Humboldt Baykeeper - Humboldt Baykeeper

King Tides Photo Initiative: January 1-3, 2022

Another set of extreme high tides (known as King Tides) are coming Saturday, Sunday, & Monday, January 1-3. All you need to get involved is a smartphone or a camera! Please submit your best photos to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To see some of the best submitted photos from the December King Tides, check out our King Tides Photo Album 2021.

Photo: King Tide waves near the old railroad tracks across from the bay entrance (south of Elk River). Robin Gray-Stewart, 12-4-21.

Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Terminal Project Receives Funding

The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District recently received a $576,191 grant from the State Lands Commission to build a Heavy Lift Marine Terminal as part of the offshore wind energy terminal planned along the Samoa waterfront. The District also released its call for bids on permitting, site assessment, and planning for the Offshore Wind Energy Terminal Master Plan, a 168-acre project to be built in several phases.

The Climate Crisis on the North Coast (and what we can do about it)

In November, world leaders met in Glasgow for the 26th time since 1992 to grapple with ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Taking action to slow climate change has become more urgent in recent years, as catastrophic storms, fires, drought, and heat waves are becoming more and more common. This is no longer some abstract future scenario, and the North Coast is facing many challenges as a result of the unfolding climate crisis.

Keep reading

Celebrating Another Successful Bay Tour Season!

As Bay Tours Coordinator, I have the privilege, through a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy, to play host to many members of our fine community by organizing activities around Humboldt Bay. This year, although different, was very much the same, thanks to our many community partners.

Photo: Our last Madaket tour of the 2021 season was for staff and artists of Canvas + Clay Studio and Gallery. Here they are enjoying a fine day on the bay. Photo by Jasmin Segura.

Clam Beach Pollution Study Points to Birds

Clam Beach landed on Heal the Bay's “Beach Bummer” list of California's most polluted beaches for the seventh time in 11 years, getting an 'F' for water quality on the latest Beach Report Card.

But after years of research, we now have a better sense of the source of this pollution thanks to a new study by Humboldt County's Public Health Lab Manager, Dr. Jeremy Corrigan.

In short, Dr. Corrigan’s research identified birds as the primary source of pollution at Clam Beach, while cattle are the main source upstream in Strawberry Creek.

"Clam Beach is frequented by birds, which adds to the allure of its location and should be celebrated not feared." from Corrigan et al. Microbial Source Tracking Approach to Investigate Fecal Waste at the Strawberry Creek Watershed and Clam Beach, California, USA. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 6901.

Baykeeper's Mercury Study Extended to Coastal Fish

Humboldt Baykeeper recently completed its second study of mercury in local fish, this time focusing on species from nearshore coastal waters. We sampled 70 individual fish across nine species, including Pacific Halibut and several species of rockfish. We also sampled additional Lingcod and California Halibut to add to the data from our 2018 study. We found that most local fish are safe to eat in moderation—with a few exceptions:

Click HERE for the updated recommendations on Eating Fish Safely.

Comiendo Pescado Con Seguridad Pautas

Estudio sobre mercurio ampliado para incluir peces capturados en el océano

Our final report, Mercury Testing of Sport/Food Fishes from Nearshore Ocean Waters of Humboldt County, California, is available to download HERE.

New! Phone-sized images for handy references (click to enlarge or download):

New State Study Aims to Protect Drinking Water for 88,000 People

More than a decade after declaring an “Imminent and Substantial Endangerment” to public health from contaminated groundwater near the Mad River, the State Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is finally resuming work to determine the extent of the dioxin plume and to plan next steps to protect the region’s drinking water.

In December 2020, DTSC approved a contract with SHN Consulting Engineers and Geologists to identify how far contamination has spread toward Mad River from the former McNamara & Peepe Lumber Mill. The site is between Arcata and Blue Lake, about one mile upstream of the drinking water supplies for nearly 90,000 people in the Humboldt Bay area. This includes Arcata, Eureka, McKinleyville, Blue Lake, and the Samoa Peninsula.