05/16/2026
From EPIC 🐦⬛🌲🌲🌲✨
Dear friend of EPIC,
The North Coast is perhaps the most beautiful in the summertime, with fog wrapping around the tops of the redwoods, hillsides glowing with golden morning light, and the wildflowers displaying their vibrant colors in every corner. And yet, despite this beauty, there is still work to be done to protect it all. EPIC has been operating at full speed nearly every day this year, fighting to protect the forests, rivers, and wildlife that make this place so damn special. Thank you for being a part of that fight.
2026 marks my 12th year at EPIC.
When I first started, EPIC was a small team, focusing primarily on monitoring timber sales and fighting for species protection. As I reflect on where we are now, I am in awe of the work that we do and just how far it spans: from the Klamath river tributaries, where Amber works fiercely to improve water flows for the coho salmon and local communities, to the most isolated old-growth National Forests that Kimberley defends from timber sales, to Sacramento, where Josefina advocates for conserving 30% of our lands and waters by 2030, to Humboldt Bay, where Matt advocates for local renewable energy solutions. And our fight doesn’t stop there. Melodie has been working tirelessly to sponsor legislation, AB 2494, that will change the way our state forests, like Jackson Demonstration State Forest, are managed, removing the logging mandate from all state lands. https://www.wildcalifornia.org/post/bill-to-end-commercial-logging-mandate-in-state-forests-passes-first-committee
Cecilia has been taking all of our work and turning it into accessible and engaging content to help everyday folks take action. As the challenges facing our region have grown, EPIC has grown to meet them.
Looking ahead to the rest of this year, we anticipate the fight to continue. With this administration continuing to gut essential environmental regulations like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), removing public comment periods from most environmental assessments, our work has never been more important.
🦉None of this happens without you.
As a genuinely member-driven organization, charitable donations from people like you make up roughly half of our budget. We don’t answer to distant funders with a predetermined agenda; we answer to our community. This summer, we are asking you to invest in this legacy of environmental advocacy. If you are able, please consider donating here, or explore other ways to give at https://www.wildcalifornia.org/get-involved
Lastly, save the date for our 49th Annual Fall Celebration on November 7th at the Arcata Vets Hall for an evening celebrating our community, the work we do together, and this year’s sempervirens awardee, Steven “Sungnome” Madrone. More details to come!
Thank you so much again for supporting EPIC!
For the Earth,
~Tom Wheeler
Executive Director
https://www.wildcalifornia.org/
EPIC needs your support to continue our work advocating for the science-based protection and restoration of Northwest California's forest ecosystems and the many life forms that call them home.
