Updates + News
More California Wolves!
March 2, 2021
California may have a new wolf pack this spring! We have two new male yearlings spotted in California. There is still reason to trust that this keystone species will recover. Since 2017, the Lassen Pack has sired twenty-two offspring. It is only a matter of time until more packs are established throughout the millions of acres of suitable habitat in their native territory of California.read more >>
Grading Biden’s First 28 Days in Office
February 16, 2021
President Biden has a lot on his plate. And the flurry of executive actions, legislative horse trading, and agency rulemaking coming out of Washington makes it hard to keep track of what is happening. So, we here at EPIC decided to look back at the first 28 days of Biden’s presidency and discuss what we like and don’t like about the environmental actions taken by our new president. read more >>
Remembering Jene McCovey
February 16, 2021
Last week we lost a pillar in our community. Jene McCovey was an unwavering activist for indigenous rights, environmental protection, and social justice issues. Despite her physical confinement to a wheelchair, she always made it to rallies, protests and community events to advocate for important causes. Her activism began in her early twenties, and it never stopped. read more >>
How Can We Roll Back The Trump Rollbacks?
February 16, 2021
How can we roll back the Trump-era rollbacks of environmental laws? The last six months of the Trump Administration kept EPIC busy. As his poll numbers dipped and his reelection appeared more distant, the administration moved into rush mode to get through a large suite of environmental rollbacks: severe reductions in the amount of “Critical Habitat” designated for northern spotted owls; changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, our bedrock environmental law that demands review of foreseeable environmental impacts; and delisting the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act. read more >>
EPIC Fights Back Against Cuts to Owl Critical Habitat
February 16, 2021
EPIC is on the move to protect the spotted owl from political malfeasance and Big Timber greed.
On January 15, in a parting gift to the timber Industry, the Trump Administration cut over 3.4 million acres of Critical Habitat for the northern spotted owl—some 42% of the amount designated in 2012 to ensure the owl’s survival—including thousands of acres in California. The cut was all the more staggering given that just a month before, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged that the owl was under immediate threat of extinction, warranting a change in its designation from “threatened” to “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. read more >>
EPIC Continues Full-Court Press Defense of Richardson Grove
February 2, 2021
EPIC is happy to announce that it has filed a motion for a rehearing en banc concerning the December Ninth Circuit ruling, overturning our previous victory in federal court. In basketball, a full-court press is an aggressive defense, where the defensive side applies pressure along the entire length of the court. It is an apt analogy for EPIC’s defense of the sacred old-growth redwoods of Richardson Grove State Park. read more >>
ACTION ALERT: Tell CAL FIRE Not to Log 90 Year Old Forest Adjacent to Mendocino Woodlands
February 1, 2021
Take action! Last month, EPIC asked our members to tell CAL FIRE not to proceed with the Mitchell Creek Timber Harvest Plan (THP) or any THPs in the heavily used western portion of Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Despite hundreds of you writing in to tell them not to, CAL FIRE has decided to move forward with a nearby THP that could be even more destructive. CAL FIRE needs to know that we are watching them and that these plans are opposed. read more >>
EPIC Celebrates Black History Month
February 1, 2021
We here at EPIC would like to wish all of our members a happy Black History Month. The past year has been an incredibly difficult time for all of us, but has been especially challenging for Black communities. The police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and countless other Black Americans sparked the largest protests against police brutality in American history. Despite this, calls for substantive police reform have gone largely unanswered. read more >>
Correcting the Record on Richardson Grove
February 1, 2021
EPIC and allies have been fighting to protect the old-growth redwood trees of Richardson Grove from Caltrans’s proposed highway widening project for over a decade. But 10 years ago, when we first filed our lawsuit against Caltrans, we made a harmful mistake. We wish to correct the record. The entirety of Richardson Grove State Park is located within the ancestral Tribal territory of the Sinkyone People. Wailaki Tribal territory is located to the east of the park. read more >>
Action Alert: Help Stop Massive Logging and Herbicide Project in Trinity County
January 25, 2021
Take Action: The Trinity Public Utilities District (Trinity PUD) and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) have proposed to widen and conduct extensive logging and herbicide spraying along the electric transmission rights of way. Let them know that there is zero tolerance for the use of herbicides on public forests and there are better alternatives. read more >>
