The schools of large adult Chinook salmon swimming back and forth in most pools of the lower Mattole River from November to mid-January offered a powerful testament to both the resilience of these remarkable fish and to the challenges they now face in light of climate change and California’s pernicious drought. Many people still remember […]
environment
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Red Gold and Greenwashing
Do you want to see me hug a tree?” We are trotting behind an ebullient Neal Ewald, who was recently promoted to senior vice president of Green Diamond, formerly known as the Simpson Timber Company. The tree about to be hugged is a second-growth redwood, about 30 inches in diameter and approximately 32 years old. […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
A Quarry Quandary
A recent decision by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors left environmental groups fuming and a local landowner feeling he’s been singled out amid a flurry of allegations of hypocrisy, dishonesty and good old boy politics. Playing out over two meetings spread across two months, the board ultimately voted 4-1, with 3rd District Supervisor Mark […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Former Yurok Official Sentenced in Embezzlement Case
Former Yurok Tribe Forestry Director Roland Raymond was sentenced to serve three years in federal prison today for his role in an embezzlement scheme that bilked nearly $1 million in federal funds from the tribe. Raymond, 50, faced a maximum of five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a single count of conspiring […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Humboldt Baykeeper Lands New Digs at The Link in Arcata
Local environmental nonprofit Humboldt Baykeeper, which has fallen on tough times financially this year, has found a new home inside “The Link” office building in Arcata (formerly home to Yakima). As the logo collage above attests, The Link has become a hip HQ for local leftie causes and small businesses. Here’s the press release: Greetings, Effective […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Rough Waters
Faced with a shrinking pool of funding, local environmental nonprofit Humboldt Baykeeper is in the process of dramatically downsizing its organization. The office staff was reportedly laid off recently, and last week Executive Director Jessica Hall learned that she, too, was being laid off. Only Policy Director Jennifer Kalt, whose position has been reduced to part-time, […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Humboldt Baykeeper Hits Rough Waters
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, […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
The Nation Examines Pot’s Enviro Impacts via Humboldt County
In the special marijuana-themed Nov. 18 issue of The Nation magazine, reporter Seth Zuckerman chronicles the environmental impacts of indoor and outdoor grow operations here in Humboldt County. Quoting locals such as Friends of The Eel River Executive Director Scott Graecen, HSU lecturer Tony Silvaggio and Arcata City Councilman Michael Winkler, Zuckerman describes the scope […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Green-eyed Cops
We get a lot of press releases here at the Journal, a steady drip of emails announcing everything from ribbon-cuttings to dance recitals to (let’s see what’s at top of my inbox here) a Holiday Gift Guide pitch for German-made electric irons. (Eat your heart out, Clark Kent.) Our favorites by far are law enforcement […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Coastal Commission Gives Conditional Go-Ahead to Caltrans’ 101 Corridor Project
Going against its own staff’s recommendation, the California Coastal Commission this evening voted 9-1 to give a conditional federal consistency determination (translation: a go-ahead) to Caltrans’ proposed project for the 101 corridor between Arcata and Eureka. And that’s not all: The “conditional” part of the approval means that Caltrans will have to address a number […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Stream-sucking Grows Busted
Two busts east of Garberville yesterday turned up just the kind of ecological havoc that’s been infuriating environmentalists and getting the attention of our Congressman. Along with the usual guns, greenhouses and greenbacks ($198,000 at one property) Fish and Wildlife say they found pumps draining Mattole Canyon Creek, sucking up salmon and steelhead smolt, and […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Marsh Seal
This seal pup was spotted at the end of the pier at the Arcata Marsh on Sunday, and was reported to folks who monitor stranded wildlife. Marsh visitors were being advised to leave the animal alone and not harass it or try to “rescue” it.