Richardson Grove

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

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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 …

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

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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 …

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

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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 …

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Violations Rain on Caltrans as It Lumbers Forward on Destructive Path

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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 …

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

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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 …

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Put the Brakes on Caltrans!! Willits Campaign Pushes Forward With Gusto

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Blockades, tree-sits, hunger strikes from the branches of trees, overflow crowds at County Supervisors meetings, caravans to Sacramento, lock-downs to heavy equipment and MORE have been the order of the day of the scrappy and dedicated campaign to stop the ecologically disastrous and expensive Willits Bypass highway project!  Just this morning (6-12) 30 local people entered the construction site and blocked the path of the heavy machinery, and stayed until all equipment was shut down and workers left the site. Willits City Councilwoman Madge Strong was with the group of activists. Watch for  an announcement soon of a big regional …

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Willits Bypass fact sheet: Why the Bypass is Bogus

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Why the Bypass is Bogus Caltrans Ignores Local Sensible Alternative Plans, Bulldozing Forward with an Expensive, Ecologically Devastating and Unnecessary Bypass for Willits   Ecological Considerations Caltrans Bypass project would entail the largest filling of wetlands in Northern California in 50 years.  Placing huge amounts of fill dirt on top of wetlands will require that the ground below be drained and collapsed by the insertion of 55,000 wick drains. This will form an underground dam across the flood plain with unpredictable underground hydrological effects. The state Fish & Wildlife agency has already issued stop work orders several times to force …

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Action Camp for Caltrans Bypass Protests: Mendocino County

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Our friends in the Willits area that we are working with opposing the Caltrans Bypass Highway just put out this Action Camp announcement. It’s a beautiful time of year to go up to Willits, and there is much to do to save the wetlands and woodlands. Call to Action! Action Camp Opens April 7-14! Your help is needed to sustain our nonviolent resistance to Caltran’s Bypass project through Little Lake Valley in Willits. Please join us at Action Camp. Construction has started. On April 2, tree sitter Warbler was roughly wrested from her perch and her Ponderosa pine cut down. …

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Tree-sitters Removed From Trees With a Huge Show of Force at Caltrans Bypass Site in Willits; Police Use Bean Bag Rounds on One Protester

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In the early morning hours of April 2, the tree-sitter Warbler was removed from her perch by climbers and armed CHP cops and quickly thereafter, authorities went after the other tree-sitters, sometimes violently. Warbler was in a somewhat weakened condition from her hunger strike started last week, and the climbers told her they were using “any means necessary” to remove her from the tree. She is continuing her protest hunger strike on the ground. At least 50 CHP officers, many in riot gear, some armed, went after the other four tree-sitters. Observers documented the CHP pointing rifles directly at sitters …

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Tree-Sitter Warbler is Fasting in Protest of Caltrans Bypass As Three More Tree-Sits Go Up

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On March 28, the two month anniversary of her protest tree sit, “the Warbler” announced that she is starting a hunger fast.  The 24-year-old local farmer has been sitting in a pine tree next to Highway 101, in the path of Caltrans’ proposed Willits Bypass since Jan. 28.  Her statement is below.  A dozen people have been arrested in other actions stopping heavy equipment, as Caltrans has started cutting mature oak trees and clearing vegetation. Nests have been found in the trees, ostensibly putting Caltrans in violation of the Migratory Bird Act. At least one nest has been verified by …

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