On January 30, 2026 the North Coast Water Board released Draft General Waste Discharge Requirements for Commercial Lily Bulb Operations in the Smith River Plain (Draft Lily Bulb Order) An accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) that analyzed impacts from the proposed regulation was also released. Both documents are available for review with a […]
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Today, on International Human Rights Day, 13 courageous young Montanans are taking a historic step to protect their rights and uphold the rule of law. These youth, all plaintiffs in Held v. State of Montana, are returning to the Montana Supreme Court because their state is openly defying the Constitution and their landmark win. On a day dedicated […]
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History was made in Missoula last week. For the first time ever, a federal court heard live testimony in a constitutional climate case led by young people. Over two powerful days, the youth plaintiffs in Lighthiser v. Trump stood before a judge and told their truth — about wildfire evacuations, asthma attacks, heat stroke, mental […]
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One year after a historic victory, transformation is in full motion! One year ago, thirteen young people in Hawai‘i made history. Through their lawsuit, Navahine v. Hawai‘i Department of Transportation (HDOT), they became the first youth plaintiffs in the world to secure a constitutional climate settlement requiring the full decarbonization of a state’s transportation system. […]
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Dear Reader, Yesterday, 15 children in Wisconsin took a bold stand by filing a constitutional lawsuit against the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and the Wisconsin Legislature. These young people—ages 8 to 17—are fighting to overturn laws that promote fossil fuel pollution while obstructing clean energy. They’re demanding their government and the courts protect their future and […]
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By Nate Hagens, Resilience.March 17, 2025Strategize! Humanity is in overshoot 1. The last 50 years have marked a unique period in history during which our species has been able to access, extract, and consume natural resources at a rate faster than the Earth is able to regenerate them. As humanity continues to grow its population beyond […]
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Sunday, January 19, 2025, 3-5pmSebastopol Grange6000 Sebastopol Avenue Come to our community viewing of this poignant documentary that delves into the intricate relationship between communities and their water sources. Learn about water challenges faced by communities worldwide and witness inspiring stories of resilience and regeneration. MEET LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS * ASK QUESTIONS * DISCOVER HOW […]
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A coalition of environmental groups are calling on local officials and regulators to shutter two controversial dump sites that have long operated in the Napa Valley hills near Calistoga. MARISA ENDICOTT THE PRESS DEMOCRAT August 14, 2024 A plan to close Napa Valley’s controversial Clover Flat Landfill and move waste to the Potrero Hills Landfill in Suisun […]
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A plan to close the controversial Clover Flat Landfill in the Napa Valley, and to haul waste materials to the Potrero Hills Landfill in Suisun City, is moving forward. EDWARD BOOTH THE PRESS DEMOCRAT October 21, 2024 A plan to close Napa Valley’s controversial Clover Flat Landfill and move waste to the Potrero Hills Landfill in Suisun […]
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To our readers of California River Watch: This talk by Vandana Shiva about the significant connections of nature is probably the most important article we will post this year and maybe even for the decade. It encompasses how our society has valued the things it needs and wants. But society has devalued nature and Vandana explains […]
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Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will protect waters off San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara counties By Paul Rogers | progers@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News GroupUPDATED: September 12, 2024 at 12:20 p.m. A long-running effort by native tribes and environmentalists to establish the first new national marine sanctuary along California’s coastline in 32 years — the aquatic version of a new […]
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State’s transport department given a 2045 deadline to fully decarbonize and achieve zero emissions under agreement Dharna Noor and Lois Beckett Hawaii officials have announced a “groundbreaking” legal settlement with a group of young climate activists, which they said will force the state’s department of transportation to move more aggressively towards a zero-emission transportation system. […]
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California’s leading environmental justice, land use, and conservation organizations—109 in number and representing hundreds of thousands of constituents throughout the state—are writing you at this critical moment. We live in a time of unparalleled threats to our environment and communities. With climate change, every Californian faces increasing risks from wildfires, persistent drought, rising seas, and […]
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Tao Orion is the author of “Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration.” She is a permaculture designer, teacher, homesteader, and mother living in the southern Willamette Valley of Oregon. I interviewed her on May 18, 2020, for my podcast, “Voices for Nature & Peace.” What follows is a partial transcript of that conversation, edited for clarity. […]
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(Complying with President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14072 directing federal agencies to define and conduct an inventory of them for conservation purposes.)
