News release from EPIC, WildCalifornia:  Following two previously successful federal and state court legal actions, conservation groups and local residents filed a lawsuit in federal court today challenging Caltrans’ renewed approval of a controversial highway-widening project that would endanger ancient and irreplaceable redwood trees in Richardson Grove State Park in Humboldt County. Due to Caltrans’ flawed environmental-review process, the project to cut into and pave over the roots of old-growth redwoods along Highway 101 was halted by a federal court ruling in 2012 and a state court decision earlier this year.

“The shortsightedness of this project is dumbfounding,” said Peter Galvin with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Does Caltrans really expect the public to accept a multimillion dollar project that would needlessly damage this iconic grove of giant redwoods?”

Source: naturalhistorywanderings.com

GR:  Cutting trees to cut time? No problem! The need for speed places public road agencies near the top of the environmental offenders list. For highway planners and engineers, travel time is far more important than trees, animals, or soil. Thus, we must scrutinize all highway plans for the inevitable impacts on nature. We must force Caltrans and other transportation agencies to adhere to the environmental standards that are usually already present in the laws of the land.