anderson, head of PL security, and a man known
only as climber Eric, who physically takes tree-sitters from
trees.
They said they were coming up,
so Alcantara took her clothes off and "unsafetied"
herself inside her sleeping bag. She told them she was not attached
to the tree and she was naked, thinking that might stop anyone
from coming up, but it didn't work
"I said `I demand a woman
climber!'" Alcantara said. "But he [climber Eric] came
up. He said `I'm very uncomfortable that you have no clothes
on.' He said I was going to get scratched going down."
She put on her clothes and then
locked herself to the tree, using a time-honored piece of the
Earth First! arsenal, the lock box. It consists of two pipes
welded together in a half circle with a place to lock hands in.
It is placed around a branch and then locked, preventing further
movement.
She said that then Eric offered
her a deal: They would give her a ticket for trespassing and
drive her to the gate if she came down peacefully. She said no,
so he threw down her supplies to the base of the tree and went
back down.
The old-growth Douglas fir that
she was in was near three others, which the loggers then proceeded
to fell. Alcantara said she thought they were trying to intimidate
her, and it was working.
"The ground shook when
they fell," she said. "It was totally terrifying."
At that point climber Eric came
back up to assure her that she was safe.
"He was with me when the
third tree fell," Alcantara said.
At that point Eric told her
that Anderson wanted him to cut her out of the tree. He said
the same deal stood, but if she wanted to stay she'd be going
to jail, and they'd cut her out and take her down anyways.
At that point Alcantara didn't
have any choice, so she rappelled down under protest.
"I was crying. I said,
`You cops should be arresting them [the loggers]; how can you
slaughter this land?' No one could look at me, it was so weird.
They knew it was messed up, what they were doing. I was handcuffed
and walking away when I heard the tree fall."
Taking
to the trees
Since Aug. 29, when visiting
Judge John Golden issued a "stay" on documents governing
Pacific Lumber Co. logging plans, treesits have gone up all over
the county: at least 16 at last count.
"People are rising up and
going into the trees," said the activist Remedy, who has
been in a tree sit near Freshwater for six months. "They
feel frustrated; they've tried everything and now they have this
stay and nothing has changed."
Pacific Lumber officials claim
that the judge's order does not ban current logging, just future
timber harvest plans. Officials with the California Department
of Forestry and the state Fish and Game Department concur.
"Our position is that we
are going to comply," with the judge's order, said Karen
Terrill, a CDF information officer in a phone interview from
Sacramento. "We have advised our foresters in the area not
to approve any further timber harvest plans, and they haven't."
The stay was issued by Golden
because of delays in getting 75,000 pages of documents together
that comprise the evidence in a lawsuit brought by the Environmental
Protection Information Center, based in Garberville. At issue
in the case, among other things, is a "sustained yield plan"
meant to govern Pacific Lumber logging for the next 100 years.
California Deputy Attorney General
Bill Jenkins promised to have the documents together and certified
as soon as this week -- which means the judge's order could be
lifted and this could all blow over.
One thing is certain: EPIC's
challenge to the sustained yield plan goes to court in January.
The case will be closely watched as it could put a big dent in
PL's logging plans.
-- Andrew Edwards
Thompson:
Klamath needs more water
Congressman Mike Thompson said
last week's fish kill on the Klamath River is further proof of
the Bush administration's lack of interest in helping to restore
the river's flow.
Warm water appears to be the
culprit behind a large fish kill on the Klamath River that may
have killed upwards of 4,000 chinook salmon in the past week.
The dead fish were found between the mouth of the Klamath and
about 16 miles upstream.
"It's emblematic of the
failure of this administration's environmental policy,"
Thompson said.
There has been "zero attempt"
to work with those folks who have been fighting the degradation
of the Klamath River, Thompson added.
The fish kill may be enough
of a catalyst to get the Klamath River issue back before the
court to make the necessary changes to the water flow policy,
Thompson said.
Last year, farmers in southern
Oregon who receive water in the upper Klamath basin as part of
a massive federal irrigation project had their water cut off
to protect federally "threatened" coho salmon. A study
by the National Academy of Sciences later determined that the
action had been unjustified. Earlier this year, federal fisheries
agencies -- no doubt influenced by the administration's anti-environmental
policies -- asserted that the Klamath doesn't need as much water
as had been thought to support healthy salmon populations.
Dams along the Klamath have
not kept up with regulations outlined by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission for the release of water. FERC requires 1,300 cubic
feet per second of water be released from the lowest dam, but
currently about half that amount is flowing out.
