Category Archives: Environment

Alerts, Environment, Local Government, Tribal Affairs

Del Norte Supervisors Weigh In On Assembly Bill That Recognizes Tribal Stewardship On State Conservation Lands

July 17, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Rosa Laucci, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation marine program manager, led a hike down the Sweetwater Creek Trail during a 2023 celebration commemorating the reclamation of place names at Tolowa Dunes State Park. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews}

Three months after he opposed a proposal to transfer Tolowa Dunes State Park to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Del Norte County District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard has his sights set on another assembly bill penned by the same author.

Authored by San Bernardino Assemblyman James Ramos, Assembly Bill 53 would allow federally recognized tribes to receive grants, awards and loans from the Wildlife Conservation Board’s California Riparian Habitat Conservation Program and Inlands Wetlands Conservation Program.

It would also allow federally-recognized tribes the ability to enter into contracts or agreements with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to manage “certain lands.”

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Articles, Environment

Federal Assessment of California’s Coastal Policies Prompt Starkey, Borges To Call For Offshore Oil Drilling Opposition Letter

July 16, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Oil platforms off the coast of Seal Beach, Calif. | Photo by Mike Peel via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License}

Del Norte County Supervisors on Tuesday decided to put their opposition to offshore oil drilling in writing. But whether they’ll send their letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials assessing the California Coastal Management Program remains to be seen.

District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey pushed for the opposition letter, reminding her colleagues that lease sales may be under consideration in three years.

Though he went along with his colleagues in approving the letter, District 3 representative Chris Howard said he still thinks Del Norte County shouldn’t get involved in a political butting of heads between Gavin Newsom and the Trump administration.

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Articles, Environment, Transportation

Cleanup Continues A Week After Overturned Tanker Dumped Asphalt Binder On 199

June 18, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo courtesy of Caltrans District 1}

State and federal agencies continue to oversee a cleanup effort involving liquid asphalt emulsion that spilled from a tanker that overturned on U.S. 199 about a week ago.

While it’s still unclear how much material entered the river, the cleanup has recovered about 3,778 pounds of asphalt emulsion, said Eric Laughlin, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response. Responders have not observed the asphalt emulsion one mile downstream from the incident, Laughlin told Redwood Voice Community News via email Thursday.

The 2016 Kenworth semi was hauling about 6,000 gallons of liquid asphalt emulsion on June 11 when the driver collided with the embankment and overturned at milepost marker 27.4 on U.S. 199 south of the Idlewild Caltrans Maintenance Station.

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Alerts, Articles, Environment, Transportation

Semi Hits Embankment Spills Asphalt Binder Into River; Driver Sustains Major Injuries

June 11, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

*Emergency crews responded to an overturned tanker that spilled some of its asphalt binder load into the Smith River early Thursday morning | Photos courtesy of Caltrans District 1*

Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol and other emergency personnel are responding to a tanker that overturned near Idlewild on U.S. 199 and spilled some of its contents into the Smith River early Thursday morning.

The driver, a Redding man, was hauling more than 6,000 gallons of asphalt binder in a 2016 Kenworth semi at about 3:40 a.m. when his vehicle left the lane, collided with the embankment and overturned, CHP Public Information Officer Pete Gonzalez told Redwood Voice Community News. The driver was transported to Sutter Coast Hospital with major injuries, Gonzalez said.

It’s currently unknown how much of the asphalt binder entered the Smith River, Gonzalez said.

The collision occurred about a mile south of the Idlewild Maintenance Station, Gonzalez said. The road is currently down to one-way controlled traffic, he told Redwood Voice at about 11:30 a.m.

Articles, Environment, Parks

Del Norte Hopes To Make Neighborly Relationship With U.S. Forest Service Official

June 11, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard referred to a historical failure to secure resources for wildfire mitigation and recreation as a major reason a Good Neighbor Authority Agreement with the U.S. Forest Service would be good for Del Norte County.

In response to skepticism from county resident and frequent commenter Sam Strait, Howard said the county could use the agreement as a way to get funding to organizations spearheading projects focusing on fuel reduction, watershed and forest restoration as well as trail development. He mentioned the Del Norte Fire Safe Council and the Del Norte Resource Conservation District specifically.

“There are a lot of these Good Neighbor Authorities being put in place throughout the State of California and the Pacific Northwest right now,” Howard said Tuesday. “I’m incredibly encouraged by the open door we’ve seen now with the Six Rivers National Forest, in particular with the staff at the Gasquet Ranger district, in helping us shape what this document looks like.”

