Our campaign to protect Richardson Grove State Park against a risky proposal to widen the highway through a grove of ancient redwoods suffered a setback in late August. Judge Alsup of the Northern District Court of California ruled for Caltrans, throwing out the remainder of EPIC’s claims against the project. This comes in the wake of a Ninth Circuit decision that overturned a previous victory at the Northern District Court of California.
EPIC remains alarmed that Caltrans has failed to do a full environmental impact report for the project, given the risk to old-growth redwoods and the degree of public controversy surrounding the project. EPIC is talking with our attorneys and our fellow plaintiffs about the next steps. Regardless of our federal litigation, Caltrans cannot begin project activities until it completes a new round of public comment on documents containing significant new information originally released in 2017.
Our pencils are sharpened and our team of attorneys, scientists and activists stand ready for the next round in this drag-out fight. Thank you for your support of the Richardson Grove campaign. For over a decade, we have kept the bulldozers and asphalt of “progress” at bay. Here’s to a decade more.