December 2025

This Month's Issue:

Oroville Biomass "Town Hall"

BEC Next Generation Water Stewards Program

Drop Off Your Holiday Food Scraps

RARE's 4 R's For the Holidays

Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping

The Fort Bidwell Indian School: A Historical and Multicultural Context by Laurie Pearce Price

Oroville Biomass Town Hall

The Oroville Community Development Commission is holding a town hall on Monday, December 8th at 5:30pm to discuss the proposed biomass facilities in Oroville. The proposed site for this facility is the same site as a previous biomass plant (POPI) which was closed in 2012 after DA Mike Ramsey sued the plant for burning construction debris instead of clean fuel, which led to the release of dioxin and other cancer-causing substances. The Dioxin Education Committee has been meeting for the past few months to discuss the potential environmental health effects that were not addressed in the initial town hall.

It is the position of the Dioxin Education Committee that:

1. Biomass gasification is not the clean energy solution that it is being promoted as, it would impact Butte County’s already poor air quality and pre-existing ground contamination. According to the Sierra Club, bio-mass gasification facilities emit even more harmful and toxic pollutants than fossil fuel alternatives: 5.2% more nitrogen oxides, 30 times more volatile organic compounds, 7 times more for ammonia, and more.
2. There are cleaner alternatives to biomass gasification that can achieve the same goals.
3. Up until now the narrative has been dominated by the entities that are promoting the Butte Renewable Energy Inc. (BREI) project. Future town halls need to include representatives from other stakeholders, including local residents and unbiased environmental experts.
4. Given the complexity and long-term impact on our community, the process needs to slow down.

Knowledge is power! BEC has compiled a folder of EPA-funded dioxin research on the cancer clusters that emerged after the explosion at the Koppers/POPI site, as well as current data on biomass cogeneration. If you are interested in having your questions answered at the town hall on Monday, email any questions to advocate@becnet.org.

We look forward to seeing you at the town hall!

Next Generation Water Stewards Program

Drop Off Your Holiday Food Scraps

BEC can help you sustainably dispose of your food. Join us at the Oak Way Community Garden (1510 W. 8th Ave.) to drop off your holiday food scraps! 

When: Anytime! Always available

Where: Food waste goes in the black tote with the yellow lid or blue cylinder with the black lid that sits outside the community garden gate. 

What/How: No meat, dairy or oily foods.

Please unbag your scraps so they can be easily integrated and throw some leaves in a 1:1 ratio (located next to the bins) in with the food scraps to help with the smell and unwanted pests.

Questions: Contact sustainability@becnet.org with questions.

RARE's 4 R's for the Holidays

We can all use the 4 R’s - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot - to prevent waste from going to the landfill this holiday season.

First, let’s learn about the 4 R’s. Reduce means to say no to single-use items when you don’t need them. Reuse means to use something again and again. Recycle means to turn waste back into a resource that can be used again. And Rot means to compost, which is when food scraps break down and turn into soil.

Here’s how you can Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot this holiday season!

Reduce: Support local small businesses by keeping money in the circular economy.

Reuse: Purchase gifts, supplies, and other needs from your local thrift store.

Recycle: Recycle paper wrapping, clean glass bottles, clean metal cans, and fresh cut trees.

Rot: Remember not to compost any sugary foods, meat, or dairy.

Together, we can treat our planet with respect this holiday season. Remember to practice the 4 R’s for the holidays and every day!

Sustainable Holidays

It’s estimated that Americans throw away about 25% more trash during the holiday season than at any other time of year.

Many items we assume are recyclable actually end up in landfills. For example, tissue paper and glossy or glittery wrapping paper cannot be recycled. But there are plenty of creative ways to make your gift wrapping more eco-friendly:

Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping Ideas

• Wrapping paper alternatives: Paper shopping bags, newspaper
• Gift tags: Scrap paper or old holiday cards
• Decorations: Spare fabric, scrap ribbons, plant cuttings
• If every family wrapped just three presents with reused materials, we could save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields in the U.S. This holiday season, let’s do our best to be sustainable in the small ways that we can!



The Fort Bidwell Indian School: A Historical and Multicultural Context by Laurie Pearce Price

Excerpt from article (The Fort Bidwell Indian School: A Historical and Multicultural Context by Laurie Pearce Price):

This article presents the perspectives of a variety of people involved in the Fort Bidwell Indian School, with the hope that current and future generations may develop a greater understanding of the impact of Indian Boarding School system, particularly on the Fort Bidwell community.

-L.P.P.

1860s-1870s: Camp Bidwell, Fort Bidwell, and U.S. Military Presence on Indian Land

The first Camp Bidwell was built in 1863 to provide military protection for white emigrants and homesteaders along the Applegate and Lassen Trails who were traveling through, claiming, and settling on lands which Northern Paiute peoples already called “home.” The Kidütökadö (“Yellow-Bellied Marmot or Groundhog Eaters”) 1 or Gidutikad Band of Northern California Paiute historically lived around Goose Lake, in Surprise Valley in northern California and Warner Valley in Oregon, south to Long Valley and the Lower Lake, with a band territory of about 5,000 square miles. Neighbors to the west were the Achomawi (Pit River Indians), with other Paiute bands living to the northwest, northeast, east, and south. 2 Camp Bidwell was named for Major John Bidwell of the California Volunteers, a veteran of the Mexican War. Lake Annie, northeast of Fort Bidwell, was named for Major Bidwell’s wife, Annie Kennedy Bidwell.

Butte Environmental Council recognizes the original occupants of what is now referred to as the Butte County area and the descendants who are still living here. They include:

Tyme Maidu Tribe-Berry Creek Reservation

Enterprise Rancheria

Mechoopda Indian Tribe

Mooretown Rancheria 

We acknowledge and are mindful that these first people have a special and sacred relationship with their ancestral lands and the waters that run through these lands, sustaining them for centuries. We strive to learn from their ways and to be considered by the tribes as allies to respect and steward resources in this life-giving place.

Support Butte Environmental Council!

BEC is a grassroots non-profit dedicated to protecting the health of our environment. Our work is made possible by people like you! Your contribution helps us plant trees, clean the creeks, and bring environmental education into the classroom.

BEC is a membership supported organization, we invite all interested parties to become a member today.

Consider becoming a Sustaining Member today for as little as $5/month.