The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to support a proposal to rename the Patrick’s Point headland as Sue-meg Point, following in line with the State Parks and Recreation Commission’s decision last year. The item brought forward by Fifth Supervisor Steve Madrone supports a request that California State Parks submitted to the U.S. […]
State parks
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State Commission Votes to ‘Restore the Name Sue-meg,’ Remove Patrick’s Point from Park’s Name
The State Parks and Recreation Commission voted unanimously today to — as one commission described — “restore the name of Sue-meg” to the unit currently known as Patrick’s Point State Park to honor the designation used by the Yurok people for the area since time immemorial. “This genuinely historic decision represents a turning point in […]
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Still Wild
An unexpected “staycation” benefit of this pandemic era has been getting to know local locations I hadn’t spent much time visiting. Next time you’re driving in northern Humboldt County, take one of the U.S. Highway 101 bypass exits onto Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway into Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Fifty miles north of Eureka, […]
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Update: As California State Parks Prepare for Soft Reopening Tomorrow Rangers Advise to Plan Ahead (VIDEO)
Update: California State Parks is advising visitors to plan ahead and meet new state guidelines when visiting the parks. Here’s a list of the new guidelines: Plan Ahead – With 280 park units in the state park system, visitors are advised to visit the webpage of their local outdoor destination before leaving home to find […]
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SECOND UPDATE: Humboldt not Included in Beach Closures
SECOND UPDATE: Beach visits in Humboldt County are back on after Gov. Gavin Newsom limited closures to the more southern reaches of the state after local officials reached out about including the region in the ban. Sheriff William Honsal, who earlier today said he would not enforce such an order and that Northern California was […]
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Phone Calls, Online Payment Encouraged as Government Offices Adjust to COVID-19
Local cities, school districts, the county and state agencies are changing the way they do businesses due to the coronavirus, including closing to the public and/or curtailing direct interaction with staff. With the COVID-19 situation constantly shifting, here is a roundup of basic information on operations across the region as they stand on March 18. […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
A Trip Back in Time
Sixty-five million years ago the Earth changed dramatically when a giant asteroid struck. A mass extinction ensued with dinosaurs disappearing as the planet warmed. Before the asteroid, conifers, like dinosaurs, ruled. Almost unimaginable forests of cone-bearing trees decorated the Earth with as many as 20,000 species, including nine different redwoods. With the global warming that […]
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UPDATED: Large Fuel Spill in State Park Amid Crash Cleanup Effort
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services sent out a press release today with a bit more information about the spill, including that the department doesn’t believe the spill presents a threat to public health and that there’s currently no evidence fuel has entered the nearby South Fork of the Eel River. Find […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Party for the Parks
The former log deck of the California Redwood Company located just north of Orick, once covered with stacks of huge old-growth redwood logs, was filled on Sunday with the vehicles of visitors arriving for the 2016 National Park Service’s Centennial Celebration in the Redwoods. Activities included horseback riding, hiking to the nearby Centennial Tree, storytelling, […]
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On-Duty Ranger Arrested for Suspected DUI
The California Highway Patrol is requesting that prosecutors file charges against a California State Parks law enforcement ranger arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence while on duty. CHP officer Patrick Bourassa said a citizen called police shortly before 3 p.m. on Aug. 15 to report that a ranger was possibly driving under the […]
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Stone Lagoon Revival
There used to be a sweet little campground at Stone Lagoon that you could boat to — the only one of its kind in Humboldt County, with six hideaway boat-in campsites across the water from the highway. Alas, in March 2011, the cash-strapped state park system closed it. Now a private tour operator, Kayak Zak’s, […]
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Not Every Park Is Shut!
Dearest citizens of the U.S. of A., Yes, your national park system units are shut down for as long as your national government is in powerdown mode. Rage against the closures if you must; we’ve heard, back-channel, that some people want to storm Samoa Beach — the portion operated by the Bureau of Land Management […]