SoHum Parlance

Support Save the Eel, stop the theft of our water for wine and condos, de-commission Pillsbury Dam! Wait til Redway and Garberville have no water to drink, NO!

Where are the monkey wrenchers when you need them?
 

I don't think that would impact Benbow at all. Wrong fork.
 

Good riddance. How many babies will be saved from drowning now? You can't put a price on that.
 

I don't think the lake will be gone forever. I think eventually the rains will come back. Its called climate change. It'll change again and again.
 

Great land owners have permits to take water out do they get restricted?
 

The problem is that there is no money to maintain the dam.
 

Has everyone gotten the word that the Chamber of Commerce has canceled the 4th of July event at Benbow?
 

As usual, our untaxed billion dollar pot industry could pay for this without blinking.

Don't hold your breath.
 

http://garberville.org/site002/wrapper/293.html

this is the link to the fireworks show cancellation.
 

Well, I got to see it in my lifetime, the state of California took over the dam to "Protect it for Posterity” and instead they have ruined it completely, so, who amongst us is surprised?

We have come a long way from the days that the Benbow family would go down on a week-end before Memorial Day and have a chicken barbeque and put the dam in for the summer. It took a long time for us to forget how simple it can be to put a dam in, but here we are.

I think that the same guy that thought we were on the same river as Pillsbury may have done the studies. The deep water pooling was good for the summer fish habitat, and I could go on about the other benefits that the dam may have had, but most importantly we enjoy the dam, so it most certainly will have to go!
 

ernie, sorry for your nostalgia, and it does suck not to have a good swimming hole there, but if the dam were ever an unalloyed good thing as you say, that changed a while back. Not only isn't there river or money enough, the state park isn't anywhere close to up to snuff on the impacts and permits it's supposed to have.

You might say that's the problem these days, too much stupid regulation. Or you might say that we've adopted systems to recognize and try to avert the kind of systematic harms we used to ignore, but should not any longer if we want to have a living river in the future. Combine that with the fact that we've decided to starve state parks of even maintenance-level resources, and that this stuff is kinda getting on a bit in years, and this is just the inevitable working itself out in the driest spring since whenever.

In the era of toxic blue-green algae blooms, another hot scummy puddle on the river is not what it needs, and it's not what kids need.
 

Who says I'm a guy. And yes I know the P Dam is on another fork. It is just one more example of the mis-management of our resources.
 

I apologize to the apparent lady that I called a guy.

I want to say what I have to say respectfully, and try to have it taken as constructive, rather destructive, because I really like most of the people that have moved up here and brought us so many good things.

You might be surprised to find that I KNOW times have changed.

My family and I have been in this canyon for a while. I remember one year back in the ‘70’s that we had less than 22 inches of rain. There was a water dispenser set up at the Redway Fire Hall to supply water to the hill people who’s springs had dried up. We made it through that year. It was the start of the idea that you could just haul water to your homestead. I also remember a year in the 70’s that we had over 100 inches of rain.

Les Scher attorney-at-law, wrote the book on water rights in Southern Humboldt. (Literally!)

Most of the springs that I remember as a kid, that ran freely into the river, that were open for the critters to drink from are now “developed” and ran to “homesteads”. The roads that were water bared and healed are now opened back up. People that “own” a good spring use them freely, and think nothing of what they have taken from the river and the critters.

I see great hope in some of the water storage Ideas that the Mckee girls, who’s family has also been here since the beginning of white settlement, are promoting on the Matole River, where they tank a few months supply of water and use it in the fall were it is most needed. The water contributes to the water flow and they are not left with a “hot scummy puddle”. I see great hope in that idea. There are some out there that would condemn that idea as “further development”.

We have plenty of water, I don’t think any one has to get off the world yet. But we are certainly going to have to start managing our resources, and I don’t think that removing Benbow Dam is going to solve many of the environmental problems that we have.

Was I respectful enough this time?
 

No new taxes!
 

I was very happy to learn that the voter turnout for the primary election was actually over 50% in So Hum. We had been led to believe it was only 17% but that never sounded correct. 50% isn't great but it's lots better than I thought. I know this is off topic but I didn't know where else to put it.
 

The state park system is endangered of going extinct.
 

What would Estelle do?
 

