Karen Pickett

Your Redwood State Park: Richardson Grove, gateway to redwood country BIG TRUCKS or BIG TREES? What do YOU want? Traveling north on Highway 101, there is a place where the term “Gateway to the Redwood Country” resonates as the canopy suddenly shades the pavement, the Eel River rounds the bend and there is green as high up as you can see. As the roadway twists and turns, it meanders through Richardson Grove, which has been protected as a State Park since 1922.  It is a California treasure and world-class park. Read on to see how you can help to keep …

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***SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, June 22*** We are planning to converge on Sacramento to STAND UP for the redwoods in Richardson Grove State Park on Wednesday, June 22. Plans are in the works and more details will emerge soon, but we will be joining with forest activists from Humboldt and Mendocino counties to: **RALLY at Caltrans and voice opposition to their highway “realignment” project through the redwoods **MEET with Agency and Legislative reps **DELIVER a large number of postcards and petitions to Governor Jerry Brown, who has the power to rescind this ecologically destructive, ill-advised and UNECESSARY project through a …

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Caltrans’ plans to widen and “straighten” Highway 101 through Richardson Grove State Park, home of the Avenue of the Giants, has not been taken off the table, despite huge public opposition and a budget crisis facing California. The one piece of good news is that their bulldozers and other earth-moving and root-carving euquipment have been fairly quiet in that area, but local residents have not! There have been two rallies, two action camps, two lawsuits and lots of other noise directed at decision-makers recently, and there is action you can take. Please keep reading. Our previous update alerted you of …

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Highway Widening Project Moves Forward Slowly–In the Wrong Direction Caltrans’ plans to widen and “straighten” Highway 101 through Richardson Grove State Park, home of the Avenue of the Giants, has not been taken off the table, despite huge public opposition and a budget crisis facing California. There are two things you can do right now, described below, and we urge you to also stay tuned to alerts during what could be a critical time for this project that threatens the ancient redwoods of California’s north coast. One: We encourage you to write a letter to the new/old Governor Jerry Brown …

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Dear friends of the forests, A few days ago, we at the Berkeley office of the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH) got a letter from someone who had filed comments about pollution problems in the Eel River tributary Outlet Creek in Mendocino County. He was referred to us by the Ecology Center, and wanted to know who was doing restoration and clean-up around the area where Outlet Creek flows into the Eel River. I think of this call as we wonder-after all the campaign changes, organizational changes and “down-sizing” we have had to do operationally- whether we are still …

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Alert from the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters ::: Nov. 14, 2010 Re-scheduled Court hearing on Richardson Grove case in SF needs support: Please attend on Nov. 17 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: First of all, THANK YOU to those of you who came to court on Nov. 10. As so often happens, the hearing was continued, and we didn’t find out until we were there. The hearing is taking place this Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 9:30 am. If you can come to show support for the great legal team who filed suit against Caltrans concerning their highway-widening project through Richardson Grove State Park, …

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Alert from the Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters ::: Nov. 4, 2010 Court hearing on Richardson Grove case in SF needs support: Please attend on Nov. 10 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We need whomever can make it to SF on Wednesday morning to be in the courtroom for a 9:30 am hearing to show support for the great legal team who filed suit against Caltrans concerning their highway-widening project through Richardson Grove State Park. Caltrans has filed a change of venue motion, opposed by our environmental attorneys, and it will be argued in SF Superior Court, Dept. 301, 400 McAllister St. (at Polk) …

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Let’s Bring the Campaign for the Redwoods to the Bay Area! On June 30, the California Transportation Commission approved the funding of the widening and straightening highway project through Richardson Grove State Park (to the tune of $7 million), approved by Caltrans in June with the release of the final EIR. (For background, see EPIC’s website and the Coalition’s Save Richardson Grove site.) Arcata-based EPIC, the champion of north coast forests, filed suit against Caltrans in June using the California Environmental Quality Act, and were joined by the Center for Biological Diversity, Californians for Alternatives to Toxics and several individuals. …

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