• Posted on 05/21 at 09:25 AM
In a press release from Lisa renton of the Sonoma County Water Agency:
(Eureka, CA) — In order to protect the health, economy and water supply of the North
Coast Region, North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP) leaders
are seeking payment of $3.2 million in outstanding invoices from the State for water
supply, flood protection, and restoration projects. On December 17, 2008 the Pooled
Money Investment Board (PMIB) suspended work on over 5,000 bond-funded projects in
response to the State’s budget woes. In January, the PMIB approved a list of 276 projects,
including the North Coast IRWMP, to be exempted from the funding freeze due to their
critical nature. Following the successful $6.5 billion bond sales in late March 2009 the
PMIB approved payment of invoices for exempted projects. To date, the North Coast has
yet to receive any payments.
“The bond disbursement freeze will result in nothing short of an economic catastrophe for
local communities in the North Coast,” said Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith.
“We need payment for work completed and future work to continue projects that will
provide vital services to residents in North Coast communities, including drinking water
and water supply for irrigation.”
The North Coast IRWMP will take its plea for payment to the PMIB this Wednesday, May
20, 2009. The North Coast IRWMP provides funding for crucial projects in economically
disadvantaged communities. The amount owed to North Coast IRWMP sub-grantees
represents a significant fraction of many of our partner organization’s annual budgets.
Further delays have the potential to do irreparable harm to worthwhile projects, the North
Coast IRWM program and the North Coast economy.
See the next page for a table of projects impacted by the continued delay in payments:
Posted by Justin on 05/21 at 09:25 AM in
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• Posted on 05/20 at 08:05 AM
US District Judge James Redden recently said “aggressive actions are necessary to save this vital [salmon] resource.” He said that the litigants are finally starting to work together, and he is optimistic for the prospects of a new agreement.
He warned that the government has spent the past decade “treading water” and “we cannot afford to waste another decade.”
In years past, Redden has twice rejected federal plans for restoring the Columbia-basin salmon runs protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
An article in the Seattle Times reports on Redden’s concerns about the plans to help restore salmon to the Snake River.
Seattle Times: Salmon recovery plan needs more work
Posted by Justin on 05/20 at 08:05 AM in
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• Posted on 05/19 at 11:39 AM
John Driscoll of the Eureka Times-Standard reports miles of roads will be removed, hundreds of acres of forest improved and trails will be built over the next two years as part of a $9 million federal stimulus package for Redwood National and State Parks.
The funds will help complete the decade-long effort to pull more than 50 miles of old logging roads from the Lost Man Creek watershed. About $2.5 million from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 will go toward removing the last 4 miles of remaining road, and for upgrading access roads and improving a trail popular with mountain bikers and hikers.
The project aims to prevent millions of tons of sediment from bleeding into Lost Man Creek and protect about a third of the watershed that is untouched old-growth redwood forest, said parks geologist Mike Sanders. The parks have put in about $12 million since the work began in 2000.
Eureka Times-Standard Article
Posted by Justin on 05/19 at 11:39 AM in
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• Posted on 05/18 at 10:24 AM
This Friday Christian Kallen’s review of Rivers of a Lost Coast will appear in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The piece will appear the same day the Rialto Cinema’s Lakeside in Santa Rosa kicks off its week long run of the film. The review is now available online.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat Review
Posted by Justin on 05/18 at 10:24 AM in
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