by Sadie Shields

The Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya) is popular among the North American bird habitats. It belongs to the tyrant flycatcher family, the largest family of birds in the Americas which includes more than 400 species. This bird can be observed at the Arcata marsh, where it favors dry, open and sparsely vegetated habitats. 

Despite its preference for desolate landscapes, the Say’s Phoebe is considered one of the more prevalent bird species in the area. It is named in honor of Thomas Say, often recognized as the father of entomology in the United States. Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a fitting connection given that insects make up the primary diet of this bird. The Say’s Phoebe is rather small in size, measuring roughly six to seven and a half inches in length with a wingspan of about 13 inches. Its plumage is characterized by brownish-gray coloring on the upper body, and soft, pale cinnamon tones underneath, giving it a subtle but distinctive appearance. The species is migratory, moving from northern regions of the United States to southern areas and parts of Mexico during the winter months in search of milder climates and reliable food sources. It can be found in the flower fields of the marsh, where its one-second call of whistles and prickly hiccups will inform you of its location. 

Sadie is a junior communications major, journalism minor at Cal Poly Humboldt, who has an interest in covering and taking photos for sports and wildlife journalism, and a slight interest in breaking news. She can be reached at sls331@humboldt.edu.

Hexanchus Griseus

by Ariana Wilson

The ‘Cow shark’ consists of two species: the bluntnose sixgill and broadnose sevengill shark. The sixgill shark is a deep-water dweller with the widest distribution of all shark species, ranging from the northern and temperate regions, where water temperatures are about 40-60 degrees Fahrenheit. Adults are found along the continental shelf at depths of at least 8,000 feet, while juveniles have been known to come as far inshore as Humboldt Bay and the San Francisco Bay Area. Male sixgill sharks reach maturity at about 10 feet, while females fully develop at about 14 feet. The size at birth is between 24 and 29 inches. Their prey typically consists of other sharks, rays, chimaeras, bony fish and marine mammals. 

 The sevengill shark is a common coastal species worldwide in most temperate seas with water temperatures of about 54-64 degrees Fahrenheit, but on rare occasions has been found at depths of 330 to 660 feet. Males mature between five and six feet and females mature between seven and eight feet. These powerful creatures can reach impressive lengths of up to 16 feet and live up to 80 years.

In Washington State, the sixgill shark is making a name for itself as the potential state shark. Washington’s Puget Sound is said to be the breeding ground of the sixgill shark, connecting an inland estuary to the Pacific Ocean, alongside the state’s northwest coast. Washington State recently introduced legislation to protect these beautiful creatures: the Sixgill Shark Bill (HB 2447). This bill highlights the need and responsibility for humans to protect our environment, starting with the animals that are right under our noses. Sixgill sharks are designated as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) under the State Wildlife Action Plan. 

“SGCN-classified species include both those with and without legal protection status under the Federal or State Endangered Species programs,” according to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Ari is a senior journalism major and the science editor this semester with an adoration for the environment and conservation. She is currently pursuing her scientific diving certification and plans to meld her journalistic passions with scientific research in the future. For any science inquiries please contact ajw167@humboldt.edu.

by  Ursula Newman

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of elements, including the 15 elements in the lanthanide series, plus scandium and yttrium. This group of elements is considered critical, and has applications in the medical field, electronic displays, magnets and more.

Cal Poly Humboldt Chemistry and Biochemistry Professor Jorge Monteiro’s research focuses on REEs and he explained some of the common applications of these elements.Neodymium, an REE, makes for the strongest magnets on earth. Batteries, wind turbines and hard drives are some of the most critical examples of items that need neodymium to function. Other REEs, such as europium, terbium and cerium, are luminescent — often used in electronics, lighting and other industrial applications. 

“That’s basically 75% of our modern life, right? Screens and magnets, production of energy, medical diagnosis and all of that,” Monteiro said. 

Rare earth elements

The types of rocks that contain rare earth elements only account for about 1% of all igneous rocks. Cal Poly Humboldt Geology Professor Brandon Browne explained that REE igneous rocks, in terms of the minerals they have, the colors they show and the elements they’re made of, are very distinct from other igneous rocks. 

