Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Good evening and welcome to the local news.
Today is Monday, March 23rd. I'm Gabriel Zucker reporting for KMUD. In tonight's news, as Mendocino County's Board of Supervisors get ready to Review Assembly Bill 2494, bill's author Chris Rogers spoke with KMUD outlining his vision for modernizing our forest system.
County holds firm on senior housing project road requirements and 150, $50,000 grant strengthens rural entrepreneurship. Stay tuned. Those stories and more. Coming up.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: Redwood Community Radio acknowledges that its transmitter sites are located on the unceded territory of the Sinkion, Wailaki, Wiat, Wilcot and Kato people. We honor ancestors past, present and emerging and acknowledge the ongoing cultural, spiritual and and physical connection that these tribes have to this region.
[00:01:02] Speaker A: Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors will take up Assembly Bill 2494, a proposal that could reshape how California manages its demonstration state forests. California's demonstration state forests were created to show how working forests can be managed for public benefit. There are 14 of these forests statewide totaling about 85,000 acres. And and Jackson Demonstration State Forest in Mendocino county is by far the largest. According to the Cal Fire website, these forests represent the most common forest types in California and serve as a living laboratory for how to care for California's timberlands.
KMUD spoke with Chris Rogers, a member of the California State assembly for the 2nd district. He is the author of this bill. He said the bill grew directly from what he heard during a year of downhalls across the north coast.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: We did 20 town halls across the district, even in places that are tiny and typically don't get a whole lot of attention or representation. And in pretty much every single town hall, folks brought up the Jackson Demonstration State Forest and the gem that it is to the community.
And as they are trying to pivot towards more of an eco tourism economy, how it could be positioned to best help them to achieve that, to create jobs, create local autonomy and support the county services. Last November, the County of Mendocino actually changed their legislative platform, asking Sacramento to change the charge of the forest and the management practices of the forest so that it isn't focused on what the current law says, which is maximum sustained harvesting, rather prioritizes things like restoration projects, vegetation management and fire management, research, recreation, and still allows for timber harvest, but through those lenses instead. So wanting to best represent our district and working with the thousands of folks who are invested in the future of the forest, we introduced the bill 2494. And just in February.
[00:03:05] Speaker A: Rogers says the current law requires demonstration forests to be financially self sustaining, which means timber harvests drive management decisions. He argues that model is outdated, written long before California had climate goals or a modern understanding of carbon sequestration.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: Right now the demonstration forests, and there's 14 of them in the state, but Jackson demonstration forest is almost 50% of the entire acreage of that system. They have to be self sustaining by definition that the amount of projects that happens. So therefore the amount of management that happens in these forests is dictated by how much economic return they can get from the timber and from the lumber that they are able to sell. And the last time that the state actually updated its management practices for these forests was 50 years ago. Long before we had any type of climate goals, long before we had any understanding about climate adaptation and carbon sequestration. And in fact, the last time anybody even attempted to change this formula was 20 years ago. That was then Senator West Chesbrough when he was in office. And our understanding of the importance of forest has changed and our understanding of what the economy in Mendocino county looks like has changed. It's fundamentally different than it was 50 years ago. And so this would put an emphasis on restoration projects. It would build in tribal co management. And certainly the state's relationship with our tribes have changed substantially in the last 50 years and are continuing to change as well. And so that's what it would do is it would change the lens through which we look at our timber harvest plans specifically for the demonstration forest. We are not touching private land at all. And we are rethinking how best to utilize those forests for the public's good.
And I keep emphasizing to my constituents, to my colleagues, this is public land, this is taxpayer owned land. And for the folks who live in Mendocino county, they get to have a say in what its actual purpose is and how it can be utilized.
[00:05:03] Speaker A: Under AB 2494, timber harvest could still occur, but not solely based on economic value. Rogers says the bill would require a manager to consider carbon storage, biodiversity and long term forest health.
