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After more than 20 years of providing transportation services, the Blue Lake Rancheria Transit System will discontinue operations on Monday, ending bus service for Rancheria residents, as well as riders in Blue Lake, Glendale, Arcata, McKinleyville and Eureka, according to a notice posted to the Rancheria’s website.

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The reason behind the decision remains unclear. The Blue Lake Rancheria did not immediately respond to the Outpost’s request for additional information.

[DISCLOSURE: The Blue Lake Rancheria is a minority owner of Outpost parent company Lost Coast Communications, Inc.]

Reached for comment on Friday afternoon, Blue Lake City Manager Amanda Mager said the city was not aware of any issues with the transit program “until we received a letter from the Rancheria on Sept. 15 stating they would cease operations on Oct. 2.”

“[T]he situation has been very fluid as the City has been scrambling to find alternative options in a very short period of time,” Mager wrote in an email to the Outpost. “We are working closely with our local transportation partners to find a solution, or most likely, solutions. We are working right now with Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) to see if we can add a Blue Lake stop to their Willow Creek route. This looks like it could be a good and functional option [and] could happen by next week if all of the pieces fall into place.”

Mager noted that the City of Blue Lake has provided about $32,000 in annual funding to supplement the transit service for a number of years, “although the City’s contribution was not enough to support the full cost of the transit program,” she said.

In the long term, Mager said the city is looking at options for dial-a-ride services to meet the regular needs of area residents. “This could include weekly trips to the grocery store or the local pharmacies.”

The Blue Lake Rancheria Transit System will cease operations on Monday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. 

Anyone who’s traveled between Arcata and Eureka lately has seen a whole lot of construction going on. Humboldt County Supervisor and Coastal Commissioner Mike Wilson joins co-hosts Jen Kalt (Humboldt Baykeeper) and Colin Fiske (Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities) to talk about several projects that have been in the works for many years. Once the Indianola Interchange is built, CalTrans will close all the medians, meaning no more left turns across oncoming traffic. The final four miles of Humboldt Bay Trail will be finished by next fall, completing a decades-old goal: a continuous section of California Coast Trail connecting the two largest cities in the County! Other topics include sea level rise, billboard removal, why those Eucalyptus trees had to go, and what’s in store for the former lumber mill at Brainard.

In the fall of 1923, Mickey Gillette went to San Francisco to play with Paul Ash at the Granada Theater. I was playing with Lee’s Merrymakers and was offered the job that Mickey was leaving … in Young’s Cabaret on Second Street.

Anyone knowing my parents would know how much they did not want me to take the job. But some way I talked them into it and played there from 8 to 12 p.m. seven days a week while attending Arcata High School. I had just passed my eighteenth birthday. Two years before, I had worked my summer vacation in the woods at Crannell, and six years before I was the only non-Indian boy on the Hoopa Reservation, except when the Mortsoff boys were home.

I started on a Sunday night and got initiated quickly. There were about twenty-four girls working, a 3-piece band, a bartender, and the proprietor and his wife. The cabaret was in the rear of Young’s restaurant. Directly behind the bar a window opened on the alley and when the pitcher of “moonshine” on the sink ran dry, the window opened and an arm came through with a full pitcher, the arm withdrew and down would go the window. In four months, I never saw the owner of that arm!

Now, back to the Sunday night I started work. There were two girls who decided to give me a rough time.One was Maxine, a blond, and her pal, Frenchie, a brunette, who wore very low-cut dresses. The two would come up to me and say how innocent I looked and in explicit terms tell me how they would like to further my education.

After a time I couldn’t stand it and, interspersed with the best logging camp profanity I knew, I stood up, took my sax apart, burst into tears and said, “I’m going home. I never heard women talk like this. My folks don’t want me to work here anyway.”

Then Pansy Minor stepped in and told my tormentors that she would give them a bad time if they ever gave me a bad time gain. The proprietor stepped in and soothed my feelings. (I should have asked for more money then as I was the only sax player they could get.)

