Caltrans, EPIC Clash Over Tree Cutting in Richardson Grove…Again
Richardson Grove [Photo from Caltrans]
In a response to inquiries from Redheaded Blackbelt, Caltrans District 1 spokesperson Manny Machado said the work underway this week is “limited, time-sensitive tree work to protect birds in preparation for the future project construction.” According to Caltrans, crews are marking and removing only younger, newer-growth trees in advance of nesting bird season. The agency stated that no old-growth trees are being removed and that none will be removed as part of the project.
The work is connected to the Richardson Grove Improvement Project. The goal of the project is to ease a long-standing bottleneck on Highway 101 where STAA trucks—the national freight standard—are currently not allowed to pass through the park. Caltrans says the restriction has limited freight service to the North Coast or required separate truck fleets for that stretch of highway. Construction is proposed to begin this spring and last about two years. Because the roadway lies within a state park, Caltrans says construction methods will include hand digging and air spades to reduce impacts to tree roots and surrounding resources, extending the project timeline.
Environmental advocates strongly dispute Caltrans’ characterization. In a press release, the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) alleged that Caltrans violated an agreement with project litigants requiring 45 days’ notice before any site activity affecting the project area. EPIC said observers reported at least two redwoods removed near the north shoulder of the highway by the Singing Trees area.
EPIC Executive Director Tom Wheeler said the organization contacted Caltrans after members noticed the tree removal and alleged the agency only acknowledged the work after being questioned. He criticized the project as unjustified and said litigation over its environmental review is still pending in state appellate court. Lawsuits have stalled the project for more than a decade, with earlier court rulings finding that Caltrans failed to adequately assess potential impacts to old-growth redwoods.
Caltrans maintains that the current activity does not involve old-growth trees and is being conducted specifically to avoid harm to nesting birds once construction begins. Before-and-after photo simulations of the planned roadway changes are available on the project website, which the agency says show that the overall character of the grove will be preserved.
The dispute comes as the long-delayed project edges closer to a potential start date, with legal challenges unresolved and public concern over any tree removal inside one of the North Coast’s most iconic redwood parks remaining.
Please note that the grandfather, father, and husband of the publisher of this website worked for Caltrans. Additionally, this author’s nephew is a Caltrans employee.
Earlier:
- Richardson’s Grove: Widening Our Minds / Widening Our Roads?
- Richardson Grove Realignment—Supporting Small Green Businesses
- A Foggy Humboldt Future
- On the Flip Side—The Beauty of the Save the Richardson’s Grove Protestors
- Demonizing the Opposition: Richardson’s Grove, the Pros and Cons of the Caltrans Project
- When Facts Fail, Use the Nuclear Option
- Copwatch Lies to Supporters?
- Richardson Grove Controversy Attracts the Interest of the Washington Post
- Decision in Richardson Grove Case
- EPIC Claims Victory in Latest Richardson Grove Ruling
- Senator Mike McGuire Toured Richardson Grove With Caltrans Today
- Caltrans and Environmentalists Begin New Battle Over Richardson Grove
- Court Says Halt on Richardson Grove Highway Project Will Stay in Place
- Judge Halts Caltrans Proposed Richardson Grove Project—Again
- Court Deals EPIC a Setback in Richardson Grove Ruling
- InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council Joins EPIC in Calling for a Halt to Richardson Grove Project
- Richardson Grove Improvement Project Public Comment Period
- To Curve or Not to Curve: Caltrans and EPIC Continue the Fight Over Richardson Grove
- Conservation Groups Appeal Court Ruling on Richardson Grove Project
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I have seen a lot of bent/broken RVs and trailers there. These are the some timer campers.
The professional truck drivers do better.
It is not like any of the big old trees are going to get cut.
What a lameass vid. OK, lets put in bike lanes……….fifty feet on each side…..everyone ok with that?
No…. er…. wait…
Bike lanes don’t take up that much room.
Like this is news? The same thing has been on rerun for two decades.
You guys think trucks drive fast now? Wait until the dummies from I-5 are allowed to legally be on 101. Truck crashes are going to sky rocket so that companies up here can get a few more feet of freight on each trailer.
there is already an exemption for large trailer size through Richardson Grove. So yep, widening and straightening the road is just going to allow them to go faster = more crashes. And there’s no reason for it.
Please Onlooker not all truck drivers are crazy jackasses!
The only exemption is for cattle trucks with 48’ trailers, not for the 53’ trailers allowed most everywhere else. And only cattle trucks get that exemption.
Take a look around. Some of them already do so long as they’re not triples and fit under the overpasses.