[00:05:17] Speaker B: In practice, they'd still be able to take the trees. But the trees aren't just selected based on what's going to maximize their economic value, which is the fear from folks that that's how the decisions are being made, is because this is a self sustaining forest currently in terms of the economy of it, that the biggest, most expensive trees that are going to get the biggest bang for the buck are the ones that are being taken. Those also oftentimes happen to Be the trees that do the most carbon sequestration. And we know redwood forest are the highest sequestering forests of any type of land use that exists in the world per acre. And so this would look at those projects through that lens. And as a good model or something to look at, look at the restoration projects that are being done up on the north coast. Where we see not just dollars for grants coming in, but jobs are being created. Because it does take foresters to do these projects. And it has a ripple effect through our local economies as well.
[00:06:13] Speaker A: One of the most significant pieces of AB 2494 is Tribal Co management. Rogers says Jackson Demonstration State Forest has already begun building that model. And the bill aims to ensure it continues even as state personnel change. He points to the existing advisory committee as an example of what's working with
[00:06:31] Speaker B: the way that Jackson Demonstration State Forest is currently being managed and hold up as an example of what's working really well.
The way that they have the advisory committee that includes the tribes on it. So they can give the input. That they can be a participant in many of these projects. And really have access to their ancestral lands that are now in preserve. Has really been a beneficial thing. When we talk to tribes, not all of the demonstration forests have only one tribe that would lay claim to the area. So we wanted to make sure that we gave a nod to that as well. And left it broad so that each forest in each group can determine what the best practices are for themselves. But we do fundamentally believe that the direction that JDSF has gone recently with tribal governance, tribal co management, Would not have happened had Cal Fire not had good relationships that they had previously built. And had an exceptional team that knows and comes from the area. But we can't rely on that forever. So we wanted to capture that good practice in statute. To make sure that Cal Fire in the future, when new people come in, still have that as a focus and as a promise to the tribes in the area.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: Another major question is how research will be defined. Rogers says environmental groups worry that research designation could be used to justify more logging. While timber groups want to preserve research that has informed industry practices. He says the bill is being refined to strike the right balance.
[00:07:59] Speaker B: As I've heard over and over again from folks, we don't need more research on clear cutting. We want to make sure that any research projects actually have a scientific focus. And we have heard from the industry that many of the research projects have actually changed the way that they do things even on private land. So there's been a huge benefit for that, we didn't want to remove that ability from the demonstration force. We think that it's important, but certainly we want to make sure that we have the right guardrails so that that provision isn't abused.
[00:08:27] Speaker A: The bill also proposes tapping into the timber regulation and Forest restoration fund, roughly $80 million per year to support restoration and management projects. Rogers says the fund has long been criticized for not fulfilling its intended purpose.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: Yeah, so each year that fund has somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 million ish dollars. And that really depends on kind of the value that comes in for timber products that are sold.
We wanted to tap into that to say that if we were going to change the management practices of the forest so that it isn't just the amount of product that's being generated by that forest that goes back into the management practices, that we open it up for additional pockets of money. This would also. Many of these would also allow for restoration dollars or prop $4 to flow with the projects as well. And we already talked about the eco tourism benefits, so we were looking for ways that we can try to help manage that and help expand, quite frankly, the projects so that there is better management in certain parts of the area.
I don't know if we hit it just right on that front yet. We're still working with stakeholders to make sure. But this fund has historically had a lot of criticism from folks that it wasn't doing what it was originally intended to do. This would certainly be returning that dollar back to what is intended for business.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: Reactions to the bill have been mixed. Some environmental groups want stronger protections. Some timber groups worry about reduced harvests. Rogers says the bill affects a very small portion of California's timber economy, but a significant portion of public land on the north coast.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: Part of what we're trying to do is create a path forward for everybody because this has been a highly charged conversation for decades on the north coast. And there are some environmental groups that are not pleased that we are saying just don't touch any tree ever. And then there's obviously timber groups that are not pleased that we're telling them that they have to change the management practices. There are folks that think that this means that there will be no trees that they can harvest at all through any lens.