REEs are considered “incompatible,” and to appear in these igneous rocks, they require specific minerals to bond onto. REEs are abundant within earth’s crust, but to make an economically viable mining area — an area with a high enough concentration of REEs — these specific, uncommon igneous rocks are required. 

“You need really old rock. Most of the rocks of this kind are, like, a billion years old,” Browne said. “The earth recycles itself, and it’s not always easy to find a billion year old rock.”

Open pit mining is the main method used to access the deposits of rock containing REEs. Large amounts of soil and rock are removed leaving massive pits and waste piles behind. This method of mining is associated with loss of habitat, landscape disruption, water contamination, social displacement, as well as air and noise pollution.

“The story that tech and energy companies tell is one that’s going to help us with better battery life, but they’re not telling them that this will require some really big holes in the ground,” Browne said. 

After the raw material is obtained, the refinement process begins — and that’s where things get complicated. 

Refinement of elements

“The name, ‘Rare Earths,’ is a little misleading, because they are not rare like gold or things like that,” Monteiro said. “The name comes from the difficulty to separate them, it’s rare to have the pure thing.” 

Some of the elements are harder to refine than others, and prices reflect that, but it’s not actually that hard to mine for them. 

REEs are the elements located between barium and hafnium on the periodic table. They sit below the main body of the table in their own two rows, with the lanthanides forming the top row and the actinides below them. Scandium and yttrium are also REEs, but are located in group 3 of the periodic table. Monteiro explained that the reason why they are grouped together between barium and hafnium on the periodic table, is because the REEs are very similar to each other. 

“They are very similar chemically,” Monteiro said. “When you want to separate elements, they have to be distinguishable. Because they are all very similar, you do a reaction [where different elements would typically react differently] and all of [the elements] will react.”

When mining, usually you’ll find anywhere from two or three, to all of the elements in one mineral or area. You have to repeat the separation process over and over to find small differences. When you track them, eventually you’ll be able to tell the elements apart. This process is called purification and is the hardest part of getting REEs. Different elements are useful for different things, and the desired result is a pure element. Monteiro explained that bio-luminescent REEs are used in medical imaging and cancer cell targeting, and the elements need to be very pure for safety and effectiveness. 

“Let’s say we’re going to use gadolinium for an MRI; you want the compound to be as pure as possible,” Monteiro said. “If there are impurities, it might end up killing you.” 

Current market control

China has established mines that are rich in all of the REEs. They have an advantage over other countries whose mines might primarily produce only one or two elements.

“There are lots of reserves in China, so that means they control the market. The purification process is not very environmentally friendly, and China doesn’t care. That’s why they can get a high output, because there are no regulations,” Monteiro said.

They essentially control the market, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only place you can find REEs. The elements are actually spread across the world and are quite common in the grand scheme of things. California has a lot of REEs, specifically in an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County called Mountain Pass. 

The main issue is that the deposits are small and spread out, so the cost for many countries to mine and refine them is not competitive with what China can offer. 

“The ability to find and extract these elements is currently more of a political and engineering race, than a concern of depletion,” Browne said. 

by Nick Escalada

In view of swaying sailboats moored in the Eureka Harbor, climate activists, tribal members and local fishermen overflowed the seats of a banquet hall on Jan. 18 as U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman discussed the future of their ocean.

“Every time there’s some idiot in the White House that thinks, ‘maybe this time they can do it;’ we need to put this to bed once and for all,” Huffman said. “And that means we need to legislate permanent protection for the West Coast.”

Humboldt Waterkeeper, EPIC and the Surfrider Foundation held the Offshore Oil Community Forum in the Wharfinger building this past Sunday, offering elected officials and members of the public a chance to speak their piece about their opposition to offshore drilling. In response to the Trump administration’s proposed five-year plan to lease the West Coast to private oil rigs, the environmental groups invited locals to share comments both on the building’s podium and on postcards to be sent to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

EPIC Climate Attorney Matt Simmons helped organize the forum and spoke on its importance to the decision-making process in a democratic government.

“The Trump administration decided not to take any public comment, not to hold any sort of public hearings like this, and so we knew that we as local environmental activists had to step up and put on that work,” Simmons said. “You know, do it for the federal government, because people deserve an opportunity to speak and have their voice heard and have their opposition heard.”

