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Lucille Vinyard is an environmental angel

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Lucille Vinyard is an environmental angel 
by Lee Biggerstaff

Lucille Vinyard of Trinidad is a warrior. She is 80 years old and not missing a beat in her efforts to save the natural environment.

With an aura of health, awareness, and gracious humor, Lucille says she long ago turned in her gun and fishing rod for a camera and binoculars. In 1963, Lucille's botanist husband, Bill, sponsored her membership in the Sierra Club. A movement was starting to establish a redwood national park in Northern California - an intent voiced by Stuart Udall, then Secretary of the Interior. The timber industry was immediately on edge-all those redwoods could be translated into millions of dollars. The battle was on.

In 1965, Lucille spoke before the Senate Natural Resources Committee in Sacramento in support of preserving the ancient, giant redwood trees within a national park. Her impassioned 12-minute presentation received thunderous applause. From then on, Lucille spoke before the State Parks Commission, US Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, and at congressional field hearings. She also spent a week lobbying and testifying in Washington, D.C.

Lucille's efforts were helped by her husband and the Sierra Club. "I could never have done all this without them," she said. The Sierra Club awarded her its Special Services Award for 1999 to honor her "consistent commitment to conservation."

Growing up near Santa Cruz, Lucille came by her fighting spirit naturally. Her grandmother once took a picnic lunch and settled herself at the foot of a giant redwood tree slated to be cut down by the Public Works Dept. of Santa Cruz County. The PWD wanted to remove the tree because it stood in the way of straightening out a road. This was in the early 1900s, and Grandmother refused to budge until it was agreed the tree would stay where it was rooted. "One single person can make an enormous difference," said Lucille.

One of six children, Lucille's parents introduced her to the beauties of nature early in her life. The family lived on 160 acres near Highway 17 and Santa Cruz on an old Spanish Land Grant. The children played among the ancient trees throughout their early years, learning to love the healing energy of the forest. All the siblings have helped in the battle of Redwood National Park whenever help was needed, and they all still keep in touch.

During the years when Lucille travelled the length of the California coast speaking out on careful conservation, the timber companies were not happy with her. An enthusiastic golfer, she finally had to give up playing at her golf club when the wives were told by timber-industry members not to play with her. Sometimes field hearings in Eureka turned ugly and had to be cut short. But what couldn't be heard in Eureka could be heard in San Francisco, generating out-of-area support. Interestingly, much of the support came from east of the Mississippi, where an outcry to save the redwoods developed.

Lucille has continued her conservation work with the North Group Sierra Club. She helped coordinate the Coastal Cleanup Day from 1985-1990. She has worked on many other environmental issues including preservation of the open space between Arcata and Eureka and reducing the size of the Woodley Island Marina.

She remains down-to-earth and natural with a lovely humility. "Without everyone helping me," she smiled, "I couldn't have done it." A heartfelt salute to one of Humboldt County's Environmental Angels - and may she continue her incredible work for many years to come.

Lee Biggerstaff is a freelance writer in Arcata.

One-time article Copyright 2000 by Humboldt Senior Resource Center.