It's not, it's. It's a much more, I think, thoughtful and scientific approach towards what management of the forest looks like. But at the end of the day, the reality is we're talking about less than 2% of the forests that exist in California that would fall under this act, which generate.07% of the timber sales, so less than 1% of the state's timber sales. And what we are saying is that Mendocino county and in the other areas with demonstration forest, whether it's Trinity county or Santa Cruz county, that they should have a right to say how that land that they help pay for is managed and what types of access they have to it.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: If the bill passes, Rogers says Californians could see healthier forests, improved watersheds and expanded recreation access over the next decade.
[00:11:32] Speaker B: Yeah, my hope is that what you end up seeing is healthier forests. That isn't just looking at its tree management practices, but also we know it has a significant impact on watershed quality, on making sure that you have beneficial and healthy fire, not mega blazes, and that overall you see more recreational use in these incredible forests that people come from all over the world to see.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Rogers says the bill will continue evolving as it moves through the Legislature and he encourages the public to stay engaged.
[00:12:03] Speaker B: It is in its first committee hearing, which is the Natural Resources Committee, this coming Monday, Monday afternoon.
If we are successful there, and I have a good feeling we will be, then the bill would go on to the Appropriations Committee and then hopefully ultimately the assembly floor. So it's a long process. The bill will continue to be worked on between now and the end of August when we have the legislative deadline. And if folks have interest or comments, make sure you get them into the committees. We'll actually follow the bill as it goes. So if you get a comment in in one committee, they'll follow to the next committee and continue to reach out and let us know if you have feedback on it. We're willing to work with stakeholders on it, but the overall intent of the bill is to make sure that we have better management practices in the demonstration forests.
[00:12:50] Speaker A: The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors will discuss AB 2494 at its March 24 meeting. Public can attend in person or online on the county of Mendocino' official website, mendocinocounty.gov Humboldt County's planning Commission held firm on a road widening requirement that will add to the expenses of an affordable senior housing project in McKinleyville. Daniel Mintz reports.
[00:13:17] Speaker C: Despite concerns about effects on its housing prices, the Humboldt Commons project in McKinleyville was denied a waiver of a county road widening requirement during a March 19 hearing. The Humboldt County Planning Commission weighed a staff recommendation to deny the waiver against the cost of the requirement.
The waiver was requested by the Humboldt Commons Resident Driven Senior Community Project.
The project is Being advanced by the Life plan Humboldt nonprofit organization. It'll build 109 affordable senior housing units on a 15 acre parcel along Hiller Road between McKinleyville and Central Avenues.
Hiller Road now consists of two vehicle travel lanes and shoulders bordered by grassy areas.
To accommodate the addition of its project life plan humboldt is required to add a sidewalk and landscape buffer and a paved 13 foot wide travel lane that will temporarily be used as a bicycle lane.
Emma Haskett of life plan Humboldt said widening and paving the Hiller road segment will add cost to an already expensive list of off site improvements.
[00:14:34] Speaker D: So this is all going to cost a lot of money. Our budget currently allocates $575,000 to Hiller Road improvements, which just includes curb, gutter and sidewalk, $550,000 to to the Nursery Way extension and $175,000 to the Midtown trail.
The county is asking us to pay an additional $200,000 to Wieden Hiller Road, which brings our total county required subdivision improvements to $1.5 million.
So again, we're just asking you to grant an exception to the additional requirement to widen Hiller road.
[00:15:09] Speaker C: The ultimate design for hiller road as approved in the McKinleyville Town Center Plan is for the section to have two auto travel with medians and landscape strips, a bicycle lane and sidewalks. Life plan humboldt's alternative proposal to the widening is for a maintained vegetated buffer. Planning director John Ford said doing that would be problematic.
