The newcomers' highly consultative, participatory style was well received in the university town in which environmental issues—for example, the sources of air and water pollution, the impact of nuclear energy, and the preservation of the redwoods—were important topics of discussion. "Arcatans feel that there is still hope for the environment as long as we keep talking about it," Assistant City Engineer Stephen Leiker said.

Talk they do, and organize as well. "We have the North Coast Environmental Center, Citizens Against Toxic Substances, Humboldt Herbicide Task Force, the Redwood Alliance, and the Citizens for Social Responsibility, to name a few," Leiker said. "Those are groups of people who are interested and involved." But, he adds, "they are not the Earth First types. They talk about strategies. They compare what is happening in other places. They are interested in ripples, not in tidal waves." Council member Sam Pennisi offered this appraisal:

We work out of a firm sense of self-identity here in Arcata and self-confidence. From the outside looking in, I imagine it looks like misplaced righteousness. I liken it to all this new talk about personal self-esteem. I think that is what Arcata has. I don't think Arcatans would say that they are right, but that they think their ideas are worthy and that they are competent explorers.... We [on the council] discuss these things in open forum; we talk about the likely consequences; how other people will view it, what waves it will make. We are representative of our community.

It is fair to say that Arcatans trust this government, look to it for leadership, support it. But I have one caveat. There is a two-way street here. The people who want to be involved consider themselves to be leaders as well. They look at us as leaders and to us as listeners. They feel a strong communications link with us as well. They don't look to us for all the ideas. When they perceive that we are relying too much on staff and not listening to the "people" they let us know.

What happened to the freeway well conveys the Arcata City Council's approach. The freeway was not stopped; rather its scale was reduced, and it was built. It cuts the university off physically from downtown Arcata like a great wall, but the safety problem has been addressed, housing has been saved, the historical fabric of the town has been preserved, and, on balance, people are reasonably well pleased.