News

Our Mission and Who We Are

Humboldt Baykeeper was launched in October 2004 to safeguard our coastal resources for the health, enjoyment, and economic strength of the Humboldt Bay community through education, scientific research, and enforcement of laws to fight pollution.

Our Staff:

Jennifer Kalt, Director

707.499.3678

jkalt [AT] humboldtbaykeeper.org

Jasmin Segura, Bay Tours Coordinator

707.616.7261

jasmin [AT] humboldtbaykeeper.org

Humboldt Baykeeper is a program of the Northcoast Environmental Center, a non-profit organization devoted to conserving, protecting, and celebrating terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems of northern California and southern Oregon.

NEC's Tax ID# is 23-7122386. Please specify that your donation is intended for Humboldt Baykeeper.

Humboldt Baykeeper Advisory Committee:

Fred Evenson - Director, Ecological Rights Foundation

Larry Glass - Board President, Northcoast Environmental Center

Aldaron Laird - Sea Level Rise Planner, Trinity Associates,

Mike Manetas - Retired Educator

Kerry McNamee - Conservation Planner, Northcoast Regional Land Trust

Pete Nichols - founding Executive Director, Humboldt Baykeeper

Laurie Richmond - Assistant Professor, Humboldt State University

Michelle D. Smith - Environmental Attorney

Michael Welch - Director, Redwood Alliance

What are Coastal Resources?

Humboldt Bay is the second largest estuary in California. The Bay and the adjacent Pacific Ocean coastline give our community its unique character. The health of our waters both in the bay and along our coastline depend greatly on the functioning of the intertidal mudflats, salt marshes, and freshwater wetlands of Humboldt Bay which act as a natural pollution filter and flood plain. Clean water supports healthier fisheries, which in turn support bird and wildlife populations.

For the human community around the bay and coast this means more lucrative fisheries, better bird hunting, bird watching, and cleaner water for recreating, including boating, surfing, diving, and swimming.

Humboldt Baykeeper's programs involve scientists, boaters, fishermen, birdwatchers, students, and other concerned citizens in the important work of protecting Humboldt Bay, its tributaries, and the near-shore waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The geographical reach of Humboldt Baykeeper's programs includes Humboldt Bay, its tributaries, and the Pacific Coast between Trinidad Harbor to the north and the Eel River estuary to the south. Baykeeper maintains an on-the-water presence throughout the area, patrolling by motorboat, kayak, and airplane, with upland areas patrolled by car and by foot.

Offshore Wind Could Be California’s Next Big Energy Rush

Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) says the state must tap into offshore winds to meet its ambitious goal of 100% clean energy by 2050.

Assembly Bill 525 would require state regulators to set a planning target of at least 10 gigawatts of offshore wind production by 2040, with a short-term goal of 3 GW by 2030. To set the plan in motion, AB 525 also directs state agencies to begin securing necessary federal permits and planning for port upgrades and other infrastructure projects.

According to a recent study by various California regulators, by 2045 the state will need to be able to produce and store at least 140 GW of new renewable energy. It also estimates offshore wind could produce a maximum of 112 GW annually.

Meanwhile data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration pegs California’s 2018 total energy consumption as second highest in the nation, but fourth lowest per capita due to its climate and energy efficiency programs.

Eureka council to consider letter addressing water quality concerns

The Eureka City Council is set to consider a letter from the mayor to the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control, a subdivision of the California Environmental Protection Agency, regarding a potential water contamination hazard.

The letter expresses concern over the now-defunct McNamara and Peepe Lumber Mill site, as the department issued an imminent and substantial determination for the site in April 2008, with little progress being made in addressing the pollutants on site.

The letter urges action from the DTSC and other state agencies in cleaning up the site to prevent the water supply from becoming contaminated, as the money allocated by the department for the McNamara and Peepe Lumber Mill site will only be spent on investigating the site.

Brian Gerving, Eureka’s director of public works, said, “There hasn’t been any evidence of any contamination or any degradation of the safety of the city’s drinking water. We just want to ensure that (contamination) does not happen, and that’s why we want the DTSC to better prioritize the cleanup of the McNamara and Peepe site.”

The city of Eureka posted its last drinking water consumer confidence report in 2019, available at https://bit.ly/3bEBP58.

State moves to protect Mad River

Listen to the interview on KMUD News at https://soundcloud.com/kmudnews/state-moves-to-protect-humboldt-bay-area-drinking-water

A state agency is reinvigorating efforts to prevent dioxins at a former lumber mill site from reaching the Mad River and the drinking water supply of 88,000 county residents.

Of concern is potentially migrating dioxins from pentachlorophenol (PCP), a wood preservative that was used at the mill site prior to Blue Lake Forest Products’ ownership.

The old mill site is about a mile upstream from Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District intake wells and the contamination has been a lingering issue. The district has opposed the area’s industrial zoning and subsequent cannabis manufacturing permits.

Jen Kalt, Humboldt Baykeeper’s executive director, said the new round of testing will include a tributary of Hall Creek, which flows into the Mad River.

“The fact that the groundwater elevation has risen 15 feet since 2003 is really concerning, because that could be pushing the plume of dioxin contamination toward the Mad River,” said Kalt.

Results of the sampling are expected this spring. Timing of a clean-up remediation plan is uncertain but Kalt said Humboldt Baykeeper will press for action.

“It’s been a fairly long time that this site has been threatening the drinking water supply in the Mad River and there’s just no excuse for any additional delays,” she continued.

She added, “There are a lot of contaminated sites around the state but this one is the highest priority in Humboldt County at this point, because of the drinking water.”

In Key Step for the Great Redwood Trail, NCRA Board Votes To Railbank the Line from Willits to Samoa

State Senator Mike McGuire held a town hall meeting on Thursday to discuss the Great Redwood Trail, which will eventually take its place alongside the likes of the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail as an iconic American trail.

The board of the NCRA, which will soon transition into a trail authority, directed its staff to submit the necessary paperwork to the federal Surface Transportation Board.

In December, McGuire introduced legislation to dismantle the supremely dysfunctional NCRA and create the nation’s longest rail-to-trail. Senate Bill 69, he said, “will officially, and once and for all, disband the North Coast Railroad Authority, which is a hot mess and is bankrupt.” In its place the bill would create the Great Redwood Trail Authority and empower it to construct and operate eponymous pathway.