Your comment is completely wrong. Trucks are only allowed a certain speed limit it does not matter if it is a freeway or two-lane road. The ones that break the rules a few times can be fined and have their license removed. Richardson Grove needed those trees removed before they cost someone else to die. That section of 101 has been crap for years and it needs to be brought up to date. Ever wonder why the trees next to the road have the bark removed?
Move to los angeles where you belong, instead of bringing it here.
Jim, I am a Humboldt County native, and I have no plans to move. I have freedom of speech just like you. If you don’t like my comments just don’t read them. Where are you from Jim?
Martin; You wrote, “Trucks are only allowed a certain speed limit it does not matter if it is a freeway or two-lane road.”
I frequently drive 101 between Fortuna and Eureka. The speed limit for semi trucks is 55. Just an estimate here, but I’d say seven out of every eight trucks I encounter on that stretch exceed the speed limit, some by as much as 15-20 mph.
I believe they do so because it’s a stretch where they feel comfortable traveling at higher speeds. I don’t see how that “comfort level” won’t come into play with wider lanes in Richardsons Grove.
Try reading my comment again about truck speeds allowed. I said they are only allowed certain speed limits and that applies to both two lane roads and freeways. Truck speed limits are slower thru that stretch of Richardson’s Grove now. It really is not a matter of speed but more to do with their size. Two semis’ passing each other one going South and One going North leaves barely enough space before they collide with each other or hit a tree. Removal of those few trees will allow them to pass with more space giving them a better comfort level and more room to maneuver.
Most of the semis are already breaking the speed limit through that area..
I’m more concerned that if Richardson opens up and we have bigger trucks then those bigger trucks will also be driving too fast north of Laytonville on the 2 lane past Bell Springs and then south over the ridge where there’s already too many deaths. People talk about Richardson Grove being dangerous but I think the greater danger is having the bigger trucks driving on other sketchy parts of our 101…and yes- some of them will speed and some of them will have tired or rookie drivers not familiar with our particular danger spots…I see dead people
Might as well eliminate the term “the redwood curtain” . That’ll mean anyone/thing will come here.
Make 101 a one-way road………southbound only.
Not a bright idea. What are you going to use for North bound traffic?
Did you notice that thing that went over your head?
Yes, it was some jackass commenter!
Best suggestion yet! See ya later and have a nice time!!!
Exactly, just might as well just extend the border of Sonoma County north now.
the disturbance reduction rules to protect nesting Northern spotted owl came into effect on February 1. Could very well be that CalTrans is violating state and federal law on that as well. And it’s not like they have an emergency that might exempt them from protections.
Some commenters on here think more of Northern Spotted Owls than humans!
Because they figured out how to get paid to call for them
I doubt like hell if any Spotted Owls live next to the highway in the trees that were cut down.
Great point!
The communist cannot conceive humanity as an idea because they are not humans themselves.
Wow. Extreme right turn.
The tree cutting referenced in this article took place 2 weeks ago.
Finally! Lets get it done.
It is just a matter of time. The 101 is seriously outdated. There’s a few with some good scars, that could come out.
Boy, I remember the old two lane 101. That was scary. Add the the old Legget slide, double scary.
I just want this road fixed. Please do it now. Tom Wheeler should back off.
All the “danger” can be mitigated by simply slowing down. Once the trees are gone they are gone forever.
Just do it, dont tell anyone, do it at night, be covert about it, and expect them to bash you in the media for a few months.
Epic isn’t even a government agency it’s a bunch of hippies, they have no power over ANYTHING. But caltrans, which is an actual government agency, bends the knee every time.
Tired of this. Tired of my tax dollars being wasted arguing with tree huggers. This has been going on for my entire 40 years of life.
We have new redwood growth coming up every 👏 single 👏 day. 👏
Correction Big Rick, EPIC isn’t a bunch of hippies It’s a group of old hippie lawyers that get the actual hippies out there to do the protesting for them so they can rake in some more $$$$
That’s what they did on hwy 20 w/o Willits in the 80s.A bunch of tree huggers were planning on getting in the way of taking out a tree,but the the contractor took the tree out at the break of day before they were probably even awake.
40 more and you will likely not have to worry about it anymore.
Cut, baby, cut…
I’m against cutting old growth trees, but let’s be realistic…
Having that kind of vulnerable bottleneck on 101 just doesn’t make sense…
That last truck that went over the rail in the Grove, off of that funky ass bridge that isn’t even on the 101 bridge maintenance register for some damn reason, should give everyone an idea of just how badly it doesn’t make sense…
Clear the way, now…!!!