Budahville may be scooped up by the feds. NCJ
 

The dam is a fish killer. Good riddance.

Couldn't agree more that water storage has got to catch on, no pun intended. We have all got to engage in more water catch projects. If rain will decline, we need to retain as much of it as possible in the hills' creeks and groundwater.

The county taxes tanks as an 'improvement'. Hey Estelle and Clif, (and Mark, Bonnie, Jill and Jimmy) how about an ordinance directing the assessor to not tax tanks and to create landowner incentives and assistance to build or buy them? They are pricy items, you're looking at $15,000 to build enough storage to live through the dry months without diverting from wells or creeks. How about a program of homeowner assistance to do water upgrades? Loan homeowners money for water tank installation and have it paid back as an added assessment on the landowner' taxes over a period of years.

We have got to be creative and get to work NOW.
 

The H2o tank storage idea was not original to the McKee girls. Give credit to the GUY who started it all.
 

we need to retain as much of it as possible in the hills' creeks and groundwater.

I agree. Looking forward, as more and more people move here, they need to be encouraged to catch water. If thousands of households catch thousands of gallons of water in the winter and then pour it onto the land in the summer the watershed will be greener than ever. It's a matter of seeing the water table as half full rather than half empty.
 

"The H2o tank storage idea was not original to the McKee girls. Give credit to the GUY who started it all."

Okay, who?

An idea is only as good as the people that are willing to work for it.
 

Estelle would report it better.
 

Great idea. Let's find the kid in the boat in the middle of the ocean who first figured out it was a good idea to catch and store water. Time machine anyone?
 

ernie - plenty respectful, thx.

12:18 - brilliant financing idea. fully agree re urgency.
 

Joseph and Yanni at the whitethorn junction came up with the tanks
 

I think her name is Jani (Yanni)And joseph.

She make great bread!
 

The H2o tank storage idea was not original to the McKee girls. Give credit to the GUY who started it all.

you mean the mckee girls didn't invent water storage?
 

I remember when the lake was deep enough to swim in and with all the siltation which has occurred recently it became a ridiculous attempt at a lake, which you could walk across when filled,(not on jesus) although I wish the lake was still available, we must respect that mother earth changed and it just wasn't happening. If the Dam were put in and a real lake appeared it would be worth fighting for, but the current situation really was a gross attempt to appease a few overly nostalgic business folk.
 

Only when the last tree has died,
The last river has been poisoned,
The last fish has been Caught,
Will We Realize That We Can't Eat Money...."Cree Indian Proverb"

Save our Dam Rivers, Save our Dam fish, and Just say NO to the whole dam thing....
 

AMEN
 

Force the pot growers to pay state and federal income taxes and you will have a first class lake, first class schools, first class roads and first class medical facilities.

We can't afford to support these parasites any longer. Tax them or jail them.
 

Just turn them in to the cops. The state gets their land and their assets. It's more reliable than trying to tax them. And it gets them out of here.
 

You're looking at the small picture, though. We don't have first-class anything in this entire country anymore, with the notable exception of the wealthy who can afford to send their children to private schools and pay out the kazoo for their healthcare. You can point fingers at pot growers in the Emerald Triangle (I certainly have), but they're not the only ones responsible for the mess we're in. What about the $1 billion a day spent in Iraq, which doesn't even go to the Iraqis? It goes to Halliburton! I hate to quote the Friday war protesters who are preaching to the choir, but we really are all complicit. We have to take a look at ourselves as well as our neighbors.
 

You left your credibility at the door when you claimed that Halliburton is netting 1 billion a day in Iraq.
 

We're not discussing Haliburton here, we talking about the local pot growing scams, in which they bleed the neighborhood to get filthy rich.

But you are probably part of the problem. You used one of the favorite Pot Grower dodges: look at all the corruption OUT THERE. it's a whore's world etc.
 

Well, I should clarify that Halliburton alone isn't getting the $1 billion a day spent in Iraq. But it's getting a damn big chunk. The amount spent in Iraq so far could have rebuilt every school, hospital and road in the United States, though. How's that for a statistic?

And just so you know: I'm not a grower. I've never been a grower. I've paid my taxes, every single one of them, ever since I joined the work force at 16.