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Agriculture, Articles, Community News, Environment, Local Government

Special District Focused On Resource Conservation Expands Boundaries To Include All Of Del Norte County

May 23, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte Fire Safe Council held a workshop in March 2025 to teach people how to harden their properties against wildfire. | File photo by Ethan Caudill-DeRego}

A special district previously focused on agricultural issues in the Smith River and Fort Dick areas received the green light to annex all of Del Norte County into its jurisdiction on Monday.

The Del Norte Resource Conservation District’s expanded boundaries allows for greater collaboration with organizations focusing on wildfire resiliency, stream and forest health restoration and those that support new farmers, District Manager Becky Crockett told Redwood Voice Community News.

The expanded boundaries also means the Del Norte RCD can pursue state and federal grant dollars, which in turn can lead to larger projects, she said.

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Articles, Environment, Fort Dick, Smith River, Tribal Affairs

San Bernardino Lawmaker Authors Bill to Cede Tolowa Dunes State Park To Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation

April 14, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews 2 Comments

Brie Fraley identified a divide between her community and those who see the land that’s now Tolowa Dunes State Park as just a public space.

A descendant of the Grimes family, one of the last to live at the village of Yontocket, Fraley said its current status as public land is a barrier to her being able to practice her spirituality in a safe way.

Yet the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation tribal member agreed with Del Norte County District 2 Supervisor Valerie Starkey who, along with her colleagues on Tuesday, raised concerns about proposed legislation that would turn the state park over to the TdN.

“As a tribal member I was not afforded the information as well,” Fraley said of Assembly Bill 2356, which was authored by San Bernardino Assemblyman James Ramos. “I do think there should be a public engagement process so we can focus on this as an activity of healing. … There needs to be an empathy project for understanding the tragedies that have happened to my people.”

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Agriculture, Articles, Environment, Tribal Affairs

Water Board Scientists Unveil Draft Easter Lily Bulb Order, Public Comment Period Extended

February 20, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo courtesy of Buchio Takano via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License.}

State water quality scientists unveiled a proposed order they say will lead to a more robust means of monitoring and curtailing pesticide and copper contamination from Easter lily operations in the Smith River plain.

Currently in draft form, the Lily Bulb Order adds to a voluntary framework that growers have participated in since 2021 — which, scientists say, has led to a decrease in pollutants in the area.

But for conservationists who spoke at a North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board public workshop on Wednesday, the proposed general waste discharge requirements weren’t strong enough.

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Agriculture, Articles, Economy, Environment, Science, Smith River

(Updated) Water Board Seeks Comment On Proposed Easter Lily Bulb Order, Public Workshop Set For Today

February 17, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Ninety-five percent of the world’s Easter lily bulbs are produced in the Smith River area. | Photo courtesy of the North Coast Water Quality Control Board}

Updated at 8:02 a.m. Wednesday to correct the workshop location. The workshop will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Elk Valley Rancheria Sam Lopez Community Center, 2332 Howland Hill Road in Crescent City.

State water quality scientists are seeking public comment on proposed regulations aimed at controlling waste discharge from the Easter lily bulb industry into the lower Smith River basin.

North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board representatives will hold a public workshop Wednesday focusing on Draft General Waste Discharge Requirements for Commercial Lily Bulb operations in the Smith River Plain.

Also known as the Lily Bulb Order, draft discharge requirements seek to “protect and restore beneficial uses, such as cold freshwater habitat in the Smith River Plain,” according to the state agency’s Feb. 5 news release.

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Articles, Economy, Environment

Unwilling To Wade Into the Offshore Oil Debate, DN Supervisors Ask Staff To ‘Track Federal Policies’

February 2, 2026 Jessica Cejnar Andrews Leave a comment

_{Thumbnail photo: Oil platforms off the coast of Seal Beach, Calif. | Photo by Mike Peel via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License}

Del Norte County supervisors declined to take a position on offshore oil drilling in the Golden State with one representative stating that weighing in on the issue might “put ourselves in the middle of a much larger fight.”

District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard on Tuesday quoted from a Politico article that stated that the Trump administration’s plans to open federal waters in the Pacific to offshore drilling “looks designed to antagonize Gov. Gavin Newsom.”

Howard also cited reports from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Stanford University that stated that the last time the Elk River Basin was studied for potential petroleum development was in 1960.

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