December 19: A Dark Day For Science and The Ocean
B y Dan Bacher | December 7, 2013 | December 19 will mark the first anniversary of the completion of the network of so-called "...
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2013/12/december-19-dark-day-for-science-and.html
By Dan Bacher | December 7, 2013 |
December
19 will mark the first anniversary of the completion of the network of
so-called "marine protected areas" off the California coast under the
privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative.
On
that date last year, nineteen "marine protected areas" went into effect
in the Northern California coastal region between the California/Oregon
state line and Alder Creek, near Point Arena in Mendocino County,
amidst great jubilation by state officials and corporate "environmental"
NGO representatives. The implementation of these "marine protected
areas" (MPAs) was preceded by those created on the South Coast, Central
Coast and North Central Coast.
“We
have completed the nation’s first statewide coastal system of marine
protected areas,” claimed Cat Kuhlman, deputy secretary for oceans and
coastal matters at the California Natural Resources Agency. “What this
means for the future of California’s oceans and the coming generations
that will enjoy them, is thrilling.”
"Fish
and Game is incredibly proud of the work that we did, along with the
Fish and Game Commission and the stakeholders in each region to create
these designated areas,” gushed Department of Fish and Wildlife Director
Charlton H. Bonham.
Yet
the mainstream media, state officials and corporate "environmentalists"
refuse to discuss one of the biggest scandals regarding the creation of
these marine protected areas - the terminally flawed and incomplete
science that these MPAs were based upon and the alarming fact that Ron
LeValley of Eureka, the co-chair of the MLPA Initiative Science Advisory
Team that oversaw the crafting of these alleged "Yosemites of the Sea"
on the North Coast, is now awaiting trial on federal conspiracy to
embezzle charges.
On
October 11, the U.S. Attorney formally charged Ron LeValley of Eureka
with "conspiracy to commit embezzlement and theft from an Indian Tribal
Organization," the Yurok Tribe.
LeValley,
of Mad River Biologists, served in his leadership role on the Science
Advisory Team during much of the time that the alleged embezzlement
occurred, yet none of the mainstream media accounts, with the exception
of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, have mentioned this key fact.
Federal
prosecutors charged LeValley with conspiring with Roland Raymond,
former Yurok Tribe forestry director, to submit false invoices to the
tribe for spotted owl surveys and other work that was never done. The
invoices totaled nearly $1 million, according to federal documents.
LeValley
originally pleaded innocent in the case, but is now working on a plea
deal with federal prosecutors, according to court documents. (http://www.humboldtbeacon.com/news/ci_24668384/embezzlement-sentencing-pushed-back-forestry-directors-hearing-postponed)
Raymond
pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to embezzle from an Indian
Tribe. He was scheduled to be sentenced on November 5, but the Yurok
Tribe requested a postponement of the sentencing, since the Tribe wanted
to file a victim impact statement in the case.
On
November 19, the sentencing of Raymond was postponed again to allow him
a chance to respond to allegations that he lied to a federal judge.
Raymond was then due back in court on December 9, but his sentencing has
been rescheduled to December 23.
In
the scandal that has rocked the North Coast, Del Norte District
Attorney Jon Alexander on February 23, 2012 arrested LeValley and fellow
Mad River biologist Sean McAllister on $1 million warrants accusing
them of burglary, embezzlement and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Spotted owl surveys that were never done
The
Del Norte County District Attorney alleged that the two well-known
biologists participated in an elaborate embezzlement scheme headed by
Raymond that bilked the tribe out of over $900,000 that was supposed to
fund spotted owl research.
However,
the District Attorney later dropped the charges to allow federal
authorities to pursue the charges against Raymond and LeValley. Federal
charges against McAllister haven't been filed yet - and it remains
unclear if they will.
The
document recently filed by federal authorities details how the alleged
conspiracy proceeded. The link to the indictment is available at: http://noyonews.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/U.S._v._Ron_LeValley_As_Filed.pdf
According
to the document, "Beginning on a date unknown, but no later than 2007,"
Raymond told LeValley he wanted to pay him, other Mad River Biologists
employees, and some tribal forestry and fire crew employees a bonus.
Raymond suggested LeValley submit an inflated invoice to the Yurok Tribe
for an additional amount to cover the bonuses.
"LeValley
agreed to this arrangement, and caused such an invoice to be prepared
and submitted to the Yurok Tribe, " the document states.
At
the end of October 2008, Raymond obtained tribal approval for $98,000
worth of Endangered Species Act (ESA) surveys to be conducted by Mad
River Biologists (MRB).
Raymond
told LeValley that the tribe did not have money to pay for fire
prevention and other forestry work - and asked him to begin regularly
submitting false invoices for work his company hadn't performed,
according to the document.
LeValley
allegedly funneled the money back to Raymond, less a percentage. This
percentage was identified in other court documents as 20 percent,
according to the Eureka Times-Standard. (http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_24368336/local-biologist-charged-embezzlement-federal-prosecutors-charge-ron)
During
2009 and 2010, as a result of the economic downturn, the price of
timber fell significantly and timber harvesting declined dramatically.
"The Yurok Tribe did not harvest much timber during those years and had
little need for biological assessments," the document states.
Nonetheless,
Mad River Biologists nonetheless billed the tribe for approximately
$852,000 worth of surveys. LeValley funneled at least $540,000 of this
money back to Raymond, keeping the balance to pay his company's
operations.
These
expenses included his salary, "not less than $47,000 in total 2009
compensation" and "not less than $9,800 in total 2010 compensation," the
document claims.