Pansy Minor was a sweet character in a somewhat tawdry place. She and her husband had been a star act in vaudeville. He died, or was killed accidentally, and without him her star descended and she drifted to Eureka and made it from day to day, not caring. She played beautiful piano and spelled Cecil La Chapelle when he was away from the piano. She had known many of the great stars of Broadway and told me many stories of celebrities she had known. Years later in San Francisco, I met people who had known her in brighter days and everything she told me was the truth.

Cecil La Chappelle was the finest piano player I ever worked with. Every musician who worked with “Cec” was a much-improved musician from then on. He was from Marshfield, Oregon, and came to Eureka and either formed, or joined, the Bay Novelty Orchestra, a fine group of that day. He later went to San Francisco and played on the Blue Monday Jamboree with Meredith Willson. He bought a plane and was killed when it crashed. I lost a true friend.

There was a bootblack who came into the Cabaret and to the music of “Runnin’ Wild” he did a dance around the floor, picking up speed until he seemed to be a blur. Also, a singer came in occasionally. His specialty was “Melancholy Baby.” He had a fine voice.

The girls all sang, if you could call it singing. Their job was to separate the customers (mostly woodsmen) from their money. Business picked up as the week went along and Saturday nights the place really jumped. The woods boss waited at the train Sunday afternoon to pay the fare back to camp for any logger who had gone broke over Saturday night. The cabaret girl’s measure of success was the new clothes she could show on Monday evening, after a day’s shopping, after a Saturday night.

One night the place was raided. The boss’s wife was carrying a loaded tray of drinks when the swinging doors burst in and a figure, dressed in a floor length black coat, black hat pulled away down, and dark glasses, went darting across to the bar. The tray crashed to the floor, the bartender and the invader struggled for the pitcher of moonshine, the bartender won and the evidence went down the drain.

The officer was “Bally McKay” of the District Attorney’s Dry Squad. He took the bartender to jail, booked him, the bartender returned to Young’s, the window went up, the arm came through with the pitcher of moonshine, and business went on as usual. Then Mickey came back from San Francisco and sold every would-be sax player in Humboldt (including myself) a sax mouthpiece for $10 that he said had been given to him by Chester Hazlett, Paul Ash’s star sax player.

I found out later that Mick bought a raft of the mouthpieces for $2.50 per. Each of the buyers got a mouthpiece used by the great Hazlett, given personally to Mickey and sold to us for $10, because of Mickey’s great liking for us and “don’t let anyone else know that I let you have it.” Strangely, mine was a good one and I used it for years.

So my trips back and forth across the marsh from Arcata to Eureka every night ended. The faithful Model T with the broken isinglass in the flapping side curtains that let in the rain. The lights that ran off the magneto and dimmed as you slowed, and brightened as your speed increased. The windshield with no wipers that fogged up so you had to lean out in the rain and use the side of the road as a guide. Going to sleep with my head on my arms in Mr. Ham’s late history class.

All this ended. Yet I was never late for work or failed to get home or missed a day in the four months that I worked in Young’s Cabaret on Second Street in Eureka fifty years ago.

Susan Ellisa MacConnie
June 13, 1952 - Sept. 22, 2023

“Sue is one of the kindest, most accomplished and thoughtful people I’ve ever met. Everything she attempted she conquered with immense interest and ultimate mastery. She did this while always maintaining her genuinely nice and caring character.”

“We’ve lost a brilliant friend, loving partner, dedicated educator, wood-working aficionado, amazing family member, and thoughtful, caring and curious woman.”

“Sue is a thoughtful, kind, compassionate and warm friend who is selfless and giving to others, but especially her friends.”

“Sue taught me to not only smell the roses, but to feel them, really see them, and even hear them (adding you have two ears and one mouth); and not just the roses, but the mountains, the ocean, the rivers, the trees, the stars, the moon, the sunrise and the sunset – oh how she loved the sunset.”

