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SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2023 • SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA • PRESSDEMOCRAT.COM
Battling fires from sky takes big toll on aquatic life ENVIRONMENT » Suit challenges Forest Service aerial fire retardant use
SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
One year after scandal, school faces more woes
By MARTIN ESPINOZA THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
The 2020 Walbridge Fire had finally stopped burning and Birkin Newell was visiting a property along Wine Creek, a tributary that feeds into Dry Creek — one of Sonoma County’s most important salmon spawning habitats. Newell, who is restoration director for the Russian Riverkeeper conservation organization, said the owner of the property was concerned about fire retardant that had been dropped on the creek during the more than six-week battle against Walbridge. In photographs he took on Oct. 8, 2020, six days after the fire had officially ended, you can see large and small faded pink spots completely covering a wooden deck, as well as soil, leaves and rocks along the creek. The rose-colored remains were just a tiny portion of the 1,130,633 gallons of fire retardant deployed by Cal Fire during the LNU Lightning Complex conflagration, which included the Walbridge, Meyers and Hennessey fires. The retardant, whose essential ingredient is ammonium phosphate — an inorganic compound used to enhance plant, yeast and bacteria growth — has become a symbol of defiance in the age of massive wildfires and climate change. But some are raising concerns about the possible environmental fallout of fighting wildfires with what is essentially fertilizer. “I was looking at someone's wooden deck over the creek that was pure pink from this stuff,” Newell recalled. “That property owner was very concerned about it all, and she was trying to literally wash it off and dispose of that safely before the rains came.” Aerial retardant drops are not permitted in waterways or buffer zones established to protect threatened or endangered species — except in cases where human life or public safety is at risk. The current buffer on
PHOTOS BY BETH SCHLANKER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Sonoma State University Interim President Mike Lee on Monday in the newly renovated Stevenson Hall at the Rohnert Park campus.
Interim President Mike Lee gets high marks but must grapple with budget shortfall and declining enrollment By AUSTIN MURPHY THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
S
pring had most definitely sprung at Sonoma State University. With temperatures in the low 70s on a recent afternoon, students opted for short pants, short sleeves, no sleeves. Under bluebird skies, a smiling woman roller-skated on the sidewalks between Darwin and Stevenson halls. A couple walked past with ice cream cones. Taking in the view from his Salazar Hall office, interim university president Ming Tung “Mike” Lee spoke of spring as a season
of “renewal.” Meanwhile, the 61-year-old is working overtime on a different kind of renewal at Sonoma State, where he’s been on the job just eight months. A year ago this week, The Press Democrat broke the news that the California State University System had paid $600,000 to then-Sonoma State University provost Lisa Vollendorf. That payment, in January 2022, was made to resolve a dispute related to complaints by at least two female Sonoma State employees against Patrick McCallum, the husband of then-SSU TURN TO SCHOOL » PAGE A13
Lee walks Monday from his home in an apartment-style student housing unit to his office at Salazar Hall at Sonoma State University.
TURN TO AERIAL » PAGE A9
Turning a new page on why ‘kids can’t read’ Advocates of ‘science of reading’ movement say phonics is key to literacy
First grade teacher Maria Wozniak teaches phonics on April 4 at Panther Valley Elementary School in Nesquehoning, Pennyslvania.
By SARAH MERVOSH NEW YORK TIMES
In suburban Houston, parents rose up against a top-rated school district, demanding an entirely new reading curriculum. At an elementary school in Hutchinson, Minnesota, a veteran teacher is crusading for reform, haunted by the fear that, for 28 years, she failed children because she was not trained in
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the cognitive science behind reading. And Ohio may become the latest state to overhaul reading instruction, under a plan by Gov. Mike DeWine. “The evidence is clear,” DeWine said. “The verdict is in.” A revolt over how children are taught to read, steadily building for years, is now sweeping school board meetings and statehouses around the country. The movement, under the banner of “the science of reading,” is targeting the education establishment: school districts, literacy gurus, publishers and colleges
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of education, which critics say have failed to embrace the cognitive science of how children learn to read. Research shows that most children need systematic, soundit-out instruction — known as phonics — as well as other direct support, like building vocabulary and expanding students’ knowledge of the world. The movement has drawn support across economic, racial and political lines. Its champions include parents of children with dyslexia; civil rights activists
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2023
“The Forest Service continues to believe that in essence the sanctity of its firefighting mission, which it views as a moral war against fire … is paramount and trumps every other consideration.” ANDY STAHL, executive director, Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Russian Riverkeeper Restoration Director Birkin Newell on April 4 surveys Mill Creek and the regrowth of redwoods that dot the fire-scarred landscape, a result of the 2020 Walbridge Fire.
