Category Archives: Environment

Crescent City Leaders Reaffirm Support For Permanent Mining Ban On North Fork Smith River

Thumbnail image shows map of the proposed 58,000-acre expansion of the Smith River National Recreation Area. | Image courtesy of Sen. Jeff Merkley’s office.

More than eight years after the Obama Administration issued a 20-year mining ban for the North Fork Smith River in Oregon, the Crescent City Council reaffirmed its support for legislation that would make that prohibition permanent.

Four councilors on Monday agreed to draft a letter to U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkely and Ron Wyden, who represent Oregon, reminding them that the Smith River is where Del Norte County’s drinking water comes from and that they’ve advocated for protecting its headwaters for more than a decade. Councilor Daran Dooley was absent.

But though Grant Werschkull, executive director of the Smith River Alliance, said such legislation is necessary for the January 2017 mineral withdrawal order to be permanent, he’s not sure if it will be approved this year.

Continue reading Crescent City Leaders Reaffirm Support For Permanent Mining Ban On North Fork Smith River →

Supervisors Raise Concerns About Proposed Timber Harvest, Sells 18 Pacific Shores lots to State of California

Thumbnail photo: California Coastal Commissioners met with California Department of Fish and Wildlife Scientists and Smith River Alliance representatives at Pacific Shores last year. | File photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Timber Harvest Near Hunter Creek Subdivision: 

Supervisors agreed to send a letter to Cal Fire outlining their concerns that a Green Diamond timber harvest plan could impact drinking water and increase wildfire risk in the Hunter Creek Subdivision.

The proposed letter came from District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson, who said he attended a presentation the timber company held for residents in the Klamath area subdivision. Green Diamond’s West Tepo Timber Harvesting Plan encompasses 294 acres, 60 percent of which will be clearcut, he said. Forty percent of those 294 acres will be set aside for selective harvesting, Wilson said.

Continue reading Supervisors Raise Concerns About Proposed Timber Harvest, Sells 18 Pacific Shores lots to State of California →

Del Norter Who Spearheaded Fight to Reopen Rockfish Fishery Optimistic About Future Seasons

Thumbnail photo courtesy of California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Andrea Spahn brought a rare piece of good news to the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors and the Crescent City Harbor District last month — the quillback rockfish is “not even close to being overfished.”

New data NOAA scientists presented at the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Stock Assessment Review, or STAR, panel in June may mean local fishermen can pursue rockfish up to 30 fathoms from shore, further than the current 20-fathom boundary they’re limited to, Spahn told Redwood Voice Community News on July 1.

The STAR panel must finalize the data and the PFMC still needs to view it, but Spahn was confident that Del Norte anglers would win back what they lost nearly two years ago.

Continue reading Del Norter Who Spearheaded Fight to Reopen Rockfish Fishery Optimistic About Future Seasons →

Proposed Sale Of Pac Shore Properties Prompt BOS Discussion Around Wetland Mitigation

Thumbnail photo: California Coastal commissioners stopped by the Pacific Shores subdivision during a visit to Del Norte County last year. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

Del Norte County supervisors on Tuesday stalled the proposed sale of 18 tax-defaulted properties within the Pacific Shores subdivision to the state, instead directing staff to determine whether they could be used to mitigate wetland damage caused by future infrastructure projects.

Griping about a ratio the California Coastal Commission demanded during a runway safety project at the Del Norte County Regional Airport years ago, District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short asked if it would cost the county to hold onto the 18 properties rather than proceed with the sale. 

“We had to come up with 10 acres for [wetland] mitigation for every one acre we messed around with at the airport. It was plain extortion from the California Coastal Commission,” Short said. “My thought is the parcels we own in and around the swamps — Ruth Compound, whatever you want to call it — there are places there that are buildable. I’m thinking we could use these parcels to mitigate [that].”

Continue reading Proposed Sale Of Pac Shore Properties Prompt BOS Discussion Around Wetland Mitigation →

Threat Assessment: Trump Administration V. Redwoods

Assistant superintendent for the Redwood State and National Parks: Shelana DeSilva

Lavina Brooks, a Yurok tribal member, elder, and descendant of the Karuk and Tolowa people posed a pointed question to the panel of Redwood Park conservationists hosted by the local Democratic committee at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds over the weekend.

Digital Event Flyer

“I want to know: From your perspective — or if you’re allowed to give your perspective — how big a threat is the current administration to the parks in Del Norte and Humboldt County.”

Brooks’ question articulated a sentiment present in many minds. The redwood forests of this region are home to some of the oldest and tallest trees on the planet. Human beings have a long and passionately protective history with this particular classification of tree, including as a UNESCO World Heritage site — the designation for places on Earth that are recognized as having outstanding universal value to humanity, and have been inscribed to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy.

On March 1, the Trump administration issued an executive order titled “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production” that set a lot of tree-huggers on edge.

Shelana DeSilva, assistant superintendent for the Redwood State and National Parks, stood up from the table and came forward with the mic.

Continue reading Threat Assessment: Trump Administration V. Redwoods →

Dems-hosted “Coffee and Conversation” to Focus on the State of the Parks Saturday

Thumbnail photo by Persephone Rose

More than 100 days into Donald Trump’s chaotic second presidency, Del Norters are urged to bring their concerns about how Redwood National and State Parks will weather the storm to the fairgrounds on Saturday.