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Sue, the first child of Annaliese and Walter, was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 13, 1952. Her family, which then included her brother, James, and sister, Betsy, moved to Commack, New York in 1961. In her youth, Sue played the violin and was an active participant in the high school orchestra and played in their annual musical productions. She was also an avid and accomplished athlete playing on many of the high school sports teams.

Sue was the first to go to college in her family. She attended SUNY Brockport and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education in 1974. At that point, she planned to get her teaching credential and become a high school physical education teacher. But a progressive mentor at Brockport University asked if she thought about pursuing advanced degrees so she could teach in higher education. That advice and encouragement changed her career trajectory. She enrolled at the University of Michigan and earned her Master’s degree in 1975.

Sue began her professional career in 1975 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She was hired as an instructor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. At the young age of 23 she started teaching Structure & Function of the Human Body, and Physiology of Exercise to students just a few years her junior. Sue was also hired as Whitewater’s Head Women’s Volleyball Coach and coached from 1975 – 1979. In addition to coaching volleyball, Sue served as the assistant basketball coach from 1975-77 and assistant softball coach from 1978-79.  Sue was an athlete’s dream coach because of her knowledge and experience (she played in the volleyball national championships while at Brockport in 1973), plus her gentle and inspiring demeanor. She inspired many female athletes to pursue teaching and coaching careers.  During the summer of 2023 her student-athletes from 1975-79 made a tribute video for Sue. They described Sue as: caring, inspirational, intelligent, professional, trustworthy, positive, respectful, and a good listener who always made time for them.

Sue left UW-Whitewater in 1979 to pursue her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan (UofM), which she earned in 1985. While at UofM, she worked on a significant research project aimed at improving the health of elementary school children, the results of which were published in prestigious journals. At UofM she also studied male distance runners in collaboration with several Medical Doctors in the UofM School of Medicine. This area of study and research became her PhD dissertation, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  Outside of academics, she played on a coed volleyball team with many talented former college players. And she took up bicycling, first riding all over Ann Arbor and surrounding farmland. After that she trained for and did several touring adventures in New England and the Pacific northwest.

After earning her Doctoral degree, she worked as the Athletic Director at the employee fitness center for Standard Oil Company in Cleveland, Ohio. While she enjoyed aspects of that work, she felt her true calling was back in higher education. So, she moved to Humboldt County, California in 1989 where she started the next phase of her career at Humboldt State University. She started as an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Recreation Administration, and Director of the Human Performance Lab, later advancing to Assistant then full Professor. Sue loved and cherished her time at HSU. To her core, Sue was student-centered. She believed – and led by example – that faculty was there to teach, mentor and support their students in all ways possible. In her early years, she had several cohorts of very special graduate students whom she maintained friendship with over many years. She also enjoyed and excelled in “university service.” She served as Department Chair of the Kinesiology and Rec Admin Department for four years, and served on numerous college and university-wide committees. She served multiple terms on the Faculty Academic Senate, and was voted by her peers to serve as Chair, a high honor. Then President Rollin Richmond asked her as Senate Chair to sit on the President’s Advisory Council (at that time first faculty to be invited).

In 1994, Sue purchased a five-acre labor-of-love property in Fieldbrook. Sue and her partner and love of her life, Carol Rische, spent the next 25-plus years cleaning it up, making improvements, landscaping, and creating an amazing shared vegetable garden (with tenants Dennis & Tim).

In 2014, Sue and Carol were married in Mendocino on their 20th anniversary with family and close friends. Mendocino was very special to them; they went every year and celebrated most anniversaries there. Over the years, Sue and Carol traveled extensively often times with family and friends. Favorite international destinations were New Zealand, Europe numerous times, Iceland, and a very special trip to South America and Antarctica with Carol’s mom Shirley. Sue and Carol also enjoyed much travel in the US and Canada, including numerous trips to the east coast, the San Juan Islands and Pacific Northwest, two trans Canada trips with visits to Canadian Rockies, as well as numerous trips up the Oregon coast, to Utah and Southwest, and Pacific Northwest in their Leisure Travel Van RV.