AERIAL CONTINUED FROM A1 either side of a waterway is 300 feet. The affected area Newell was examining was about 200 feet wide and encompassed about 100 feet or more of stream channel, and he said he assumed it was an accidental drop, since it was so close to the creek. The use of ammonium phosphate-based fire retardant is now the focus of a federal lawsuit in Montana. Last October, an Oregon-based environmental group filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service alleging that the agency for years has been dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of fire retardant into streams, creeks and rivers in violation of the Clean Water Act. The suit would seem to put two issues that are critical to Northern Californians — protecting the environment and defending against catastrophic wildfires — in direct opposition. According to the lawsuit,
filed Oct. 11, 2022, by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, the U.S. Forest Service has dumped 761,283 gallons of fire retardant into “navigable waters” on federal lands on at least 459 occasions between 2012 and 2019. The 459 figure represents “intrusion reports” documented by the Forest Service, and each report may consist of more than one drop. The agency defines as intrusion as the “intentional or unintentional application of aerial fire retardant into an aerial retardant avoidance area.” A least 117 of the 459 intrusion reports were from drops occurring in national forests in Northern California, such as Mendocino, Six Rivers, Klamath, Lassen and Shasta Trinity, according to a Press Democrat analysis. Since 2015, Cal Fire, which conducts its own aerial drops of retardant, has deployed 7.1 million gallons on some of the largest local fires in the North Bay, including the 2017 North Bay Fires in 2017, the 2020 Walbridge Fire, and the
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2022
A coho salmon smolt is measured in April 2022 in Mill Creek near Healdsburg as part of the Russian River Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring. There is concern about possible contamination of “high-quality salmon habitat” from the chemicals used in the phospate-based aerial fire retardants. 2019 Kincade Fire. The lawsuit states that the drops have occurred without a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit from the
Environmental Protection Agency. The suit also documents 138 intrusions into threatened or endangered species habitat. The envi-
ronmental group seeks to to do so.” The data for those acci“enjoin aerial application of retardants into naviga- dental “intrusions” into ble waters unless and until waterways, which the the Forest Service has a legal (environmental) permit TURN TO AERIAL » PAGE A10
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2023
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2020
Tanker 944 makes a retardant drop Aug. 21, 2020, in Dry Creek during the Walbridge Fire, near Healdsburg.
AERIAL CONTINUED FROM A9 Forest Service previously called “misapplications,” is drawn from the an environmental impact study conducted by the agency. Forest Service officials say they are committed to compliance with the Clean Water Act and that in the last 10 years, less than 1% of retardant drops affected waterways across the country. In a statement to The Press Democrat, the Forest Service said it could not comment about “pending litigation.” However, the agency pointed out that it is working with the EPA to obtain a general permit for aerially deployed retardant. The agency added that the EPA would not pursue Clean Water Act enforcement for two years while the Forest Service applies for its general permit and abides by the terms of a Feb. 16, 2023, compliance agreement between the two agencies.
Longtime battle The Oregon environmental group that filed the lawsuit has been wrangling in court with the
Forest Service since 2003, when it sued the agency for failing to study the impact of its use of fire retardant in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. Andy Stahl, executive director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, a national forest advocacy group made up of concerned citizens and current, former and retired Forest Service employees, said years of legal challenges have resulted in the Forest Service conducting its most complete to-date environmental study of accidental drops into waterways. For example, in Appendix D of the environmental study, the Mendocino National Forest received an estimated 412 aerial drops, for a total of 741,948 gallons of retardant, between 2012 and 2019. Over that period, aerial fire retardant was used in 136 fires in Mendocino forest. One of those fires was the July 2018 Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex Fire, which also included the River Fire. The Ranch Fire alone, according to the environmental study, saw 30 accidental aerial drops, 21 of which were directly
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BIRKIN NEWELL
An October 2020 aerial tanker drop of pink fire retardant, whose essential ingredient is ammonium phosphate, reached areas, including this deck, near the streambed of Wine Creek on the edge of the Walbridge Fire, west of Healdsburg. into waterways. The Forest Service estimates that nearly 11,921 gallons went into the water. “The Forest Service continues to believe that in essence the sanctity of its firefighting mission, which it views as a moral war against fire … is paramount and trumps every other consideration,” Stahl said. In a statement from the Forest Service’s press office, the agency said that over the past 10 years, approved fire retardant products have reduced the amount of ammonium content by 30% compared to formulations approved prior to 2011. The agency said fish toxicity requirements also were strengthened recently to encourage less toxic products. But Stahl questioned the wisdom and effectiveness of using retardant for many wildfires, par-
ticularly those driven by strong winds that blow fires well past retardant lines. He said the Forest Service has not conducted any controlled studies, outside the lab, that prove the effectiveness of deploying retardant. “There’s no scientific evidence that retardant changes wildfire outcomes,” Stahl said.
