Jackson Forest

Old Trees, River Habitat and Action: They Go Together No New Road for the Mattole!  Forest Defenders on Alert for Logging Season Our last update to you concerning the magnificent old forests in the Mattole watershed [http://headwaterspreserve.org/2018/02/comments-needed-on-mattole-forest-road-building-offshore-oil-and-wild-smith-river/] addressed Humboldt Redwood Co. (HRC)’s new logging road proposal, which seemed to have no rational foundation for construction, except to get around forest defenders’ blockade. Thanks to strong public and organizational challenges, HRC withdrew their construction proposal. This is good news! But after a too-brief sigh of relief, Mattole area activists are shifting into vigilant alert mode, as the rains stop and logging season …

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Rumblings about Richardson Grove Redwoods from Caltrans Also: New Indigenous-Enviro Alliance Sees Success We were alerted by our colleagues on the North Coast that, after a long respite of no activity on the Richardson Grove front, there are things happening behind the scenes, in the courts, and in the County Supervisor’s chambers.  Most of you will remember that Caltrans’ backward-looking ruminations for bigger, faster roadways yielded a plan announced over a decade ago, to widen and “realign” Highway 101 through the towering ancient redwoods of Richardson Grove State Park in southern Humboldt County. That plan, controversial from the beginning, has been …

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Caltrans has been adamant ever since they lost their Richardson Grove Highway Realignment case* in Federal Court in 2014 and were chastised by the judge for their false data and sloppy analysis. The agency was determined to resurrect their plan to accommodate oversized STAA big rig trucks on Hwy. 101 through the heart of redwood country. So their announcement in May 2017 of new documents outlining the same plan many organizations fought for years came as no surprise—but it makes it no more palatable. *Plaintiffs in the case challenging Caltrans’ project were EPIC, the Center for Biological Diversity, Californians for …

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Silence in the redwoods is a beautiful thing.   Since all permits were pulled after a well-fought 2014 court victory challenging Caltrans, the jackhammer shovels were called off excavation duty around feeder roots of the redwood giants in Richardson Grove State Park. However, Caltrans’ “Come hell or high water” attitude regarding its plans to accommodate oversized trucks on our coastal highway, and refusal to budge in the face of broad public opposition, clear threats to California’s sensitive habitats and species, federal court defeats and lack of demonstrated need calls for our vigilance. We now have evidenced reason to believe that …

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Richardson Grove  Things are quiet at the moment regarding Caltrans’ boondoggle highway expansion      plans through the old growth redwood forest as we await new environmental planning   documents from Caltrans.  Defeated in Federal Court in 2012 by the environmental groups, Caltrans ultimately withdrew the project in December, 2014, but subsequently announced they would start the process over again. The transportation agency insists on taking another whack at this costly and unnecessary project, for reasons unfathomable to most of us. Last year an additional group of Richardson Grove activists expanded the campaign by forming the Coalition for Responsible Transportation …

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Tell Caltrans that big trucks don’t mix with big trees, wild rivers & wetlands!    Caltrans has released a long-term planning document, called the Caltrans Transportation Plan (CTP) 2040.  The agency opened a short comment period, which ENDS APRIL 17.  In keeping with our Put the Brakes on Caltrans campaign to put a halt to the environmentally disastrous plans on the north coast, we are submitting comments pertinent to those projects. Please take a minute to send Caltrans comments. We need to tell Caltrans that Californians prioritize big redwoods, lush wetlands, threatened species and wild rivers over giant big rigs! The link to submit comments …

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Caltrans Just Won’t Quit Even When They Are Wrong…So Wrong. It appeared for a time that the jackhammer shovels had been called off excavation duty around feeder roots of the redwood giants in Richardson Grove State Park. However, Caltrans just announced they plan to release new documents in the fall of 2015 to restart the project with a goal of making Hwy. 101 more accessible to over sized trucks. This announcement came only three months after news celebrated in early December 2014 that the highway agency would be withdrawing their permit documents in an agreement with the courts. Successful lawsuits–thanks …

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First the good news:   I.  Ancient Richardson Grove Redwoods are Safe for the Forseeable Future!   Caltrans has WITHDRAWN its Environmental Assessment and approvals for this ill-conceived, potentially devastating highway expansion project in the ancient redwoods of Richardson Grove State Park, keeping the precious grandmother trees safe from jack-hammer shovels (for now, and we hope forever).  Accompanying this action, the hard-fighting legal eagles waging this battle in court have withdrawn their lawsuits that have kept this project at bay until this victory. This action does not preclude Caltrans from re-proposing the project, but they would have to start over from …

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