You Can Help Us Put the Brakes on Caltrans!

by

December 10, 2013 Dear Friend of the Forest, If a brave activist climbs high in a tree’s branches and sits there for two months, and trees fall around her, but no cameras are in the forest, does anyone hear? Tree-sits, crane-sits, hard-hitting stories on state wide TV and the LA Times, months of strategizing, scores of press releases, dozens of demonstrations and actions—it takes a community. We at Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH) are proud to be part of the community working to find a better alternative to the boondoggle highway project under way in Willits in Mendocino County, …

Read more

News Update on Caltrans Bypass campaign in Willits: Native American resolution

by

National Congress of American Indians Passes Resolution Supporting Sherwood Valley Pomo Struggle with Caltrans The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the leading inter-tribal organization in the country.  Among other activities, the organization employs numerous full-time professional lobbyists in Washington, DC.  The group passed the following resolution at its October 13-18 national convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The resolution calls for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to suspend funding of the Willits Bypass unless Caltrans finally addresses the grievances the Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians have been raising since April, calls on the US Congress to investigate Caltrans’ desecration …

Read more

Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters Alert: Richardson Grove Redwoods Need Your Help!

by

As we told you in a previous alert, Caltrans recently posted new documents in response to the April 2012 court order issued when EPIC and the Center for Biological Diversity prevailed in federal court and halted the Richardson Grove highway “realignment” project that we and our allies had been opposing, with their lawsuit in April 2012. The Federal Judge ruled that Caltrans  had “arbitrarily and capriciously tried to justify the project with false data.” (their measurements of the trees and their mapping.)See our fact sheet on the Richardson Grove highway project at http://headwaterspreserve.org/2011/09/big-trucks-or-big-trees-what-do-you-wantCaltrans has defied the court order resulting from the …

Read more

Take a Stand for the Wetlands on Oct.12

by

Take a Stand for the Wetlands on Oct.12 with the brave people who have been sitting in trees, climbing cranes, stopping trucks and blockading heavy equipment to protest the Caltrans Bypass Join us  in Willits in Mendocino County on Sat., October 12 to stand with the activists in this northcoast community against destruction of forests, wetlands and rivers by Caltrans big highway projects.There are alternatives! It’s not too late!Healing Ceremony and Peaceful Civil DisobdienceStarting at 12 noon the program will commence with music, speakers to include Willits tree-sitter Warbler, Headwaters tree-sitter Julia Butterfly Hill, activists representing the campaign for Richardson Grove and the Smith River preservation, an oak planting workshop with Cynthia Jeavons and …

Read more

Put the Brakes on Caltrans ! Tell Caltrans ~ No More Super Highways Where We Don’t Need Them !

by

Thanks to Caltrans intransigence, the threats to the old growth redwoods in Richardson Grove in Humboldt County are back on the horizon, along with more backward-thinking projects in redwoods and wild country in the Smith River area, on the far north coast. These renewed threats add to Caltrans’ poor performance in Mendocino County in Willits and the extreme damage heavy equipment has been wreacking on the wetlands and forests there. The new developments: 1) Richardson Grove: Caltrans has posted new documents in response to the April 2012 court order issued when EPIC and the Center for Biological Diversity prevailed in …

Read more

A Night for the Last Wild Buffalo, with legendary poet and activist John Trudell: Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7 pm

by

Join us at the Ecology Center in Berkeley – 2530 San Pablo Ave. at Dwight for The Buffalo Field Campaign’s 2013 Roadshow event. A night of spoken-word, video, music, and story-sharing about the plight of wild buffalo; the Buffalo Field Campaign’s effective efforts to defend them; the strong links between First Nations, buffalo, and BFC; and how you can become involved. This evening will feature video presentation and storytelling with Mike Mease, co-founder and campaign leader of the Buffalo Field Campaign. We are also honored to be hosting special guest John Trudell (http://johntrudell.com), acclaimed poet, national recording artist, actor and …

Read more

3 Arrests as Tree-Sitters are “Extracted” With Huge Show of Force

by

Two people were taken out of a large, ancient ash tree and arrested with a crew of 50 CHP cops using giant “cherry-picker” crane trucks on Sept. 18, but resistance to the Caltrans Bypass continues. The four month long tree-sit was in the last remaining grove of trees sitting in the path of Caltrans over-built highway construction of a bypass around the town of Willits in Mendocino County, California.  The tree also sits near wetlands that Caltrans is draining and filling with 55,000 “wick drains” sunk into the soil and massive amounts of fill. Activists and local residents have been …

Read more

Last tree-sitter still high in Ash grove; Nightime action delays fill trucks for 8 hours when activists lock themselves to truck under-carriage

by

Three people were arrested after stopping a caravan of 20 trucks headed to load up with fill, destined to be dumped on wetlands.  The line of trucks was stopped for 8 hours after two brave activists used steel tubes to lock themselves to the underside of the lead truck, with supporters nearby, brandishing a banner reading “Save Our Water, Stop Caltrans Now!” The Bypass highway Caltrans is building around the town of Willits has met with fierce opposition and persistent protests, making the point that it is overbuilt, environmentally devastating and ridiculously exensive.  Recently, the County of Mendocino was forced …

Read more

Violations Rain on Caltrans as It Lumbers Forward on Destructive Path

by

Last week was a big week in the Caltrans Willits Bypass campaign, starting with a day in court. As covered in our last update, two groups had filed suit against the County of Mendocino over permits issued to allow excavation by Caltrans contractors of nearly a million cubic yards of fill being dumped on wetlands in Willits.  The fill is being dumped on the wick drains in the wetlands at the north end of Willits to make way for the boondoggle highway, and the groups charged violations of the Calif. Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) because of a lack of review. A hearing …

Read more

Caltrans Bypass Destructive Work Plows Ahead; Protests Persist. Tree-Sits and Blockades Highlight Critical Time for Wetlands

by

In the small northern California community of Willits where people have been waging a pitched battle against Caltrans plans to massively expand the capacity of Highway 101 (see previous alerts about Richardson Grove and the project in the Smith River Canyon), new chapters are unfolding. Caltrans announced that its contractors would begin hauling fill this week to cover hundreds of acres of wick drains that have been sunk into the wetlands grounds.  Once the wick drains are covered, the tons of fill will begin squeezing the water up and out of the drains, causing irreversible damage to the wetlands. Though …

Read more