[00:15:34] Speaker E: This is a very difficult situation and you know, everybody is supportive of life plan Humboldt. Absolutely.
I think part of this thing that is normal is the first lane of traffic, Curb pattern, sidewalk are normal improvements for development.
You've developed enough property, you know that.
And so when it comes to orderly development, what do you want that area to look like?
One of the things that's being presented, and I would ask you to think about this. This is to put grass in there and maybe some other plantings and that would look nice, encourage people to be there.
That's the public right of way.
That's putting them in the public right of way. Where cars are, as has been testified, going by too fast.
That's not something the county wants to take liability for.
[00:16:34] Speaker C: Commissioner Peggy o' Neill vouched for having the county seek outside funding for the widening and other improvements.
She also evoked a long standing stance that McKinleyville absorbs housing and other responsibilities without proportional funding.
[00:16:50] Speaker F: You know, as a McKinleyville resident, I'd like to see more attention given to McKinleyville when it comes to improving the roads that's where you want to put everybody. You want to put the homeless people there, you want to put low income people there. You want, you know, it to be your increased housing.
But I don't see a lot of money coming back to McKinleyville for the amount of taxes that we pay.
And I mean we don't have an accounting of it. We've we asked. I know Madrone was looking into how much taxes we pay versus what we get back, but a project like this that benefits low income residents should be a priority of the counties. If you want low income people to live in McKinleyville, then help us.
[00:17:33] Speaker C: The Commission agreed to maintain the requirement with some conditions to increase the possibility of outside funding. The widened and paved area will be a buffered interim bicycle lane that will be striped by the county.
The Commission also agreed to give Life Plan Humboldt five years to do the improvements with ultimate design of the roadway to be Approved by the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee and the county's Board of Supervisors.
The vote in support of that was unanimous and was part of a package of approvals including a parcel subdivision and a special permit for wetland consolidation and restoration.
In Eureka for KMUD News, this is Daniel Mintz.
[00:18:18] Speaker A: Small businesses are the backbone of California's economy and in rural regions like Humboldt county, they are often the heart of entire communities. The California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, or Cal Asian Chambers, announced a major investment aimed at strengthening those businesses statewide, including here on the North Coast. The Chamber received a new $150,000 grant from PMI US which will help expand economic opportunities across California. The money will help Cal Asian Chambers, Main Street Small Business Impact Program and Small Business Utilization center initiatives designed to help small businesses access much needed technical assistance, capital and long term support.
But for rural Northern California, the story is about more than a statewide grant. It's about access and what it means when rural small businesses finally get the support they've long lacked. KMUD spoke with Allison Rivas, Vice President of Operations and Business Development at the Cal Asian Chamber and a longtime Humboldt resident. She says the Chamber was founded in 2010 to meet the needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander or AAPI owned businesses, but they have since expanded to serve all small businesses across the state.
[00:19:31] Speaker G: We're a nonprofit. We were founded in 2010 as a response to the continued unmet need for California's AAPI business.
Across advocacy, development resources and connections, we create pathways for small businesses to grow, innovate and contribute to their local economies. So we're really here as an advocate and a resource to strengthen and amplify the voices of disadvantaged business communities.
[00:19:54] Speaker A: She explained that California has the largest amount of small businesses in the nation with over 4 million across the state, employing around 7 million people and accounting for nearly 50% of the state's workforce, 722,000 are AAPI owned, employing more than 9,000 people. Rebus said Cal Asian Chamber's work is rooted in understanding what those businesses face every day.
[00:20:17] Speaker G: Our strength within Chamber includes high level strategic network connections, but what really sets us apart is our direction dedication to provide direct assistance in both regional and statewide advocacy. We offer free hands on technical assistance to businesses with our programming serving thousands of businesses across the state and leveraging a strong community of partners and regional strategies to ensure our business's success. Because we're on the ground with these businesses, we deeply understand their needs and pain points so we're really able to take these insights to represent their interests in statewide policy matters to ultimately pave the way for small businesses to thrive.
