The Obama administration was in San Francisco on Thursday, April 16th, to hold a day-long public hearing on Bush's offshore oil and gas proposal, which would open most of the outer continental shelf of the US to offshore drilling. The plan would allow new drilling for the first time in decades in Northern California's Point Arena Basin as well as three offshore basins in Southern California.

A coalition of environmental groups, including Ocean Defenders Alliance and Surfrider Foundation, organized an all-day rally featuring music and speakers outside the hearing on the UCSF Mission Bay Campus. Live webcasts of the hearings were available online, including an audio webcast at EarthCycles.Net.

Read more | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Event information | Fisheries Forum Questions Point Arena Closures: What Role is the Oil Industry Playing?

The U.S. Navy is facing criticism for its training operations on the Pacific coast. Environmental groups say some areas should be off limits to weapons testing, criticizing the militarization of the sea. The Navy wants to use nearly the entire U.S. coastline for weapons and warfare training. The North West Training Range Complex stretches more than 134 thousand nautical miles, from the U.S./Canadian Border to Northern California, into the waters just off Mendocino County. The Navy is claiming this entire area for its weapons training including under water bomb detonations and mining, and the use of aircraft, missiles and sonar. John Mosher, project manager for the North West Training Range, says the Navy has already claimed Northern California for its weapons training, but this is the first time they have actually mapped out the boundaries. Mosher says most of the training occurs off the coast of Washington. But environmental groups say the use of sonar and bombs will impact the marine life that makes Northern California special. Taryn Kiekow, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), says sonar has long-range effects on marine life including fish.

Read more with audio | NRDC on military sonar

Laurel Krause writes: Ongoing medical marijuana busts throughout Mendocino County have been arresting local residents daily. I was one of five busts made and charged with two felonies (cultivation and intent to sell/distribute) on February 20th, even though I had my doctor recommendation and was growing with the guidelines published at the Mendocino County website.

As I looked out my kitchen window I was shocked to see 25 Mendocino County Sheriffs/Deputies coming through my gate very quickly. The lead man, Sheriff Jonathan Martin, showed me a search warrant, handcuffed me and read me my rights. I was cooperative as they searched my home, my grow area on my five acres and seized all grow equipment related to 24 medical marijuana plants in full bloom. They chopped down the plants and hauled them away as I was being grilled and bullied in my home. This number is significant because if you google the Mendocino County Sheriff's webpage on medical marijuana guidelines, it says 25 plants. You are probably aware of the 'fuzziness' of these guidelines.

It gets worse. I was the #4 bust of 5 that day (Friday, Feb 20) and the guys let us know that they had five more for Saturday and five more on Sunday. Not individuals, but actual grows that might arrest multiple people. And most of the growers are women with kids (so now the children are possibly being taken away and bank accounts frozen). Real emotional and economic despair. Read more

After a lengthy budget stalemate, state lawmakers have reached a compromise spending plan-increasing taxes and cutting education and social services. That means social services are in decline, at a time when demand is increasing-given the nations economic downturn. In the town of Ukiah, California, some rural community organizations are unable to keep up with the increased demand. Listen to audio

On December 3rd, tree-sitters unfurled a 30 ft. wide banner on the edge of the Great Redwood Forest, east of Eureka, CA. The banner read “Hey Green Diamond, Stop Clear-cutting -Earth First!”.

The Green Diamond Resource Company plans to log 60 acres of large second growth and residual old growth Redwoods in the near future. The two groves represent the oldest remaining forest and best habitat for old-growth dependent species like the northern spotted owl. The owls are nesting in the other grove where trees over 1,000 years old still stand. Green Diamond has a permit to destroy the habitat of this endangered species. The Green Diamond land is located in the "McKay Tract" and totals 7,200 acres. Nearly the entire Tract (and the entire California Redwood range) has been clear-cut once already since the 1800s and over half of the tract has been logged within the past 20 years. The McKay Tract encompasses the Ryan Creek watershed. Green Diamond also has plans for residential development, threatening the health of the largest Coho Salmon population in the Humboldt Bay watershed.

Read More | EF Humboldt

Over 40 people attending a public hearing in Sacramento on October 29 delivered a resounding message to state water officials: don't give PacifiCorp a section 401 clean water permit needed to relicense its fish-killing dams on the Klamath River.

A diverse group including members of the Hoopa Valley, Yurok, Karuk, Quartz Valley, Winnemem Wintu and Miwok Tribes, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and environmental activists spoke passionately about the poor quality of the water on the river and the need to remove the dams before the staff of the California State Water Resources Control Board. Not one person spoke in favor of granting PacifiCorp a permit!