I'm just saying that pot growers alone aren't responsible for what's happened to our hospitals and schools. A case in point: school funding is based on average daily attendance, and doesn't account for a host of basic expenditures, such as - duh! - the fact that a teacher doesn't get paid less if there are 25 students in her classroom, as opposed to 30. It doesn't account for the fact that the heating and the lighting bills keep going up. It doesn't account for the fact that building and maintenance costs keep going up too. We could go rounds about this, but I'm really not interested in picking a fight. Just look at the big picture, that's all: pot growers can be held responsible for a lot, but they're not responsible for all of it.
 

One more thing. I'm not trying to deflect attention from what's going on here by writing loftily of OUT THERE, as 1:35 put it. We seem paralyzed in our attempts to fight for funding at the local level, too, and it's not just the pot growers' problem. For whatever reasons, our towns don't want to incorporate, which means that we don't get funding for all sorts of things, like (again, duh!) 24/7 police protection. It means we don't have municipal codes that would go a long ways towards getting rid of blight, so even though we have a mostly healthy business community and very few empty spaces for rent, we still look like a couple of sorry-ass, run-down country towns (this applies much more to Redway than to Garberville). We have to fight the county tooth and nail for every dollar in road funds. On a bigger level, when Patty Berg was here she said that of every dollar California sends to the Feds, we only get 79 cents back. These aren't problems that can easily be blamed on pot growers alone. Again, look at the whole picture. Oh, and the lake? Sorry, but more money isn't bringing the river flows back. The river flows are gone in the name of money, both logging and pot, and money ain't buying the river back. All we can do is give it time to heal, and hope one day it does.
 

Fine. Pot Growers are not responsible for "all of it."

We'll just hold them responsible for the guns, drugs, locked gates, armed guards and dead kids and let the rest go.
 

How about the first four, and acknowledge that while they are responsible for quite a few dead bodies, so is stupidity while consuming alcohol? A lot of those dead bodies are from drunk-driving accidents.
 

2:01 whose interest is it in not to incorporate. Who perpetuates the nonsense part of that story that keeps people misinformed in your towns. Who is it that pisses on the idea of education and giving out information on topics that are uncomfortable.
 

Anonymous said this, anonymous said that, who the hell is anonymous? Only speaking for myself, I am proud of my name, my family and where I come from. I is edjukated from Southern Humboldt County (K thru 12 class of "75" SFHS) I could not wait to get out of dodge, and now I know why.

Do you live in so much fear, that your name is anonymous? Please tell me why. Tell me why we should read what anonymous has too say...

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, remember, freedom & liberty. And lets not forget all the pepole that have given their lives, so we can speak without fear and you still speak under the shadow of anonymous said.

Have a great 4th, and remember what that day means.

Ed Voice, son of Richard "Dick" Voice, Ret.CHP
 

Me?

Anonymous said... I fear ignorance and self interest with a gun in its hand and corrupted government loaded into the chamber.

When these things go away I will come out to play.
 

Ed Voice: Since we still live here, we can't criticize the Pot Growers without the very real fear of retaliation. The Growers are armed to the teeth and completely crazy.

Therefore, we post anonymously. It's another form of freedom.
 

Ed Voice: Since we still live here, we can't criticize the Pot Growers without the very real fear of retaliation. The Growers are armed to the teeth and completely crazy.

While there have been incidents in some urban areas where people vocal about drug dealing have threatened, beaten, and firebombed homes, there has been no such incident with local marijuana growers. Not one.
 

"While there have been incidents in some urban areas where people vocal about drug dealing have threatened, beaten, and firebombed homes, there has been no such incident with local marijuana growers. Not one."

This is a flat out lie and you know it. We lived in fear for our lives until we were driven out of our home in one of the better known Pot Communities by relentless threats from armed growers who lived nearby.
 

"there has been no such incident with local marijuana growers. Not one."

Well not above the table that we can talk about anyhow.
 

As a pot grower I take offense at the thought that I am responsible for anything. The education system which educated me in the ways of our society trained me to be a good capitalist and act accordingly. So if there is any blame to pass around, you can call my mommy and daddy tell them that you are disappointed in how they raised me, call the school board, all my teachers for the lifetime of my education, all the tax payers who payed for the creation of the education system which has failed me so badly, and most of all blame yourselves for being part of a society which demands we make lots of money, drive fancy cars, and travel to exotic locations to show you that we are not complete failures as human beings. We are all going to die some day and meet our maker can you say you tried to make the world a better place, I know Jah will be very happy with the weed I have grown.
 

