EcoNews Report

The Shasta River should be chock full of salmon. (It was, after all, the largest salmon producing tributary to the Klamath prior to Euro-American colonization.) The sweet waters of the Shasta have the perfect combination of elements to help grow big, fat fish: low velocity and a prime gravel bed, key nutrients, and cold, clean water. But the river is a shadow of its former self. Agricultural devel...

Is a massive land-based fish factory the best next chapter for a former pulp mill nestled between Humboldt Bay and the Pacific Ocean? Tune in to hear local environmental leaders discuss Humboldt County’s assessment of the impacts Nordic AquaFarms proposed fish factory might have on the bay, ocean, wildlife and climate – and ways to avoid or mitigate them. Surfrider Foundation ’s California Policy...

The Wildlands Conservancy is close to acquiring the 26,600 acre Lone Pine Ranch, a property with more than property more than 20 miles of river frontage, hundreds of acres of wetlands, and over 86 million board feet of trees in the standing forest, which can be protected to sequester vast amounts of carbon dioxide. This acquisition will build on an earlier purchase of 3,000 acres in 2019 and is sa...

Biking for transportation is a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. May is Bike Month in Humboldt County and the EcoNews has all of the resources you need to zip around on two wheels. Dave Ryan and Colin Fiske join the show to discuss this year's festivities (all of which are COVID-friendly), ways cities can encourage more cyclists, and even how to start cycling as an adult. Required...

Humboldt Bay is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise, with much of the land around the bay protected by low sea walls. According to projections, many of these sea walls will be breached in the next 50 years. How will Humboldt adapt? A suite of bills are before the California legislature will shape Humboldt's approach. Jennifer Savage, California Policy Manager at the Surfrider Foundation jo...

In 1968, Congress created Redwood National Park—or at least part of it. Nicknamed "the Worm," the park extended only one-half mile on either side of Redwood Creek.  It was apparent that this was not enough and work began on a park expansion. Of course, expansion was opposed by local logging companies. In an attempt to blunt the expansion efforts, logging companies ran crews—sometimes 24...

Government hijinx are nothing new to seasoned environmentalists but Six Rivers National Forest is taking this to a new level in the wake of the 2020 August Complex Fire. In December, claiming an "emergency" (although the fire was already extinguished), Six Rivers National Forest authorized a logging company to start falling timber in the forest without completing the required environment...

There's a proposal to remove the fish-blocking Scott Dam on the Eel River but looming problems still remain. Cape Horn Dam, just downstream of Scott Dam, technically allows for fish passage through its fish ladder--but that's only when the ladder is properly functioning and the trouble is that fish often can't use the ladder because it gets so choked with rocks and debris. So what g...

Transportation planning: that’s what we are talking about on this week’s EcoNews Report. How people and goods move throughout Humboldt County is something that we all experience on a daily basis, whether you are a bicycle commuter navigating potholes and cars, a long-haul trucker cruising up the 101, or just out to grab your morning iced chai latte (with oatmilk, please). The routine and ever-pres...

The Northcoast Environmental Center is celebrating 50 years of activism and they want to let you in on their secrets to success. NEC staff are excited to present two new programs-- Activate NEC and Thrive: Eco Grief Circle --to teach you how to be a better, more effective environmental advocate and how to avoid the doom-and-gloom burnout that can plague activists). Plus, learn about how you can he...

What happens when a group of friends goes on a hiking trip? If they are science nerds (and employees of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife), they document and map a set of quickly melting glaciers ( publishing their findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal ) and the nearby flora and fauna (in prep). Two of the adventurer-scientists join Gang Green to talk about the weird and uniq...

Before you throw away that half-eaten sandwich, you'll want to listen to this week's EcoNews Report. Every year, Humboldt County sends thousands of pounds of organic waste to our out-of-state landfill. In the oxygenless (anaerobic) landfill environment, organic matter breaks down into greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane. Luckily, there's an easy solution: waste le...

