The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. At my East Bay high school that day, we planted some trees and heard a few speeches. The movement grew and spawned spectacular successes, especially with regard to our old-growth redwood forests. Many environmentalist organizations (e.g. Sierra Club) became well-funded and, thus, politically powerful. One never doubted their commitment to protecting our watersheds.
But that idealism has faded considerably; not a single Humboldt County environmentalist group has publicly announced support for Measure A, and many have voiced opposition to it.
This measure has two main goals. The first is to cap the total acreage used by the water-intensive cannabis industry. The second is to have this limit enshrined in the County Plan, thus constraining the policy decisions of the Board of Supervisors.
Why cap the acreage?
In the late summer of 2021, the South Fork of the Eel River was no longer connected to the rest of the river, something that had never before been observed. No matter the importance of the role of cannabis in the county’s economy, the health of our watersheds has to be a more primary concern. Every grow is a straw inserted into a slope, sucking out moisture that might instead have gone into the adjacent creek. Given our characteristic summer drought, it is not hard to imagine that transforming a forest into an agricultural area will diminish discharge in the Eel and other rivers. We should cap the number of straws.
Why constrain the freedom of the board to set policy on cannabis?
Because the supervisors cannot be trusted to make disinterested policy on this issue. The county was asked to make needed adjustments to the ordinances regarding water usage dozens of times in multiple public meetings over many years but did not. Consider two of our present supervisors: Michelle Bushnell and Rex Bohn. Bushnell owns a cannabis grow; she has already faced at least one misconduct charge. Bohn’s son owns one of the largest grows in Humboldt.
Why are the local environmental organizations refusing to back it? It is difficult to imagine they are opposing the Hoopa Valley Tribe, which wholeheartedly supports Measure A for its environmental protections. It is heartbreaking to think the idealism of that first Earth Day has been so lost that environmentalists focus on their career prospects rather than on protection.
I will vote for Measure A.
David Greene is a resident of Eureka.
