SEA LEVEL RISE CHALLENGES As part of the Sustainable Futures Speaker Series, Aldaron Laird will present “Humboldt Bay on the Threshold of Change: Sea Level Rise Challenges to a Sustainable Future” on Thursday, March 28 at 5:30 p.m. in Founders Hall 118 on the Humboldt State University campus. Environmental planner Aldaron Laird specializes in…
New planner: McK over-packed with multi-family housing
Daniel Mintz Mad River Union McKINLEYVILLE – McKinleyville’s representative on the county Planning Commission has advanced a stance on multiple unit housing development, saying that “McKinleyville has been getting a lot of these really dense subdivisions and I don’t think we need too many more of them.” Peggy O’Neill, a McKinleyville resident who was recently…
County grapples with ‘monumental’ sea rise issues
Daniel Mintz Mad River Union HUMBOLDT – Words like “huge” and “monumental” were used by county staff as the Planning Commission was briefed on the potential effects of sea level rise and the challenges of responding to it. Policy options for avoiding and dealing with the impacts were outlined as the commission held a fourth…
Filling wetlands to save them
Seawater encroachment on low-lying land forces unprecedented choices Daniel Mintz Mad River Union HUMBOLDT – Sea level rise could change the way the state deals with coastal development, as expansion and construction of dikes will fill wetlands but also protect large agricultural areas that double as freshwater habitat. A workshop on Humboldt County’s early stages…
Humboldt Planco ponders climate change, sea level rise
Daniel Mintz Mad River Union HUMBOLDT – A county staff report states that sea level rise is “a significant threat to every aspect of life on the North Coast” but opinions on how to react to it are divided. Based on a “vulnerability assessment” by hydrologist Aldaron Laird, a staff report prepared for the county’s…
Eco-Briefs Aug. 15, 2018
BIOBLITZ Join the Northcoast Regional Land Trust and Friends of the Dunes to restore biodiversity at Freshwater Farms Reserve, followed by a smartphone-powered BioBlitz on Saturday, Aug. 25 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. A BioBlitz is an intensive one-day study of biodiversity in a specific location; in this case, participants will collect citizen science data…
Arcata braces for rising seas
Kevin L. Hoover Mad River Union ARCATA – With the Humboldt Bay and the Pacific Ocean lapping thirstily at its southern edges, Arcata’s low-lying lands are facing eventual inundation. It likely won’t happen overnight, and property in the area may still see use, and even fresh construction, for decades to come. But preparing for the…
Arcata’s new Navy confronts sea level rise
Ecky Patang Mad River Union ARCATA, APRIL 1 – The City of Arcata’s newly formed Department of Naval Engineering is continuing construction on a state-of-the-art ark at the Corp Yard in response to the latest concerning models of sea level rise. Community Development Director David Loya optimistically interpolates the latest models and projections to read…
October is Sea Level Rise Awareness Month
City of Arcata ARCATA – Do you worry that government won’t do enough to protect us from a changing climate? Wondering how your life would look if you downsized your personal carbon footprint, or if it’s even possible? In this series of six meetings, led by Patrick Carr, we consider the practical options for reducing…
Eco-Briefs for Sept. 13, 2017
Plans for Arcata’s Wastewater Treatment David Couch presents a free public lecture about “New Plans for Arcata’s Wastewater Treatment” Friday, Sept. 15, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center. Couch is the wastewater operations supervisor for the City of Arcata and a founding member of Friends of the Arcata Marsh, where he…