News

Humboldt residents join in California Coastal Cleanup Day

9/18/11

For Humboldt County residents Kate Shea Ortiz and Amelia Burroughs, participating in Saturday's 27th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day was as much about cleaning up one of their favorite beaches as it was a teaching moment for their children.

”It's so important to have this discussion with the kids and involve them,” said Ortiz as she watched her two young daughters play with Burroughs' two daughters in the sand along the north jetty under a cloudless sky. “Today we are teaching them about what goes onto the beach and what doesn't.”

Education is one of the most important components of Coastal Cleanup Day, said Humboldt Surfrider Chapter Secretary Debbie Topping. The statewide cleanup -- put on in Humboldt through the coordination of the North Coast Environmental Center -- took place Saturday morning at a handful of local beaches, rivers, bays and estuaries. Last year, an estimated 1,000 Humboldt County volunteers participated, removing over eight tons of trash and one ton of recycling.

”We are hoping to beat those numbers this year,” Topping said.

As volunteers showed up to scour the dunes and beach sand for trash, Humboldt Bay Keeper Outreach Coordinator Vanessa Vasquez handed out gloves, data cards to tally the amount of trash collected and bags for trash and recycling. She also directed volunteers to special cartons to collect discarded cigarettes brought by Tabacco Free Humboldt Coordinator Jay McCubbrey.

”This is a great day for the cleanup; it's beautiful out,” Vasquez said as she pulled down her baseball cap to keep the sun out of her eyes. “We are seeing a really good turnout this morning.”

For Topping, the most important part of the day was getting the word out and getting people involved in the cleanup effort.

”This is a one-day event, but cleanup should happen year round,” she said.

The two largest sources of trash Topping has noticed on Humboldt beaches are cigarette butts and plastic shards.

”I am always amazed at the handfuls of little shards of plastic I find,” she said. “The problem is they just break up, they don't break down.”

Exciting Changes at Humboldt Baykeeper

6/1/11

It is bittersweet to announce that our Executive Director, Pete Nichols, has been promoted to the new Western Regional Director of the Waterkeeper Alliance, Humboldt Baykeeper's parent organization. His new position at Waterkeeper will take him around the western United States to help other Keepers with logistics, funding, and programs.

His new promotion is outstanding for him and Humboldt Baykeeper because we will have an excellent local resource to work with on our future programs. Stay tuned for more information on the changes happening at Humboldt Baykeeper and thank you for your continued support - we are very lucky to have such a wonderful community to call home!

Protecting the Tigris River in Iraq: WNYC Interview with Pete Nichols and Azzam Alwash

4/21/11

The Tigris River is one of the most important bodies of water in the Middle East, but years of extensive toxic dumping and gravel mining have severely compromised its ecosystem. We’ll speak with Humbolt Baykeeper Executive Director Pete Nichols and Nature Iraq founder Dr. Azzam Alwash about efforts to clean up the river and the newly founded group, Upper Tigris Waterkeeper.

Listen to the radio interview from WNYC here.

Support the "Safe Kids Humboldt" Fund at the Humboldt Area Foundation!

The Safe Kids Humboldt Fund was designed to ensure that all kid's in Humboldt County have access to functional, Personal Floatation Devices (PFD's or 'lifejackets'), bike helmets and bike safety gear, and car seats. In addition, the Fund will support outreach and educational activities designed to educate Humboldt County residents and visitors alike about water safety on North Coast waterways.

For more information, or to contribute to the fund, contact the Humboldt Area Foundation (HAF) at (707) 442-2993.

Roasts and Toasts

9/27/10

Toast

* A toast to Humboldt Baykeeper and Security National for coming to a rare agreement in the long-drawn-out battle over the Balloon Track. In a rare moment of solidarity, Humboldt Baykeeper and Security National both hailed a settlement in a lawsuit brought by the environmental group over contamination on Eureka's Balloon Track property as a good thing and a step forward for the community.

Filed in 2006, Baykeeper's suit was initially brought against Union Pacific Railroad, but was inherited by Security National when its subsidiary, CUE VI, purchased the Balloon Track property from the railroad company in October 2006 with its sights set on building Marina Center, a 42-acre mixed-use development featuring residential, office and retail space, as well as an 11-acre wetland reserve.

Wednesday, Baykeeper and Security National both announced the settlement and stated they are looking forward to a cleanup of the property.

Security National Vice President Randy Gans called the settlement “a win for the community.”

Baykeeper Executive Director Pete Nichols said Security National and Baykeeper's technical experts will work together to review development and cleanup plans, and that any disagreements will be resolved by a neutral third-party mediator.

We know it's not over until it's over, but this is an encouraging sign.

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