Sue had many talents and interests. She learned how to build things – woodsheds, arbors, gates with beautiful arches, decks, fences and garden beds on the Fieldbrook property. Later in life, she turned her attention to fine woodworking. After retiring from HSU, she enrolled in College of the Redwoods Woodworking Program. She took the entire cabinet-making and furniture-making series, and made stunningly beautiful furniture, wainscotting and a kitchen island for their Fieldbrook home. Sue also loved music and was a member of the Humboldt Light Opera Company (HLOC) for many years. She performed in several plays, and was part of the set-building crew for Pirates of Penzance. But her true love was HLOC’s women’s choir (aka the Babes). She especially loved and cherished the Altos with whom she developed very close friendships and bonds. Sue was also an avid reader. She recently joined a well-established book club. She was welcomed in with open arms and hearts, and immediately made new friends. She was an avid and accomplished bar-b-quer too, mastering not only her gas grill but her extra-large Big Green Egg. And perhaps her deepest and most spiritual interest was nature. She loved the outdoors, especially mountains and lakes, and our magnificent coastal redwood & fir forests – which she often referred to as her cathedral. Above all, Sue loved her family. She always showed up and was engaged in all aspects of their lives.

Sue passed from our world, peacefully and at home as she wished, on Friday, September 22, with her wife Carol, sister Betsy, and niece Courtney, by her side.

In addition to Carol, her brother Jim, and sister Betsy (with whom she shared a very special bond), she leaves behind beloved family members: her parents (whom she recently helped celebrate 75 years of marriage); brother-in-law Henry Bos; adored and adoring nieces and nephews Courtney (Mike) and Ryan (Danielle) Bos; Jayna (Allen) and Brian (Jessica) Haas; as well as three great nieces and nephews; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Diana and Al Sturla; aunts and uncles, as well as tens of younger cousins (many of whom shared that they were inspired by her); and countless friends who showed unwavering support and love over the many years Sue and Carol shared together.

Carol and Sue would like to acknowledge and thank, from the bottom of our hearts, the many health care professionals who guided and supported us on Sue’s two-and-half year cancer journey… Dr. Joel Neal, Stanford Thoracic Oncology and his team; local oncologists Drs. Hardy and Shayeb who partnered well with Dr. Neal and offered competent and compassionate care up here; her nurse navigator Stephonie Zwald; and perhaps most importantly, the most committed nursing and medical assistant staff at St. Joseph Cancer Center who cared for and treated Sue (as they do hundreds in our community each week) – they are truly angels. We thank the ER and hospital staff, and especially surgeon Dr. Trui, for their competent and compassionate care during her hospitalizations. We also thank Hospice of Humboldt and their amazing staff for the most responsive, kind and compassionate end-of-life care and support. And finally, we would like to acknowledge and thank the Humboldt Breast and Gyn Project’s Stage 4 Cancer Support Group – Sue joined shortly after she was diagnosed; the guidance, support and friendship she received was invaluable on her journey.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Sue’s name to Hospice of Humboldt, Humboldt Breast and GYN Health Project, or the Humboldt Light Opera Company. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday October 28th. Details are not yet available. If interested in attending, please e-mail fbrefuge2@suddenlink.net

Godspeed and happy trails, dear Sue. You will be missed by so many and beyond measure.

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It’s been a long road, but at this point most of the fun things that we lost during COVID have returned. We’ve had live music again for a while, theater, fairs. But something that Humboldt hasn’t had since COVID is some good ol’ roller derby! Well, now the Humboldt Roller Derby is finally returning for its first home game in more than three years. 

