PHOTOS from April 18, 2011 Rally/Protest at CalTrans, on the Streets of Eureka, & at the Courthouse

Etched in stone and delivered to CalTrans:
ONE DEMAND. CANCEL THE PLAN!

Mass RALLY at CalTrans Monday, April 18th

Link to April 18 Rally Flier (2 sided)
http://www.box.net/shared/b8hdd3xle9

Mass RALLY at CalTrans To Oppose Road Widening Thru Richardson Grove!

Protest On The Advertised Bid Day for Main Phase of
Richardson Grove Road Widening Construction

April 18th at NOON
CalTrans District 1 Headquarters
1656 Union St. (Union and Wabash)
EUREKA

April 18th, according to CalTrans, is when the highway expansion plan will be advertised for contractor bids.

WE WILL STOP THIS PLAN

No “business as usual” until this plan is canceled!

JOIN THE MASS PHONE CALL BLACK-OUT AT THE RALLY!


**GROUP BIKE RIDE!
Gathering at the Arcata Plaza at 9:30am
Bicyclists will leave at 10am for the mass Rally in Eureka!

Bring signs, banners, musical instruments, & bullhorns on Monday to get your message across.

Protect the forest and our future. RESIST INVASION.

Contact: Richardson Grove Action Now
707.602.7551 rgroveactionnow@gmail.com

Disrupt the bid start day! Mass Rally Mon April 18 To Oppose CalTrans' Federally-Funded Road Widening Plan Through Richardson Grove State Park

MEDIA ALERT: April 14, 2011 For Immediate Release

Contact: Richardson Grove Action Now (707) 602-7551, rgroveactionnow@gmail.com



Mass Rally Monday April 18 at Noon To Oppose CalTrans'
Federally-Funded Plan to Widen the Highway Through Richardson Grove State Park

Protest Coincides With Advertised Bid Day for Bulk of Richardson Grove Highway Construction



Humboldt County: Richardson Grove Action Now has organized a rally for Monday, April 18, 2011 at CalTrans District One Headquarters in Eureka to protest the federally-funded plan to widen Highway 101 through Richardson Grove State Park. April 18th is the advertised bid day for the main phase of construction for the Richardson Grove project. The protest will begin at noon where participants will again demand “No Road Widening Through Richardson Grove.”



Richardson Grove Action Now asks , “If CalTrans can build in a State Park and injure protected old-growth, steal adjacent private property forestland, and violate the Endangered Species Act, what is stopping them from building anywhere for any reason and turning it all into highway?”



The organizers invite all who value living ecosystems and locally-owned business instead of free-trade corridors for interstate commerce to come to CalTrans and declare “HANDS OFF THE ANCIENT FOREST! We are resisting your military and corporate invasion!” Rallyers are encouraged to bring signs, banners, musical instruments, and bullhorns on Monday to make sure that there is no business as usual for CalTrans on the bid day and to deliver the message cancel the plan.



On the morning of Monday April 18th , bicyclists against the highway expansion through Richardson Grove will depart at 10am from the Arcata Plaza for a group ride to the Mass Rally at CalTrans in Eureka.



Richardson Grove Action Now believes that a grassroots movement committed to direct action is key in the struggle against Caltrans' disastrous and destructive project. Richardson Grove Action Now is interested in organizing with anyone to protect the autonomy of west coast rural communities, and to keep corporate and government entities from ruining our local economy and dominating and bullying us. Organizers know that CalTrans' highway expansions are supported by U.S. Military and so-called defense agencies that wish to have greater access to and control over the people and natural resources of this region.



Richardson Grove Action Now invites all opposed to the plan to CalTrans this Monday, April 18th to insist on the right to survive and determine what passes through our lives and covers the landscape of our home.



For more info: Richardson Grove Action Now at (707) 602-7551 or email rgroveactionnnow@gmail.com.

Second Mass RALLY at CalTrans on MON, APRIL 18

Mass RALLY at CalTrans In Opposition to the Road Widening Through Richardson Grove!

Richardson Grove Action Now announces and invites all to a mass RALLY at CalTrans in Eureka on Monday, April 18th. April 18, 2011, according to CalTrans, is the date when the highway expansion plan through Richardson Grove State Park will be advertised for subcontractor bids.

We are the people and the people say "NO ROAD WIDENING THROUGH RICHARDSON GROVE!"

Protect the forest and our future. Resist Invasion.


Rally on Monday, April 18th at NOON
at
CalTrans District 1 Headquarters
1656 Union St. (Union and Wabash)
Eureka

There will be a group bike ride meeting at the Arcata Plaza at 9:30am before the rally. Bicyclists will leave at 10am for Eureka!

For info or to get more involved contact Richardson Grove Action Now, call
(707) 602-7551 or email rgroveactionnow@gmail.com.

***

Monday April 18th, mass Rally to protest the road widening plan through Richardson Grove. Noon at CalTrans District 1 Headquarters at Union and Wabash in Eureka.

Monday, March 21st RALLY & COURT

CALTRANS is preparing to widen Hwy 101 thru
RICHARDSON GROVE STATE PARK for increased industrial trucking & militarization. We will stop them!

