EcoNews Report

On this week’s episode of the EcoNews Report we reflect on the tragic dam failure in Libya last month and discuss why Scott Dam on the Eel River poses similar risks. The PG&E-owned dam sits right on a significant fault line, the Bartlett Spring Fault. Between its unusual engineering and a century’s worth of accumulated sediment, many factors are converging to make even PG&E wary of the ris...

Anyone who’s traveled between Arcata and Eureka lately has seen a whole lot of construction going on. Humboldt County Supervisor and Coastal Commissioner Mike Wilson joins co-hosts Jen Kalt (Humboldt Waterkeeper) and Colin Fiske (Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities) to talk about several projects that have been in the works for many years. Once the Indianola Interchange is built, C...

On this week’s episode, Luis Villa, Director of Latino Outdoors , joins the show 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. By providing leadership opportunities and by changing the narrative about who are environme...

Trash: it’s everywhere! From our beaches to our forests. But those plucky do-gooders at the Northcoast Environmental Center are on the job. With this year’s Coastal Cleanup MONTH, dozens of clean ups are planned across the county to make our beaches great again. The NEC is also working with individuals experiencing homelessness to help mitigate issues of trash in encampments. Come learn more from...

David George Gordon, author of the new book, Heaven of the Half Shell , joins the show to discuss all things oysters. The oyster has long been an integral part of local diets and has helped to shape our history. Now, climate change and invasive species put  oysters at risk. Tune in to learn more about this lovely mollusk!  David will be in town for an oyster-filled weekend the second weekend in Se...

The kids are alright. Sixteen youth took Montana to court to challenge their state's failure to consider greenhouse gas emissions when approving fossil fuel extraction permits. Using Montana's unique constitution, which explicitly recognizes a right to a clean and healthy environment, the plaintiff's alleged that Montana violated their constitutional rights. And a judge agreed. In a...

On this week's episode of the EcoNews Report, our host Tom Wheeler is joined by Alicia Hamann and Craig Tucker from Friends of the Eel River to discuss a vague, last-minute proposal from water users to take over part of the Potter Valley Project. Pacific Gas and Electric, owners of the two Eel River dams and diversion tunnel that make up the Project, are in the midst of preparing their licens...

Call it what you want—supply side progressivism, a “liberalism that builds,” or good ol’ permitting reform—a debate has emerged within progressive circles about whether environmental laws get in the way of good things, like renewable energy, and if so, what to do about it. As the executive director of a non-profit law firm that regularly uses environmental laws to fight bad things like oil and gas...

Walkability expert Dan Burden took Humboldt by storm last week, leading walk audits in Blue Lake, McKinleyville, Arcata, and Eureka. Dan joins the show to talk about how we can rethink our road system to be safe for all people on foot, on bikes, and in cars.  Read more!  How Do We Make Our Communities More Walkable? Dan Burden Knows, and He’s Coming to Humboldt to Help Us Out - Lost Coast Outpost...

Rob Arkley is back at it again! This time with a new ballot initiative that would block new affordable housing in downtown Eureka and rezone the former Jacobs Middle School site for dense housing. (To be clear: more density is great! But Eureka City Schools, which owns the site, has already turned down an offer from the city to purchase the lot and California Highway Patrol is deep in negotiations...

Offshore wind energy can be thought of as three distinct projects: the construction of offshore wind turbines, the actual operation and generation of electricity, and the transmission of that electricity across California. The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District is poised to play a major role in offshore wind turbine construction and is planning improvements to create a port...

Plastic is everywhere and not in a good way. From the Mariana Trench to the top of Mount Everest to even your own blood (ew!), plastic pollution is a big and growing problem.  Jen Savage, Senior Plastic Pollution Manager at the Surfrider Foundation joins the show to talk about Plastic Free July, an international movement to try to reduce plastic use as much as possible for the entire month.  Need...