In 2019, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority adopted a goal to deliver 100% clean, renewable electricity to all customers by 2025 and for 100% of that power be generated within Humboldt County by 2030. Richard Engel, Director of Power Resources at RCEA, joins Gang Green to talk about their plans  to rapidly increase renewables in our power portfolio. RCEA recently contracted with a new solar farm i...

The U.S. has a long history of wolf annihilation, reintroduction, and recovery. Now the federal government has stripped protection of wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act. Joining us to talk about what this means for wolf recovery on the West Coast are Amaroq Weiss, West Coast Wolf Advocate, Center for Biological Diversity ; Kimberly Baker, EPIC 's Public Land Advocate; and John Me...

Mike Belchik, senior fisheries biologist with the Yurok Tribe, joins Gang Green to give an update on  Klamath dam removal (spoiler: it's on track to be completed by 2024!) and helps resolve a number of myths concerning the Klamath dams that you might see shared on social media.  To wit: (1) No, it won't increase in-stream water temperature (dams do that); (2) No, it won't result in...

Congressman Jared Huffman has spent his entire federal legislative career on an idea: a holistic approach to address the needs of federal lands within his congressional district, combining new Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River designations with prescriptions for active forest restoration and more. After six years of drafting and stakeholder engagement, Congressman Huffman released his bill in 2...

Friends of the Dunes Executive Director Mike Cipra joins us to talk about new national recognition of the importance of  Lanphere and Ma-le'l Dunes in the northwest corner of Humboldt Bay. On January 19, these unique public lands were designated as one of three new National Natural Landmarks by outgoing Secretary of the Interior David H. Bernhardt.    These lands are being recognized by the N...

The 2020 August Complex was the largest fire in recent history, burning over one million acres. Scientists warn that large fires like these will likely become more common in the future, as climate change produces longer fire seasons and more extreme weather.  If large fires are the new future, what can we learn from the August Complex? One lesson that might be surprising to some is that the fire h...

On this week’s EcoNews Report, guest Carl Segerstron from High Country News joins Gang Green to discuss how Western far-right anti-government extremism contributed to the siege on the U.S. Capitol. From the Sagebrush Rebellion to Cliven Bundy to the Capitol, you can trace the roots of right-wing terrorism, and see how politicians (looking at you, Ronald Reagan) fed the movement by playing into the...

On this week’s EcoNews Report, Gang Green heads south to learn about the Jackson Demonstration State Forest outside of Fort Bragg and the new timber harvest plans that are being proposed for the forest. The planned logging raises important questions facing the future of sustainable forestry: Can we grow old-growth faster by logging mature second growth? What’s the best way to store carbon, in 2x4s...

2020 was more than just a miserable year. It was a transformative one as well. America and the world will never be the same. Gang Green breaks down the highlights and lowlights from the past year and how we are forever changed. Plus, what are our New Year’s resolutions? Alicia suggests this resource for holding on to some of the lessons of 2020 and making sure we don't just go back to "n...

Our panelists take a look back at local environmental work in 2020 and take a look forward to big issues in 2021.  The discussion includes mercury levels in local fish, the Potter Valley dams on the Eel River, Caltrans’ Richardson Grove project, management of the region’s National Forests in the shadow of catastrophic wildfire, and more. Support the show

A favorite American political tradition is the idea of the “first 100 days in office.” Gang Green breaks down the roots of this tradition, what President-elect Joe Biden has said will be his environmental priorities in the first 100 days, how the Georgia Senate run-off election may mean for his legislative agenda, and what environmental groups are urging him to do. Support the show

Researchers in the Journal Science report that a chemical in car tires, 6PPD-quinone, is a likely coho salmon killer. The chemical, used as a preservative in tires, was found to kill juvenile salmon in lab tests that replicated concentrations often found in nature. Warner Chabot, executive director of the San Francisco Estuary Institute, joins Gang Green to talk about the research and what Califor...

Big, radical, wild ideas. On this week’s episode of the EcoNews Report, Gang Green shares their big ideas for how to save the planet. Geothermal power could be the low-carbon energy source of the future, utilizing the planet’s hot core to turn turbines.  Green hydrogen could replace fossil fuels to power airplanes and to store excess energy produced by wind farms and other renewable energy sources...