Alleged embezzlement scam casts shadow over Initiative "science"
The
Yurok Tribe, fishing groups and grassroots environmentalists were
outraged by the alleged embezzlement scheme from the moment it was
uncovered, particularly in regard to the dark shadow that it casts over
the "science" used to kick fishermen and tribal gatherers off the water
in the no-take "State Marine Reserves."
Many
North Coast residents believe the charges against LeValley call into
question the legitimacy of the "science" used to close vast areas of the
North Coast to fishing and tribal gathering under the MLPA Initiative -
while doing nothing to stop pollution, fracking, oil drilling, wind and
wave energy projects and all human impacts on the ocean other than
fishing and gathering in a classic example of corporate greenwashing.
"I
would like to know how the state of California is going to revise the
science advice LeValley provided for the North Coast MLPA Initiative
process, based on him allegedly filing false documents," said Jim
Martin, West Coast Regional Director of the Recreational Fishing
Alliance (RFA).
He suggested forming a "truth and reconciliation commission" to unravel "what really happened" in the MLPA Initiative.
The
validity of the science employed by the MLPA Initiative Science
Advisory Team under LeValley's leadership becomes even more suspect when
one considers that LeValley and the Team repeatedly and inexplicably
refused to allow the Yurok Tribe to present their scientific studies
regarding "marine protected areas." The Tribe exposed the questionable
science of the MLPA Initiative in a statement on June 6, 2012. (http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/06/17/18715613.php)
"Under
the MLPA each marine species is assigned a certain level of
protection," according to the Tribe. "Species like mussels are given a
low level of protection, which in MLPA-speak, translates to more
regulation.
"To
date, there has been no scientific data submitted suggesting that
mussels on the North Coast are in any sort of danger or are
overharvested. In fact, it's just the opposite. The readily available
quantitative survey data collected over decades by North Coast experts
shows there is quite an abundance of mussels in this sparsely populated
study region," the Tribe continued.
"Fish
like Pacific eulachon, also known as candle fish, are given a high
level of protection, or in other words, their harvest is not limited by
the proposed regulations. Eulachon are near extinction and listed as
threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act," the Tribe stated.
"Both
of these marine species are essential and critical to the cultural
survival of northern California tribes," said Thomas O'Rourke, Chairman
of the Yurok Tribe. "However, under the proposed regulations they would
be summarily mismanaged. It's examples like these that compel our
concerns."
The
Tribe said it attempted on numerous occasions to address the scientific
inadequacies with the MLPA science developed under the Schwarzenegger
administration by adding "more robust protocols" into the equation, but
was denied every time.
The
Northern California Tribal Chairman's Association, including the Chairs
of the Elk Valley Rancheria, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Karuk Tribe, Smith
River Rancheria, Trinidad Rancheria, and Yurok Tribe, documented in a
letter how the science behind the MLPA Initiative developed by
Schwarzenegger's Science Advisory Team is "incomplete and terminally
flawed." (http://yubanet.com/california/Dan-Bacher-MLPA-Initiative-based-on-incomplete-and-terminally-flawed-science.php)
On
the day of the historic direct action protest by a coalition of over 50
Tribes and their allies in Fort Bragg in July 2010, Frankie Joe Myers,
Yurok Tribal member and Coastal Justice Coalition activist, exposed the
refusal to incorporate Tribal science that underlies the "science" of
the MLPA process.
“The
whole process is inherently flawed by institutionalized racism," said
Myers. "It doesn't recognize Tribes as political entities, or Tribal
biologists as legitimate scientists." (http://klamathjustice.blogspot.com/2010/07/july-21st-2010.html)
It is clear that the allegedly "open, transparent and inclusive" MLPA Initiative process was anything but.
MLPA Initiative: A Parody of Marine Protection
The
Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) is a law, signed by Governor Gray
Davis in 1999, designed to create a network of marine protected areas
off the California Coast. However, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in
2004 created the privately-funded MLPA "Initiative" to "implement" the
law, effectively eviscerating the MLPA.
The
MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Forces that oversaw the implementation of "marine
protected areas" included a big oil lobbyist, a marina corporation
executive, coastal real estate developer and other individuals with
numerous conflicts of interest.
Catherine
Reheis-Boyd, the president of the Western States Petroleum Association
and a relentless advocate for offshore oil drilling, fracking, the
Keystone XL Pipeline and the weakening of environmental laws, chaired
the South Coast MLPA Blue Ribbon Task that developed the MPAs that went
into effect in Southern California waters on January 1, 2012. She also
served on the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Forces for the North Coast, North
Central Coast and Central Coast.
While
Reheis-Boyd served on the task forces to "protect" the ocean, the same
oil industry that the "marine guardian" represents was conducting
environmentally destructive hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations
off the Southern California coast. Documents recently obtained under the
Freedom of Information Act and media investigations by Associated Press
and truthout.org reveal that the ocean has been fracked at least 203
times in the past 20 years, including the period from 2004 to 2012 that
Reheis-Boyd served as a "marine guardian."
The
"marine protected areas" created under the MLPA Initiative fail to
protect the ocean from oil spills and drilling, water pollution,
military testing, seismic testing, wave and wind energy projects,
corporate aquaculture and all other uses of the ocean other than fishing
and gathering.
The
MLPA Initiative operated through a controversial private/public
partnership funded by the shadowy Resources Legacy Fund Foundation. The
Schwarzenegger administration, under intense criticism by grassroots
environmentalists, fishermen and Tribal members, authorized the
implementation of marine protected areas under the initiative through a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the foundation and the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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