“We cannot wait to see our fans again,” Natalie Arroyo, who plays under her derby name, Brawn Luc Picard, told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “Roller Derby has a huge community of supporters here and we’re excited to see them.” 

Arroyo, who you likely know as Fourth District Supervisor for Humboldt County, has been a part of Humboldt Roller Derby (HRB) since 2016, after both levels of HRB’s training camp. It’s a pretty big commitment to join the league, requiring two sessions of training camp – the first level focuses mostly on skating skills and the second level focuses on game play and learning how to smash into each other without causing or sustaining injuries. Skaters must then pass an assessment before becoming a part of the team roster. Because roller derby is a very contact-heavy sport, it is really important to be sure players are properly trained before they join games. 

In case you, like this reporter, don’t know that much about roller derby, we will attempt to explain. HRB is governed by the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), which represents more than 400 flat track roller derby leagues across the world. The game, called a bout, is played on an oval track with two teams of five players each. Each game consists of a series of short plays called “jams.” During the jam, the “jammer”— a player who wheres a star on their helmet — attempts to score points by passing other players. The  other four players on the team, called “blockers,”  play defense and offense, trying to block the other team’s jammer from scoring, while also aiding their own jammer. Here’s a short video explaining a little about the game from the WFTDA.

There’s a lot of hitting and bashing into one another, for sure, but Arroyo wanted to clarify that there are strict rules on the ways in which the players are allowed to hit and bash. Many people seem to think that roller derby is a sport where anything goes, like tripping, punching or clotheslining the other players, and that is not the case, Arroyo said. In the earlier days of the sport, roller derby was much more rough and tumble, but women’s flat track roller derby was completely redesigned in the early 2000s and the rules today are very different.   

Because the sport is so contact-heavy, it wasn’t really possible for the league to hold practices during the pandemic. Arroyo said that she and some of her team members would get together to skate outdoors, which was a great way to stay connected and active, but without holding practices it was hard to maintain the level of physical intensity that the sport requires.

“Roller derby is a huge part of my and my teammates’ mental and physical health,” Arroyo said. “For me, it’s one of the main ways I stay active. So it was very sad and it was also hard, but it was necessary for us to put a long pause in place.” 

HRD started meeting again in 2022, holding practices three nights a week. After the long hiatus, it took a while to get back to where the skaters felt fully comfortable holding games again, but now they are finally ready to kick some butt. 

“It took us almost a year to get back to the point where we’re having home games, because we wanted to make sure that everyone was safe to skate,” Arroyo said.  “You know, it’s a really hard- hitting sport and we don’t want people to get injured unnecessarily.” 

Many HRD veterans, like Arroyo, will be returning for the first home game this weekend, but the league is also welcoming a lot of new players. Cassandra Curatolo, aka “Slam Chowder,” will be competing with HRD for her very first time on Saturday, though it’s far from her first time doing roller derby. 

Curatolo joined HRD’s training camp in 2018 and was ready to join the team by late 2019, but moved to the Bay Area before she had a chance to join HRD’s roster and was never actually able to compete. During her time away from Humboldt, Curatolo joined and competed with Bay Area Derby (BAD). She moved back to our area in 2022, just in time to join the resurrection of HRD. 

“I’m super happy to be back,” Curatolo told the Outpost. “You know, all roller derby is wonderful,  but there’s something very special about Humboldt Roller Derby. It was a huge factor in why I returned.” 

What makes HRD so special, Curatolo said, is that the league is very supportive and also accepting of skaters of all levels and backgrounds, something that was very encouraging to her, since she had absolutely no previous skating experience before training with HRD. HRD is also a really good league skill-wise, and before COVID, Humboldt ranked 84th out of 480 leagues. 

What seems to be the biggest local appeal is that HRD also puts on a good show! Though roller derby has abandoned the WWE-style theatrics that the sport became known for in the 1980s, Curatolo said that many of the skaters do have a theatrical flair and the teams are really fun to watch. A lot of work is also put into the game production, with announcers, stagelights, raffles and prizes, beer and concessions available and live music performed by the stadium band the Dirty Derby Blowhards. 

