News from the Center
Climate Crisis
Since the last issue of EcoNews was published, the climate crisis has become more real to many members of the public who normally remain oblivious about anything outside of their social circle. The...
Letter From the Editor
This issue marks the end of my eighth year as EcoNews Editor for the Northcoast Environmental Center. This work has been immensely satisfying over the years, suiting both my ecological conscience and my particular...
2019 Year in Review
This Year’s Accomplishments
2019 was another successful and challenging year at the NEC! The following list features some of the many issues and events we worked on or were involved with.
• Congressman Jared...
Salmon Stronghold: Refuge, Safe Harbor, Sanctuary
As salmon populations dwindle perilously due to habitat destruction, changing ocean conditions, climate change, and overfishing of some species, it is somewhat miraculous that there are still rivers that provide sanctuary for wild salmon...
Eye on Washington
In Congress:
Good News!!! Six years of NEC’s close involvement with Congressman Huffman and a wide coalition of conservationists resulted in an important success. The Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act, H.R. 2250, passed out...
CROP: Cannabis Removal on Public Lands Project
CROP and Media visit a trespass grow site near Shasta-Trinity National Forest
by Jackee Riccio
Empty pesticide containers, piles of trash, and thousands of feet of black poly-line—these describe a recently eradicated trespass grow in the...
Volunteer Spotlight – Rob DiPerna
Rob DiPerna
How long have you been volunteering with NEC? I believe I’ve been volunteering with NEC for about a year, mostly helping with the production of EcoNews.
What inspired you to volunteer? I was inspired...
Planting for Butterflies and Caterpillars
Everyone loves butterflies, and everyone wants more of them in their garden! What’s the best way to attract them? Planting diverse native plants! Adult butterflies eat flower nectar, so providing a variety of nectar-producing...
Illegal Pasture Irrigation in Scott River Basin Driving Klamath Salmon Extinct
Located near the middle of the Klamath River Basin, the Scott River watershed once hosted large runs of spring and fall Chinook salmon. With its small streams and beaver dams, the Scott River Valley...
Bring Back our Beavers!
In November, EPIC submitted a rulemaking petition to the California Fish and Game Commission to re-write the trapping rules for beavers, giving California’s beavers (and the countless species that benefit from their presence) more...
Whale Entanglements on the Rise due to Marine Debris
In 2018, the NEC organized a team and participated in the Friends of the Dunes’ Sand Sculpture Festival. The team brainstormed together to figure out what sculpture would best represent the plight of the...
Kin to the Earth: Gary Falxa
Gayle Garman and Dave Imper
Gary Falxa, a dedicated NEC board member, reluctantly retired recently after five years representing the local chapter of the California Native Plant Society. His contribution adds to what is essentially...
The Northern Spotted Owls’ Tree-Sit
Ellen. E. Taylor
A poem…based on a true story occurring in the Mattole Watershed, July 2019
One still June night, when the moon hung bright, and the wind blew a minor key
And the fog made a...
‘Everything Is Not Fine’: Nobel Economist Calls on Humanity to End Obsession With GDP
If we measure the wrong thing, we will do the wrong thing.
by Jon Queally
This article was originally published online at CommonDreams.org
Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz is warning the world that unless the obsession...
Voice Your Support for Removing Klamath Dams
Action Alert from California Wilderness Coalition (CalWild)
This summer, the community group in charge of the removal process of four dams on the Klamath River, the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, submitted an important filing with...
Eureka Revives Zombie Road Proposal through Palco Marsh
On November 13, the City of Eureka held a public workshop to gather input on a new plan for the 101 Broadway Corridor. Described as a “Multi-Modal Corridor Plan” to increase safety for pedestrians...
Zero Waste Week in Bay Area March 2020
Zero Waste Humboldt is organizing a Redwood Coast contingent to participate in Zero Waste Week in the San Francisco Bay Area in March. If you are interested to learn more about Zero Waste and...
Read EcoNews AND the Collector!
The Collector is CRTP’s curated weekly collection of transportation news and information focused on the North Coast, but also includes important and interesting items from state, national and international news. It’s posted on CRTP’s...
Brave Climate Change Scientists Choose Hope Over Politics – Part Two
This is Part Two of an article resulting from interviews conducted by the author with Drs. Ziska and Caffrey in August of 2019. Full disclosure: Dr. Caffrey was willing to be interviewed due to...
Forest Defense Actions Continue in the Mattole
Save the Mattole’s Ancient Forest
On November 25, an activist locked their body to the underside of a log truck in an attempt to prevent access to Rainbow Ridge, the site of logging and road...
Shorts: Short bits of interest and curiosity
CA identifies Methane Super Emitters
NASA, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Energy Commission studied methane emmission sources over a two year period with a plane equipped with a next generation Airborne Visible...
Fill Your Holidays with Joy, Not Waste
Jackson Carrasco, Zero Waste Intern
With the holidays racing towards us, don’t forget to practice zero waste in your gift giving and cooking this season! Zero waste practices can help us reduce our ecological footprint—our...
Kiss Me Under the Semi-Parasitic Aerial Shrub
Mistletoe is the horror of many a person at the annual Christmas Party. Mistletoe may be associated with unwanted advances, but EcoNews readers should also know that this weird shrub is fascinating and important.
Mistletoe...
Jordan Cove LNG Final Impact Statement Still Deficient
Press Release
Power Past Fracked Gas
On November 22, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and fracked gas pipeline. This project...