EcoNews Report

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...

Highway 101 through Eureka is one of California’s most dangerous stretches of road. Structurally, the road is bad for non-vehicular users: it is wide, fast, and crosswalks are too spaced too far apart, to name a few problems. Local agencies and advocates are looking for ways to make Broadway safer for people walking and biking.  What do wetlands, contaminated soil, and traffic congestion have to d...

On this week’s episode, Gang Green talks about the 2020 general election and what it means for local and federal environmental issues. Locally, Gang Green is excited about environmental scientist Scott Bauer making it to the Eureka City Council and the passage of Arcata’s Measure A, which will fund parks, greenspace protection and wetland restoration. On the federal side, President-elect Joe Biden...

Much has been made of how Justice Amy Coney Barrett will rule on questions of abortion and healthcare, but what about her stance on the Chevron deference? If you don’t know what that is, you are not alone. On this week’s EcoNews Report, Gang Green goes legal nerd and dives into the bedrock of our federal administrative state. We promise this isn’t boring. Required reading: My Word: Will Justice Ba...

New Zealand mudsnails are small--about the size of a peppercorn--but they can be a BIG problem for watersheds where they are found. On this week's EcoNews Report, the Green Gang sits down with Darren Ward , Associate Professor of Fisheries Biology at Humboldt State University, and Jacob Pounds, environmental scientist at the Blue Lake Rancheria , to learn about new infestations in the Mad Riv...

Washington is a mess. With the Feds failing to lead on climate change, is there any hope for our planet? On this week’s EcoNews, Gang Green dives into what it would take to translate the principles and values of the Green New Deal - you know, the thing that your crazy uncle says will ban hamburgers - into local legislation.  Special thanks to Colin Fiske, Executive Director of the Coalition for Re...

On this week’s EcoNews Report, the Green Gang interviews fire ecologist Lenya Quinn-Davidson about this year’s record fire season and what people can do to reduce fire risk on their properties. ( Did you know it can be as easy as cleaning out your gutters? ) More Info: Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association California Prescribed Burn Association Support the show

On this week’s show, we hear from the award-winning California artist-naturalist Obi Kaufmann about his latest book, The Forests of California: A California Field Atlas . Like his two previous best sellers, The California Field Atlas and The State of Water: Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource , The Forests of California explores the Golden State’s wild places in an attempt to center...

This week, we are joined by Jacobs Pounds of Blue Lake Rancheria Environmental Department, who recently detected toxic algae in the Mad River from Blue Lake to Arcata. Anatoxins are powerful neurotoxins produced by blue-green algae when populations explode or "bloom" during unusually warm, low-flow conditions. These toxins have been detected in other local rivers and across the West, but...

This week on the EcoNews Report, we hear from California State Parks, North Coast Redwoods District staff about their Interpretive programs, how they are working to tell unique stories, uplift diverse voices, and how use of digital technology during Covid has increased access to learning about these incredible public lands. Our guests include Interpretive Program Manager Marnin Robbins, and Interp...

This week on the EcoNews Report, Casey Cruikshank, Coastal Programs Coordinator for the Northcoast Environmental Center, talks with us about Coastal Cleanup Day. This year the event lasts all month, so there's still time for you to participate and find out for yourself why picking up a little trash is really about so much more. Learn more or join this year's event here: https://www.yourn...

Three major phenomena are shaping the future of the transportation system in Humboldt County and nationwide: climate chaos, autonomous vehicles, and the road safety crisis (particularly for non-vehicular road users). These phenomena will only grow in importance and influence in the decades to come. Yet today, as transportation officials at every level continue to repair and maintain our existing t...

Our guest is Mike Cipra of Friends of the Dunes , a local conservation organization which is in the process of acquiring the Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Conservation Property (a.k.a. the Dog Ranch and Poovey Tract). The 357-acre property is scheduled to be purchased from Security National this fall. Friends of the Dunes has decided to be interim owner for up to 5 years while a permanent plan is devel...

Our guest is Michelle Kunst of the Trinidad Coastal Land Trust , which manages some of the most popular beaches in the Westhaven/Trinidad area. Michelle explains the how, why, where, what, and when of the upcoming Snapshot Hum Coast BioBlitz 2020 project and how you can use just a smart phone and the iNaturalist app to gather observations for this "bioblitz" community science effort. No...

This week’s show is a lightning round on various environmental news from around the region: New developments on Eel River dam removal, the NEC’s “Trashathon,” Baykeeper's COVID-safe bay tours, EPIC sues the federal government on recent drastic changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, and more. Support the show