The scoping meeting held in Sacramento on October 29th was sparsely attended by water board staff and their hired consultant from Entrix, Inc. Tam Doduc, the chair of the board, showed up to hear comments about halfway through the meeting.

Daina Colegove, a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and board member of the Klamath Riverkeeper, presented a big bottle filled with toxic blue green algae that she gathered from behind Iron Gate Dam as a "gift" to the board.

Photos | Article | Background on Hearings | Hearing Background | No Business As Usual At PacifiCorp | Native Women Protest Over Warren Buffett's Klamath River Dams | Tribes Travel to Omaha to Demand Dam Removal | Klamath Salmon near extintion | Toxic Algae Threaten Human Health in PacifiCorp's Klamath Reservoirs | Judge Sides with Tribes & Fishermen in Clean Water Case | Federal Judge Denies PacifiCorp Request to Throw Out Klamath Dams Toxins Case | Congressman calls for congressional investigation into VP Dick Cheney's role in 2002 salmon die-off

The Republican National Committee has sent non-Republican voters in Northern California a letter identifying them as Republicans. The letters include a registration card with a fake voter ID number and a do-not-forward stamp on the outside of the envelope. Voting rights activists say the letters are part of a voter caging campaign and an attempt to undermine non-Republican voters in the November election.

The voter-caging envelopes bear the name of John McCain and a return address for the RNC's "Voter Identification Division," which according to RNC staffers does not officially exist. The letter also includes an RNC voter registration card with a voter identification number, which Lake County registrar Diane Fridley says has nothing to do with registration in Lake County.

Janie Sheppard, a Mendocino County attorney and voting rights advocate, says the letter is the first step of voter caging, a voter suppression tactic. "Let's say you are a Republican and you don't want Democrats to vote. You send out official-looking notices to the Democrats that you don't want to vote. On the envelope on the outside will say do not forward. So, if it gets returned, the Republicans will go to the polls, they'll have challengers there who will challenge that person's right to vote. Unless the person can prove they live where they are registered to vote, they will end up having to vote provisionally, which is a whole lot of paper work, and it's a matter of record that 50% of provisional votes are not counted."

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Eureka, CA-Community residents and forest activists from the redwood region and far beyond Humboldt County in Northern California, were relieved and elated as news spread of an unprecedented commitment by Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) owners of what was Maxxam/PL land to spare the Nanning Creek and Fern Gully ancient groves where tree-sits have been keeping chain saws at bay. The message was delivered directly to tree-sitters and included a commitment to further protect from future cutting all old growth 250 years old or more.

"Old Growth now included in old PL timber harvest plans will be taken out of those plans", said HRC president and chief forester, Mike Jani, in an interview with KMUD radio in Garberville last week. This in itself is a significant change from company CEO Sandy Dean's position of just two months ago, when he stated, on KMUD and in the San Francisco Chronicle on Aug. 29, that HRC would be finishing up the former owners' harvest plans and that it would "take time" to switch over to the new forestry methods.


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On May Day, a series of protests began with Arcata Food Not Bombs serving a vegan meal on the Plaza. They were soon joined by the Infernal Noise Brigade creating various sounds of disruption. Members of the Industrial Workers of the World bicycled in a critical mass to Sun Valley Floral Farm and then to Burger King in Eureka. At the same time, the Infernal Noise Brigade marched from the Plaza to the HSU Quad where they met up with Humboldt United Students Against Sweatshops (HUSAS) . Together, they then marched up to President Rollin Richmond's office to deliver a petition demanding no more sweatshop labor products at HSU. The students want Richmond to endorse the Designated Suppliers Program, which promotes living wages and freedom of association.

Photos | StopSweatshops

Hoopa, Calif. - The Hoopa Valley Tribe of northern California will not endorse the latest draft of the Klamath River Basin Restoration Agreement (KRBRA) released on January 15th because the agreement lacks adequate water assurances for fish. Despite being in the minority among the negotiators, Tribal Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall said Hoopa would never waive its fishery-based water rights, as demanded by federal and other negotiators, in a deal providing no assurances for fisheries restoration.

"What began as dam removal negotiations got turned into a water deal. PacifiCorp left the room two years ago and negotiations with the company have since been separate from this negotiation. The terms of this so-called restoration agreement make the right to divert water for irrigation the top priority, trumping salmon water needs and the best available science on the river," Marshall said. "Such an upside down deal threatens the goal of restoration and the Hoopa Tribe's fishing rights," Hoopa Councilman Joe LeMieux said. "We cannot waive the rights of generations to come. Dangling a carrot like this will not work for Hoopa."
Read More | Klamath Settlement Group Releases Proposed Restoration Agreement | Klamath Tribes Work with Neighbors to Solve Water Crisis | California Trout & Trout Unlimited: Klamath Agreement Sets Stage for Dam Removal

On September 4th, tree-sitters in the Nanning Creek tree village sent a text message saying that Pacific Lumber (Palco) climbers were raiding the tree-sits. In addition, two forest defenders were arrested on the ground for trespassing. Supporters were reportedly headed to the gate to protest against Palco's actions. Some activists have raised concerns that the company is violating the law by cutting branches during Marbled Murrelet nesting season, which ends on September 15th. Much of the supplies for the tree-sit have been taken or destroyed.

