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The following guest opinion was submitted by Manila resident Colleen Clifford.

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I am writing to encourage my fellow Humboldt County residents to attend the public meeting on Wednesday, June 24, at the Arcata Community Center from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., to learn, ask questions and share their thoughts or concerns about the proposed Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project designated for Humboldt Bay.

“Is that project even really happening?” is the question I hear most when I tell people I have been involved in the discussion about offshore wind and the associated port project. I am a Samoa Peninsula resident and member of the Harbor District-convened Community Advisory Committee (CAC), that is hosting the meeting.

I talk a lot about wind and ports on the daily, but conversations I have outside of this bubble always start with surprise or skepticism. With such active hostility from the federal administration towards wind energy (including the buyout of offshore lease sites and the rescinding of a $426 million grant for the Humboldt port), to many it seems unlikely that wind projects will be built on the North Coast anytime soon, if ever.

The answer, still, at this point, is, “We need to participate in the process now, no matter what.” In her recent article, Lost Coast Outpost’s Isabella Vanderheiden explained in detail why now is the time for the Harbor District (the governing body of this project) to collect as much input from the public as possible as we move through the environmental review process. The upcoming months hold important opportunities for community members to help shape the design and avoid or mitigate the impacts of this incredibly significant development. We on the CAC will also learn what outreach still needs to happen and how information needs to be shared.

So come join us and get curious! The meeting on the 24th will start with a presentation about the project and include stations where visitors can learn and get their questions answered directly by experts. There will be various methods to capture questions and feedback from attendees. A panel of CAC members and project experts will then be asked to answer the most common and significant questions. 

Information is power, and understanding this project now makes our community as strong as possible. This meeting will be the first of even more events to help keep the people of Humboldt educated and engaged. When the time comes to submit official comments to the public record, please continue to pay attention to deadlines and procedures, and take the opportunity to make your voice heard so that the project can best reflect the spirit and values of Humboldt County.

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Colleen Clifford lives in Manila, co-leads the Peninsula Community Collaborative, and is a member on the Harbor District’s Community Advisory Committee.