6/22/16
Imagine this:
A stunning, untouched beach, marked by crashing blue surf and a broad shoulder of dunes that are home to native plants and wildlife.
Now imagine this:
A massive condo-and-hotel monstrosity carved into the wall of sand, permanently scarring the landscape and, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, destroying the habitat of birds protected under the Endangered Species Act.
6/21/16
On Feb. 10, the peace and quiet of Morro Bay, an idyllic beach town and state park along the central coast, was swept away by the tide of coastal conservation politics. The town’s community center was flooded with activists fighting the California Coastal Commission’s move to terminate its executive director, Charles Lester. After hours of passionate testimony, almost exclusively in support of the beleaguered bureaucrat, the commission eventually voted 7-5 to fire him.
Four months later and 600 miles to the north, the aftershocks of the Commission’s political earthquake are still being felt.
6/20/16
Efforts to identify whether toxins left over from historic lumber operations have permeated into soils near the Arcata Marsh and Arcata Bay are currently underway, with projects and weight of the city’s coffers hinging on the results.
The toxin, known as dioxin, is a leftover from a wood preservative that was used by over a hundred lumber mills that were located near the bay from the 1950s to the 1980s. The preservative was banned in the late 1980s, except for use on power poles. Unknown quantities of the preservative have been dumped into or spilled into the bay and surrounding soil over the decades, but where the toxin ended up is still unknown.
“There are some soil issues there, that’s a known,” Arcata Environmental Services Department Director Mark Andre said. “But the extent is still not well mapped out.”
6/9/16
Coastal Commissioner Martha McClure is going to lose her seat at the dais, but don’t expect Northern California enviros to get choked up about it.
McClure was hammered Tuesday at the polls, losing by a 2-to-1 margin in her bid for re-election to the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors. As a result, she will have to step down from her post at the commissioner representing the North Coast for Gov. Jerry Brown, who appointed her back in 2011.
She is viewed as one of the prime movers behind the 12-member commission’s controversial ouster in February of Executive Director Charles Lester, and has one of the worst records on a score card produced by coastal advocacy groups that track commissioners’ votes on major development projects.
6/8/16
The city of Eureka is looking to expand and enhance the Elk River estuary and intertidal zone running between U.S. Highway 101 and Humboldt Bay from the beginning of the Hikshari’ Trail near the Herrick Avenue overpass down to King Salmon.
The project goal is to create about 220 acres of habitat for native juvenile marine life and eelgrass by removing dikes and flood gates to make a salt marsh in the area, which supporters said will also protect the highway from flood, waves and sea level rise while providing recreational and access opportunities.
