EcoNews Report

The Northwest Forest Plan — first adopted in 1994 — guides the management of federally owned forest lands in Washington, Oregon and Northern California. A lot has changed in the last 26 years, but the plan has mostly remained static. Until now! Mike Anderson of the Wilderness Society joins hosts Tom Wheeler (EPIC) and Scott Greacen (Friends of the Eel) to preview an upcoming effort to revise this...

Last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission either moved along the Klamath Dam removal project, or else it threw a big wrench in the works. S. Craig Tucker, consultant to the Karuk Tribe, and Mike Belchik, senior water policy analyst with the Yurok Tribe, joins Scott Greacen (Friends of the Eel) and Tom Wheeler (EPIC) for a spirited discussion on the new news about the state of dam removal....

The Trinity is the only North Coast river that is partially diverted into the Central Valley Project — the massive waterworks that feeds the Central Valley and southern California. Today the Green Gang checks in with Tom Stokely, salmon water policy advocate at Save California Salmon , to talk about the Sites Reservoir, a big new dam and reservoir proposed near Colusa. If it gets built, how might...

Tom Wheeler of the Environmental Protection Information Center talks with Meredith of Redwood Forest Defense , a group conducting treesits on Green Diamond Resource Company land (Yurok ancestral territory) near Trinidad. Support the show

What’s the state of the Klamath River in July 2020? Despite a recent series of wins and progress on dam removal — not great.  Mike Belchik, a senior water policy analyst with the Yurok Tribe, and Daniel Cordalis, a staff attorney for the Tribe, walk the Green Gang through what’s happening on the region’s largest river this season — including the threat of upcoming low flows and, with it, fish-kill...

Author, naturalist, and environmental historian Ann Vileisis talks to the Green Gang about the iconic California abalone.  Read about her new book here: Abalone: The Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of California’s Iconic Shellfish Read about her previous books - Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get it Back and Discovering the Unknown Lands...

Spring-run chinook and summer-run steelhead are exceedingly strange creatures. What makes them different from their (more numerous) winter-run colleagues? Why are they an important indicator of the health of a river? What’s their future? Scott Greacen ( Friends of the Eel River ) and Tom Wheeler ( Environmental Protection Information Center ) host a discussion on these odd fish, with Bill Tripp of...

Better know a ranger district! Kristen Lark, ranger of the Six River National Forest’s Mad River Ranger District, virtually stops by to sing the praises of the beautiful stretch of land she oversees — from Ruth Lake to the Lassics and just into Humboldt County. What’s it like to be a ranger? Tune in and find out! Support the show

CalTrout’ s Darren Mierau and Klamath dam campaign veteran Craig Tucker join the Green Gang to talk through the nascent plan to remove Scott Dam and restore salmon and steelhead to the upper Eel River. For more about the Potter Valley Project Two-Basin Partnership's proposed solution for Scott Dam Removal, click HERE . For more info about dam removal and the Potter Valley Project: Friends of...

Griff waited 20 years for his dream job. At long last, he is a naturalist at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which he describes as church for nature-lovers.  Naturalists go live on Facebook every day at 3 p.m. during the pandemic @NorthCoastRedwoods (Griff’s are Friday and Sundays), He also does “lives” on Fridays and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. @HumboldtRedwoodsStatePark .  Here are a few recent editions:...

A roundup of local environmental news from Gang Green. Humboldt Baykeeper celebrates that the Planning Department has refused to allow reconstruction of a downed billboard . The NEC reports on a new air curtain burner being tested by the Forest Service that will hopefully keep smoke levels down from debris burning. EPIC announces new lawsuits and the successful settlement with Humboldt County over...

Humboldt State professor Sarah Jaquette Ray talks with hosts Tom Wheeler and Alicia Hamann about how to avoid burnout, why peddling hope and leveraging guilt are not effective, and how we can move past the illusion of partisan division to working toward climate justice. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety, by Sarah Jaquette Ray. University of California Press . Available for curbside pick-up at Eurek...

