The Redwood Region Audubon Society’s Appeal of Nordic Aquafarms & their Current Restoration Efforts

Eureka, calif. (KIEM)- The Redwood Region Audubon Society advocates for the protection of birds and other wildlife by supporting local conservation efforts. Their mission to protect led them to file an appeal against the proposed Nordic Aquafarms project.

We talked to Gail Kenny, the President of the Redwood Region Audubon Society about this matter.

“We felt that the EIR for Nordic Aqua Farms fell short in protecting food sources and the environment for birds in the local fishery. And, we were advocating for more stringent ways to ensure that the environment is not as affected by it,” said Kenny.

Jeremy Cashen a Board Member of the Redwood Region Audubon Society reiterated the same statement about why the Redwood Region Audubon Society filed their appeal.

“It wasn’t to stop the project at all. They want the Environmental Impact Report to be written better. They don’t think it was done well enough, and they think that there’s information that they’re basically missing from the report,” said Cashen.

Beyond protection, the organization also works on various wildlife restoration projects throughout Humboldt County.

“Throughout the history of settlement and the area around Humboldt Bay. We’ve lost about 90% of the wetlands and marshes, saltwater and freshwater included, “said Cashen. “So, it’s important to restore areas like this (Wigi Wetlands) back to a healthy ecosystem that can be used by all different wildlife and the native plants.”

If you want to help out and get your hands dirty, the organization welcomes the community every fourth Saturday of the month to work on different restoration projects. Currently, the area behind the Bayshore mall, called Wigi Wetlands, is being restored.

“We need a lot of help from volunteers and people in the community. The only way to get stuff like this done, unless you have a lot of money, which we don’t, is to get help from the community that cares about the areas.”

Redwood Region Audubon Society (rras.org)