Parting Thoughts from Greg

One of my relatives frequently pointed out that “change is the only thing in life you can rely on.”

I am leaving the NEC after a short 22 months as Executive Director. This was a financial decision made by the NEC Board of Directors. Though I am sad to leave the organization, the action is apt to provide what Bill Ayers likes to call a “pedagogical moment.” That is, something from which we learn a lot, for a long time.

I will continue to advise the NEC on Klamath issues, as nearly two years at the helm has provided some pedagogy for sure.

At the same time, there are plenty of rivers to protect. My family spent Thanksgiving at Rock Creek Ranch on the South Fork Smith River. Before coming to the NEC I spent the better part of 16 years exploring and protecting the Smith. My wife lived along a roadless stretch of the Smith River backcountry for six years, and our daughter has been visiting this river since she was four months old.

So it was with great reverence and joy that we were able to offer our thanks to this wild watershed at Rock Creek Ranch. The Ranch is owned by the Smith River Alliance, which has facilitated protection of thousands of acres in this watershed.

The Smith River is one of the healthiest and most important salmonid streams on the West Coast of the United States. Major spawning tributaries run through all of the newly protected acreage, which will add greatly to the overall survivability of Smith River salmon and steelhead.

My friend Thomas Dunklin helped me to snorkel-dive in the 46-degree river. I was awestruck to see 40 giant salmon swimming close by.

Dunklin is the Arcata media guru who films things like fish in their native habitat and former logging helicopters delivering large woody debris for stream restoration. He has also generously provided photos for ECONEWS and the NEC web site.

On many fronts, employing many tactics, local efforts are having some success in bringing health back to wounded rivers, and in protecting the still healthy ones. This is the sort of change we can all pursue with the gusto of right action.

As I leave the NEC, but not the work, I can see clearly one thing that perhaps will never change: the need to remain vigilant in our protection of wildlands and sustainability. As long as there is this need, that’s what I’ll be doing.