10:05: Here we have an typical sociopath, a narcotics dealer who has inflicted him (her?) self on the rest of us. This is supposed to be our fault.

May the helicopters find you soon.
 

Correction: We don't "demand that you make lots of money." We demand that you spend ten years in a cell. You are a parasite. You aren't welcome in our world.
 

Okay post your mother's phone number and I'll make that call.
 

Mustn't get so upset! Could make a wrong move...

Hey, we'll be the ones making the calls. In fact, you haven't got a friend anywhere, have you. Anyone who knows you will jump at the chance to sell you out to the cops.

So what will it be: helicopters or 4X4s or men in fatigues?
 

"While there have been incidents in some urban areas where people vocal about drug dealing have threatened, beaten, and firebombed homes, there has been no such incident with local marijuana growers. Not one."

This is 1:52, 2:01 and 2:12, back after an evening at the latest Feet First show, which has quite a bit to say about our greed and loss of community values.

I don't think it would occur to the vast majority of local marijuana growers to threaten, beat, or firebomb a home, but there have certainly been violent incidents. And there's certainly silence. Someone (maybe a few someones) knows who killed Sean Akselsen. Someone (maybe a few someones) knows who killed Brad Thompson. Someone (maybe a few someones) knows who killed Chris Giauque. Someone (maybe a few someones) knows the whole truth about what happened in Whitethorn a couple of years ago, when a young woman was tied to a tree and allegedly sexually assaulted because of a marijuana debt.

Legalize it. Tax it. Treat it the same way you would anything else, with environmental safeguards in place. Kill the black market and get the cartels off the public lands and timber lands. Kill the black market so there's no money to be made from staying on the land without an education and a lick of sense about what goes on in the real world. Kill the black market so Southern Humboldt isn't so horrifically dependent on it, and so those of us who make an above-board living don't 1) feel embarrassed about asking other people what they do for work, or 2) feel like no matter what we ourselves do, we're somehow beholden to the local economy.

Because we all are now, whether we like to think in those terms or not. Pot money pays for land that helps support our realtors, it pays for goods that help support our merchants, it sometimes gets donated to our non-profit organizations that provide vital services in the absence of government funding.

Maybe, if it was legalized again (yes, again), we could treat it the way we do alcohol - as a substance that has been used by human beings for millennia, can be beneficial when used very, very moderately, and can be harmful when abused. And maybe we could get away from this sick love affair that so many people have with it, where they think they're renegades (they're not, they just created their own clique and subculture), or they think it's OK to use it from the moment they get up in the morning to the moment they go to bed at night (if they did the same with alcohol, they'd be alcoholics, but if you tell them it's not OK with pot, it's "Oh, it's just a plant.").

Let's just start being real about it, instead of being on one side of the pendulum (it's intrinsically evil and should be wiped off the face of the earth) or on the other side (it's totally harmless and has no effects on the individual or society whatsoever).
 

Pot GROWERS are intrinsically evil and should be wiped off the face of the earth.

Nobody would miss them.
 

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pot GROWERS are intrinsically evil and should be wiped off the face of the earth.

Hey jackasses what does this have to do with Benbow Lake and its demise, you all need to read the title of the blog you are blogging on,

perhaps you should be blogging on the following topics:

Complaints for forfeiture


A little more information on the raids

It's over - for now

obviously the education system is failing us greatly.
 

Oh I will miss the lake, and wonder it there is any possibility of it ever returning, prospects do not look good.
 

9:09, it doesn't actually have anything to do directly with Benbow Lake; it just headed this way because of one person's assertion that if pot growers were taxed like everyone else, there would be enough money for the lake (a point I argued against). And then it went from there.

If you'd like to come back to Benbow Lake, by all means do so. But calling other people names certainly isn't contributing to civilized discourse.
 

I don't think it would occur to the vast majority of local marijuana growers to threaten, beat, or firebomb a home, but there have certainly been violent incidents. And there's certainly silence. Someone (maybe a few someones) knows who killed Sean Akselsen. Someone (maybe a few someones) knows who killed Brad Thompson. Someone (maybe a few someones) knows who killed Chris Giauque. Someone (maybe a few someones) knows the whole truth about what happened in Whitethorn a couple of years ago, when a young woman was tied to a tree and allegedly sexually assaulted because of a marijuana debt.

