FERAL PIGS have plagued the Northcoast for years, all the way back to the early twentieth century when the tasty beasts were raised in great numbers in the Mendo outback, then herded fairly long distances for rail shipment south to Bay Area slaughter houses. The herdmasters rode horseback leaving it to their dogs to keep the pigs from straying. Inevitably, lots did stray and they have metastasized ever since in the Mendo-Sonoma outback, particularly in the open country west of Highway 101. Wild hogs can be found everywhere in the County where there's room enough for them to roam, and our county is larger than more than a few states at 3,900 square miles strewn with a mere 87,500 human-type people. Here in the Anderson Valley, pigs are thick in the hills lying between the Mendocino Coast and Highway 101. According to a recent story in the somnolent Press Democrat, farmers and landowners called animal control officers almost 900 times demanding that marauding coyotes and pigs be killed. Coyotes accounted for 736 of the calls, pigs 80, the 80 calls representing more than twice the number of calls for all other animals combined, including mountain lions, bears, raccoons, and skunks. When they aren't eating and sleeping, pigs are producing two to three large litters per year, guaranteeing their ubiquity. They'll eat nearly anything they can get their mouths on, from grubs, weeds, and acorns to small mammals and birds and frogs, leaving behind ravaged terrain that looks like it's been roto-tilled by a drunk. A sow with little ones won't hesitate to attack humans, as will a wounded boar. There are plenty of hunters around who enjoy picking them off, but unless you get a responsible guy to do it… Well, if no one's looking he just might thin out your entire animal population.
BRISET AGUILAR AV High School Graduate/Facebook post):
If there are any families experiencing hunger due to the SNAP delay, please reach out to me. I’ll do what I can to help. I know our local food bank is a huge support for many of us, but sometimes there’s a gap between food bank dates when things get tight. To help fill that gap, I’m looking into setting up a few community food cabinets around Anderson Valley — places where anyone can drop off donations or pick up food as needed, no questions asked. If you’re interested in helping, whether by donating, helping stock cabinets, or suggesting good cabinet locations, please let me know. Together, we can make sure no one in our community goes hungry
IT LOOKS LIKE the Lambert Lane Bridge Replacement Project has been buttoned up and put on hold for the year.
(G)rumblings from the on-site crew last week indicated they half-expected a stop work order this week from Fish & Wildlife and the State Water Resources Board as a pro-forma attempt to avoid impacts to fish in Robinson Creek what with the rainy season upon us. A stop work order at this point makes no sense to us, especially since the work in the creek is done and every possible stream protection/precaution has been taken. (By the way, where was Fish and Wildlife when the wine industry was dewatering local creeks for irrigation and frost protection?) We have a call in to the County Transpo Department for confirmation that the project is on hold and an estimated re-start/completion date, and the cost implications of starting again in the spring. Meanwhile, locals will have to drive around the new bridge construction site for a few more months using the temporary one-lane one-way bridge.
(Mark Scaramella)
AS EXPECTED, STOP WORK ORDER ISSUED for Lambert Lane Bridge Project
The West Coast Contractor Crew is winding down and buttoning up for the winter and does not expect to return until late spring of next year. There are obvious cost and schedule implications of the Fish and Wildlife stop work order which will have to be ironed out between the County and the contractor. Not to mention the crew turnover and the re-start process.
MIRANDA MABERY (Boonville):
Hi valley people. I’m looking for someone in need of an IHSS provider. I am certified and ready to work. Give me a text or call at 707-621-3271. Thank you
YARD WORK. Prepare your yard for the winter: Pruning, digging, weeding, mulching, mowing (your mower) , and more. $25/hr. Fast and efficient work. Miguel Martinez 707391-4167, or call me: 707 684-6413.
BETH SWEHLA (Anderson Valley High School Ag Instructor)
My floral design class at AVHS will be making some fall wreaths. Do you have olive trees that could be pruned so we could have some olive foliage? I hope to have the students make their wreaths next week. Contact me at [email protected]
FROM EBAY, A POSTCARD OF LOCAL INTEREST
The Navarro River at Ray's Resort, Philo, circa 1950.
(Marshall Newman)
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