‘Perfect storm’ Don McEnhill, the Russian Riverkeeper’s executive director, said he’s “glad” someone is raising questions about the use of ammonium-based fire retardant on the ever-increasing number of wildfires and mega-wildfires in Northern California and around the West. The last few years of North Bay wildfires have exacerbated those concerns, he said. “There should be concern around the increas-
ingly heavy use of ammonium phospate-based fire retardant,” McEnhill said. “Hopefully, it will lead to more benign or safer solutions.” McEnhill said when he learned of the lawsuit late last year, he thought of the possible contamination of local “high-quality salmon habitat” and extremely sensitive species that might be affected by it. Since 2015, Russian Riverkeeper has been paying closer attention to toxic algae growth in salmon and steelhead waterways, he said. The algae growth in streams and creeks has been caused by extremely low flows, very hot temperatures and increasing amounts of nutrients, something McEnhill called a “perfect storm.” An infusion of ammonium phosphate fertilizer only adds to the problem, he said. McEnhill said there’s
always some algae in waterways, but 2015 was the “first real toxic outbreak” of the species of algae that’s common in the Russian River. Newell, Russian Riverkeeper’s restoration director, said adding ammonium phosphate to waterways increases nutrient loads that give rise to algae bloom. “All that algae is really a large biomass of decaying material, and that takes the oxygen out of the water,” Newell said. “That really hurts fish or other creatures in the water. Then, late in summer that algae can be toxic to animals and people.” McEnhill agreed with Stahl that tougher questions should be asked about the effectiveness of fire retardant and aerial deployments that, in some instances, are referred to TURN TO AERIAL » PAGE A11
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2023
“We’ve just been through incredible fire disasters, not only in our area but across the state and then in other states, and I don’t want to take any tools away from the Forest Service in fighting these fires.” REP. MIKE THOMPSON, D-St. Helena
KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2021
With Mill Creek Road at the bottom of the photograph, a large hillside is mostly barren of trees in July 2021, logged after the Walbridge Fire swept through in 2020.
AERIAL
HOW MUCH WAS USED?
CONTINUED FROM A10 as “CNN drops.” "They’re acting like this is the silver bullet, and any firefighter will tell you they don’t work with silver bullets; you ask any of them,” he said.