All examples of marijuana related violence to be sure, but the implication of at least one of the posters in this thread is that you face the prospect of violence for merely speaking out against marijuana growing. I certainly haven't seen any evidence of that, but I couldn't say that it's never happened.
 

But I also do have to wonder how a thread about Benbow Lake veered into marijuana. At least it didn't turn into a Reggae thread.
 

Oh, but it could, if we want to discuss low river levels! And why, oh why, did our so-called local environmental watchdogs not say a word, not one, to their supporters or to the Planning Commission, when everything was till hunky-dory between the Mateel and People, about the attendance increase to 12,000 ticketholders in 2006 (up from 8,500 in 2005)? The hottest, driest weekend of the year, with more and more people using the river... and dead silence from the eco-groovy crowd.

The silence around here can be deafening in so many ways.
 

yep. And the alcohol and tobacco industries will never allow the legalization of marijuana, because it has the best qualities of both, so people would quit drinking beer and smoking cigs.
 

Wine and beer taste better than marijuana, though marijuana is calorie free. Still, they don't have the same effects. Not at all.

Nor cigarettes really, which are essentially speed. Opposite effect.
 

"But I also do have to wonder how a thread about Benbow Lake veered into marijuana."

We wouldn't be talking about saving our lake if the pot growers paid taxes on their earnings--like the rest of us. While contributing nothing to the tax rolls, they run up the bill in law enforcement expenses for the rest of us.
 

Uh, I find it dubious that pot growers paying their taxes would have made any difference for Benbow Lake. Maybe you can explain the nexus.
 

We just need better math teachers.

To Eric's comment
"I certainly haven't seen any evidence of that, but I couldn't say that it's never happened."

Eric you have a unique position in the community. First your partner's status gives you a cushion. Your trade gives you another cushion. The fact that you are reasonably bright is another defense. Put simply you have never been a threat to the system. I've been threatened and I believe others believed to have said the wrong things to the wrong people at the wrong time have also been threatened. The difference I believe falls in whether or not you need to be worried about someone turning you in for the things they know about your life. I didn't have those worries and I thought the intimidation techniques were a bunch of childish bravado. The largest majority of people I know even the bigger growers are not violent people and they are not mean people. But they have their secrets and I have my doubts about some whether they would help you if someone else wanted to do you harm. They can't and still protect their own skin and that is what they do 100% of their time.
 

"Uh, I find it dubious that pot growers paying their taxes would have made any difference for Benbow Lake. Maybe you can explain the nexus."

Nexus?

As you know, public works programs require taxpayer funding.
 

The point that's already been made is that it's not just a public-works and funding issue, it's a river-flow issue. And pot money isn't going to bring the river flow back, although growing less pot might mean less strain on the river (in which case, paradoxically, it might be... LESS pot money!).
 

A friend pointed out in a conversation about the low flow of the river, that maybe it is the continual use of water to build the new bridge at Confusion Hill. I thought it was a interesting observation.
 

...the alcohol and tobacco industries will never allow the legalization of marijuana, because it has the best qualities of both, so people would quit drinking beer and smoking cigs.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : Fri Jul 04, 01:02:00 PM

Good point. I totally agree.
 

No, that so called "point" hasn't been made and doesn't make sense. However, it does illustrate the lengths that Pot Growers will go to keep from paying their share of taxes.
 

It's not alcohol and tobacco. Different highs entirely! It's the Feds' post-Prohibition need to create a new devil in the public's mind to fight. Read your history.
 

Pot growers don't put their savings into the bank. The economy runs on savings which are then lent out to legitimate businesses.
 

All the more reason to legitimize it, and quit this Mickey Mouse business of "it's morally corrupt and has no place on Earth" vs. "It's a sacred herb that does not harm to anyone." Just treat it the way we do alcohol, and have it done with. Get the money from the local growers into the banks, and get the industrial growers off our public lands and timber lands.
 