And, like with so many other live events in Humboldt, the crowd gets really into it. 

“The community support is a huge aspect of what makes Humboldt Roller Derby unique,” Curatolo said. “We are this small, rural league and we have just this huge outpouring of support from the local community.” 

Humboldt Roller Derby’s first game will be a double header on Saturday, Sept. 30. At 6 p.m. at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds, Franceschi Hall. You can get your tickets at this link. [UPDATE: After publication, we were informed that online tickets are no longer available. But don’t worry. There will be plenty of tickets at the door!]

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A few weeks ago, there was a little rumor floating around social media claiming the “Digital 299” broadband infrastructure project would do nothing to improve rural communications for communities along State Route 299. The claim asserted that local internet providers would have no way to tap into the fiber optic line.

The Outpost is here to tell you that this rumor is not true! 

Once the fiber optic cable is fully constructed – likely in the next two years – local providers will have the opportunity to bring high-speed internet service to remote communities via access points, or “points of presence,” along the project’s path. 

“These points of presence will allow [local providers] to tie into the line,” Connie Stewart, the Director of Initiatives at Cal Poly Humboldt, told the Outpost in a recent phone interview. “The goal is to make it as affordable as possible to get these services to [the community]. … The rumor was that is one line and we can’t plug into it. No, literally there are hundreds of places along the line.”

For those who need a little refresher, the “Digital 299” project is a part of the California Public Utilities Commission’s goal to bring high-speed broadband internet to traditionally underserved communities throughout Northern California by way of fiber optic lines. In total, approximately 300 miles of fiber optic line will be installed along State Route 299 between Eureka and Redding, with lines spurring off of the backbone to serve nearby communities.

The original project proposal, submitted by Inyo Networks in 2017, excluded the vast majority of folks living along the project’s path – with the exception of 307 residents in the tiny Trinity County town of Lewiston – because Inyo had received state funding through the California Advanced Services Fund for the project, and so was banned from competing with other internet service providers in the region. But in 2020, Inyo sent a letter to the CPUC asking to terminate the grant.

Shortly thereafter, Vero Fiber Networks expressed interest in completing the project without state funding, eliminating the issue of accessibility. Vero is also involved in the land-side operations of that big Google/Facebook subsea cable from Singapore, and so they need a way to get that data to the grid.

“When Inyo told us that they couldn’t get it done, we went out and found someone else,” Stewart said. “Vero cut a deal with Inyo and they returned the money to the state. So that released them from the obligation of not providing service to anyone. … [Vero] is actively working with existing local providers to try to see if they want to use the line; otherwise, we as a community can recruit more people to come in and use that line.”

Vero is going to place hundreds of access points along the route to serve as on/off ramps for communities seeking high-speed internet access. These access points will connect the main line, or “middle mile,” to the “end mile,” the final length of the transmission line that delivers telecommunications to customers.

“Placing this many access points provides more locations for local traffic distribution and makes it easier and less expensive for local broadband providers to take advantage of the Digital 299 route,” according to a prepared statement from Vero. “Vero is already talking with local broadband providers about accessing capacity to be able to serve local homes and businesses. In the highway analogy, these local broadband providers have access to the local roads and can take the new vast amounts of capacity and make it available to residents and businesses in the communities along the route.”

Who will construct these “last mile” projects? That has yet to be determined, Stewart said.

“One of the biggest problems has been how expensive it is to get that traffic back to the main hub,” she explained. “If we are putting in these points of presence closer to where people are, then even small companies can come in because they’ll have a cheaper way to get to there. … I can’t say this company is reserved for a specific community but we are having those conversations. … We’re hoping there’ll be more options and better quality service at a reasonable price.”

Vero began construction on the project at the beginning of this year. If everything goes according to plan, the fiber optic network will be completed by the end of 2025.