CalTrans' plan threatens our rural lives and involves cutting & crushing ancient redwoods' roots, cutting 56 trees in the state park, & possibly changing old-growth forest on private property into road bed.

TWELVE PEOPLE, ARRESTED AT A LOCKDOWN PROTEST AT CALTRANS, HAVE COURT ON:

MONDAY, MARCH 21^ST
COURTHOUSE IN EUREKA (5th and K)

RALLY ON FRONT STEPS 7:45 am
COURT FOR 12 ARRESTED 8:00 am

Rally with Richardson Grove signs, then support in court.

(There is a security check x-ray machine in the courthouse.)

Richardson Grove Action Now (707) 602-7551

NEW FLIER for NEW RALLY DATE

THE POSTPONED RALLY IN GARBERVILLE IS NOW PLANNED FOR FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2011

RALLY date changed to Friday April 1st due to weather. No joke :)

UPDATE! RALLY RESCHEDULED FOR APRIL 1ST DUE TO WEATHER. SEE YOU THERE!

Friends of Richardson Grove Will Hold A Rally & Celebration of Spring On Friday April 1st, 2011 Challenging the Highway Widening Project Threatening Ancient Humboldt County Redwoods

CalTrans Project Through Richardson Grove State Park Would Harm Old-growth Trees, Marbled Murrelet Habitat, and Rural North Coast Towns

GARBERVILLE, Calif.— A group of Friends of Richardson Grove State Park invite the public to a Rally and Celebration of Spring on Friday, April 1st, 2011 from 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM at the Garberville Town Square. This will be a family-friendly event focusing on educating the public about the ill-advised highway-widening project that not only threatens the ancient redwoods of Richardson Grove State Park, but could also change the rural character of Humboldt County.


The event will feature local speakers, musicians including Bud Rogers, Jefferson Parsons and Defenders of the Holy Grove, educational literature, sample letters to send to elected representatives, a craft table for children and adults and the opportunity to discuss with neighbors the effects this project might have on our State Park and Community.


The highway project is widely opposed by local residents, business owners, conservation and Native American groups, and economists as unnecessary and damaging to the State Park, the venerable old-growth grove and its wildlife, tourism, and the coastal communities of Humboldt County.


Caltrans and certain business interests have attempted for decades to provide access for larger commercial trucks through the area, and in the past few years have pushed for widening the narrow, meandering section of Highway 101 through the world-renowned ancient redwood grove in Richardson Grove State Park. This park at the southern entrance to Humboldt County is considered to be the “redwood curtain” protecting the small communities of the north coast from blight and urban development. Public outcry has so far protected the grove from development, but Caltrans and a handful of business interests have aggressively pushed for access for larger trucks.


Established in 1922, Richardson Grove State Park was recently rated as one of the top 100 state parks in the United States, and attracts thousands of visitors from around the world every year to explore one of the last protected stands of accessible old-growth redwoods. It is here you first encounter significant old-growth forest when driving north, and this popular tourist destination has provided many people with a transformative experience walking through some of the oldest living beings on the planet.


The proposed spoiling of Richardson Grove and widening of the highway through the “Richardson Grove Operational Improvement Project” does not serve the region’s best interests and threatens the area’s environment, economy, and way of life. The Humboldt County Economic Development Program has used public funding for a misleading public-relations campaign claiming the widening and increased large-truck traffic are needed for safety and commerce and will benefit Humboldt County through falling retail prices, bolstering the local economy, and making travel into the county from the south safer. Bigger trucks do not somehow translate to consumer savings, but do increase wear and tear on roadways and decrease safety for smaller vehicles. The widening would provide incentive for big-box retailers like Walmart and Home Depot to move into Humboldt County, to the detriment of local businesses. The reality is that this project has the potential to change forever a rural lifestyle cherished by residents of the North Coast.


Caltrans claims the “realignment” project is needed to safely accommodate large-truck travel, remove the restriction of larger vehicles on this section of highway, and improve movement of commercial goods. However, it appears from Caltrans’ own statements and signage that the portion of road for which this project is contemplated is currently designated for larger trucks and that Caltrans has exaggerated potential safety problems.


Advocates for the grove forced the agency to complete a full Environmental Impact Report, rather than the Categorical Exemption and minimal environmental analysis Caltrans originally tried to employ. Caltrans’ preferred project appears to be a predetermined decision taken in advance of the environmental analysis. Federal law prohibits transportation projects on public-park lands except in cases where there is no feasible alternative. Since smaller-sized commercial trucks already travel through the grove to deliver goods to Humboldt County, one feasible alternative would be to leave the highway as it is and retain the integrity of Richardson Grove.


The project is opposed by the Environmental Protection Information Center, Save Richardson Grove Coalition, North Coast Environmental Center, InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, Friends of the Eel River, Center for Biological Diversity, Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters, Californians for Alternatives to Toxics and Richardson Grove Action Now, among others.