I don't think you will get many arguments for that view but until these growers are willing to come out of hiding and either show the public that their intentions are more than the greed they are labeled with I don't see it happening. Why aren't these people grabbing the news camera and screaming that this is unfair that they are being treated poorly? Make it in your face. I don't see any growers willing to take the political risk for the sake of the whole community but they are willing to take the financial risk to profit. Organize and make a fund. Maybe fund a good crack fire-fighting team openly in public. The Flaming Ganja warriors or something. Hey maybe we can change the name of the local high school football team since this isn't really a 'moral' issue as you say.

Love,
Mickey Mouse.
 

Love to you too, Mickey. I actually like your ideas!
 

Nexus?

As you know, public works programs require taxpayer funding.

Okay, but you're leaving quite a bit out of the process. Maybe I can track it down to the following alternate-universe where all the pot growers pay their taxes.


Sacramento, July of 2008.

Legislator from Pamona: Wow. Where did all this money come from? I thought we were facing shortfalls.

Legislator from Eureka: Well, you can thank my pot growing constituents. They may be breaking the law, but they pay their taxes!

Legislator from Bakersfield: Wow! Really? That's nice of them! And now we have all the money we need. Hey, why don't we reward them by redirecting some money to fix the Benbow Dam? After all, we have so much money we really don't need any more money going to our own districts. Those pot growers are taking care of all of us!

Legislator from San Luis Obispo: Yeah, it's important that those pot growers have a place to swim while braving the heat in terms of weather and the Feds. After all, they do make the medicine for all of us.

Is that what you had in mind?
 

Unfortunately the lake cannot be saved for any amount of money. The siltation which has occurred over time has created an issue which the environmentally aware will not let be undone. There would have to be some serious gravel mining done to create the lake again, otherwise it will be three feet deep all the way across with a five foot section where the river channel is. Maybe a simple name change will suffice

Benbow creek state park
Benbow trickle state park
Benbow porta potty state park
Benbow sand volleyball state park
Benbow big rocky beach state Park

take your pick or add your own.
 

But Eric Southern Humboldt is the alternative universe. That is what the growers keep telling us. They live in reality and all the rest of us live in some fictional reality called the bigger world.
 

Eric,

The growers are extracting billions of dollars a year from Humboldt County and contributing virtually zero. Yes, they sprinkle a few bucks around at fund raisers. That's it. Not just the lake, but virtually ALl of our shortfalls would vanish overnight if this income were taxed--like yours and mine are.

Your scenario suggests that a tax is impractical. OK. Then the growers are also impractical. We can't afford such parasites any longer. One way or another, we have to pay their way. And from what I hear, I think we've had it at this point.
 

Eric's point wasn't that it was impractical. It was that it would not have made a difference in Sacramento's priorities and therefor would not have resulted in repair of the dam.
 

you are correct the dam ain't getting fixed, repaired, rebuilt, or restructured. No matter what you call it, the state park system is not interested in pursuing any further action other than removing the impediments to flow. I will have many fond memories of the good old days of the lake, but does anyone honestly believe their is a financial reason behind the dam being removed.
 

Well, that let's the pot growers off the hook. No reason why they should pay taxes or contribute anything to society.

We obviously owe them a free ride.
 

You're conflating pot growers not paying taxes with a situation at Benbow Dam that wouldn't be alleviated by tax dollars. Yes, pot growers should pay all their taxes. But tax dollars - pot growers' or anyone else's - aren't going to bring the river flow back.
 

"But tax dollars - pot growers' or anyone else's - aren't going to bring the river flow back."

The river flow is a water rights issue that could be litigated if we had the tax base to proceed.
 

Whose water rights? Are the fish going to sue?
 

See "Chinatown."
 

I need to bee eddifucated. How do you sue over water rights if there is no water to move?
 

OK people, here is the man at Parks, who is in-charge and oversight for the Benbow State Park, Lake and or Dam: His name is Keith Witte (kwitte@parks.ca.gov). You should write him with all your questions; and also there is the guy in-charge of Environmental permits, like CEQA for Benbow Dam, His name is; Jay Harris (JHARRIS@parks.ca.gov)you should e-mail him and ask why no Lake. And then there is the big cheese for Parks for all Northern California; his name is Steve Horvitz (shorvitz@parks.ca.gov) If you want answers, you should go to the horses mouth.