[00:20:53] Speaker A: For rural communities like Humboldt, those needs can be very different from what businesses face in urban areas.
[00:20:59] Speaker G: Our resources, membership and programming are available to all businesses. You don't have to be agent for access. As a longtime resident of Humboldt county and as a serial small business entrepreneur myself, I know how challenging it can be to start, grow and exit a business. We don't have the same resource access available to us as urban areas do and I think that's why it's so important to share what's available to our community.
So our Small Business Utilization center provides easy navigation to over a dozen of our individual technical assistance programs which serve all stages of business. Our data informed programming offers a wide range of support.
[00:21:35] Speaker A: Revis explained in what ways the Cal Asian Chamber helps small businesses.
[00:21:39] Speaker G: We have startup incubators, business stage accelerators, financial planning and readiness, access to capital, operational efficiency, marketing, AI and digital adoption, education, workforce development, business certifications and contract procurement.
[00:21:53] Speaker A: While some of the programs are region specific, reedvis highlighted two programs that are available for rural communities, their Empower Program and Scale Program.
[00:22:03] Speaker G: Our Empower Program provides a high value business development service and individualized one on one coaching with business experts, curated tools, templates and resources. This program is funded through the Federal Minority Business Development Agency's Capital Readiness Program and CalOSPA, the state's California Office of the Small Business Advocate. Empower a student for any stage of business that is operational with at least some level of business activity and are looking to strengthen internal systems and core operations, perhaps preparing for growth or contracting opportunities or would otherwise benefit from structured guidance and hands on Advising and our SCALE program is another program funded by Cal Hozba with focus on helping California small businesses access financial resources, providing education and tools to start up, grow and create jobs. We provide and connect you to one on one business coaching and training on financial, legal and accounting topics to help businesses achieve financial readiness and to secure funding through scale. We can guide you through the loan process and applications, provide training on finance, legal and accounting essentials specific to your business so that you're prepared for funding and growth, and find the right financing model for your goals with the ability to connect you to trusted lenders.
[00:23:12] Speaker A: There are no requirements to join as a member and the Cal Asian Chamber offers a lot of different assistance for free, rivas explained.
[00:23:19] Speaker G: Anybody can join as a member. That process is really easy and you do not have to be a member to access our technical assistance and programming either. So all of that assistance is free. For some of the programming you you know you'll be required to do an intake form and there might be region specific limiters in some of those programs, but if you access us through our Small Business Utilization center, we can help you find exactly where you need to go.
[00:23:44] Speaker A: She shared a moment that encapsulated what exactly the Cal Asian Chamber is trying to do to help small businesses.
[00:23:51] Speaker G: It's really businesses that need meeting, businesses where they're at.
So for example, there is a woodworking business, you know, really small woodworking business that had been in operations for a long time, but they wanted to start to move into the more creative and artistic space. And so one of our rural programs was able to help them understand marketing and get the right connection so that they could enter into a gallery space. And that made a huge difference for her business.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: For more information, Visit their website calasancc.org In National Native News, Antonia Gonzalez reads today's headlines.
[00:24:34] Speaker H: This is National Native News. I'm Antonia Gonzalez. The Inupiat community of Kaktovik in northern Alaska is known as the polar Bear Capital of the U.S. hundreds of tourists used to flock to the village of about 250 people to see bears, but several years ago the tours were halted because of opposition from residents. Ayolna Knighton with the Alaska Desk has more on what happened to the tours and what the tribes doing to revive them.
[00:25:00] Speaker B: This polar bear ground right there.