Representatives of PacificCorp,
the Oregon-based owner of the dams, said the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
is not letting enough water pass its irrigation project. The
bureau has countered that it is under no responsibility to meet
FERC's demands.
Health programs
cut
A Humboldt County mental health
screening program for children is taking a big hit. There will
also be much less money available to the county to hire people
to assist those on Medi-Cal.
These are some of the local
impacts to Gov. Gray Davis' signing of the fiscal year 2002-02
state budget earlier this month.
To make matters worse, the Board
of Supervisors has been told to expect more cuts next year as
the state tries to recover from a nearly $25 billion budget deficit.
The county's screening program
for children took a $99,000 cut in addition to a $96,000 cut
to adult and children's mental health services. Medi-Cal staffing
took a $336,000 cut and the state has reduced reimbursement for
mandated social service programs by $250,000.
The dismal budget outlook comes
at a time when the county is preparing to take over in-home support
services and start acting as an employer to independent caretakers.
The program is expected to cost the county upwards of $5 million
annually.
To counter current budget cuts
and the potential for more cuts next year, Philip Crandall, director
of human and health and services, has decided to freeze 36 vacancies,
saving the county about $1.6 million. Another 25 mental health
positions have been frozen. That move is expected to save the
county $1.2 million. Four additional positions in social services
and seven in the health branch will save the county another $434,000.
Crandall said about 80 percent
of Davis' line-item vetoes were made to health and human services
programs.
Funding for homeless services
escaped cuts this year but may not be spared next year, Crandall
said.
No more
referrals
St. Joseph Hospital has stopped
taking referrals for addiction treatment through its Family Recovery
Services program. The decision was prompted by a steady decline
in the number of outpatients referred to the hospital. In addition,
an increase in the number of other local treatment facilities
has affected the 14-year-old program at St. Joseph.
St. Joseph began offering its
Family Recovery Services program in 1988.
A telephone recording at Family
Recovery Services states the department is no longer taking referrals.
Another factor in the hospital's
decision to eliminate the program has been the change in reimbursement
for services, especially funding that comes from Medicare and
Medi-Cal programs.
As a result of the discontinuation
of service, about four employees will lose their positions, according
to hospital officials. Patients enrolled in the St. Joseph program
will continue to receive treatment and the hospital will continue
its aftercare services for another year.
Tackling
blight
Humboldt County gave its approval
earlier this week to begin the first step toward developing a
county-wide redevelopment agency to tackle blight in unincorporated
areas.
Since July, the county has been
exploring options for creating such an agency, which would attempt
to spur development of blighted areas.
Declines in the timber and fishing
industries have left Humboldt County with its share of run-down
neighborhoods and towns, said Kirk Girard, director of community
development services. Some areas, like King Salmon, south of
Eureka, continue to decline, Girard said.
A preliminary report looked
at 23 areas, including Samoa, McKinleyville, Garberville, Fieldbrook,
Orick and Redway.
One result of having a redevelopment
agency is that at least 20 percent of tax funding must go toward
affordable housing in the county.
Before the agency is formed,
the county must craft an ordinance, hold public hearings and
complete an environmental impact report.
Redevelopment agencies across
California have come under intense scrutiny. That's mainly because
they can use eminent domain to take private property. Other concerns
have to do with the amount of tax dollars, referred to as "tax
increment funding," that redevelopment agencies can collect.
Tax increment funding takes
taxes from the increased value of a developed property and gives
the money back to the redevelopment agency for future projects.
Although the state takes a large percentage of property taxes
from cities and counties, much of it is returned to school districts.
The community services department
estimates that a redevelopment agency would generate upwards
of $44 million in income over a 45-year period. The county's
general fund would receive $4.4 million, while another $13 million
would go toward affordable housing.
School districts would also
reap about $17.64 million over the same 45-year time frame.
The county would have to establish
a study area for redevelopment before obtaining any funding.
That survey would begin in January. However, it would be at least
another year before any project would be implemented.
County needs
to change
The Humboldt Foster Parent Association
is giving notice that as of Jan. 1 it will no longer allow children
to be placed into foster homes unless the county changes its
ways.
Brian Nunn, a representative
of the Humboldt Foster Parents Association, told the Board of
Supervisors earlier this week that Child Welfare Services has
been excluding foster parents and other care givers from major
decisions regarding children in foster care homes.
