REDWOOD NEEDLES

Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES

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Chapter Chair Report

By Margaret Pennington, Redwood Chapter Chair

The Redwood Chapter annual fund appeal letter went out in late May. Thanks to so many of you for your rapid and generous response. Your gifts make it possible for us to achieve our conservation goals, such as stopping harmful water diversions on already over-appropriated North Coast rivers like the Navarro. Sierra Club's Navarro River suit against State Water Resources Control Board will go to trial in late October with attorney Steve Volker arguing the case.

The Redwood Chapter Executive Committee meets bi-monthly. At our last meeting in late May we spent a considerable amount of time discussing and finally coming to agreement on a Chapter position on the repair and return to service of the Northwestern Pacific (NWP) Railroad. (The Chapter's proposals appear here.)

Considerable thanks go to Keith Kaulum, Sonoma Group Chair, for drafting a position statement that a majority could support. Members of the committee as well as visitors at the meeting voiced serious concerns over reconstruction of the line through the geologically unstable Eel River Canyon.. Other members and visitors were equally concerned that failure to reopen the line north of Willits might jeopardize south end freight and future commuter operations that could arguably reduce environmentally harmful auto and truck dependence.

As difficult as crafting a common ground position was, that's only a small step towards resolving this issue in a manner that's best for the environment. Now the real work begins as we attempt to persuade governing agencies and decision-makers to adopt this position, as well.

Coho Concerns

I've been thinking quite a lot about fish these days, Coho in particular. Maybe you have, too. They've been in the news a lot. CA Department of Fish and Game (DF&G) is considering listing Coho in Northern California as endangered so they recently held a hearing in Santa Rosa to receive public comments on candidacy period "take" provisions. Local and state level Sierra Clubbers made comments, along with many other folks. Most, but not all, of the comments were "fish friendly." Most were based on science.

The main points made by Redwood Chapter were these: 1) "Business as usual" California Department of Forestry (CDF) logging rules proposed for the one-year candidacy period are not adequate to protect Coho. At the very least Pacific Lumber Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) rules should be applied throughout the region during the interim period. Additionally a study of alternative rules (NMFS, FEMAT, HCP) with Coho impacts in mind should be undertaken in order to determine longer term forestry rules that give Coho a chance at survival. 2) Fish need water. Permits for new water diversions on already over-appropriated rivers and streams should be curtailed while the listing decision is being made. 3) Proposed gravel mining rules should be strengthened to prohibit mining on upper halves of gravel bars and downstream turbidity monitoring should be required.

These are all reasonable and scientifically justifiable requests. However, in view of the crashing Coho population they seem simply TOO reasonable. That's what I've mostly been thinking about fish their alarmingly decreasing numbers. It's estimated that Coho are now at about 1%yes, that's ONE percent of their historic numbers. Fisheries biologists estimate that there used to be about 500,000 Coho in Northern California waters. Now they are down to about 5,000.

If there's a lesson to be learned from numbers, maybe it's in our numbers, too. Certainly our human numbers (going up) and associated human choices are directly impacting the Coho. If we care, we can and must adapt our ways. In Sonoma County where two thirds of summer water goes to outdoor uses, there's lots of room for change before anyone has to go without a shower or a drink of water! I'm also thinking about our Chapter numbers. Counting our joint memberships, we're up to about 10,000 members. If we choose to use it, that's a BIG voice.

The authors of The Local Politics of Global Sustainability (Prugh, Costanza, Daly) argue that "strong democracy, the politics of amateurs" is the way to sustainability. "The key process at the center of strong democracy is talk, the ongoing deliberation of issues that clarifies the issues themselves and the values the community brings to them. Besides information and rhetoric, strong democratic talk reveals to the community what its members are feeling and thus re-inforces the message of their common humanity. The emotional content of speech puts flesh on the hard bones of rational discussion, helps determine community values and opens a window onto its state of well-being." Let's talk for our families, for our future and for our fish.

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