More information on the project can be found here.

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Here’s the full press release from Vero Fiber Networks:

As previously announced Vero Networks began construction in early 2023 on the Digital 299 route from Arcata (along hwy 299) to Redding bringing fiber optic network along a corridor that has traditionally been underserved or unserved with broadband. 

The network is slated to be completed by the end of 2025 and conduit is being placed throughout the project alignment now in anticipation of that completion timeframe. Once conduit infrastructure is placed, high capacity fiber optic cables will be pulled through the network to carry information that can be transmitted on the route. 

The initial conduit and fiber network will have substantial capacity akin to a multilane highway allowing vast amounts of data traffic to traverse the route. Additionally, Vero Networks is placing hundreds of access points along the route that serve as on/off ramps to access that capacity. Placing this many access points provides more locations for local traffic distribution and makes it easier and less expensive for local broadband providers to take advantage of the Digital 299 route. Vero is already talking with local broadband providers about accessing capacity to be able to serve local homes and businesses. In the highway analogy these local broadband providers have access to the local roads and can take the new vast amounts of capacity and make it available to residents and businesses in the communities along the route.

While this project will take a couple more years to be fully operational, Vero is working with local broadband providers now to try to give them ample time to plan for and maximize the potential benefits of the new route.

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Previously:

• That Superfast Undersea Internet? You’re Probably Not Getting It, Unless You are One of 307 People Who Live in Lewiston
• New Fiber Optic Line a Go! State Pledges $47 Million to Dredge Internet Up From the Sea, Thread Fat Pipe From Eureka to Redding
• Major Datacenter Company Purchases Arcata Warehouse, Starts Filing Paperwork to Build Fiber Optic Line to Samoa Peninsula
• Major Datacenter Coming to Arcata Will Connect to High-Speed Fiber Optic Cables Running From Samoa to Singapore

SEE:

• HUMBOLDT LIFE: Lupinus constancei (Lassics lupine)

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Press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will list the Lassics lupine, a plant species found only in northern California, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. This final rule, which includes a critical habitat designation, is based on the best available scientific and commercial information for the species.

Primary factors contributing to the plant’s decline include woody vegetation encroachment, pre-dispersal seed predation, catastrophic wildfire, and reduced soil moisture due to drought associated with ongoing climate change.

Lassics lupine is a tap-rooted, herbaceous perennial that grows to a height of less than six inches tall. The pink and white pea-like flowers of Lassics lupine provide nectar for many pollinator species, including three types of native bees. The perennial plant is known to occur at high elevations around Mount Lassic and Red Lassic on the border of Humboldt and Trinity counties in northern California.

In addition to listing the species as endangered, the Service is also designating approximately 512 acres of critical habitat for Lassics lupine in the portions of Humboldt and Trinity counties where it occurs entirely on U.S. Forest Service land within the Six Rivers National Forest.

“Lassics lupine is a special perennial found only in the remote mountainside soils of northern California. Because it has such a narrowly defined range, any habitat loss represents a serious threat,” said Vicky Ryan, assistant fie supervisor of the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office. “We’re grateful for our partnership focused on Lassics lupine conservation and habitat management with Six Rivers National Forest. This joint effort is crucial for recovery of this rare plant, and we are optimistic about its prospects.”

As the ESA enters its 50th year, it remains extraordinarily effective at preventing species from going extinct and has inspired action to conserve at-risk species and their habitats before they need to be listed as threatened or endangered. Since it was signed into law in 1973, more than 99 percent of all species listed under the Act are still with us today.

The final rule to list the Lassics lupine will publish in the Federal Register on October 5, 2023. The document will be available at www.regulations.gov by searching under docket number FWS-R8-ES-2022-0083 and on the Service’s website at https://www.fws.gov/

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information about our work and the people who make it happen, visit https://www.fws.gov/cno/or connect with us via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr.

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