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PODCAST

EcoNews Report

A weekly environmental news roundup produced in Arcata, California by Tom Wheeler (Environmental Protection Information Center), Alicia Hamann (Friends of the Eel River), Jen Kalt (Humboldt Waterkeeper) and Colin Fiske (Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities).

news natural sciences

All Episodes

29:10

Tell FERC That Eel River Dams Gotta Go!

EcoNews Report ·

2025/11/08

This week on the EcoNews Report we're excited to share that the comment period for Eel River dam removal has finally opened! Tune in to hear co-hosts Tom Wheeler of EPIC and Alicia Bales of the Redwood Chapter of the Sierra Club talk with Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River about this important moment. The Wild and Scenic Eel River offers an unparalleled opportunity to restore native fish populations. With vast, high-quality habitat protected in wild landscapes and fish that retain thei...

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29:33

The Water Remembers with Amy Bowers Cordalis

EcoNews Report ·

2025/11/01

The Yurok people are a fishing people. Since time immemorial, the Klamath River provided for the Yurok, with salmon, eels, eulachon, and other food. Colonization fundamentally upset the balance that existed. The Yurok faced genocide, and those that survived were confined to a small portion of their territory. The Klamath, once a mighty salmon stronghold, was choked by fish-killing dams. But the Yurok persisted. In her new book, The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River...

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29:29

Northern Humboldt Indians

EcoNews Report ·

2025/10/25

On this week's EcoNews Report, historian Jerry Rohde joins the show to discuss his new book, Northern Humboldt Indians, which you can download as an e-version here. In his book, Jerry details the history of the seven tribes of Northern Humboldt County, with many newly colorized photographs and transcripts of interviews that help to bring to light the indigenous people of the area. The book is the companion to Jerry's 2022 book, Southern Humboldt Indians. Support the show

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29:26

The Week Without Driving in the Rearview Mirror

EcoNews Report ·

2025/10/19

Approximately a third of U.S. residents are non-drivers. Some by choice, but many are physically incapable of driving or financially cannot afford to. The Week Without Driving is an annual campaign that encourages people, especially those who drive, to go a week without their car — use alternative methods, like public transit, walking, biking, or riding-sharing to meet their transportation needs — to see what life is like for non-drivers. The week highlights barriers to transportation and aim...

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28:10

Assemblymember Connolly Reflects on the Legislative...

EcoNews Report ·

2025/10/10

Assemblymember Damon Connolly joins the program to break down what was a historic legislative session. The legislature made major revisions to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) with the stated purpose of helping to build more housing but some folks—like Assemblymember Damon Connolly—are concerned that the legislature may have gone too far and a "clean-up bill" is needed. Asm. Connolly shares his thoughts on how we balance environmental protection with the "Abundance agenda" swee...

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28:48

Are Your Easter Lilies Poisoning the Smith River?

EcoNews Report ·

2025/10/04

For decades pesticide-intensive farming of Easter lily bulbs on the Smith River Plain has contaminated groundwater and surface waters of the Smith River estuary, threatening the health of wildlife and humans along one of California’s healthiest, most ecologically pristine rivers. Now the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is considering new regulations to address this persistent pollution. Greg King, Executive Director of the Siskiyou Land Conservancy, joins the program to discu...

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29:23

Rethinking High-Severity Fires?

EcoNews Report ·

2025/09/30

High-severity wildfires that burn communities are obviously bad. But what about high-severity fire that burns in the backcountry? Guest Dr. Dick Hutto, Emeritus Professor of biology and wildlife biology at the University of Montana and author of the recently published book A Beautifully Burned Forest: Learning to Celebrate Severe Forest Fire, makes the case that high-severity fire has been unfairly demonized and this fire forms an important and transitory habitat type. Rethinking high-s...

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25:17

You Should Attend the Eel River Community Meeting

EcoNews Report ·

2025/09/20

On this week's episode of the Econews Report we discuss restoration planning in the Eel River with a rockstar team of restoration experts. Your host Alicia Hamann of Friends of the Eel River is joined by Kaydee Boozel from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marisa Parish-Hansen and Ruth Goodfield from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Julie Weeder, former NOAA staff and current FOER staff and CDFW volunteer. Tune in for a discussion of how state and federal age...

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27:11

What Will Humboldt County’s New ‘Dark Skies’...

EcoNews Report ·

2025/09/14

Humboldt County just took a big step towards protecting our night sky! In August, the Board of Supervisors approved the Inland Outdoor Lighting Ordinance, regulating outdoor lights to limit light pollution and light trespass. This is a significant win for the dark sky movement and will require new development on unincorporated land to use light fixtures and bulbs that reduce light pollution. But this isn’t just about seeing more stars — light pollution disrupts the natural rhythms of wildlife...

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29:20

New Crosswalk, Who Dis?

EcoNews Report ·

2025/08/31

Government often moves slowly. This is a problem when there are immediate safety concerns for a street. The solution: Quick-build projects, which employ cheap and quick materials, like paint or plastic bollards. You may have seen this strategy in action, with new crosswalks and other improvements coming to local streets. Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Transportation Priorities joins the show to talk about quick-build projects and ways we can help identify other roads that need a tune-up. RE...