[00:25:02] Speaker I: Nathan Gordon Jr. Is driving his truck on the spit right outside of Kaktochowic. He's mayor and leads the town's Polar Bear Patrol program. Under his backseat he has a shotgun and in his console shotgun rounds and cracker shells. Kaktochovic sits on Barter island on the Beaufort Sea coast. In late summer and fall, up to 80 polar bears come on land, a trend that has been increasing as the sea ice diminishes. That brought the need for patrol and created opportunities for polar bear viewing. The pandemic put a pause on visitation. Then the federal government halted the tours. Gordon says Kaktorovic leaders have been working to revive them.
[00:25:40] Speaker B: Let's get this place back to making money and it will be great for everybody.
[00:25:44] Speaker I: Ktil Raytan started the company Kaktovik Tours in 2010. By 2019, he and his two children took several hundred tourists a season.
[00:25:52] Speaker B: We were able to make a year income in about six weeks.
[00:25:56] Speaker I: The number of tourists soared from about 50 in 2010 to over 1,000.
Tourism grew so quickly, residents were worried it was interfering with subsistence practices. Nora Jane Byrne says that visitors would book out seats on small flights and limit the amount of freight that was coming in.
[00:26:13] Speaker B: Especially when we have elders that go out for medical and then when they try to come back, the flights would be booked.
[00:26:19] Speaker I: The COVID 19 pandemic shut down the tours. A year later, the U.S. department of Interior issued an order to pause commercial polar bear viewing permits. Since then, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has been collaborating with the city and village of Kaktorvik as well as Kaktorvik Inipiat Corporation. Gordon says that this time around he wants the community to develop infrastructure for tourists and focus more on educating them. But who will run the tourists? Burns is busy with her job at Kaktok Public Works Department, and Rayton sold his boats and moved to Nome. But they both hope the younger generation will take over polar bear tours.
[00:26:55] Speaker H: I am Ilona Nydin, a South Dakota high schoolers receiving one of the nation's highest honors for citizens by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. As South Dakota Public Broadcasting's Jackson Dirks reports, the student has helped provide food, backpacks, holiday gifts and essentials to children and families on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
[00:27:15] Speaker J: Cody Two Bowles came up with an idea four years ago at baseball practice. His teammates told him they didn't have backpacks and school supplies. Two Bowles began trying to find donations to help his teammates, but pretty quickly realized there were a lot of people needing the resources.
[00:27:31] Speaker B: Instead of helping out just specifically my teammates or my family, what if I did it for everyone?
[00:27:37] Speaker J: Two Bowles created what's called baseball and backpacks. People donate items on Walmart and Amazon shopping lists and those get sent to 2 Bowles House. He then gathers the items, things like notebooks and toiletries into backpacks for students. The giveaway is done at a baseball field where simultaneously Two Bowls holds a baseball clinic that teaches kids the fundamentals of the sport. There are four of these different drives annually. He does this on top of being a multi sport athlete. At Machpia Luta, Two Bowls is one of five individuals in the country named a 2026 Citizen Honors Award recipient. He's receiving the Service Act Award, which honors Americans who consistently place others before themselves through a focused initiative of volunteer service.
[00:28:19] Speaker B: It's crazy to me how just by helping others I was able to get recognized for that.
[00:28:25] Speaker J: He'll be honored March 25th in Washington, D.C. i'm Jackson Dirks.
[00:28:30] Speaker H: And I'm Antonia Gonzalez,
[00:28:48] Speaker B: Native voice one,
[00:28:50] Speaker A: the native american radio network.
That's all for tonight's broadcast. Thanks for listening. Thanks to our engineer, Javier Rodriguez, and thanks to our reporters Daniel Mintz and Antonio Gonzalez. KMUD News is online. You can find us on kmud.org and now streaming on on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, where you can download our stories and newscasts for offline listening during your rural commutes. You can also follow us on social media. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can give us a call at 707-923-2605 or send an email to newsema.org Redwood Community Radio, Inc. Is funded by Press Forward, the national movement that strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at PressForward News.
Reporting for KMUD, I'm Gabriel Zucker.
