Faced with a mounting fiscal crisis, local environmental nonprofit Humboldt Baykeeper is in the process of dramatically downsizing its organization. The office staff was reportedly laid off recently, and this week Executive Director Jessica Hall learned that she, too, is being laid off. Only Policy Director Jennifer Kalt, whose position has been reduced to part-time, remains employed by the organization.
Hall, who was hired as the group’s executive director in October 2012, said Baykeeper recently lost some key financial support from foundations such as the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and Environment Now.
Launched in October 2004 by environmental activists Pete Nichols and Fred Evenson, Humboldt Baykeeper works to protect the environmental resources in and around Humboldt Bay. Recently the group has been actively involved in Caltrans’ 101 Safety Corridor project (including billboard removal), efforts to ban plastic bags in Humboldt and the county’s general plan update, among other projects.
Kalt said that the organization must now focus on streamlining and rebuilding, much as the Northcoast Environmental Center has done in recent years.
“We’re just fortunate to have the support of a lot of fellow activists who will help us get through this as we helped the NEC get through their fiscal crisis,” Kalt said.
The group, whose parent organization is the Garberville-based Ecological Rights Foundation, will continue to offer free bay exploration tours on its boat thanks to a grant that did come through, along with help from an existing group of volunteers, skippers and docents. But it will have to move out of its Old Town Eureka office on E Street. Saturday will be the last Arts Alive! that the office will be open. Kalt said she plans to continue working on Baykeeper causes.
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This article appears in Probing Pot.
This is very sad news, I was impressed with Jessica Hall and thought she was going to be a real plus for Baykeeper. I am sorry to see her have to leave and wish her the best of luck.
Yeah! Another one bites the dust! These lawsuit happy eco-gangsters need to be reigned in as they only exist as environmental ambulance chasers exploiting any possible way to milk the public of money using environmental concerns to do it that are often manufactured and misrepresenting the real ecological situation. Like Judy Hodgson does with her yellow journal they too only present a very one-sided picture of whatever target corporation they want to milk. And because they never offer to seek community conflict resolution with mediation because there’s no money for them in that, they are just outright community social war mongers fanning social warfare to make money, i.e. your typical lawyer ambulance chasers only using environmental colors to disguise their greed for money.
Industry has run roughshod over this community forever…they took what they wanted, sent the profits out of state, and left us with the dioxins, PCB’s, heavy metals and a GI cancer rate near the highest in CA. They passed their political baton to the developers, now it’s their turn to maximize profits by making damn sure our chronic deficits in affordable housing continue. When the big earthquake hits half our rural population will have nowhere to live. Enjoy your Crab.
My check is on its way BK!
The shark on the Baykeeper logo really says it all. Can you image what Humboldt County would be like if all our community environmental conflicts were required by law to be resolved by mediation instead of lawsuits? Can you imagine how many supposed “eco” jobs would vanish overnight? No EPIC, No Baykeeper, and all our anchor businesses still in operation complying with sustainable environmental regulations. You want social war-you go to the social war-mongers: this yellow journal is the place to start. Then head on over to HCDCC, formerly representing LABOR in Humboldt County but now representing the Green Party and our enviro elitists who have theirs and don’t care about anyone else’s economic struggles.
There’s no need to “imagine” anything!
The European Union (Germany) and even Brazil, are decades ahead of us in developing the economic growth potential in alternative, clean industries, energies, planned development, and fair taxes on wealth. Even the U.S. military is heavily engaged in solar energy research, installations, and alternatives to toxic materials.
It’s crony capitalism that keeps us invested in outdated technologies. Instead of importing biodegradable alternatives to plastics, we could be growing soy beans right here in Humboldt County, as well as, processing them into non-toxic products for national distribution.
There was never a need to ban plastic bags when we have every imperative to prosper with modern and cleaner technologies.
This is bittersweet news to me. It’s bitter to me that Jessica lost her job at Humboldt Baykeeper where she had so much potential with such a great organization. It’s sweet to me that that she just might migrate back south and rejoin LA Creek Freaks.
Here in SoCal, we wetland ecological restorationists deal with the likes of Trolls like Stephan1 and Anony 27 all the time. We always prevail over their silly obstructions in the long run. Here’s what’s happening at Maiibu Creek estuary: http://www.ecomalibu.org/video-aquarium09-30-13.html