Offshore wind development faces opposition
Last week, the Yurok Tribe and the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria each announced their respective councils voted to formally oppose offshore wind development.
The votes came a day apart and are amid work to turn the ocean off Eureka into a massive energy producing enterprise. They join the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation among North Coast tribes opposing the project.
“The 900-foot-tall offshore wind turbines will indelibly tarnish sacred cultural sites from the coast to the high country,” a Wednesday Facebook post from the tribe said.
The announcement said there is insufficient scientific research on adverse environmental impacts and noted concern about risks to the “interlinked ecosystem extending from the deep ocean to the headwaters of the Klamath River.” The post said the federal government has not recognized the Yurok Tribe's unceded ocean territory or its sovereign authority to decide how — or if — the area should be developed.
Officials from the Yurok Tribe have noted their hesitancy in the ongoing developments toward offshore wind off the coast of Humboldt Bay before. Frankie Myers, the Yurok Tribe's vice-chairman, wrote a CalMatters commentary calling out energy companies for failing to reach out to the Yurok Tribe in Jan. 2023, calling for Native Americans to be in leadership positions during the process. Yurok Tribal Chairman Joseph James wrote an op-ed in the Times-Standard calling on the harbor district to pursue another partnership to develop an offshore wind terminal because of a current civil lawsuit against Crowley Maritime accusing them of sex trafficking, an accusation they deny. An agreement that gave the Crowley Wind Services exclusive right to negotiate with the harbor district is set to expire at the end of March.
Yurok Tribe councilmembers did not respond to an email requesting comment sent Friday; a media contact for the Yurok Tribe did not respond to requests for comment before the TimesStandard's print deadline on Monday.
The Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria's tribal council voted to oppose the developments on March 5.
“It is the opinion of the Bear River Tribal Council that the effects of these offshore wind projects will be disastrous to the Cultural and Natural Resources of all Native Territories in the area and we seek unity amongst Tribes to protect these things which we have been the protectors of since time immemorial,” a Friday news release said.
The release said the tribe is opposed to the development of transmission lines, the harbor area and the East/West rail lines — noting these areas are off the Bear River coastline and through ancestral territory.
Similar reasons to oppose offshore wind as the Yurok Tribe were noted; the release said turbines would impact the viewshed from cultural sites and there is insufficient research on environmental impacts on the ocean and the estuaries of the Eel and Mattole Rivers. Effects to marine life from cables and wildlife like the Humboldt Martin and the Snowy Plover in the development of land transmission lines were also noted.
“The sacrifice of our Cultural and Natural Resources for the benefit of more electrical capacity for large cities in Central and Southern California is a scenario that we will not accept,” the news release said. Chair Josefina Frank did not respond to a request for comment before the Times-Standard's print deadline.
Rob Holmlund, development director for the harbor district said while it's easy to point fingers, he sees room for improvement in how the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management can have genuine, meaningful consultations with tribes to truly listen to concerns are and talk to them on individual levels.
“Based on what I've seen, I'm not entirely surprised that tribal governments are not satisfied with the way they've been engaged with the federal government,” he said.
He said the district has been coordinating with seven tribes by meeting individually and independently with representatives. The question of tribal consultation has been a concern of a few North Coast tribes' leaders during public meetings — the harbor district's website notes that these communications with Tribes are occurring as a part of the Assembly Bill 52 process and are therefore confidential.
“I genuinely believe that we can find a balance to get all of the things that we need to be doing. And we've got time to get there, we've got to put energy in making sure we're having the right conversations,” he said.
Both the federal and state government are relying on offshore wind to meet renewable energy goals, with the coast off Humboldt having two of five lease areas in California auctioned off to companies in Dec. 2022 to develop wind energy. Just last month, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District received a federal grant for $426,719,810 to construct a terminal in Samoa to support the effort. Construction of the terminal and later the turbines themselves is still well into the future, with lackluster transmission lines a significant barrier to transporting energy from the turbines to the state.
The votes follow a multiday tribal offshore wind summit held in Eureka in January, hosted by the Yurok Tribe, which the Yurok announcement said was partially organized to hear from tribes on the east coast to see how development had gone. East Coast testimony gave reason for worry.
“The East Coast tribes voiced grave concerns about developers' attempts to subvert laws that protect tribal lands and spiritual sites,” the post read.
A Friday news release from the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation noted that a similar resolution was passed by the Nation in November 2023. The release urged the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to halt all scoping and permitting for offshore wind projects in the release.
“Our relationship with the marine environment remains a sacred component of our culture and yet one that has been inadequately addressed in the current planning stages of offshore wind power generation,” the release stated.
Representatives from RWE and Vineyard Offshore, the two companies who bid for lease areas off the coast of Humboldt Bay, were working on statements before the Times-Standard print deadline.