Karen Pickett

Caltrans Permit for Willits Bypass Project SUSPENDED!

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Willits, CA—In a move that was welcomed by but that stunned long-time opponents of the highway project and stung Caltrans, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) suspended the permit for the Caltrans Willits Bypass on Friday, June 20, reported ABC News. ACE is the agency that regulates impacts on federally protected wetlands.   “This appears to be the first time ACE has ever pulled a permit on an approved project under construction,” said Ellen Drell, co-founder of the Willits Environmental Center, one of the project’s opponents.” We are surprised and elated that ACE has finally acted, although we have been …

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Join Us for Stomp the Stumps annual music & dance benefit ! Friday, May 16

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      The 16th annual Stomp the Stumps! brings together some of the Bay Area’s most dedicated political rock and dance bands for fundraising concerts to help save what’s left of natural Northern California. Longtime Stumpers the Funky Nixons and the Gary Gates Band perform before fellow returnees Curly cap the night. A rockin’ benefit for Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters at Ashkenaz Club: MAY 16! 1317 San Pablo Ave. at Gilman, Berkeley 94702 doors @ 8; music @8:30   3 dance beat bands: Funky Nixons, house band of Peoples’ Park and proponents of all good causes in the Bay brings …

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Caltrans is out of step with the times, says independent study. Write a letter today to add your voice for redwoods and wetlands!

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Sometimes—if you keep broadcasting your message logically, accurately and persistently, the echo comes back to you when you hear those in decision-making capacities using the same words.   Please write to Brian Kelley, Secretary, Calif. State Transportation Agency, Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, Chair, State Senate Transportation Committee, with cc to Gov. Jerry Brown (addresses below)   Caltrans is seriously out of step with the times, with the needs of the state of California, and with the ecological imperative. We have been voicing this for a long time, and now an independent study has come to that same conclusion. The Report, the …

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Please Write This Letter to the Water Board Today!

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Regional Water Board Should Issue Cease & Desist Order on Caltrans for Permit Violations   Please write to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB) and urge them to put the issue of Mendocino wetlands being drained and filled without a mitigation plan by Caltrans on their March 13 agenda, and act on Caltrans’ intransigence in carrying out the Willits Bypass project. Caltrans, as part of their contract for their Bypass project in Willits was required to have an approved mitigation plan funded, in place and staffed before proceeding with the draining of the wetlands. The lack of …

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Richardson Grove Update: WIN in Appeals Court!

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Appeals Court Reverses State Court Giving Green Light to Richardson Grove Highway Project   See our report from the Courtroom in our Jan. 21 update here. The following is excerpted from the Center for Biological Diversity’s press release:   The California Court of Appeal today ordered Caltrans to reevaluate the environmental impacts of a controversial highway-widening project in Humboldt County that would harm irreplaceable old-growth redwood trees in Richardson Grove State Park. The appeals court unanimously found that Caltrans failed to follow the law in assessing impacts on ancient redwoods and providing mitigation measures to reduce potentially severe harm to …

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Protester gets reduced charges ::<>::<>:: Bypass opponents to converge on Water Board meeting

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  Update on trial of Caltrans Bypass protester, journalist and Crane-Sitter Will Parrish, scheduled for trial Jan. 28 and facing possible 8 years in jail:      (See Jan. 21, 2014 post)   After a hearing in Mendocino County Court Jan. 23, a settlement was reached that cancelled the upcoming trial, scheduled for Jan. 28.   The particulars of the settlement are:   *15 of the 17 misdemeanors were dropped, retaining two charges of trespass, which drop to infractions after a probation period of 24 months. *100 hours of community service *Two years probation, during which entry of judgment is deferred –i.e., …

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Two court reports: Richardson Grove redwoods last week; Willits Bypass Protester in Court this week

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  Report Back from Jan. 15, 2014 Court of Appeals in S.F. hearing arguments to reverse the previous State Court decision in the Richardson Grove case EPIC attorney Sharon Duggan delivered excellent and compelling arguments before the 3-judge panel, showing that the potentially catastrophic impacts on the ancient redwoods were not addressed by Caltrans in their EIR, saying “there is nothing minor about 73 redwood trees being impacted.” This, contrary to Caltrans documents saying there would be “no significant impact” from their pneumonic spade equipment 2 foot deep excavation around the roots of the old growth redwoods.  The Caltrans attorney …

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Richardson Grove Court Hearing: Jan. 15, 9 a.m., Court of Appeals, S.F.

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You are encouraged to attend a hearing at the State Court of Appeals that will hear oral arguments challenging previous findings from the State Court re. Caltrans’ plans to “realign” Highway 101 through the old growth of Richardson Grove State Park in Humboldt County. Lawsuits to stop highway work within the park were launched in both State and Federal Court. The injunction from environmentalists’ win in federal court have held off heavy equipment thus far–you will hear more about the federal case soon. The same environmental groups, however, lost in state court via an unfortunate decision by a judge in …

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You Can Help Us Put the Brakes on Caltrans!

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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, …

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

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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 …

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