Everything you ever wanted to know about e-bikes! Tom Wheeler is joined by Chris Johnson of Adventure’s Edge and Nancy Stephenson and Sofia Valenzuela of the Redwood Coast Energy Authority to about the miraculous new generation of electric bicycles and why they’re kind of a game-changer. Plus: everything you need to know about the RCEA’s new electric bike rebate program . What is it, why is it, an...

Are you bored at home? Do you keep seeing a bird in your backyard and wonder, “what are you?” On this week’s EcoNews Report, the Green Gang investigates backyard birding! Stay sane during the shelter in place by birding without having to leave your house! For more info: Common Birds of Northwest California  (via Northtown Books). Support the show

Connor McGuigan, lead planner on the county’s multijurisdictional Climate Action Plan, joins host Tom Wheeler to talk about Humboldt’s biggest climate challenges, the development of the plan and more. “We’re laser-focused on transportation emissions and building energy emissions, because those are the big things that local governments, in partnership with local communities, can really have an infl...

Grocery store shelves got you anxious about food security? Spending more time at home and looking for a new project? Start a Victory Garden! Guests Julia Graham-Whitt and Mir de Silva of Two Green Thumbs share tips and tricks to get your first garden established, from seeds to soil and grass to garden.  Interested in learning more? Check out these free resources: https://humgardens.com/ http://nor...

Congressman Huffman joins the Green Gang to talk about the federal COVID-19 response — spoiler alert: he isn’t pleased with the Trump Administration’s handling of the crisis — and previews upcoming environmental legislation. Bored at home? Huffman also offers a book recommendation to keep your mind occupied. Support the show

Dan Jacobson of Environment California joins the Green Gang to talk about how we can reduce the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions: Transportation. For more info on strategies to transform transportation in the U.S., check out Environment California’s new report: “Destination: Zero Carbon” Support the show

Scott Greacen, Jen Kalt and Tom Wheeler discuss a recent Op-Ed in the New York Times and ask each other the question: How can we be all be happy, healthy, effective activists without succumbing to gloom? More on Oregon activist Emma Marris's 5-step plan for dealing with the stress of the climate crisis and becoming part of the solution: How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change . New...

Emily Allee of the Wildlands Conservancy joins Tom Wheeler (of EPIC) and Alicia Hamann (of Friends of the Eel) to talk about the ambitious work that the nonprofit is doing right here in Humboldt and across the state.  Learn about the conservancy’s two unusual seaside properties along the Humboldt County coast (and how you might visit them) and their large plans for the Eel River, centered around t...

Becky Chambers , local resident and Hugo Award-winning science fiction author, talks with the Green Gang about her work and her philosophy of science fiction. Her popular Wayfarers series focuses on the lives on regular people following an ecological collapse and their relationship with the alien species who somewhat reluctantly save humans.  Also: How living in Humboldt County has inspired new di...

It’s an environmental news roundup conrnucopia, as Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River joins us to talk about the latest on the Great Redwood Trail and The state of play with two fallen billboards Fuels management in the Six Rivers National Forest  Summer steelhead and ESA listing Weird carbon sequestration ideas. … and more! Support the show

What do you do when a raccoon is living in the walls of your home? What about when a bird flies into your window? Why do more English majors than science majors volunteer to save wildlife? Bird Ally X — how is it related to Speed Racer? Monte Merrick, one of Humboldt County’s foremost wildlife rescuers, joins the Green Gang to talk us through these questions and more, and to muse on the complicate...

A divided Green Gang looks back at the process that led to the Terra-Gen wind energy project being denied last month, and debates whether or not it should have been.  What did we learn? Where do we go next? Offshore wind ? Will rooftop solar save us? No easy answers. Support the show

On this week’s episode, Luis Villa, Director of Latino Outdoors , joins the Green Gang to talk about how to make nature a safe, welcoming and inclusive space for all people. Latino Outdoors is a unique Latinx-led organization working to create a national community of leaders in conservation and outdoor education. Started in California, Latino Outdoors is now an international volunteer movement. Le...