How do you improve the flow of a river? Just ask our friends at Salmonid Restoration Federation. On this week's episode of the EcoNews Report host Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River is joined by Dana Stolzman and Katrina Nystrom from Salmonid Restoration Federation, and Joel Monschke from Stillwater Sciences for a discussion of flow monitoring and enhancement projects on the South Fork...

Sea otters ( Enhydra lutris ) once swam along the North Coast of California, but 18th- and 19th-century fur trappers nearly caused the species to go extinct. Statewide, only one remnant population of approximately fifty individuals was left in Big Sur by the 1930s.  Today, thanks to concerted efforts, more than 3,000 sea otters call California home from that small initial remaining population. Whi...

This week on the EcoNews Report hosts Alicia Hamann from Friends of the Eel River and Tom Wheeler from EPIC discuss an experimental installation in the South Fork of the Eel River. Guests Marisa McGrew from the Wiyot Tribe's Natural Resources Department and Gabe Rossi and Philip Georgakakos, both research scientists with UC Berkeley, tell us all about the collaborative effort to install and m...

Let’s face it: Broadway - that section of Highway 101 in south Eureka - sucks. Especially for people getting around on foot or on a bike. Thankfully, Caltrans recognizes the deep suckiness of Broadway and is committed to making it better.  You may have seen cones and temporary bollards and wondered, “WTF?!” They are part of a “pop-up” demonstration of potential measures to make the road just a lit...

It would seem unbelievable if it weren’t true. EarthFirst!, bombs, crooked cops, racists. This is the story of the redwoods, or rather, the fight to protect the redwoods, as told by one of the partisans of this fight, Greg King. His new book, The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals and Real Estate in the California Redwoods is part memoir of his own time as fiery young radical in the Redwood Wars and...

For offshore wind to be successful, there will need to be considerable investment in Humboldt County — big infrastructure, like new transmission lines and substations, but also investment in housing, healthcare, childcare and other “human infrastructure.” On this week’s show, we talk about how we can draw community benefits from offshore wind development. Erik Peckar of Vineyard Power joins the sh...

California has set a bold conservation goal to protect 30% of its lands and coastal waters by 2030. This “30x30” goal aligns with a global 30×30 movement to protect nature all around the world to avoid an extinction crisis. The Power in Nature Coalition brings together environmental organizations, activists, and tribal nations to collectively push Sacramento to meet its 30x30 target. Advocates are...

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...

Running a transit agency in a rural area is hard work. Just ask Greg Pratt, General Manager of the Humboldt Transit Authority. Less dense development means longer distances between fewer people, both increasing operational costs (diesel is expensive, y'all!) and limiting potential ridership revenue. Despite these challenges, Humboldt Transit Authority is plowing ahead with new solutions to bo...

Nordic Aquafarms recently announced that it was making a switch: yellowtail kingfish, a fish native to the warm waters of the Pacific, instead of Atlantic salmon. Biologically, the two fish require different environments, with yellowtail needing warmer, saltier water compared to chilly brackish water for Atlantic salmon.  Yellowtail, perhaps better known as hamachi to our Japanese cuisine loving f...

Local environmental groups have gotten very good at saying “no” to developments, whether it is a Liquid Natural Gas export facility on Humboldt Bay or cutting and paving over redwood roots at Richardson Grove State Park . But some development is socially necessary and desirable, such as affordable housing projects. On this week’s episodes, leaders from Humboldt Baykeeper, the Northcoast Environmen...

Despite the wildly wet year, the Bureau of Reclamation has threatened to reduce flows in the Klamath River below the mandatory minimum for salmon. Such an action will dry up critical habitat for salmon at a time when salmon populations are critically low. Now, the Yurok Tribe and fishermen are in court together to challenge the low flows.  Amy Cordalis, legal counsel for the Yurok Tribe and a trib...

On this week's EcoNews Report, Ken Burton, local bird nerd, joins the show to discuss this year's Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival and other big news in the birding community. This year's festival, running from April 13-16, features over 75 events, from bird walks to lectures. We hope to see you there! In other bird news, we chat about the controversy in the birding commun...