Jennifer Savage, the California policy associate director at Surfrider, highlighted the disastrous environmental presence of offshore drilling, particularly with its susceptibility to oil spills during extraction and transportation.

“There’s a huge impact. Hundreds, if not thousands, of birds and mammals are killed or injured from [spills],” Savage said. “The tourism economy collapses because nobody can come out to the beach. Visitorship drops. It’s this total nightmare, and it goes on and on and on. It’s not just like, ‘oh, there’s an oil spill last week, and now it’s all better.’ The impacts last for a long, long time. And so the best way to prevent oil spills is to prevent new offshore oil drilling.” 

Local and state representatives took to the podium to encourage citizen action and assert their own positions against offshore drilling. Humboldt County District 3 Supervisor Mark Wilson stressed the historical effectiveness of climate activism and the need to maintain political pressure.

“This isn’t the first time that this community, along with communities up and down the coast, have had to fight offshore oil leasing,” Wilson said. “This happened in the 80s, it happened in the 90s and it’s happening again. And so it’s just crucial that everyone gets involved where they can.”

California Assemblymember Damon Connelly showed his support at the forum and laid out the further action needed to block the administration’s plan.

“There’s a public process going on right now in relation to these Trump proposals. People have the opportunity to provide public comment, so we’re encouraging everyone to do that,” Connelly said. “There’s going to be additional rallies. People need to speak out, and ultimately, we also need to go to the courts. We need to take back Congress. We need to be doing everything we know we need to be doing to continue to resist these real ill-advised proposals that are coming out of the Trump administration right now and stand up for the environment.”

You can have the Surfrider Foundation send your letter against offshore drilling by clicking the “take action” button at the top of their website and filling out the form. The Department of the Interior is inviting public comments until Friday, Jan. 23.

Nick Escalada is the normal-haired News Editor of The Lumberjack. He studies wildlife and aspires to be a nature journalist. Find him bouncing between Gist Hall and the science buildings and reach him at ne53@humboldt.edu!

by Barley Lewis-McCabe and Ursula Newman

Low lying communities of Humboldt Bay faced floods as king tides hit record highs on Jan. 2 and 3, which caused significant damages to the King Salmon and Fields Landing areas. The term king tide is used to describe exceptionally large tides that are influenced by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun. 

On Saturday, Jan. 3, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tide gauge, housed in Humboldt Bay at the north spit measured a high of 10.37 feet, the highest ever recorded since its establishment in 1977. In the days following the record high tide, The Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services asked residents to avoid the King Salmon area due to the extreme flooding, and encouraged those in need of shelter to contact the American Red Cross. 

Amanda Admire, lecturer in the geology and oceanography departments, discussed how king tides aren’t always breaking news.

“When there’s damage and economic impact, that’s really when people start to take notice,” Admire said. “It’s different if we saw a really high storm surge and the water rushed up and put some debris on the roadway. That’s one thing. But that’s not as [notable as], ‘oh my gosh, there’s someone who has damage in their home.’” 

Our area has mixed semi diurnal tides, meaning there are two high tides and two low tides a day. NOAA is able to track and predict tides with high accuracy, and is used to know when to expect impressively high tides. A king tide is the highest of the especially high tides and, as always, tides are controlled by the rotation of the earth and moon. 

A king tide happens when the sun and the moon are in alignment.

“Their gravitational pulls are working together to pull more on the hydrosphere,” Admire said. “Versus if the moon were perpendicular in location to the sun, the moon is going to pull and make it more spherical, because they’re not lined up with each other.”

When living in or near a coastal zone there are a lot of factors that come into play. Admire emphasized the importance of education around different ocean conditions and noted that the water itself has incredible power. 

“Becoming more aware of our surroundings and the potential hazards in those zones is really valuable to residents,” Admire said. “As well as the visiting populations to those areas, to help know what to do and to be more prepared.”

As of now, there has been no emergency declaration for the King Salmon and Fields Landing areas. 

“Unfortunately, we sometimes are in the path of that water,” Admire said. “And I was really sad to see that there was so much damage that happened to the people of King Salmon, and I hope that they are able to get some resources to help come out of that.”