The reason the bypass around Willits is two lane is because the cost of fighting the special interest groups. I believe the delays and cost overruns for the high speed rail is partly due to the special interest groups. I believe the reason the balloon tract is sitting empty is because of the special interest groups. I wish they would quit being so obstinate before we turn into a third world country.
I think that is their goal…
No the balloon tract is empty because the owner refuse to pay to clean it up. Yes the high speed rail was significantly hampered by conservative special interest groups.
Cal Trans is a tool of business. They are also primarily concerned to further and justify their own budget allocations. I don’t trust them.
I just can’t wait for the prices locally to come down and our roads to be so much smoother after these big trucks start tearing through here….
You must have meant for profits to go up. Price will not come down 1 cent.
(I think THC was using the sarcasm font…)
So there will be even bigger trucks navigating that turn between Broadway and 4th/5th? What could possibly go wrong?
The Richardson Grove option is so yesterday. Modern CEO’S seek alternatives to sacrificing the environment for profit.
And you are a modern ceo? This section of road needs to be fixed. If I remember correctly the judge that heard the challenge down in SF checked out epics claims and rejected them. And if I also remember correctly that judge was very environmentally protective. Time to get the fix started.
In the shadowed cathedral of Richardson Grove, where ancient redwoods stand as eternal sentinels, their trunks etched with the scars of centuries, we confront a barbaric assault on the very essence of our natural order. These titans, some predating the birth of nations by a millennium or more, embody a profound hierarchy of life—roots delving into the chaos of soil to draw forth towering structures of resilience and beauty. To allow Caltrans to carve through this last bastion of grandeur along Highway 101 is to unleash entropy upon a sacred precinct, diminishing not just the trees but the human spirit that finds renewal in their unyielding presence. We must reject this shortsighted desecration, for in preserving these giants, we uphold the responsibility to safeguard the wild’s intricate web, where every fallen needle contributes to the symphony of existence.
Once, the entire ribbon of Highway 101 (AKA “THE REDWOOD CURTAIN”) In Humboldt County wove through realms of such colossal wonders, a living tapestry that whispered tales of primordial forests to every traveler daring the winding path. This historical legacy, now reduced to fragments like Richardson Grove, serves as a stark reminder of our collective failure to honor the untamed wilderness that birthed our sense of awe and humility. To tamper with it now is to betray the archetypal journey through nature’s labyrinth, severing the thread that connects us to a time when roads respected the sovereignty of the wild rather than subjugating it. Let us rally with unyielding fervor to halt this encroachment, ensuring that future generations inherit not a sanitized corridor of progress, but a vital corridor of soul-stirring majesty that demands our vigilant guardianship.
If you gave an actual rat’s ass about Richardson Grove then you would be getting the government to pass laws to protect it and provide funding to move 101 somewhere else.
But you don’t actually care about Richardson Grove; you only care about performative acts. Just like EPIC doesn’t actually give a rat’s ass either otherwise they would have been doing the above in all the years since they filed their first injunction.
Caltrans is in the business of maintaining the highways and making them safe. As safety and engineering standards evolve, so too must our roads. Back in the day it was fine to have a 10′ wide dirt track for your Model T to putter along at 20mph and maybe pass 1 other car in a day. Now? Not so much.
You want to save Richardson Grove? Then dig up several hundred million or a couple billion to move 101 to a new alignment away from it. It’s happening for Last Chance Grade. It could happen here, but no one actually gives a damn other than so they can virtue signal and make it more expensive and take longer to get it done.
How much influence do you think they have against all that corporate money?
Isn’t it Caltrans’ job to reroute highways?
Isn’t the inaccessability and the distance from the rest of society what makes Humboldt County special? And arent these redwood groves the literal symbol and claim to fame for the county?
Why not just move to the city if you want cheaper junk? Why live somewhere so amazing if you dont actually value it?
” Cuz the hippies durpy durp!”
Enjoy Babylon.
GOT TO BRING IN THE WAR TRUCKS AND TANKS……….NOT A JOKE
WAR TIME FOLKS WAKE UP
A few weeks ago, I was walking down the street where the EPIC office is and a huge long trailer truck was pulled up right in front of that building unloading product for the pet supply store next door. I don’t know the direction that truck came from but it was a very long trailer. I went to the EPIC front door to see if anyone was there. No one was in the office. It was a weekday and the juxtaposition of such a huge, long trailer truck at EPIC’s front door was astonishing to me. Now with a possible Amazon distribution site being planned in McKinleyville, we as community in our old growth redwood territory really need to start examining how we want our future to look, especially when it comes to roads and consumer good transport.