EcoNews Report

Folks, it’s that time of year again! Coastal Cleanup Month 2021 promises to bring all the great elements of the last few years together for an event packed with citizen science, coastal stewardship, and fun prizes. Last year, COVID precautions turned a two day event into a month-long one, and we couldn’t have been happier with the results. We’ll be continuing that new tradition this year, with cle...

The barred owl, not native to California, is quickly becoming established in the state, having flown down the West Coast. The barred owl’s presence is bad news for its cousin, the northern spotted owl, the iconic species of the Timber Wars. The barred owl outcompetes the northern spotted owl and quickly takes over its territory.  With the northern spotted owl on the road to extinction, now is the...

Offshore wind has a lot to offer: Humboldt’s wind resources are virtually unmatched in North America and we have the potential to produce gigawatts of low-carbon power off our coast and Humboldt Bay is one of the few ports on the West Coast capable of assembling the monster 600+ foot tall turbines, creating the potential that Humboldt Bay could become the American center of offshore wind technolog...

Following the 2020, California is set to redraw its legislative maps and for the first time in our state’s history, we are set to lose a congressional seat. What does this mean for Humboldt? Guest Sam Sukaton of the California League of Conservation Voters joins Gang Green to discuss the California Citizens Redistricting Commission and how environmental voters can better harness power to affect ch...

Clam Beach landed on Heal the Bay's list of California's most polluted beaches yet again this year, getting an 'F' for water quality on the 2021 Beach Report Card . Today our guest is Dr. Jeremy Corrigan, who has worked for years to answer the burning question: why does Clam Beach have such high levels of fecal indicator bacteria? Dr. J is the Lab Manager at the Humboldt County...

Only a small genetic difference separates winter-run and summer-run steelhead, but that little bit of nucleic acid makes a big difference. Last month, the California Fish and Game Commission voted to list the North Coast’s summer steelhead under the California Endangered Species Act. This week, Gang Green dives into the difference between these two runs to learn why preserving summer steelhead may...

Congressman Jared Huffman joins Gang Green to talk about this legislative session. Top of his mind, as always, is his public lands bill—the “Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act”—which packs together new Wilderness designations with fuel breaks, trespass cannabis clean up, new trails and visitor centers and more. Sen. Padilla has taken up the bill in the Senate and...

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, particularly harmful to young children and developing fetuses. Mercury is commonly present in fish, but in wildly different concentrations based on the life history of the species. What local fish species are safe to eat and at what amounts? Humboldt Baykeeper is there to help. With the help of fisheries biologist—and EcoNews guest—Ross Taylor, Humboldt Baykeeper te...

Drought-related tension threatens to boil over in the Klamath. Ammon Bundy’s posse of right-wing terrorists are threatening to open irrigation gates of Upper Klamath Lake, by force if necessary, to illegally divert water held in reserve to protect endangered fish. Meanwhile in the mainstem of the Klamath River, juvenile salmon are experiencing a mass die-off caused by a disease-causing parasite (...

Caltrans is making progress on Last Chance Grade, removing multiple alternatives from further consideration. By cutting down the number of alternatives to study, Caltrans has cut the project planning budget and has lopped considerable time off the timeline. (Enviros are also happy because the highest risk alternatives were among those on the cutting room floor.) On this week's episode, Jaime...

In October 2020, California Governor, Gavin Newsom, issued an executive order pledging to conserve 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. In January, President Joe Biden announced a similar effort, calling for conservation of 30 percent of the United States land and water by 2030. But what do these executive actions mean and will they move the needle on our climate and biodiv...

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...