Before dawn this morning, four protesters were arrested after they allegedly blocked off the entry gate to Humboldt Redwood Co. property on Monument Road in Rio Dell. According to a Humboldt County Sheriff’s press release, when deputies arrived around 3:45 a.m. they found 15 protestors and a 24-foot ladder attached to the company’s gate and […]
Environment / Natural Resources
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Coastal Commission Laments Timeline, ‘Objects’ to Trinidad Hotel Project
A conflicted California Coastal Commission voted 6-3 yesterday to object to the Trinidad Rancheria’s proposed 100-room hotel project on Scenic Drive, finding it inconsistent with state coastal protections. Commissioners made clear during the nearly two-hour hearing in San Diego that the main consistency issue lies with water, and namely whether the city of Trinidad has […]
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Yurok Tribe Awarded UN Honor for Forest Management Practices
The Yurok Tribe recently became the first indigenous community in the United States to be awarded the Equator Prize by the United Nations Development Programme, which honors “innovative nature-based solutions for tackling climate change, environment and poverty challenges.” “We are honored to receive recognition for our traditional ecological knowledge and western science-based approach to managing […]
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North Coast Night Lights: Eureka Slough Railroad Bridge
I remember when the rails in Humboldt County rumbled to the passage of great trains rolling regularly through the county. Looking back, I took far too little advantage of the photographic opportunities they afforded while their time and mine here overlapped. Now we have them in memory only, and photographing the remnants of their steel […]
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Deadline Looms for Comments on Controversial Wind Power Project
With the deadline to comment on the draft environmental impact report fast approaching, debate over a proposed wind farm on a ridgeline to the south of the Eel River Valley is heating up. The project, developed by Terra-Gen, a large, San Diego-based renewable energy company owned by the private equity firm Energy Capital Partners, would […]
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Indian Island Likely to Return to Wiyot Tribe Next Month
After an unexpected delay, the unprecedented repatriation of Indian Island to the Wiyot Tribe is poised to come before the Eureka City Council for final approval next month. City Manager Greg Sparks said the return of the tribe’s sacred ancestral land — approved in principal by the council in principle Dec. 4 — was delayed […]
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Reward Offered in Poaching of Roosevelt Elk
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this week a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the December shooting deaths of four Roosevelt elk, including a pregnant cow. In a release, CDFW states the investigation is continuing, “including processing evidence left at the […]
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Lack of Water Threatens Trinidad Rancheria Hotel Project
The planned 100-room Trinidad Rancheria hotel at Cher-Ae Heights Casino appears stalled at the state level because of an inability to come up with a definite source of drinking water for the facility. Located on the bluffs of Scenic Drive, a mile south of city limits, the planned hotel is outside of Trinidad’s water service […]
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McGuire Hosts Offshore Wind Discussion
North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) hosted four panel discussions this afternoon at the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center in Eureka about the prospect of offshore wind farms — a concept that isn’t new but still holds some mystery. Exactly when the turbines are set to be constructed depends on the multiple environmental assessments by various […]
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Huffman Announces Release of Nearly $30 Million in Fisheries Disaster Funding
More than a year after Congress appropriated the funds, members of the the North Coast’s commercial fishing industry and a local tribe are slated to receive federal disaster support in the coming months, Rep. Jared Huffman announced this morning. “Tribes, hardworking fishermen, their families, and coastal communities have been stuck in limbo for far too […]
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Fire & Light is Closing Its Doors, Searching for a New Owner
Fire & Light, an iconic Humboldt County business story that mixed creativity with sustainability, is closing unless a buyer can be found. According to a Facebook page post today, the Arcata-based company known for its colorful glassware “is no longer financially feasible for the company to continue to operate without another significant investment of cash” […]
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North Coast Night Lights: Smoky Coastal Skies and Milky Way
At the end of the summer of 2015, my brother and I were out around midnight on a great rock overlooking the Pacific Ocean, enjoying the view between ourselves and the rest of the Universe. Fires inland had been burning for weeks, their pall of smoke glowing orange in the sky to the south of […]