Nunn said he was particularly
upset because Child Welfare Services is evaluating therapeutic
care of children without any input from families who take in
foster children.
According to Nunn, there are
138 licensed foster homes in Humboldt County, of which 60 to
70 take in about 300 children annually.
Water rate
hike?
The Public Utilities Commission
is reviewing a request by Del Oro Water Co. to raise water rates
to Ferndale customers by slightly more than 12 percent. If the
request is approved, it would be the first increase in four years.
An analyst with the commission
is not fully supporting the rate hike. A hearing will be held
on Oct. 17.
Del Oro Water Co. owns Ferndale's
water system. The rate hike would increase revenue to the company
by $43,760.
Still looking
The Fortuna City Council is
renewing its search for a new city manager after deciding that
the current pool of applicants didn't meet the city's needs.
Although the field of candidates
had been narrowed to five and the city had begun a background
check on one of them, city officials decided last week they need
someone with more redevelopment and economic experience than
the field of five offered.
City officials expect to resume
the search for a city manager by mid-November. Until then Police
Chief Kent Bradshaw will continue as interim city manager.
Find a pet
online
Looking for a pet? The Sequoia
Humane Society and Friends for Life Canine Rescue have teamed
up with more than 340 other shelters statewide to become part
of Petfinder.com, a nationwide
virtual animal shelter.
The partnership will allow families
to search for pets in California and from across the country
without having to leave home. The site boasts more than 86,000
homeless animals in approximately 4,200 shelters and rescue groups
nationwide and in Canada.
The site furnishes photos and
a list of pets sorted by ZIP codes near a visitor's home. Once
visitors find an animal they like, they can click on the animal's
name for additional information. Each shelter handles its own
adoptions.
Closing
down
Alternative Energy Engineering
of Redway will close in November after the parent company, Schott
Applied Power Corp., shifted the company's focus away from alternative
energy.
Alternative Energy Engineering
sold solar, hydropower and other alternative energy systems to
customers not linked to the conventional power grid.
Schott officials came to Redway
on Sept. 13 to announce they were shutting down the company.
The closure will affect 19 employees.
Schott bought Alternative Energy
Engineering in January 2001 and quickly expanded the staff to
29. But just as quickly, the company either laid off or relocated
employees. The possibility exists, however, that Schott might
sell the company back to its original owners. (See Journal
cover story Feb. 22, 2001,
"Humboldt Unplugged.")
The L.A.
connection
Horizon Air is hoping to convince
airport officials in Los Angeles to offer a direct flight to
Humboldt County.
A survey conducted last year
by the Eureka Chamber of Commerce showed that more people would
fly here if service were more reliable, less expensive and offered
an alternative destination to San Francisco.
The survey results were provided
to Horizon Air.
Money for
wrecks
The state has restored $120,000
in funding for Humboldt County's abandoned vehicle clean-up program.
The funds were almost lost because county officials failed to
file for the money on time.
Legislation sponsored by state
Sen. Wesley Chesbro authorizes payment to Humboldt County from
the State Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund. Gov. Gray Davis signed
the bill last week.
The state imposes a supplemental
registration fee of $1 per vehicle to cover the cost of removing
abandoned vehicles.
Moving on
Rod Edgmon, superintendent and
principal of the one-school Pacific Union School Districts retired
last week to take a faculty position at the California State
University Monterey Bay.
Edgmon had been with Pacific
Union, in Arcata since 1997.
During his tenure at the school,
Edgmon oversaw passage of a $2.5 million bond to construct classrooms,
a gym and a library. He also worked to modernize existing school
buildings. Additionally, Edgmon increased efforts at staff development.
Vice Principal Judy White will
serve as principal and superintendent until a replacement for
Edgmon is found.
A new competitor
Hank Sims, the former Arcata
Eye and Anderson Valley Advertiser writer, has entered the publishing
field. He is launching The Humboldt Reader, a weekly newspaper
based in Eureka.
Sims said his new venture promises
to be lively and independent.
Hone your
skills
Workplace Essential Skills,
a series of 25 half-hour programs to help viewers find employment,
train for a better position or become more successful on the
job, will begin airing on Oct. 6 on KEET.
So will TV411, a series of 20
half-hour programs that will focus on skills such as reading
labels and taking phone messages.
The programs are a combined
effort of the Humboldt Literacy Project and KEET-TV.
Both programs will air on Sunday,
Tuesday and Friday mornings on Channel 13.
COVER
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