The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office identified the body found offshore of Humboldt Bay on Wednesday as Fortuna resident Matthew Finley. He was 67. The brief release offered few details but said the U.S. Coast Guard made the recovery. According to media reports, the body was spotted by someone out fishing in the ocean yesterday afternoon. […]
Humboldt Bay
Posted inGet Out
The Ocean Is Coming: King Tides Offer Preview of Rising Seas
The highest King Tides of the year arrived in Humboldt County this week, offering both a spectacle and a warning. Unlike waves or swell, which are wind-driven, tides are the daily rise and fall of the ocean, created by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. They become “King” tides when the sun, moon, […]
Posted inNews
Death of Eureka Resident Found in Humboldt Bay Under Investigation
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of Eureka resident Krystal Shinka, whose body was found in Humboldt Bay on Tuesday morning. According to a news release, the 43 year old was reported missing Dec. 9, with the person making the report telling the Eureka Police Department that Shinka had not been seen since […]
Posted inNews
Sea Lion Dies in Klopp Lake, Ending Unusual Excursion
My wife and I enjoy walking the trails at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, looking at and photographing the usual wildlife, but last Sunday, Aug. 25, around 10 a.m. at low tide, we saw something unusual. It appeared to be a stranded dead adult California sea lion lying covered in mud on the tidal […]
Posted inNews
Indigenous Foodways, Wind Farm Opposition and Big Boats
This week we’re looking at how a multi-tribal event highlights how Native people in Humboldt are teaching traditional food harvesting for food sovereignty, mental health and healing their community. We’ve also got an update on the planned offshore wind farm and its tribal opposition. And there’s a possibility some very big military support and supply […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Humboldt Bay Timeline
Humboldt Bay (Wigi, to the Wiyot people) is actually a lagoon, the largest protected large body of water between San Francisco and Puget Sound. It’s about 14 miles long and varies in width between a few hundred yards and 5 miles, with an area between 11 (low tide) and 24 (high tide) square miles. What […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Photos: Kinetic Day Two (by Sea)
After the sand has settled at Dead Man’s Drop on the first day of the Kinetic Grand Championship, racers prepared for the amphibious leg of the journey. Creatures great and weird hit the water of Humboldt Bay, making big waves and struggling not to capsize their way into a Golden Flipper award. Photographer Mark McKenna […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Earth Day: How Will California Protect Humboldt Bay from Worst Sea Level Rise on the West Coast?
I may not be able to get home in 20 years – not because I’ve left the area, but because the roads to my house may be underwater. I live just a mile from the edge of Humboldt Bay in Northern California, the location of the most rapid sea level rise along the West Coast. […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Woodley Island Walkabout
My wife and I recently drove to Woodley Island for our daily walk with a plan to see the holiday lighting and boats in the marina at sunset. With clear skies and no wind, we enjoyed some exercise while watching the commercial fishing boats, a beautiful sunset over Humboldt Bay and a crab-pot Christmas tree. […]
Posted inNews
Going, Going, Gone: Feds Hold First-Ever Auction for California Offshore Wind Leases
Federal officials today will auction off leases for 583 square miles of ocean waters off California that could lead to the nation’s first massive floating wind farms. The auction — the first on the West Coast — includes five sites in deep ocean waters about 20 miles off Morro Bay and Humboldt County. The leases […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Witch-raft on the Bay
Despite a windy, rainy forecast again for this year’s third annual Witches Paddle on Humboldt Bay, an energetic coven of witches showed up with stand-up boards and paddles in hand to enjoy what turned out to be a breezy, sunny day. In addition, a quartet of witches showed up at the put-in boat ramp to […]