Ursula Newman is a journalism major, Lumberjack science editor and Humboldt local. You can find her all over the county doing all kinds of things, and talking to all sorts of people. Contact her at uon1@humboldt.edu.

Barley is an untraditional reporter, photographer and opinion editor who focuses on stories about social changes that have a real human impact. If you’d like to reach him for whatever reason email bl258@humboldt.edu.

by Nick Escalada

Following the demolition of the mold-riddled Campus Apartments, Cal Poly Humboldt’s administration has released broad plans for the future of the now vacant slope by the College Creek parking lot. Aside from a new Student Health building planned to start construction in spring 2027, the university intends to introduce a community of hardy native plants to populate the tract of grass, with a large patch of California poppies already creeping in. This development has opened the way for discussion about plant life across the entire campus, with an enduring point of concern being a large presence of non-native flora.

Prior to the establishment of the Humboldt State Normal School in 1913, the campus was a clear-cut logging site devoid of most vegetation. The area has since been filled with decorative plants and trees from different regions of California and the wider world, and visibly differ from the second-growth conifer forest that still borders them. 

The lack of canopied trees on campus allow for the introduction of angiosperms and shrubs that require more sunlight. Many of the flowering plants present are generalist varieties that can survive practically anywhere in the world. However, the Humboldt coast receives substantially fewer sunlight periods annually than southern and inland regions, so these species are unable to fully flourish outside the summer months. 

Other introduced plants have a directly negative effect on their native neighbors, earning themselves the title of invasive species. The eucalyptus trees between the Cypress dorms and Founders Hall sport aggressive root systems that can suffocate the rhizome systems of nearby trees, along with having highly flammable bark and toxic leaves that threaten wildlife. The english ivy and cottoneaster dotting campus are resilient and quick to propagate, while native lookalikes like himalayan blackberry can interbreed with their indigenous counterparts and permanently alter genetic diversity.

In line with the landscaping plan for the empty hill, the university could benefit by allowing the surrounding forest ecosystem to return to its property. Coast redwoods, grand and douglass firs and sitka spruce conifers found in the Arcata Community Forest could provide cover for the array of underbrush genera that grow below. The shade would also preserve the low ambient temperature and moisture brought by the bay’s marine layer, enshrouding the school in the unique north coast climate it prides itself on. An environment fit for fruits and herbs like elderberry, black huckleberry, sorrel and skunk cabbage could supplement the popular foraging culture among students.

Cal Poly Humboldt’s current natural landscape could be characterized by a generic hodgepodge of common garden plants. But walking a few minutes toward the hills gives a glimpse of what once was and what still could be.

Nick is the news editor at The Lumberjack, and studies wildlife and journalism with the goal of spreading his love of nature through media. A famous recluse, he is rarely seen at social functions, but you might dig him up in a SAC lounge beanbag chair. Chat with him at ne53@humboldt.edu!

The Horn Shark, a misunderstood fish

by Ariana Wilson

Horn Sharks are solitary, slow-moving predators native to the temperate rocky reefs, algal beds and kelp forests of the Pacific Ocean from California all the way down to western Mexico. They are considered one of the smaller shark species and can grow to four feet long.

The majority of their diet consists of clams, mollusks, small crustaceans and sea urchins — which are becoming increasingly abundant on California’s coast. Their mouths are on the underside of their body, positioned to sweep the seabed and crush the hard shells of crustaceans that they eat. Kelp forests provide critical ecosystems for many species and are facing decline due to sea urchins devouring kelp at unsustainable rates.

Horn sharks are oviparous, laying between two spiral shaped eggs outside of their wombs, every 11-14 days typically between February and April, depositing up to 24 eggs in a single breeding season. Horn sharks can live up to 25 years in the wild and a little over a decade in captivity. Though, in the wild, these sharks roam a territory of approximately 10,000 square feet for their entire lives.

They are not targeted by commercial or recreational fisheries, but they are sometimes caught as bycatch. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) horn sharks are “data deficient,” meaning there is not enough information to determine their conservation status, but they are not currently a protected species or endangered. 

Ari is a senior journalism major and the science editor this semester with an adoration for the environment and conservation. She plans to meld her journalistic passions with scientific research in the future through environmental communication. For any science inquiries, please contact ajw167@humboldt.edu.