Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
emphasis on science, technology, and efficiency, which tends to generate large-scale,
technical restoration projects (Clewell and Aronson 2006), may jeopardize participa-
tory, community-based restoration and the unique values that it engenders.
How do these different interpretations concerning the meaning and purpose of res-
toration manifest in a particular region? Through an empirical analysis of the grow-
ing restoration sector in Humboldt County, on California's northern coast, we explore
the dynamic tensions between different modes of ecological restoration. We provide a
longitudinal perspective on the socioeconomic contributions of restoration in Hum-
boldt County, as garnered through two complementary studies, one in 2003 and the
other in 2008. We describe the size of Humboldt County's restoration sector, as char-
acterized by the amount of money that it brings into the county and the number of jobs
that it generates. We analyze recent changes within Humboldt County's restoration
system—changes that influence the tensions already discussed between community-
oriented and efficiency-oriented forms of restoration. Dwelling on these changes and
what they mean for different participants in the county's restoration sector provides op-
portunity for reflection on the relative merits of these different conceptions of restora-
tion and the challenges and opportunities inherent to an integrated approach.
Humboldt County: An Ecological and Economic Overview
Humboldt County is located in the heart of California's redwood region (fig. 16.1). Its
2.3 million acres—80 percent of which are forested—include thousands of acres of
coastal redwood forest. Other important forest types are Douglas fir, Douglas
fir-tanoak, western hemlock, and oak woodlands. Of Humboldt County's forested
area, about 490,000 acres are nonindustrial private forestlands, 608,000 acres are in-
dustrial forestlands, and 650,246 acres are federal, state, or tribal lands (Reichard
1998). Coastal dunes, estuarine environments, and coastal and mountain grasslands
are also important ecosystems in the area. The coastal portion of Humboldt County
experiences moderate temperatures and considerable precipitation due to the influ-
ence of the cold Pacific Ocean. Interior regions tend to be drier with greater seasonal
variation.
The county's population in 2008 was 132,821, the majority living in cities around
the Humboldt Bay region, where most of the area's jobs are concentrated. The cities
of Eureka, Arcata, and Fortuna are the largest in the county with populations of
26,000, 16,900, and 10,900, respectively. The unemployment rate in 2008 was 7.2
percent, although by February 2009, it had climbed to 11.4 percent. The per capita
personal income in 2006 was $28,885—73 percent of the California average and 79
percent of the national average that year (California Employment Development De-
partment 2009).
The lumber and wood products industry, along with the fishing industry, have his-
torically dominated the county's economy and still represent an important, though
declining, sector of economic activity. In 2008, natural resources, mining, and agri-
culture accounted for 1,700 jobs or 3.5 percent of the county's total industrial em-
ployment of 49,200 (California Employment Development Department 2009). Re-