Spooner is a huge, ancient redwood tree that is almost 300 feet tall and is estimated to be as much as 2,000 years old. Marked to be cut down by Pacific Lumber Company, Spooner is located in the Nanning Creek watershed, near Scotia, CA in southern Humboldt county. Activists began sitting in Spooner two summers ago and have set traverse lines to protect the surrounding grove of trees. A direct action forest defense base camp will take place September 6th-10th.

Photos: 1 | 2 | Forest Defender Blog | Spooner Direct

On April 21st, activists from the Arcata People Project established an encampment on a lawn at 11th and D streets in Arcata California. According to an organizer, the protest aimed to "reclaim common spaces and create awareness about the issue of homelessness in the country and the fact that folks just don't have a place to sleep and be safe." About thirty people spent Saturday night in the encampment, sleeping in tents and under tarps.

On April 25th, shortly after 6am, police raided the protest encampment. About 16 protesters sat in a circle, locking arms. A large crowd formed across the street. About 20 of those locked arms and chanted. A girl was arrested at about 8:45, when she approached the police and started talking to them. The police then began to pull protesters from the circle and drag them to a van. One handcuffed protester went into a seizure, while police held him face down on the street. The crowd was disturbed by the police conduct, leading at least one onlooker to cross the street and get arrested.

As of Friday April 28th, Homeless protesters are continuing their protest on the lawn in front of The Arcata City Hall, where they intend to stay until the city gives back the property siezed by the police in Wednesday's raid.

Reports: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Arcata Reporter Coverage: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Humboldt Revolution | De Tod@s Para Tod@s

The California Fish and Game Commission is poised to take public testimony with regard to the threatened-species status of the Siskyou Mountains salamander under the California Endangered Species Act.

The Siskiyou Mountains salamander (Plethodon stormi) is a rare denizen of old-growth forests that lives in a small portion of northern California and southern Oregon, where it is limited to rocky, covered slopes. Members of a group of salamanders called Plethodons, the Siskiyou Mountains salamander is lungless, breathing directly through its skin. The dense limbs and shade provided by old-growth forests help retain moisture that is key to the salamander's survival. Logging and other development that removes the shelter provided by these forests destroys the habitat that is vital for the salamanders to breathe and live.

In its delisting petition, the California Department of Fish and Game argued that the salamanders can be found in clearcuts, but failed to recognize that a few individuals dispersing through an area is different from a reproducing, viable population. Responding to the petition, noted salamander biologist Dr. Hartwell Welsh concluded:
"I have again reviewed the delisting proposal for the Siskiyou Mountains salamander, and find the interpretation of the science, both in general regarding the associations of plethodontid salamanders with mature forest habitats, and in particular with regard to this species, seriously flawed with regard to the available credible data on habitat associations. Given that the logic for delisting is based primarily on this flawed interpretation, the delisting petition itself is of questionable merit."

Read More | Action Network: Help Protect the Siskiyou Mountains and Scott Bar Salamanders | EPIC: Habitat of Newly Discovered Salamander Species Slated for Logging | KS Wild Protects the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion

YREKA, CA- Klamath Riverkeeper sent a 60 day notice of intent to file a lawsuit today against Warren Buffett's PacifiCorp for polluting one of the nation's most important and controversial salmon rivers, the Klamath. Klamath Riverkeeper's lawsuit asserts that operation of the Iron Gate Dam hatchery has resulted in repeated violations of the Clean Water Act and is just one of the ways that PacifiCorp, as the owner of the four dams along the Klamath River, is destroying the River, its salmon runs, and the coastal fishing economies of the California and Oregon Coastline.

Thousands of adult salmon have died because of low flows and poor water quality. Since the dams were built, Klamath Salmon numbers have dropped from more than a million to less then 8% of that with one of the worst runs ever occurring last year, according to the Klamath Riverkeeper. Record-setting levels of a highly toxic algae have been found behind the dams during the last two years, and last year, low runs of wild Klamath salmon caused severe restrictions on commercial salmon fishing on over 700 miles of coastline in Oregon and California. These conditions have resulted in federal disaster declarations and have fueled the movement by the states, fishermen, tribes, and environmental groups to take down PacifiCorp's outdated dams along the Klamath River.

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