Cal Fire drops Roughly half of fire retardant used by the Forest Service in the United States is deployed in California. But that does not include retardant used by Cal Fire to fight wildfires in the state agency’s jurisdiction. Cal Fire officials told The Press Democrat they have deployed 7.1 million gallons of fire retardant to battle some of the biggest wildfires since 2015. Cal Fire officials had not responded to requests for comment about the Forest Service lawsuit filed last week, and they were unable to immediately provide answers to a more specific list of questions submitted Wednesday. The lawsuit filed by Stahl’s organization is
Here’s a breakdown of the quantity of fire retardant used (in gallons) during some of the biggest North Coast wildfires since 2015 2015 2018 Jerusalem Fire: 523,071 Snell Fire: 149,156 Valley Fire: 318,137 2019 2017 Kincade Fire: 1,446,679 Nuns, Atlas and Tubbs fires 2020 were broken into Central LNU Hennessey, Meyers, WalComplex and Southern LNU bridge fires were broken into Complex: the LNU Lightning Complex: Total — 2,523,184 Total — 1,130,633 Glass Fire: 967,397 Source: Cal Fire
scheduled for a hearing April 24 on a motion for summary judgment, seeking an injunction prohibiting the Forest Service from dropping fire retardant into waters without a Clean Water Act permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Forest Service argues that Stahl’s group has not made the case for an injunction and that the court should not issue one while the agency is seeking a permit from the EPA, a process that could take at least two years. Meanwhile, Republican
lawmakers in Washington have introduced a bill that would amend the Clean Water Act to exempt the Forest Service from requiring a permit to deploy retardant in federal waterways. House Resolution 1586 — known as the Forest Protection and Wildland Firefighter Safety Act of 2023 — was heard on March 23 before the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands. Republican supporters of the bill blasted the lawsuit filed by Forest Service
BIRKIN NEWELL
An aerial tanker drop of fire retardant in 2020 reached the streambed of Wine Creek on the edge of the Walbridge Fire west of Healdsburg in 2020. One possible outcome of the lawsuit against the Forest Service is an increase of the buffer zone alongside a creek or other waterway where no retardant can be dropped. Employees for Environmental Ethics, saying it would cripple the Forest Service and its ability to fight wildfires. During the hearing, Chris French, deputy
chief of the Forest Service, said that while his agency agrees that “fire retardant is an essential tool for protecting communities, forests and our firefighters,” the (Biden) administration
cannot support the bill.“ French pointed out that in the Western United States, National Forest lands are where many TURN TO AERIAL » PAGE A12
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THE PRESS DEMOCRAT • SUNDAY, APRIL 16, 2023
KENT PORTER / PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2015
Pink retardant is the only liquid seen in August 2015 in a drought-impacted Soda Creek during the Jerusalem Fire in Lake County.
AERIAL
said. “I want to hear all sides of the story,” Thompson said, adding that he’s exCONTINUED FROM A11 pected to meet soon with rivers originate, and they Forest Service officials. supply water to nearly 90% of those served by public Other options? water systems, either diStahl said the Forest rectly or by capturing it Service and fire retardant and filtering it into local supporters are attempting aquifers and wells. to portray his lawsuit as a “The administration move to completely ban the does not, however, believe use of fire retardant. that an amendment to the He said the judge has Clean Water Act is neces- “quite a broad range of sary in light of the admin- remedies available,” and istrative steps that are be- one of the outcomes could ing taken,” he said. be a ruling to increase the French said the Forest buffer zone alongside a Service is “working collab- creek or other waterway oratively” with the EPA on where no retardant can be getting a National Pollu- dropped. tion Discharge Elimination “We've suggested that System general permit. if 300 feet wasn't enough Rep. Mike Thompson, then let's double it to 600 D-St. Helena, says he has feet,” Stahl said. “We'd like not decided whether he a solution here, gave the supports the bill. Thomp- judge a solution, that alson said he’s long heard lows the continued use of concerns about what’s in retardant but provides betfire retardant and its po- ter assurance that it's done tential for having adverse legally and doesn't end up impacts on waterways, but in the water.” the wildfires themselves Newell said that during and the things that burn in the Walbridge Fire, when them also create many en- the property owner asked vironmental problems. him what could be done “We've just been through about all the fire retardant incredible fire disasters, on her property and in the not only in our area but creek, he knew there was across the state and then little he could do. in other states, and I don't What’s more, there were want to take any tools away more pressing environfrom the Forest Service in mental issues to address. fighting these fires,” he These included massive
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KENT PORTER / THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2022
Fisheries biologist Zac Reinstein, with the Russian River Salmon and Steelhead Monitoring group, transports coho salmon in an aerated water canister to another location in April 2022, in an attempt to help the smolts through low water flows in Mill Creek, near Healdsburg. fire breaks cut with bulldozers, post-fire cleanup operations, salvage logging of burned redwood trees, and the heavy equipment used for rebuilding homes and structures. This would all disrupt the soil and potentially lead to erosion that impacted creeks and
streams. Then there were the chemicals and biological contaminants, solvents, paints and any other toxic substances stored in homes and structures that somehow had to be kept out of waterways using waddles and other methods.
“I would really love to see more alternative materials used. I know they're out there,” Newell said. “We should definitely invest in the kind of fire retardant that's not going to be a fertilizer and cause problems in water quality. I think there needs
to be really clear regulations on where you cannot drop, like don't drop in the streams.” You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.