March 13th: Pre-Rally Potluck & Meeting

Calling All Friends of Richardson's Grove
Sunday March 13th, 2011
1:00pm
Garberville Vet's Hall

PreRally Potluck and Meeting

Come and help prepare for the upcoming Garberville Rally on March 18th!
This is an open invitation to anyone interested in helping bring the Cal-Trans Richardson's Grove widening project to a halt.

For more info call 707-834-7916

We will be making signs and banners.

Please bring a potluck dish, cardboard, bed sheets, paints and brushes.

A Statement from Lock-downers at Monday's Direct Action at CalTrans

ATTENTION EVERYONE!

Right now, community members from Richardson Grove Action Now are locked down inside here in the CalTrans District 1 Headquarters building with One Demand:

Cancel the plan to widen the highway through Richardson Grove IMMEDIATELY!!

ONE DEMAND! CANCEL THE PLAN!! ONE DEMAND !! CANCEL THE PLAN!

ONE DEMAND! CANCEL THE PLAN!!

The people who are locked down to the CalTrans office risk their freedom in order to Inspire You.

This direct action is born of URGENCY.

The people locked down take this direct action to inspire you to prepare and take action now to stop this destructive plan through Richardson Grove.

Even though we've opposed the plan in the courts,

Even though the Richardson Grove project promises nothing but the downfall of our local economy and the irreparable destruction of our natural environment,

Even though our Earth strains to support over consumption and expansion, and over consumption and expansion would only increase with this road widening,

CalTrans continues to move forward.

In spite of our input, our petitioning,

In spite of our letters to the editors, our calls to politicians

In spite of our lawsuits, our presence in meetings,

In spite of all the outright opposition to the road widening, it seems like they haven't heard us.

We've been loud, but we need to get louder.

Get loud folks!!!

And it's time for us to get more bold!

CANCEL THE HIGHWAY EXPANSION THROUGH RICHARDSON GROVE!!

CalTrans and elected representatives continue to ignore our will, the will of the people, bowing instead to a few big business owners and the wealthiest one percent of our population. People charged with the duty of representing the will of the people blatantly go against us: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors both secretly and overtly have shut out public participation regarding this project. Elected state assembly member, Wes Chesbro, has lied and given the green light for the ruin of Richardson Grove. CalTrans project manager, Kim Floyd, and District One Supervisor, Charles Fielder, stand to advance their own positions with the completion of the Richardson Grove road widening. They have all rubber stamped this horrendous project in spite of the will of the people.

The people have made a Loud and Bold expression of our desire for autonomous communities. Autonomous communities that operate free from outside domination, free of top-down governance.

We want communities without unnecessary infrastructure.

We want communities not dependent on endless expansion and the false progress of convenience.

We want a place free of corporate invasion, free of WalMarts and prisons.

We want a place that honors the spirit of the land and the spirit of the people who call it home.

We want to cultivate community and we will stand together until this plan and any other nasty plans are canceled!

CANCEL THE HIGHWAY EXPANSION THROUGH RICHARDSON GROVE!!

Profit-driven corporations are vulnerable because working people keep those corporations going and therefore, working people can shut them down! While those who think they are in power are short-sighted and close-minded, the people are fueled by their hearts and spirits. We are compelled, out of necessity, to act to preserve the survival of our ecosystem and respond to the needs of our living families and communities.
ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!

CANCEL THE HIGHWAY EXPANSION THROUGH RICHARDSON GROVE!!!

Richardson Grove Action Now is in solidarity with the people of Tunisia, Algeria, Albania, Yemen, Chiapas, Egypt, and people all over the world who say NO, WE WILL NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!

We are in solidarity with all people resisting oppressive conditions imposed upon them and who are rising up against corrupt systems that attempt to enslave them.

We are in solidarity with those fighting back for their freedom. We are here to say “NO. You WILL NOT expand the highway through Richardson Grove. WE WILL STOP YOU.”

During this perilous time in the herstory of this planet and the history of our species, we must, WE MUST Stop the Destruction of the Natural World. We must stop destruction that comes in all shapes and sizes, from international laws that keep people in poor qualities of food, water and air, to the mass of plastic bottles floating in the ocean, the paving over of the life-giving land, to the toxicity that enters our bodies and minds.

The Earth is undergoing a continual smothering into a concrete hell. Capitalism is killing us. We know it's the problem. Focusing on simplifying our lives is the first step towards surviving and determining our own healthy existence.

The people who think they are in power orchestrate wanton destruction of the land and push for the building up of structures that only ensure their profits and deny the survival and quality or our lives. Their aims are presented as progress, yet in reality, they bring us sickness.

CANCEL THE HIGHWAY EXPANSION THROUGH RICHARDSON GROVE!!

We want to be able to walk along the road through Richardson Grove. Those trees in Richardson Grove are in a protected park. We want them to stay that way. With such a small amount of ancient forest left, everything we do to it should be good for the trees, not good for the trucks.

We will defend what's left. We will defend the ancient trees. We will defend our lives from further corporate and military invasion. We have the power to protect the forests for future generations!

Raise your voices and shake the walls of CalTrans! We will Stop This Plan and we are CANCELING THE HIGHWAY EXPANSION PLAN THROUGH RICHARDSON GROVE!

ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

Join us with direct action. It is urgent!