This is what I know about Benbow Lake not being formed this year:

There are issues with what the Lake is doing to East Branch creek; the dozen or so Redwoods falling into the Lake or River across from the confluence of East Branch Creek because of bank erosion; and that Parks, as per Fish and Game & Army Corps must submit a new CEQA EIR, and get approval from the State Water Board & NMFS concerning impacts the dam & lake will cause to ESA Fish. Parks last state & federal permits for installing and operating the dam ran up this year (it was for 5 years) so they knew this day was coming. They did not want to file a new one because of the CEQA EIR, they just wanted an extension. Well it was denided from Army Corps, until Parks perpairs a new CEQA. That is the reason there is no Lake at Benbow today..........

You have to remember, our State Parks has spent 2 million since 1986, trying to make Benbow dam work, with another million or so to now fix it again. It's kind of like what Fish & Game did to Lake Davis, trying to get rid of the predatory and invasive northern pike, but no cigar. Now thats our money.

Pot growers, let me think, no they have nothing to do with Benbow Lake or Dam, but a nail gun to the head, sound good, and they sure use a lot of water.

South Fork Eel River: listed Federal & State Wild & Scenic River since 1972..........

The Benbow Lake & Dam has served no purpose since it stopped generating electricity back in the 40's. Oh ya, I almost forgot, the Lake does serve a select group of private business people, in and around the area, ugly as this may seem, its very true........
 

Ed, The lake also "serves" everyone who lives here, including you, ugly as that may seem.
 

Maybe if we planted the lakebed with marijuana plants and all the proceeds would go directly to the state park then the problem would be solved, we would probably have to do away with the pre-employment drug screening program, but that would save some cash also. Yeah, the whole think planted with luscious green vegetation, and no rip-offs because the rangers are well armed.
 

Re: "Ed, The lake also "serves" everyone who lives here, including you, ugly as that may seem"

OK I'll bite; Name all the beneficial uses that Benbow Lake has to offer the community only?

Call the Eureka office of the Red Cross, ask them why they stopped having swimming lessions at Benbow Lake years ago.

Then name all the beneficial uses Benbow lake has to offer the watershed and habitat above & below the Dam?

Then ask yourself, who is more important.

How long have you lived in Southern Humboldt County?

Do you own property and or a home there?

Do you get your drinking water from the South Fork of the Eel River?

I think people living in Garberville, forget where their drinking water comes from. The intake for your drinking water is right across the river from Randall Sand & Gravel. It comes straight from the river.

Do you swim in the river, below Cooks Valley after any of the "On the River Events"?

Call the Humboldt County Heath Dept, or the State Water Board in Santa Rosa, ask them what kind of spike they see in "coliform bacteria" or "fecal coliform bacteria" in Benbow Lake after just one event up-stream.

Look up Coliform Bacteria, and see were it comes from.

The Lake is not a great swimming hole, or a nice place to use, it becomes a man made open cesspool.
 

Not sure this comment will matter much now as I seem to have come into the discussion late. But: The lake does have several environmental concerns that will have to be addressed before any of the responsible permitting agencies would consider issuing a permit. At least I suspect so. First there are the temperature issues. Maybe when it was deep there was a thermal gradient where cold water could have been drawn of the bottom to offset normal temperature issues associated with ponding water in exposed conditions. But as many others have pointed out- siltation has greatly reduced the capacity and subsequently the depth.

Secondly, the fish ladder is a joke and probably doesn't adequately address the free passage of all life stages of listed fish species so that would have to be addressed.

Thirdly, the algae and nutrient issues as well as other water quality issues would have to be addressed.

And the lake is a breeding ground for pike minnow, which is a veracious predator of salmonids. I have personally witnessed stream reaches upstream of the dam that had juvenile salmonids in it prior to the taking down of the dam. When the dam is taken down, some pike retreat upstream and displace and/or eat the juvenile salmonids. This is a serious concern for those trying to protect these species.

Syd Leahman is simply wrong when he says the dam is good for fish. Any decent fisheries biologist would say the same. Unless you are trying to breed warm water species.

Then there are the downstream impacts that have NEVER been properly assessed. In fact the lake has never been properly monitored for the water quality parameters such as temp, DO, pH, etc to see what the affects are.

I enjoyed the dam, 30 years ago. But not so much recently. Too bad. Times have changed and it is simply no longer appropriate.

Joelle