EcoNews Report

Talking About the Bigger Picture of California’s Legal Cannabis Industry

Cannabis growing in Humboldt County

Are prohibitionary cities and counties unintentionally sanctioning the illegal cannabis market? Friends of the Eel River’s Conservation Director Scott Greacen discusses this question with HDL‘s Cannabis Policy Advisor Mark Lovelace. Tune in to hear about California’s first year of legal cannabis. Legislation legalizing recreational cannabis in California provided robust local control by allowing cities and counties … Read more

Is Policy Before Science the New Norm in Water Regulations?

  Tune in for a discussion of how federal agencies are protecting fish, or rather failing to do so. Scott Greacen, Conservation Director for Friends of the Eel River is joined by Chris Shutes, FERC projects director and water rights advocate for California Sportfishing Protection Alliance to discuss federal influence on water policy in California. Trump’s memorandum on water policy last … Read more

Governor Brown Signed the Great Redwood Trail Bill!

Tune in to hear Scott Greacen, FOER’s Conservation Director and Humboldt County’s 3rd District Supervisor Mike Wilson discuss SB 1029. Formerly known as the Great Redwood Trail Act, SB 1029 shifts the North Coast Railroad Authority’s mandate from developing rail infrastructure to developing trail from Willits north to Blue Lake and eventually preparing a shut-down … Read more

In Landmark Decision California Court Finds Public Trust Doctrine Applies to Groundwater

“It feels like law has yet to absorb the lessons of science.” Friends of the Eel River’s Conservation Director Scott Greacen is joined by Glen Spain from Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations for a discussion about one of the most consequential public trust decisions in California law in decades. The public trust doctrine stems from ancient roman … Read more

Salmon People in an Era of Ecological Colonialism

“When we call ourselves salmon people, that’s very literal in our purpose to take care of salmon. So that means the river and the forest, and all of these other things that create salmon habitat. So if the salmon aren’t here, I think that’s a very cosmological violence – like striping identity, striping purpose.” Scott … Read more

Local Government Transparency a Big Problem

“The key piece of this whole scheme, is that you get out from under the requirement to provide fish passage over Scott dam” Tom Wheeler, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Information Center, hosts a discussion with Friends of the Eel River Conservation Director Scott Greacen about Humboldt County’s position on the Eel River dams … Read more

Victory in Court for Klamath Salmon

“Rivers carry more than just water – they also carry sediment which is very important to a river’s function and its ability to naturally regulate itself from diseases.”  Friends of the Eel River’s Conservation Director Scott Greacen discusses the Yurok and Hoopa Tribes’ recent US district court win with the Yurok Tribe’s senior water policy … Read more

Dam Safety and Railroad Bills Move Forward in Sacramento

Stephanie Tidwell, Friends of the Eel River Executive Director, and Scott Greacen, Friends of the Eel River Conservation Director, discuss new and proposed state legislation and how it may effect the Eel River.  California legislators passed SB 92 and AB 1270, both of which provide greater oversight of California dams. AB 1270 requires annual inspections of high … Read more

Is the Future of Eel River Dams Being Decided Behind Closed Doors?

Tune in for a discussion of the fate of the Eel River dams that highlights more questions than answers.  Pacific Gas and Electric made headlines last week when they announced, during the Eel Russian River Commission (ERRC) meeting, their intention to sell or surrender the Eel River dams. The Commission then began a discussion of … Read more

The Importance of Baseline Data and Cumulative Effects

“This is where we get to the idea of cumulative effects – how do we ensure that the watershed remains capable of supporting salmon and steelhead and other species that we need and frankly have an obligation to.”  Scott Greacen, Conservation Director for Friends of the Eel River, hosts with guest Larry Glass, President of … Read more