350 Humboldt

The LookOut is a monthly digest of climate events and developments happening in Humboldt County.

2026 has seen fire and flood and a lot of protesting so far, but not a lot of local climate action. That doesn’t mean work isn’t continuing on important projects. For instance, here is a Times-Standard article that includes a comprehensive list of infill housing projects in Eureka. It’s impressive and more complete than the list I provided in the LookOut’s Last Look at 2025.

The biggest climate issue at play right now is the Regional Transportation Plan from Humboldt County Association of Governments [HCAOG], an agency that disburses a lot of the funds for transportation and housing as well. Activists wrote in and showed up at HCAOG’s last board meeting to push for important changes to the proposed update of the RTP. The board reacted positively to the suggestions and directed staff to revise the plan. Unfortunately, the RTP that will come before the board in February is missing the most important change we asked for.

The RTP needs a policy that prioritizes funding projects that do the most to advance its stated goal of reducing emissions from vehicle miles traveled. It’s called a Funding Consistency Analysis. The old RTP had it, but it wasn’t carried out very well, and now it has simply been dropped. Without this policy, the RTP is a list of goals with no commitment in place to try to fulfill those goals.

Please help the HCAOG board see how important this is. You can email the executive director [email protected] with your thoughts about this anytime, or you can follow directions on the agenda for public comment. (It should be available on Feb 16.)

If you didn’t make it to the Wharfinger on the 18th to hear Congressman Huffman and state assembly member Rogers, plus many of our local political leaders, reassure everybody that one hell of a battles awaits anyone trying to drill for oil off our coasts, this LOCO article will fill you in. One idea discussed is to pass state legislation that would permanently ban offshore oil drilling. Postcards pre-addressed to Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior, were available for the hundred plus attendees. Some hostility may have been expressed.

The heavy-lift marine terminal planning is inching forward thanks to state funds. Rob Holmlund’s mildly interesting report (24 minutes into the meeting) at the last harbor district meeting covered the taxonomy of community benefits—“natural” benefits vs built-in; a Community Benefit Program vs Community Benefit Agreements. These distinctions apply both to benefits to be expected from the development of the wind farm itself and also the port.

Speaking of community benefits, students from Oregon State University and Schatz Energy Research Center have been knocking on doors throughout the Humboldt Bay area to talk with residents about the offshore wind industry coming to Eureka. The purpose was to plumb neighbors’ various perspectives and feelings about the wind farm and heavy lift marine terminal . What do they think the impacts might be and what would be the benefits such as jobs and clean electricity? How optimistic are they about negotiating other kinds of benefits that would feel truly compensatory?

The researchers shared some of the preliminary data from these surveys with a packed room at the Wharfinger on January 14. The final results will be available sometime this summer.

The California legislature dropped the Make Polluters Pay bill again. The Humboldt Board of Supervisors wasn’t very impressed either when 350 Humboldt asked them for an endorsement of the bill early this year. Supervisors Arroyo and Wilson voted in favor, however, so we think we can count on them in the future. The political will to hold Big Oil accountable continues with heightened urgency as Big Oil lobbies Congress for a legal shield from liability. So they lied about the climate-ruining quality of their product—is that any reason why they should be held accountable?

A coalition of environmental groups sponsored a week of action all over the state—LTEs, postcard parties, petitions–to promote the bill’s return to the legislature next year. Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota are also working on versions of the bill. Here is 350 Humboldt’s contribution. (For some reason the Times-Standard removed the words “for 350 Humboldt” in the attribution.)

We’ve been waiting to see what Golden State Natural Resources would do after the defeat of its enormously misguided biomass project. Its agreement with the Forestry Service to draw down fuel loads on federal lands was a part of its impetus to start a wood pellet manufacturing industry in Lassen and Tuolomne counties. Made from California forests, these pellets would have ended up overseas emitting air pollution and uncounted carbon—all in the name of forest health and fixing climate change.

Fortunately, its new project fits its stated purposes much better. In partnership with the Forest Service, GSNR will transport out of the forest almost 22 thousand tons of wood that was already cut and piled as a result of previous fuel reduction projects and post-fire salvage work. That kind of woody debris—called cull decks–is often left out in the forest by various logging operations to dry out and become dangerous. The work is taking place over the course of 2026 in Eldorado National Forest.

What is the fate of all this waste biomass? The GSNR update wasn’t specific but mentioned both biomass electricity and wood products manufacturing.