On a walk through the coastal hills north of the Golden Gate this April, you could be forgiven for doubting all the talk of a record-breaking California drought. Grassy slopes glowed an emerald green, wildflowers erupted from among the wild oats, and the blossoms of madrone, manzanita and mountain lilac drew marble-sized bumblebees to their […]
Seth Zuckerman
Posted inSeptember 18, 2006: Going Big
Unpaved with good intentions
New easements keep farmland in production despite spiraling property values
Posted inWotr
Ocean fishing ban will be a drastic step
Sometime during the first week of April, regulators will decide whether to close a 700-mile stretch of the California and Oregon coasts to commercial salmon fishing, and much of the West Coast will learn whether locally caught king salmon will show up at fish markets this summer. At first blush, it seems like a case […]
Posted inWotr
A ‘teachable moment’ has arrived
As the personal tragedies and economic ripples flowed from New Orleans last week, a friend called from Eureka in Northern California to alert me that the price of gasoline had risen another 30 cents per gallon. Maybe this is a message that will get through, I thought. I live near Eureka in the tiny town […]
Posted inWotr
Eating humble pie can be good for you
From the fifth rung of the ladder, I surveyed the scene, and the conclusion was unavoidable: I’d been screwing up for years. This winter marked a full decade since I bought a small orchard on the north coast of California, but the trees weren’t in top condition any more. With my two riverside acres came […]
Posted inWotr
A California treasure shouldn’t hide itself
Four years ago, it seemed that one of the fiercest battles over West Coast timber had ended with the public’s purchase of the 7,000-acre Headwaters redwood forest in Northern California. But those trees continue to fuel controversy, this time over whether people should be allowed into the cathedral-like ancient groves located some 200 miles north […]
Posted inWotr
Medical use of marijuana is a states’ rights issue
Medical use of marijuana is a states’ rights issue By Seth Zuckerman Like the Democrats in the U.S. Senate, marijuana advocates suffered a setback at the polls last month. By a margin of 2 to 1, Nevada voters trounced a much-publicized proposal to legalize cannabis for personal use. B ut the Bush administration would be […]
Posted inJanuary 19, 1998: After the gold rush
Homestake shows how good a mine can be
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story. MCLAUGHLIN MINE, Calif. – Homestake Mining Co.” s Ray Krauss ambles along the banks of a lake his firm built to supply water to its McLaughlin Mine in Northern California. He talks glowingly about his 17 years as manager of environmental affairs. First he […]