The Virtues and Limits of Collaboration

Inside the PFPD Fire Station Photo by Larry Casteel

Piercy Volunteer Fire Department By Jeffrey Hedin, Commissioner, Piercy Fire Protection District “Cooperation, Collaboration, and Communication;” add Coordination and it’s a perfect title for a report from Piercy. I first heard enviro activists promoting collaboration during a North Coast Resource Partnership (NCRP) conference at the Bear River Tribe’s Community Center in Loleta, CA. The presenters…

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Introducing Baduwa’t Watershed Council

A successful Invasive Species Removal event in Powers Creek. Photo by Isabelle LeMieux

Formerly the Mad River Alliance In Humboldt County, the Mad River is a lifeline, heavily utilized by its surrounding communities, both human and animal. The watershed connects wild spaces to neighborhoods. The river is the source of drinking water for approximately 90,000 community members. It is recognized as a climate refuge, provides habitat for a…

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A Busy Releaf Petaluma Season Ahead as More Shade Trees Are Planned for the Area

ReLeaf Petaluma volunteer Stacey Lisker hard at work preparing a redwood tree for planting at a local park. Photo by Marcus Moore

Releaf Petaluma ReLeaf Petaluma has an exciting and ambitious planting season ahead. We kicked off our season on October 21 with a Pod Leader training event. A pod is ReLeaf’s term for a group of 8-10 volunteers that work together to complete an assigned area. We planted eight beautiful redwood trees at Grant Park while…

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Introducing Humboldt Waterkeeper!

On July 8, English Express students and their families joined us for a kayak tour of Humboldt Bay led by the wonderful guides at the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center. Photo courtesy of Marcus Moore

New Name, Same Fantastic Bay Tours Humboldt Waterkeeper We have a new name! Humboldt Waterkeeper, formerly known as Humboldt Baykeeper, was founded in 2004 after the resounding defeat of a proposal for a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) import facility on the Samoa Peninsula. 2023 Humboldt Bay Tours Program From April to October, Humboldt Waterkeeper offers…

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Collaboration in McKee Creek

Two CCC members assist as community volunteer, Georje Holper (left), demonstrates for the crew how to branch-pack an incised tributary to McKee Creek. Photo by Ash Brookens

Sanctuary Forest By Ash Brookens, Sanctuary Forest Tucked between the winding county road and a densely forested hillslope as you approach the community of Whitethorn is McKee Creek, a headwaters tributary to the Mattole River. From the road, you might not even notice that it’s there. But this stream holds promise for coho recovery in…

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Jackson State Forest Update: CAL FIRE Poised to Restart Logging While Promises for Tribal Co-Management and Protection of Sacred Sites Go Unfulfilled

Activity in Jackson Forest in January of 2022 (Redtail plan) Photo by Chad Swimmer

Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters By Karen Pickett, Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH), Coalition to Save Jackson State Forest The good news is that quiet and calm settled into the Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) during the last year and a half, absent roaring chainsaws and falling redwoods. The bad news is that the…

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Pacific Reedgrass in the Garden

The author’s original planting of Pacific reedgrass in the partial shade of an oak tree. All photos were taken in late summer, before the rains. All photos this article by Cheryl Lisin

Calamagrostis nutkaensis This article was adapted from an article written by Cheryl Lisin for the journal Grasslands, Vol. 33, No. 1, Winter 2023 Pacific reedgrass is a large, showy perennial bunchgrass that ranges from Alaska to Central California, where it grows along the coast as well as in the mountains of the Coast Range. It…

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Willow Walls, Cottonwood Containment, and Flood Control

Lourance Hall passes out willow cuttings to RVES 2nd-graders, while teacher Casey Cann looks on. All photos this article by Patrick Higgins

Town Creek Restoration Project in Covelo Gives Round Valley Students Hands-On Experience By Eel River Recovery Project In 2021, the Eel River Recovery Project (ERRP) was awarded a grant from the Department of Water Resources’ (DWR) Urban Streams Restoration Program (USRP) for work in Covelo in northeast Mendocino County. The Town Creek Restoration and Education…

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Trees Foundation Services Spotlight

ReLeaf Petaluma wanted to display the work they had completed for the planting season just ending, and turned to Trees Foundation for help. We created a map for them to identify the Parks and Schools where they planted trees in 2022-2023, and also to show those planned for next planting season and the one after.…

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