FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Activists, Tribes, and Local Residents to Address Potential Extinctions of Endangered Species, and pesticide impacts on human communities, at October 21 and 22 Meetings in Del Norte County
SMITH RIVER, Calif.—Local organizations, environmental groups, tribes and tribal organizations are working to influence development by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board of a “Waste Discharge Permit” for commercial lily bulb operations on the Smith River Plain, in the northwestern corner of California. These groups will be leading discussions at upcoming public meetings, on October 21st and 22nd in Del Norte County, to voice concerns about the impacts that pesticide-intensive cultivation of Easter lily bulbs have had on water quality, human health, and protected species in the region.
Groups are calling for elimination of hundreds of thousands of pounds of highly toxic pesticides used annually on Easter lily fields that surround the Smith River estuary, to protect endangered species and human communities in the lowermost reaches of one of the West’s wildest rivers.
The first meeting is a public forum on Easter lily pesticides to be held on Monday October 21 at 6:00 p.m. at the Smith River United Methodist Church (121 N. Beckstead, Smith River). The second meeting is Tuesday October 22nd at 10:00 a.m. at the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors chambers (981 H Street, Room 100, Crescent City). Listen in virtually if you can't attend in person.
The Smith River Plain surrounds the Smith River estuary, a vital refuge for endangered species that have suffered significant pesticide contamination for decades.
Smith River farmers produce more than 90 percent of all wholesale Easter lily bulbs sold in the United States. They farm 1,000 acres on the Smith River Plain, and they apply hundreds of thousands of pounds of highly toxic pesticides to cultivate the lily bulbs. These pesticides runoff into the lower Smith River corridor, tributaries, estuarine sloughs, and estuary, contaminating habitat for endangered coho salmon, tidewater goby, eulachon, longfin smelt and other state and federally protected species.
Pesticides also drift through the air, adversely affecting the health of nearby community members. Exposure to lily bulb pesticides can cause eye, skin and respiratory problems, as well as cancer and heart disease. A 2016 Smith River Community Health Assessment, conducted by Siskiyou Land Conservancy, found that residents experienced elevated rates of more than a dozen medical afflictions after moving to Smith River.
“Air and water testing conducted by state and federal agencies has shown that the lower Smith River area is a petri dish of pesticide contamination,” said Greg King, executive director of Siskiyou Land Conservancy, which has called for elimination of toxic pesticide use Smith River since 2004. “State and federal agencies, and lily growers, must finally come to understand that, given the crisis of extinctions looming in California, it’s time to shift to safer, less destructive means of growing lilies.”
Lily bulb farming occurs in the heart of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s ancestral territory, and the Nation has continuously advocated for greater protections for the Smith River estuary and nearby human communities from pesticides and other threats. The Nation is a member of the state Water Board’s Technical Advisory Committee and contributes as a sovereign government to permit conditions and environmental impact assessments. In August this year, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Natural Resources Director Rachel McCain told the Wild Rivers Outpost, “Having tribal lands adjacent to bulb fields, we’re concerned as a neighbor. We’re certainly concerned as a steward of the estuary.”
Contacts:
Josefina Barrantes, Environmental Protection Information Center
josefina@wildcalifornia.org (707) 822-7711
Greg King, Siskiyou Land Conservancy
siskiyouland@gmail.com (707) 498-4900
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