News

Sea Level Rise at the Arcata Marsh

“Sea Level Rise: North Unit of the Arcata Marsh,” an exhibition of photographs by Aldaron Laird, is on display through February at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center, 569 South G St. in Arcata. Hours are Monday from 1 to 5 p.m. and Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Waterkeeper Alliance

The international Waterkeeper Alliance connects local Waterkeeper programs to provide a voice for waterways and their communities worldwide. To champion clean water and strong communities, Waterkeeper Alliance advocates for issues common to Waterkeeper programs.

Each Waterkeeper program is an independent organization that reflects the needs of the waterbody and community it represents. The common thread for each Waterkeeper program is a person who serves as the public advocate for that body of water.

Waterkeepers are part investigator, scientist, lawyer, and advocate who represent all the users of the watershed who rely on clean water. All Waterkeepers also have a boat ranging in size from canoes to research vessels, but sometimes a pair of hip boots is more important than a boat. Sometimes a legal brief is more important than either. Each waterbody has its own unique challenges requiring a distinct and well-defined strategy.

Contact Humboldt Waterkeeper

Humboldt Waterkeeper

Mailing Address:

600 F Street, Suite 3 #810

Arcata, CA 95521

Physical Address:

145 G Street, Suite A

Arcata, CA 95521

707.499.3678

Jennifer Kalt, Executive Director

707.499.3678

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Jasmin Segura, Bay Tours Coordinator

707.601.1142

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Sylvia van Royen, GIS and Policy Analyst

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To receive occasional email updates and action alerts, send an email to:

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Coastal Commission to Officially Deny Eureka’s Marina Center Application

The California Coastal Commission is set to hear the City of Eureka’s request to formally toss an abandoned plan to rezone the Balloon Track — the plan that once aimed for the property to become the Home Depot-anchored Marina Center development.

In a report, Commission staff recommended the body that regulates land use along the coast finally deny the 2011-era application that would have amended the city’s local coastal plan.

The effort, which Eureka voters supported in a 2010 ballot measure, would have rezoned the 43-acre property to support commercial, office, residential and open space uses.

But it sat lingering at the Commission, which must approve zoning changes in the coastal area before they can take effect, for nearly 13 years, with the official status sitting at “incomplete and inactive.”

The city hopes that if the application is officially denied next week, the path would clear for future planning of the site which hasn’t been in use since the 1980s.

The Eureka City Council, with support from property owner Security National, voted to withdraw the Coastal Commission application back in November. Commission staff instead are recommending that it be officially denied, for procedural purposes. The Commission says the proposed changes don’t meet requirements in the Coastal Act.

Keep Reading

Next Step in Trump’s California Offshore Oil Drilling Effort Announced

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced a step toward leasing areas for offshore oil and gas drilling in California this week, by launching an associated environmental process.

BOEM announced Thursday the department would prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement for lease sales in northern, central and southern California.

A soon-to-be-released statement will primarily concern sales planned for 2027 in central and southern California, according to BOEM.

A Northern California lease sale is proposed for 2029, according to a BOEM document.

This is a California-specific part of a broader effort by the Trump Administration to open lease areas in federal waters across the country for sale to oil and gas companies, with an aim to restore domestic energy production.

The notice for leases in southern and central California will be published Friday in the Federal Register, which opens a 30-day public scoping period, according to BOEM.

During this period, “BOEM invites input from tribal, state, and local governments, stakeholders, and the public. Comments will help identify key issues, reasonable alternatives, and potential mitigation measures for consideration in the programmatic environmental impact statement,” the BOEM press release said.

Matt Simmons, attorney for the Arcata-based Environmental Protection Information Center, which is opposed to offshore drilling, argued any environmental considerations by the federal government on drilling will be “sorely lacking.”

“The Trump EPA has very partisanly and very openly talked about how they want to deregulate,” he said.

Despite EPIC’s skepticism the feds will undertake a robust environmental review, the organization is urging the public to comment on the environmental effects of offshore drilling in California.

“This is the part of the process where you tell the EPA what they need to consider in their draft, before they write the draft,” explained Simmons.

Public comment information can be found at: www.boem.gov/CA-OGPEIS