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Eric KlosterMay 14, 2022 During a visit to Seattle, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14072 on Earth Day, April 22, 2022, mandating that the government categorize and monitor old-growth trees on federal lands. Executive Order 14072 consists of five sections. Section 1 is a statement of the new federal policy regarding the protection of old-growth forests. […]
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The National Roadless Rule was rolled back for America’s last great rainforest by the Trump administration, threatening millions of acres of undeveloped national forest lands JUNEAU, Alaska (Áakʼw Ḵwáan Territory) — In a win for Southeast Alaska communities, wildlife, and the climate, the U.S. Forest Service reinstated Roadless Rule protections across the Tongass rainforest in Southeast […]
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Marisa EndicottTHE PRESS DEMOCRATSeptember 23, 2022 The mayor of St. Helena is asking the Napa County District Attorney’s Office to step in and investigate wildfire and contamination risks at a Napa Valley landfill and another dumpsite run by the waste management company Upper Valley Disposal Service. In a consumer complaint, St. Helena Mayor Geoff Ellsworth, […]
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The timber industry and the U.S. Forest Service aggressively market the idea that reducing fuels through logging/thinning programs will result in a significant decrease in acreage burned, firefighting costs and the number of high-severity fires. However, it is climate/weather, not fuels, that drive all large wildfires. The factors responsible for all large wildfires are drought, low humidity, high temperatures and, most importantly, wind. If you have those ingredients […]
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February 25, 2022 Panama City, Panama: On February 24, 2022, Laurentino Cortizo, President of Panama, signed http://files.harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload1168.pdf. Panama now joins a number of countries who recognize the Rights of Nature at the national level. The list also includes Bolivia, which passed the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth (071) in 2010 and Law of […]
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A controversial plan to poison rodents on the Farallon Islands is coming up for a key vote after years of debate. The federal government proposes to airdrop poison pellets on the islands to kill tens of thousands of invasive house mice that have wreaked havoc on seabirds and the local ecosystem. The islands are a wildlife refuge with the largest seabird breeding colony in the contiguous United States. In a twist, the plan has […]
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The Forest Trends report shows a 50 percent increase in deforestation of tropical woodlands, most of it for agriculture and much of it illegal, since the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests. By Georgina GustinMay 19, 2021 In the seven years since governments and corporations promised to stop deforestation, the clear cutting of critically important tropical […]
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March 21, 2021 Lynda V. Mapes, Seattle Times environment reporter Part of a 180-acre timber sale auctioned off for $4.2 million last November by the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), their next stop was a plywood mill. Then, something unusual happened. Hilary Franz, state commissioner of public lands, pulled back nearly 40 acres with most […]
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George Plaven, Capital PressFeb 19, 2021 When it comes to critical water infrastructure in the West, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet says it is about more than dams, pipes and canals. Water security begins in the forest, along streams and rivers that flow through farms and communities, Bennet, D-Colo., said during the Family Farm Alliance annual […]
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I am a ghost of coho salmons past, once born and raised in Dutch Bill Creek, below Occidental. My last reported sighting there was in the 1960’s. I speak for all salmon and wildlife species not able to attend your meetings. Do you realize that as public servants and supposed stewards of the Russian River […]
Read MoreIn January of 2020, Forest Unlimited planted 1400 redwood seedlings on two different properties, one near Occidental and the other near Sebastopol. The plantings that took place over two days and involved the efforts of about 100 volunteers. Forest Unlimited has been doing these large plantings for at least 20 years. We estimate that the […]
Read MoreSierra Club One of the ironies of living in an era of climate change is that it underscores how much we humans have to change. We cannot stop, reduce or adapt to climate change unless we change. Yet, because change is hard, policy influencers who can make a big difference—even the best intentioned—are having a […]
Read MoreGUY KOVNERTHE PRESS DEMOCRAT | December 24, 2018 Ambling through a forest on his rural Mark West area property, Ray Krauss bent over to pinch a fir tree sprout and pull it from the rain-damp ground. If the tiny green seedling grew much larger, Krauss would have to nip it with pruning shears, and were […]
Read MoreCourt Rejects Claim That SGMA “Displaces” Public Trust’s Application to California Groundwater RICHARD FRANK, August 29, 2018 The California Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District has issued an important decision declaring that California’s powerful public trust doctrine applies to at least some of the state’s overtaxed groundwater resources. The court’s opinion also rejects […]
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