In the beginning...

In 2006, Caltrans convened a “technical advisory group” to develop this plan: California Dept. of Parks and Recreation, the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, the Sierra Club, the Humboldt Cattlemen’s Association, the Save-the-Redwoods League, CHP, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, and the California Trucking Association. However, members of the TAG could not or would not reveal the details of what was being developed as they met over the next six months or so. Inquiries to CalTrans about the status of the project were met with the statement that there was no plan, studies were being conducted, and the results would be publicly presented at a later date. Thanks to Humboldt County Supervisor Bonnie Neely, who helped us get a walk-through with Caltrans in late January 2008.

At their first public meeting in Benbow Golf Course meeting room, Caltrans promised that nothing bigger than a few 18-inch maple trees would be cut. It was later learned that the damage would be far more serious, and the publication of the DEIR has brought up more questions about the impact of this process.

Proponents have claimed that 40 trees would be cut. The DEIR itself says that at least 89 trees will go down. A triangle of Park land with about 7 trees and understory will be sliced off of a curve on the west side of the highway. About 30 trees of varying age (no old-growth) will come down from private property adjacent to the Park as road-shoulder and rock-fall allowances are created. A retaining wall will be constructed along the north end of the affected stretch of highway, some 300 feet long and between six and fifteen feet high.

Caltrans (and the County Economic Development Office) says:
Humboldt County businesses are disadvantaged because they can’t use STAA size trucks to ship their goods in and out of the county, paying extra for switching cabs and trailers prior to entering Humboldt and the only way to alleviate this is to widen the road and risk health of our old-growth grove.

The Gallo Report, a study that was partially paid for with Headwaters Fund money, was used in the DEIR to rationalize the economic need for the project, and claims that businesses are losing millions of dollars because of these transportation restrictions. However, a close reading reveals that cursory calculations from only 19 businesses were used to project the impact of the entire tri-county area, and we don't believe that all these businesses have the same transportation needs. In particular, no evaluation of businesses directly in the area of Richardson Grove was undertaken, and their survival may be put at risk by this project. Repeated questions about the needs of the greater Humboldt business community (as opposed to just 19 respondents), including the local trucking businesses, have been met with silence from Caltrans and the Humboldt County Office of Economic Development.

Many SoHum businesses will be disadvantaged by construction and subsequent changes brought on by bigger trucks coming through this area. Southern Humboldt provided just under 60% of the County’s bed-tax revenue in 2006. County-wide, who will benefit and who will suffer from the influx of bigger trucks? We are still forced to ask these questions even after the release of the DEIR, which was supposed to answer them (but has not):

What are the long-term effects of increased movement of bigger trucks making a circuit through this region?
Using reliable transportation data on STAA truck traffic to assess potential change, what can we expect in terms of increased truck traffic in our communities, and what will be the impact of the resulting increased greenhouse gas emissions on climate change?
Should we make a permanent and ecologically devastating change to a problem that may not exist in the coming years, given the way the oil crisis is reconfiguring transportation priorities and strategies by the minute?

Humboldt County depends on the natural resources for our industries of attraction here. Only 3% of ancient redwoods still stand. Will a change in configuration of Richardson Grove and the resulting increase in traffic of huge tractor-trailers through our Grove really improve our economy? Might it damage the ancient trees over the longer term? What are the cumulative effects of opening up Big Lagoon AND Richardson Grove AND the Buckhorn Summit pass on Route 299 (also a Caltrans work in progress) to provide a through-circuit for STAA traffic?

The possibility of adverse cumulative environmental impacts on the Grove, the wildlife that live there, as well as people who enjoy the State Park, is very real. The DEIR, when closely read, reveals the dangers. Humboldt County CITIZENS will have the final say in the decision to cut this new road.

 

 

" Truth is the glue that holds government together ."Gerald R. Ford.