The parks’ deputy district superintendent, Shelana deSilva, and Redwood Parks Conservancy Executive Director Sal Moreno are expected to be in the floral building at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for two hours of “coffee and conversation.”

It’s the third such gathering the Del Norte County Democratic Central Committee has hosted since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 21. Yet, according to Lupe Gutierrez, vice president of the local Democratic Party, it was difficult to organize.

“There are a lot of unknown things out there,” she told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday, adding that she approached Six Rivers National Forest representatives about participating and hadn’t heard back. She said she also reached out to the Redwood National and State Parks and the Redwood Parks Conservancy — the “big agencies” in the area.

Continue reading Dems-hosted “Coffee and Conversation” to Focus on the State of the Parks Saturday →

EPIC Offshore Wind Panel Stirs Little Local Interest

Only about a dozen Del Norters showed up on a cold Friday evening to hear the latest science concerning offshore wind energy’s potential impact on marine wildlife. The event, held in the United Methodist Church in Crescent City and hosted by the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) of Arcata, was billed as an Offshore Wind Information Panel. Featured speakers addressed the possible interaction between marine mammals, birds and turtles and the giant floating wind turbines proposed for the waters off Del Norte and Humboldt counties.

Before the presentations began, Tom Wheeler, executive director of EPIC, explained the purpose of the event to Redwood Voice. “Under the Biden administration, Del Norte county was slated to have an offshore wind lease executed in the next four years. That’s obviously in question now with the Trump administration, but it’s still important for us to have these conversations and to understand the potential benefits and costs of offshore wind. And so we’re here tonight to help the community have that conversation.”

Continue reading EPIC Offshore Wind Panel Stirs Little Local Interest →

Del Norte Supervisors Weigh In On Updated Plan For Managing Forest Service Lands

Thumbnail: A rain-swollen Smith River in the Smith River National Recreation Area, which is one of the U.S. Forest Service units addressed in its Northwest Forest Plan. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews

District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard used an example from the 1960s to highlight the importance of local input into an amended Northwest Forest Plan.

Del Norte County housed 52 manufacturing mills six decades ago, he said, now there are none. Howard blamed their collapse on the Northwest Forest Plan, which was created in 1994. Now, with a public comment deadline approaching on an amended plan, Howard urged his colleagues to weigh in on a letter to the U.S. Forest Service, the agency spearheading the process.

Tacked onto Tuesday’s agenda at the last minute due to the Monday public comment deadline, the county’s letter was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors.

Continue reading Del Norte Supervisors Weigh In On Updated Plan For Managing Forest Service Lands →

Del Norte Fire Safe Council Hosts Prescribed Burn Workshop

Thumbnail photo by Ethan Caudill-DeRego.

Flecked with dirt and soaked in sweat from the intense heat of fires burning all around, crew from the Del Norte Fire Safe Council and interested participants worked away with their drip torches, burning pre-collected debris piles on the hills overlooking Rock Creek Ranch.

March 5th was the first day of the Del Norte Fire Safe Council’s two day Prescribed Burn Workshop. This workshop helps teach local residents how to deal with the vegetation that builds up on their land and poses a threat during wildfires.

“This is our first workshop. It’s more about pile burning because that’s the time of year that we have right now,” said Aaron Babcock, Del Norte Fire Safe Council Coordinator. “It’s still pretty wet to do an actual real prescribed burn, but we’re hoping in April we’re gonna do another real workshop, where we’re gonna try to get some fire to carry.”

Continue reading Del Norte Fire Safe Council Hosts Prescribed Burn Workshop →

Federal Funding Freeze Puts Del Norte Fire Safe Council Fuels Reduction Projects In Limbo

Thumbnail: Del Norte Office of Emergency Services Public Information Officer Bill Steven snapped this photo of the Smith River Complex wildfires burning above Patrick Creek Lodge and U.S. 199 on Aug. 16, 2023.

(Updated at 12:03 p.m. Friday with a correction: The California Climate Investments grant is a state program and Cal Fire is a state department. There is a $70 million federal grant available, though Del Norte Fire Safe Council County Coordinator Aaron Babcock said he’s not sure how it will be distributed.)

Flames from the Smith River Complex crept within 600 feet of Aaron Babcock’s Gasquet home in August, 2023.

A former firefighter, Babcock is the county coordinator for the Del Norte Fire Safe Council. He said he and his wife chose not to evacuate from the smattering of wildfires burning around the Gasquet area. Instead, he and two of his Fire Safe Council colleagues helped clean out gutters and create extra defensible space for about 50 homes threatened by the fire.

“The houses we had worked on definitely got skipped over,” Babcock told Redwood Voice Community News on Tuesday. “Because they had firefighters preemptively clearing around people’s homes in case the fire came through, those homes didn’t have to have anything done [to prevent them from burning], which was great because it lowers the amount of firefighting resources that were needed and helped protect other homes.”

Continue reading Federal Funding Freeze Puts Del Norte Fire Safe Council Fuels Reduction Projects In Limbo →