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29:21

Talking CEQA Reforms

EcoNews Report ·

2025/08/24

Hating on environmental laws is now a bipartisan activity. California Democrats have leaned into the “Abundance agenda” — a progressive case for weakening regulations to build more housing, renewable energy, and other public goods — to take swipes at the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). But to what extent does California’s landmark environmental law actually hold back housing production? And are proposed reforms actually aimed at the right targets? REQUIRED READING: In Defense of ...

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27:46

Electrifying Your Home is Cheaper Than You Think It...

EcoNews Report ·

2025/08/16

Been thinking about that induction stove? Or maybe a nice new heat pump? Of course you have! It’s the 21st century. On Tuesday, 350 Humboldt and a bunch of allied organizations are hosting an “Electrification Fair” at the Jefferson Center, and there’ll be a whole host of experts on hand to help you navigate how to ditch natural gas in the easiest (and cheapest) possible way. More details here. 350 Humboldt’s Wendy Ring joins the show to give you a little preview of the kinds of things that wi...

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28:47

The Next Big Step Toward Eel River Dam Removal

EcoNews Report ·

2025/08/09

PG&E recently tendered its License Surrender Application and Decommissioning Plan for the Potter Valley Project to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This plan details when and how PG&E plans to tear down its two dams on the Eel River. And since an agreement has been reached for run-of-the-river, wet season diversions to replace the existing diversion to the Russian River, support for dam removal is now pretty much universal between the two basins. PG&E's Application is eye...

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27:30

A Geological Perspective on Last Week’s Quake

EcoNews Report ·

2025/08/02

We rarely post reruns, but this show from last December is quite relevant in light of the magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula last Tuesday. The subsequent tsunami watch along the West Coast soon became a tsunami advisory, and later, a tsunami warning was issued for the North Coast. Although the tsunami peaked at 3.6 feet in Crescent City, it was another good lesson for everyone living in a tsunami hazard area. And if you are wondering why Crescent City is so...

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28:54

A New 353-Acre Reserve on Baduwa’t

EcoNews Report ·

2025/07/30

Siskiyou Land Conservancy just finalized a new acquisition of 170 acres on Baduwa’t, joining a 183 acre property that the Conservancy acquired earlier in the year, to create a 353 acre reserve. Baduwa’t is, of course, important. It is home to coho salmon and a summer run of steelhead trout. And the river also provides domestic water for 70 percent of Humboldt County residents. Yet Baduwa’t remains the least protected of all of the fabled “six rivers” of the California North Coast. The new res...

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29:03

Batteries and Achieving 100 Percent Renewable Energy

EcoNews Report ·

2025/07/20

To reach 100% renewable energy, we will need to store large amounts of energy generated from “intermittent” sources — things like solar or wind that only produce power sometimes. Large-scale industrial battery storage is one way to store this energy. But a recent fire at the Moss Landing battery facility in Monterey County has some folks concerned. A recent battery proposal in Blue Lake, for example, was met with some skepticism. On Wednesday, July 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the Redwood Coast E...

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29:18

When Driving is Not An Option

EcoNews Report ·

2025/07/13

Roughly a third of people don’t drive. That might seem like a lot but you probably know non-drivers in your own life. Some people can’t, either because they have some kind of disease or disability that makes driving impossible. Some people can’t because they are too young or too old to safely operate a vehicle. Some people can’t afford to drive, as car ownership is stupidly expensive (the average cost of owning a car is over $1,000 a month). Some people choose not to drive or drive as little ...

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27:59

Potholes in the Forest Service Roadless Rule

EcoNews Report ·

2025/07/05

The Trump Administration has announced it seeks to revoke the “Roadless Rule,” the 2001 regulation limiting U.S. Forest Service activities in unroaded areas of our National Forests. Guests Kimberly Baker of the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) and Scott Greacen of Friends of the Eel River join the program to discuss the history and purpose behind defending roadless areas and what this new attack on our public lands means for clean water, fish and wildlife, and recreation. Mo...

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28:42

Come Celebrate the Bay Trail!

EcoNews Report ·

2025/06/28

The Bay Trail is finished, and now there’s a safe and beautiful trail that connects Humboldt Hill all the way to Clam Beach! Guests Colin Fiske of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities and Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper join the show to discuss the history of the trail (shout out to Supervisor Madrone for his work way back in the 1980s to get planning started) and how the trail will help Humboldt Bay residents roll, walk, or ride in a safe way that lowers their carbo...

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28:40

Stopping the Spread of Golden Mussels

EcoNews Report ·

2025/06/14

Before enjoying Ruth Lake this summer, be sure to clean, drain and dry all gear, boats and trailers to prevent the spread of the invasive golden mussel. The golden mussel, native to East and Southeast Asia, was first documented in California in 2024. Like quagga and zebra mussels, the golden mussel is capable of rapidly spreading, wreaking ecological health and threatening water infrastructure and water quality. Thomas Jabusch of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Michik...

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292 results

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