Direct Action for Ancient Redwoods at Richardson Grove
by Peoples' Action for Rights and Community
07 June 2011
Editor's note: If you have ever driven, ridden or bicycled up Humboldt County's Highway 101, The Redwood Highway, you have oohed and aahhed over the "beauty strip." This is where the powers that be leave some big trees for the public to see, whereas 97% of the ancient redwoods are all clearcut. Now the California Department of Transportation wants to "improve" the road so that huge trucks can get through and profit off the Humboldt consumer market. Activists have been fighting this for years, as Culture Change readers may recall. Here's the latest:
News Release from Peoples' Action for Rights and Community, Eureka, California:
Last Call for hoppin' on the bus to Sacramento this Wednesday (June 8th)!
Heading out Wednesday (June 8) on the White Rose bio-diesel bus.
We will give a presentation -- about the road widening plan and resistance to it -- at Hellarity, a long time squat in Oakland, on Wednesday night, beginning 7pm-ish.
There will be food and perhaps music as well. Hellarity House is at 836 57th Street, between Genoa and MLK Blvd. in Oakland. We'll also be recruiting more folks to go to Sac with us and participate in a musical opposition to the highway expansion thru Richardson Grove!
Thursday (June 8), we will head to Sacramento. All are welcome! In Sac, we will... well, you know... bust out our action and record it for the world to see! We are creating new literature and will be stocked with information for people who may not be familiar with the Richardson Grove situation.
[Back on the home front] There's no Thursday night meeting this week. Meet us at the Ink People in Eureka for the NEXT MEETING on Thursday the 16th with energies revived and a full moon just beginning to wane. While some of us are in Sacramento, keep your eyes on the grove, get prepared for action, tell everyone you encounter about the horrible plan to widen the road through Richardson Grove. Spread resistance far and wide. Here are flier and literature links for printing:
[Back in Sac] After all goes astoundingly well on Thursday (June 9), we will go west that night about 50 miles to Sogorea Te- Glen Cove sacred gathering place and burial ground. There is an ongoing presence and spiritual encampment there, going on 50 days, keeping City of Vallejo development out.
We'll come back to Humboldt on Friday (June 10).
And we'll be putting video of the musical action on the world-wide web!
Jump on the bus!! Meet us in the Bay Area. Call and tell us where you want to meet up!
Call Richardson Grove Action Now 707.602.7551
Email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Latest Background:
Barbara Kennedy wrote on May 31:
Thanks to our legal team, two lawsuits have been filed against the CALTRANS project -- one in Federal Court in San Francisco and one in State Court which has been moved to Humboldt County. There is not much to report on the Humboldt County State Court action. The big news is that a Preliminary Injunction motion has been filed in the Federal Court action in San Francisco. The Preliminary Injunction asks that no action be taken on the project until the lawsuit is heard due to the irreparable damage that would ensure to the ancient trees. The Injunction motion is accompanied by a Declaration of a forestry expert and is well worth reading. Both documents are attached to this email. Let me know if you have trouble opening or if the attachments did not make it to your inbox. The motion will be heard on June 30 in San Francisco. CALTRANS will surely oppose the motion.
In addition, a trip to Sacramento is being planned on or around June 22 with the objective of raising awareness of opposition to the project and of opposition to State Park closures. More information on this will be forthcoming as details are formalized. If you would like to be part of the planning team or wish more information please email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
[e.g., for the preliminary injunction documents].
Finally, the summer festival season is upon us and is a great opportunity for outreach. If you attend one of the festivals such as Summer Arts or Kate Wolf here in the North, look for the EPIC booth and stop by. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Daily newspaper story, May 26, 2011:
Environmental groups file injunction on Richardson Grove project; motion to stop project claiming lack of information, irreparable damage from the Times-Standard
Culture Change mailing address: P.O. Box 3387, Santa Cruz, California, 95063, USA, Telephone 1-215-243-3144 (and fax). Culture Change was founded by Sustainable Energy Institute (formerly Fossil Fuels Policy Action), a nonprofit organization.
Some articles are published under Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. See Fair Use Notice for more information.
Editor's note: If you have ever driven, ridden or bicycled up Humboldt County's Highway 101, The Redwood Highway, you have oohed and aahhed over the "beauty strip." This is where the powers that be leave some big trees for the public to see, whereas 97% of the ancient redwoods are all clearcut. Now the California Department of Transportation wants to "improve" the road so that huge trucks can get through and profit off the Humboldt consumer market. Activists have been fighting this for years, as Culture Change readers may recall. Here's the latest:
