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The Trump administration announced this week that it will take formal steps to rescind the Roadless Rule, loosening longstanding environmental protections for nearly 45 million acres of federally managed public lands, including 150,000 acres of pristine backcountry in the Six Rivers National Forest. 

In a press statement, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins claimed the action would “create healthy, resilient and productive forests” by removing “burdensome, outdated, one-size-fits-all regulations that not only put people and livelihoods at risk but also stifle economic growth in rural America.” Environmentalists and fire ecologists argue that removing protections would have the opposite effect.

“Roadless areas are some of the most wildfire-resilient landscapes in North America because they are the least degraded by industrial logging and road-building that would have converted fire-adapted native forests into fire-prone tree farms, and provided road access for human-caused ignitions from careless recreationists and sociopathic arsonists,” Timothy Ingalsbee, executive director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE), wrote in a prepared statement. “Tearing open roadless areas to industrial logging and road-building will do wildland firefighters no favors — just the opposite.”

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, enacted by the Clinton administration in 2001, established a prohibition on new road construction/reconstruction and commercial logging across 58.2 million acres of designated roadless areas within the National Forest System. The rule applies to approximately 44.7 million acres of undisturbed public lands in 38 states and Puerto Rico, excluding 9.3 million acres in Idaho and 4.2 million acres in Colorado, which are under state-specific roadless rules.

California has the third-largest inventory of roadless areas in the United States, with 4.4 million acres listed in its National Wilderness Preservation System. Northwestern California’s roadless areas are depicted in the map below.

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What does this federal action mean for roadless areas in our neck of the woods? 

Tom Wheeler, executive director of the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), told the Outpost that rescinding the Roadless Rule would remove immediate environmental protections for hundreds of thousands of acres of wilderness areas in the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity and Klamath National Forests.

“Should the Forest Service want to try to log, there are going to be fewer protections available for those forests,” Wheeler said. “The Trump administration has imposed various mandates, one of which is increasing timber production from federal lands, and the Forest Service has set itself a goal of increasing production by 25 percent by the close of this term. I think one way to do that — if we’re thinking about timber in terms of board feet, which is often how the Forest Service does it — is to get bigger trees. … There is a potential that [the Forest Service would] try to log older forests.”

There is no guarantee that that will happen, Wheeler said, but if the rule is rescinded, the “most significant protection for these areas will be gone.”

“What that means for a group like EPIC is we will continue to fight projects using other tools, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy ACT (NEPA),” he said, adding that the Roadless Rule has been litigated numerous times over the last 25 years. “When this does pass, it’s assuredly going to be the subject of litigation, and we are going to fight over roadless areas again, as we fought over roadless areas for decades.”

U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz claims the conservation policy has “limited wildfire suppression and active forest management” in roadless areas. 

“The forests we know today are not the same as the forests of 2001,” Schultz said in a prepared statement. “They are dangerously overstocked and increasingly threatened by drought, mortality, insect-borne disease, and wildfire. It’s time to return land management decisions where they belong – with local Forest Service experts who best understand their forests and communities.”

The Six Rivers National Forest declined to comment on the recent federal action but directed our inquiry to the USDA office. An unnamed spokesperson provided the same quote from Chief Schultz and emphasized that increasing the number of roads in densely forested areas will “improve access for wildland firefighting when timing is critical, and lives are at risk.”

Wheeler and Ingalsbee, the wildfire ecologist we quoted earlier, argued that building new roads will drive traffic to remote wilderness areas, increasing the likelihood of human-caused wildfires.

“Roads are a vector for fire [because] most fires are caused by humans,” Wheeler said. “The Trump administration says [the rule] is hampering our ability to do fire suppression activities, but I would say that roadless areas are not the areas where we need to have aggressive fire suppression in the first place. … These areas are generally out in the backcountry where there aren’t structures, there aren’t human habitations, there isn’t the same kind of risk. There is a greater tolerance for fire in these areas, and natural wildfires are good for the landscape.”

It’s important to note that forest management practices are often reflective of the communities and culture surrounding the forest itself. The Six Rivers National Forest, for example, has often taken a more progressive approach to land management than other national forests, adopting prescribed burning practices that thin overgrown sites and benefit natural resources to prevent large-scale wildfires in the future.

The Klamath National Forest, on the other hand, is headquartered in Siskiyou County, under a different administrator.

“We might see differences in implementation, but one thing that might get in the way is pressure from the Forest Service to ‘get out the cut’ and increase their board footage,” Wheeler said. “If you’re a forest supervisor … and your job depends on hitting your timber targets in a conservative administration with pressure coming from D.C., that’s going to be important. I do think agency culture … means a lot, but these are folks that also get orders from above and they have to implement them to the best of their ability.”

Today, the USDA opened a 21-day public comment period to allow people to share their two cents as the federal government prepares to revoke the Roadless Rule. Written comments must be submitted to the USDA by Friday, Sept. 19. 

You can submit comments online at this link or via snail mail to: Director Econsystem Management Coordination, 201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108, Washington, DC 20250-1124.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Trump Administration Pulls Funding for ‘Fantasy Wind Projects,’ Including $426 Million Grant for Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Terminal

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Press release from the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District:

Early this morning, the Harbor District received communications from the US Department of Transportation. The Federal government has withdrawn/terminated 12 grants totaling $679 million. This includes the PIDP and INFRA grants associated with the Humboldt Bay Heavy Lift Marine Terminal project. The communications indicate that our project is inconsistent with Federal priorities, including support for wind projects, the installation of solar panels, inclusion of EV charging equipment, and “support of society-wide decarbonization.”

The Harbor District is currently working with the State and other partners to determine our next steps. Preliminarily, this presents an opportunity to recommit to the values and ambitions associated with transitioning our energy systems away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. We have every intention of continuing the project. We are incredibly proud of the work we have done to date, the coming together of our community in support of greater good, and the outpouring of messages today that encourage us to put our shoulders to the wheel. Expect further communication from the Harbor District in the coming week.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a new homeless response task force Friday, marking the latest escalation in his ongoing campaign to eradicate encampments.

Newsom’s office expects to deploy the team within the next month to camps in California’s 10 largest cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose, Long Beach, Anaheim, Bakersfield and Fresno. It will address encampments on state property, such as along highway medians or on and off ramps, and under overpasses.

The news comes as Newsom in recent months has pushed for more enforcement against all encampments that line city streets and sidewalks, dot public parks and wind along waterways throughout the state. In May, he urged cities to make it illegal to camp in one place for more than three nights in a row. Last year, he ordered state agencies to ramp up encampment clearings.

“California has put in place a strong, comprehensive strategy for fighting the national homelessness and housing crises — and is outperforming the nation as a result in turning this issue around,” Newsom said in a statement. “No one should live in a dangerous or unsanitary encampment, and we will continue our ongoing work to ensure that everyone has a safe place to call home.”

Dubbed the State Action for Facilitation on Encampments Task Force, Newsom’s new team will include representatives from six different state agencies and departments, each with a different role to play in removing an encampment:

• The California Highway Patrol will be responsible for providing public safety support during a removal, and later for monitoring the area to prevent the encampment from returning.
• The Office of Emergency Services will oversee logistics and procuring resources.
• The Department of Housing and Community Development will be in charge of providing housing and supportive services for the people living in encampments.
• The Interagency Council on Homelessness will guide local governments on how to help those people.
• Health and Human Services will support local government’s efforts to provide health care to people in encampments
• Caltrans will do the actual work of clearing encampments.

It’s too soon to tell exactly how this new directive will change the state’s response to homeless encampments, said Alex Visotzky, senior Cailifornia policy fellow for the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The language in the news release sent out by Newsom’s office had few specific details about how the task force will function. Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for an interview.

But the only proven way to resolve an encampment is to move people into housing and connect them with the other services they need, Visotzky said.

“My hope is that the task force will make sure we’re understanding the needs of residents of those encampments,” he said, “and what barriers they’re facing to getting back into housing, if we’re going to see results.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass applauded the new task force Friday.

“Homeless encampments, debris and graffiti located on highways and freeways are under state jurisdiction,” she said in a statement. “I am glad that the Governor is continuing action to collaborate with local efforts. Los Angeles has bucked nationwide trends of increasing homelessness and Governor Newsom’s announcement of a task force today will help keep that momentum.”

A 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling gave cities and counties more freedom to ticket or arrest people for camping in public, even if there are no shelter beds available. Since then, homelessness-related tickets and arrests have soared in some California cities.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s administration is cracking down on encampments at the federal level. Trump signed an executive order this summer pushing cities and states to use law enforcement to get people off the streets.

Some experts and advocates in the homelessness sector have pointed out the similarities between Trump and Newsom’s approaches to clearing encampments.

But on Friday, Newsom’s administration tried to distance its policies from that of the president, stating in a news release:

“Unlike the haphazard strategies employed by the Trump Administration, California’s SAFE Task Force brings together each of the tools created by Governor Newsom to clear encampments and connect people with the care they need.”

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UPDATE: The office of North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman issued the following press release in response to Trump’s decision to kill funding for offshore wind projects:

Today, Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) released the following statement on the Trump administration’s latest attack on clean energy: 

“This is a new level of idiocracy, where the Trump administration is trying to destroy an entire sector of clean energy, kill thousands of good paying jobs, and drive up electricity prices for American consumers. 

“Surrendering the future to China by dragging America back to dirty, climate-wrecking fossil fuel dependency while most of the world is moving on to safer, cleaner, and cheaper clean energy, is reckless, corrupt, and profoundly against our national interests.

“The Humboldt project in my district shows what’s possible when we put people over polluters. For a small, rural community, it means jobs, affordable and clean power for millions, and Tribes getting a seat at the table and share of the benefits. But Trump has decided that keeping Big Oil happy matters more than lowering costs, creating jobs, or securing America’s energy future. 

“Democrats are fighting for jobs, affordable power, and a clean energy future. Trump is fighting for corrupt oil executives who bankrolled his campaign, and that damage is going to be felt for generations.” 

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Original post:

Press release from the U.S. Department of Transportation: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy withdrew or terminated a total of $679 million in funding for 12 doomed offshore wind projects across America. This action will ensure federal dollars are prioritized towards restoring America’s maritime dominance and preventing waste. 

“Wasteful, wind projects are using resources that could otherwise go towards revitalizing America’s maritime industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg bent over backwards to use transportation dollars for their Green New Scam agenda while ignoring the dire needs of our shipbuilding industry. Thanks to President Trump, we are prioritizing real infrastructure improvements over fantasy wind projects that cost much and offer little.”  

The Trump Administration has refocused the Department of Transportation (USDOT) and its Maritime Administration (MARAD) on rebuilding America’s shipbuilding capacity, unleashing more reliable, traditional forms of energy, and utilizing the nation’s bountiful natural resources to unleash American energy. 

Where possible, funding from these projects will be recompeted to address critical port upgrades and other core infrastructure needs of the United States.

Additional Information:

As part of the Department of Transportation’s review of all discretionary grant programs with obligated and unobligated projects, USDOT identified 12 offshore wind grants and project selections that were not aligned with the goals and priorities of the administration.

USDOT has withdrawn one project in the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (INFRA) program, resulting in a total retraction of roughly $427 million. MARAD has withdrawn six projects and terminated five within its Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), resulting in a total retraction of $177 million and roughly $75 million, respectively. 

Withdrawn:

• Sparrows Point Steel Marshalling Port Project (PIDP; $47,392,500)
• Bridgeport Port Authority Operations and Maintenance Wind Port Project (PIDP;$10,530,000)
• Wind Port at Paulsboro (PIDP; $20,494,025)
• Arthur Kill Terminal (PIDP; $48,008,231)
• Gateway Upgrades for Access, Resiliency & Development at the Port of Davisville Project (PIDP; $11,250,000)
• Norfolk Offshore Wind Logistics Port (PIDP; $39,265,000)
• Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind (INFRA; $426,719,810)

Terminated:

• Redwood Marine Terminal Project Planning (PIDP; $8,672,986)
• Salem Wind Port Project (PIDP; $33,835,953)
• Lake Erie Renewable Energy Resilience Project (PIDP; $11,051,586)
• Radio Island Rail Improvements in Support of Offshore Wind (PIDP; $1,679,604)
• PMT Offshore Wind Development (PIDP; $20,000,000)

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PREVIOUSLY:

• Harbor District Announces Massive Offshore Wind Partnership; Project Would Lead to an 86-Acre Redevelopment of Old Pulp Mill Site
• Offshore Wind is Coming to the North Coast. What’s in it For Humboldt?
• ‘Together We Can Shape Offshore Wind for The West Coast’: Local Officials, Huffman and Others Join Harbor District Officials in Celebrating Partnership Agreement With Crowley Wind Services
• Humboldt Harbor District Officials Talk Port Development As Offshore Wind Efforts Ramp Up
• Harbor District Responds to Crowley Controversy, Commits to the ‘Highest Ethical Standards’
• LoCO Interview: The Outpost Talks to Crowley Executives About Recent Allegations of Misconduct, Port Development on the Samoa Peninsula and the Company’s Future in Humboldt
• (UPDATE) Huffman Announces $8.7 Million Federal Grant Toward Offshore Wind Port Development
• Harbor District Commissioners to Discuss Extended Partnership Agreement with Crowley Wind Services During Tonight’s Meeting
• WHOA: Rep. Huffman’s Office Teases $426 Million Federal Grant for Offshore Wind Terminal, to be Announced Tomorrow
• (PHOTOS) The Biggest Federal Grant in Humboldt History? Huffman, Assorted Worthies Gather on Woodley Island to Celebrate $426 Million in Infrastructure Funding for Offshore Wind
• At a Two-Day Conference in Eureka This Week, North Coast Tribes Advocate for ‘Meaningful Engagement’ With Offshore Wind Developers, Federal Regulators
• (VIDEO) See What Wind Turbine Assembly Would Look Like on Humboldt Bay, Courtesy of This Presentation From the Harbor District
• Did You See That Big Ship in Humboldt Bay Last Week? That’s the Vessel Mapping the Seabed and Collecting Data for Offshore Wind Development
• INTERVIEW: Harbor District Outlines Next Steps for Offshore Wind Development on the North Coast
• INTERVIEW: Rep. Huffman on Trump’s Offshore Wind Ban
• Local Stakeholders Explore Next Steps for Offshore Wind Despite ‘Significant Uncertainties’ Posed by Trump Administration
• Anti-Offshore Wind Groups Target $426M Federal Grant to Port of Humboldt Bay
• Trump Administration Rescinds Designated Offshore Wind Project Areas; Existing Lease Areas — Including Humboldt — Will Likely Not Be Affected

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Press release from the Six Rivers National Forest:

Dillon Fire: 4,016 acres; 0% containment

Fire Information: 707-502-4837

Email: 2025.Dillon@firenet.gov

Personnel: 284

Online Fire Information: www.linktr.ee/srffirepio

Operational Updates: California Complex Incident Management Team 1 assumed command of the Dillon Fire this morning. The top priority is public and firefighters’ safety. The Dillon Fire is being managed with a full suppression strategy. The fire remained active yesterday and through the night.

Hose lays have been established near structures east of Highway 96 near Ti Bar Ranch. Today crews continue to focus on the fire in the area, doing structure protection and constructing control lines near structures. Heavy equipment completed a dozer line along Beans Ridge, and hand crews plan to finish a handline to tie into Forest Service Road 13N13. Fire personnel are scouting the southern and west sides of the fire looking for opportunities to establish control lines. Firefighters are working closely with resource advisors and cultural resource specialists to ensure natural and cultural resources are protected. The fire is backing down to Dillon Creek on the north side of the fire and fire activity is being monitored closely, but no crews are in this area due inaccessibility.

Weather will continue to be dry and warm with temperatures in the mid 80’s. Relative humidity will remain in the upper teens, and wind gusts up to 25 miles an hour are possible.

CalTrans: Operating 1-way controlled traffic on Highway 96 at various locations from 10.7 miles west to 2.2 miles west of Cottage Grove due to fire operations.

Evacuations: Below are the current evacuation order and warning zones for the Dillon Fire:

• Evacuation ORDERS: SIS-1405, SIS-1402-A, SIS-1503-A, SIS-1509-B and SIS-1506.
• Evacuation WARNINGS: SIS-1402-B, SIS-1509-A, SIS-1604, SIS-1503-B, SIS-1300, SIS-1301 and SIS-1408.

The latest evacuation information can be found here.

Visit the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services Facebook page for fire-related resources and general safety information.

If you are in an Evacuation Order Zone, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. This lawful order is not only to protect your life, but the lives of firefighters, law enforcement, and emergency medical personnel.

For shelter information and resources related to the fire evacuations, please call (530) 340–3539.

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When California Governor Gavin Newsom started talking about holding a special statewide election this November to counteract partisan gerrymandering in Texas, Juan Pablo Cervantes’s brain immediately went to logistics: lining up polling places, hiring election workers, designing and printing ballots.

“We’re basically tasked to do something that usually takes us six to seven months in two and a half months,” Cervantes said. As the county’s registrar of voters, he’s in charge of organizing all those logistical matters in time for the Nov. 4 election, without the usual six-month runway. “And it’s a very difficult endeavor even [when we have] those six months,” he added.

A major initial concern was over who will foot the bill for this unplanned election, which he expects to cost at least $700,000 in Humboldt County alone, as he recently told CalMatters. Cervantes was worried that the county might have to pay those costs upfront in the midst of its ongoing budget crisis.

Fortunately, California elections law requires the state to cover such costs.

“We haven’t received any money yet, but we’re assured through that legislation that we will be pre-funded for it,” Cervantes said.

Meanwhile, Humboldt County’s rural nature presents another host of challenges, such as lining up ADA-compliant polling locations (which is hard when so many local buildings were built decades ago) and hiring enough people to staff up polling locations in such far-flung communities as Hoopa and Garberville. 

The Elections Office actually hires employees during statewide elections, rather than relying on volunteers. And not just a few people for extra help.

“We’re shooting for 150,” Cervantes said. “I don’t know if we’re going to hit that.” 

His office has hired about 60 people thus far, though he said it gets harder as time goes on to find new people. To be eligible, people just have to be registered voters over the age of 18.

Since this is a special election, the state allows counties to scale back on the number of vote centers, “which was crucial,” Cervantes said. “The idea that any county, let alone rural counties, would be able to scale up to a full [complement] of vote centers like that,” he said, snapping his fingers, “was just non-viable from get-go.”

While there will be fewer vote centers than usual, Cervantes said he and his staff tried to place them strategically throughout the county. And thanks to the 2016 Voter’s Choice Act, whose provisions took effect locally just last year, there will be a variety of ways to cast your vote, with mail-in ballots sent to every registered voter and multiple days of in-person voting available in most locations.

The compressed timeline is also challenging for vendors, including the limited number of certified printers that can produce election ballots. Humboldt County’s ballots are printed and mailed by Everett, Washington-based K&H Election Services, which, in 2022, produced ballot packets for nearly 23 million voters. The company currently serves about 70 jurisdictions across 11 states and has served as Humboldt County’s ballot printer since 2023, according to Cervantes.

On top of all these challenges, Cervantes and his staff are also in charge of running the City of Blue Lake’s upcoming recall election. At a meeting last night, the council opted not to set a date for that election, instead postponing that task until a special meeting scheduled for Sept. 9. That means the election won’t be held until early next year, which gives Cervantes and his team a bit more time. 

But still, Cervantes has had a lot on his plate since he was elected in 2022.

“When I decided to run for office I thought there’d be an off year every once in a while,” he said with a laugh. “I have yet to see one. It’s been go, go, go — nothing but sprinting.”

He and his office’s employees are up for the challenge, though.

“Running an election in less than half the usual time is no small task, but our team is meeting it with focus and determination,” he said. “I am thankful for their hard work, and for the voters of Humboldt who continue to show that democracy is strongest when people come together to make their voices heard.”

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Below is a rundown of the key dates with information about voting centers and ballot box locations:

• October 6, 2025
• Vote by Mail ballots begin mailing
• Vote Center Opens (29 days before Election Day):
• Humboldt County Office of Elections, 2426 6th Street, 
• October 7, 2025
• Ballot Drop Boxes open countywide (secure, monitored, checked regularly) 
• Willow Creek: Ray’s Food Place, 38915 Hwy 299 
• Trinidad: Murphy’s Market, 1 Main St 
• McKinleyville: Ace Hardware, 2725 Centra/l Ave; Murphy’s Market, 1451 Glendale Dr 
• Arcata: Murphy’s Market, 785 Bayside Rd; Murphy’s Market, 100 Westwood Ct; Ray’s Food Place, 5000 Valley West Blvd 
• Eureka: Office of Elections, 2426 6th St; Murphy’s Market, 4020 Walnut Dr 
• Fortuna: Ray’s Food Place, 2009 Main St 
• Redway: Shop Smart, 3430 Redwood Dr
• October 20, 2025
• Last day to register to vote •
• October 25, 2025
• Vote Center Opens (10 days before Election Day):
• Jefferson Community Center, 1000 B Street, Eureka 
• November 1, 2025
• Vote Centers Open (3 days before Election Day):
• Arcata Community Center, 321 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy, Arcata
• Fortuna Veterans Memorial Building, 1426 Main Street, Fortuna
• McKinleyville Middle School, 2285 Central Avenue, McKinleyville
• November 4, 2025 – Election Day
• Vote Centers open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Election Day-only Vote Centers: 
• Hoopa Neighborhood Facility, 11860 Highway 96, Hoopa 
• Redwood Playhouse, 286 Sprowel Creek Rd, Garberville
• Ballot Drop Boxes close at 8 p.m.
• Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked on or before this date
• November 12, 2025
• Deadline for mailed ballots to be received

Forrest “Ben” Hurd passed June 12, 2025. Ben passed away, in his home, in the middle of his Christmas Tree Farm with friends by his side. Ben had a long life and had recently celebrated his 93rd birthday.

Ben was born April 26, 1932 in Massachusetts and he carried a bit of that New England accent, along with that Yankee Spirit, until his death. Following high school Ben enlisted in the Air Force and ended up being stationed in California where he met his wife, Wanda. They were married almost 50 years until her death. They shared many adventures and raised two sons.

Ben was a retired CHP officer, which he was very proud of. He continued to be active in various careers and activities during retirement including teaching classes, building and repairing firearms, and managing the Christmas Tree Farm. Ben’s favorite time of the year was Christmas. In the season you could find him on his deck from morning until dusk greeting his customers.

Ben requested that we have a celebration to remember him and a life well lived. We well gather on September 13, 2025, 1 p.m. at the Christmas Tree Farm to remember, smile, share stories, and have an ice cream social, ice cream being Ben’s favorite food. As Ben would say, ”Come on over! If you don’t have friends when you get here, you will have some by the time you leave!”

Please let us know if you will be attending by sending a note with how many will be in your group to rsvpbensfarm@gmail.com.

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