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Gualala River in May – Photo Calendar

Baby Blue Eyes, by Bonney Ely

← Previous: Gualala River in April Next: Gualala River in June →                         All photos used with permission. Our sincere thanks to all of the photographers for sharing their photos with us!

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Gualala River in April – Photo Calendar

An Osprey snags a fish, by John Batchelder

← Previous: Gualala River in Winter Next: Gualala River in May → Springtime brings new life in and around the Gualala River by Jeanne A. Jackson After the winter rains, the Gualala River usually is closed off from the Pacific Ocean by a big sandbar. When the river closes, the water backs up into the lagoon and upriver, bringing perfect …

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Sonoma County Superior Court awards attorney fees for lawsuit over floodplain redwood logging in Gualala River “Dogwood” timber harvest plan

90-100 year old redwood tree marked for cutting in Gualala River floodplain; photo credit: copyright © 2016 Mike Shoys, used with permission

Friends of Gualala River Forest Unlimited California Native Plant Society MEDIA RELEASE Date: June 29, 2017 After halting logging in the environmentally sensitive mature floodplain redwood forest of the lower Gualala River, Judge René Chouteau of Sonoma County Superior Court awarded $162,000 in attorney’s fees to the successful parties in environmental litigation over CAL FIRE’s approval of the Dogwood Timber …

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Disputed Gualala River logging plan stalled pending revised study

Gualala River riparian forest

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, June 20, 2017 [excerpt:] A disputed 2-year-old plan to log along several miles of the Gualala River floodplain remains in limbo five months after a Sonoma County judge nullified its approval and sent it back to state forestry officials for revision and additional public review. Acting on a lawsuit brought by environmental groups, Superior …

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Towering, remote Sonoma County forest preserved

Howlett Forest map

by J.D. Morris, The Press Democrat, May 7, 2017 [excerpt:] Deep in northwestern Sonoma County’s thickly forested mountains, about 10 miles from the coast and a world away from the bustle of any population center, Mike Young walked beneath a towering canopy of redwood and Douglas fir trees he’s come to know well over the past several decades. He was …

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Gualala River in Winter – Photo Calendar

Deer reflected in the Gualala River - by Rick Denniston

← Previous: Gualala River in Fall (coming soon) Next: Gualala River in April → Winter rains fall on the vast watershed of the Gualala River. When the land can no longer absorb more water, the rain flows into the tributaries of the Gualala River. The river changes daily. Big storms brings churning waters down the river, racing to the ocean. …

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Downstream: Logging and an industry-friendly state agency imperil . . . California waterways

Downstream

by Will Parrish, North Bay Bohemian, February 15, 2017 [excerpt:] Here in the North Bay, a controversy over timber industry damage to the Gualala River in northwestern Sonoma and southeastern Mendocino counties has been raging since 2015. First came the Dogwood plan, a 320-acre timber harvest plan filed by Gualala Redwoods Timber company (GRT). It involves tractor-logging hundreds of stately, …

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Shaping the Future of the Gualala River Watershed

Dr. Kimberly Rodrigues

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Free of charge Gualala Arts Center 46501 Old State Highway Gualala, CA 95445 Sponsored by Friends of Gualala River Friends of Gualala River present a community education program with Dr. Kimberly Rodrigues, Director of the U.C. Hopland Research and Cooperative Extension Center on Tuesday, February 28, 2017, at the Gualala Arts Center, …

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Sonoma County Superior Court Remands Entire Dogwood Timber Harvest Plan Back to CAL FIRE for Environmental Review of Controversial Gualala River Redwood Forest Floodplain Logging

Redwood forest targeted for logging in Gualala River floodplain; Dogwood2

Friends of Gualala River Forest Unlimited California Native Plant Society MEDIA RELEASE Date: January 28, 2017 The “Dogwood” Timber Harvest Plan (THP), an environmental review of the first major logging of the mature redwood forest on the sensitive floodplain of the Gualala River, has been sent back to CAL FIRE for a full revision. The plan is bound for a …

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That Old Maxxam Band Again

Wild & scenic Gualala River runs thorough Dogwood - 5416

by Will Parrish © 2017 Anderson Valley Advertiser January 12, 2017 [excerpt:] First came the “Dogwood” plan: a 320-acre timber harvest plan (THP) filed by Gualala Redwoods Timber (GRT) in 2015. It involves tractor-logging hundreds of stately second-growth redwoods that line the lower Gualala River, which straddles the Sonoma-Mendocino county line on the coast, in areas spared from axes and …

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Dogwood THP lawsuit update & Gualala River riparian forest conservation workshop

Gualala River riparian forest

Thursday, October 27, 2016 5 to 7 p.m. Gualala Community Center 47950 Center St., Gualala, CA 95445 Please join host Jeanne Jackson (Mendonoma Sightings) for a one-time informal workshop co-sponsored by Friends of Gualala River, Forest Unlimited and California Native Plant Society – Dorothy King Young Chapter, for updates on the future of the lower Gualala River Riparian Redwood Forest, …

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Gualala River logging project suspended by Sonoma County judge

Wild & scenic Gualala River runs thorough Dogwood - 5416

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, September 16, 2016 [excerpt:] A Sonoma County judge has halted logging operations tied to a disputed timber harvest plan in the Gualala River watershed until a court challenge against the project can be resolved. Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday, affirming an earlier tentative ruling in which he said environmentalists …

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Preliminary Injunction halts Gualala River Floodplain Redwood Logging – “Dogwood” Timber Harvest Plan, Sonoma County

"Rally for the River" - July 16, 2016; photo credit: Anne Mary Schaefer

Friends of Gualala River Forest Unlimited MEDIA RELEASE Date: September 15, 2016 – updated On Wednesday, September 14, Sonoma County Superior Court confirmed a tentative ruling to temporarily halt further logging of the controversial Gualala River floodplain within the “Dogwood” timber harvest plan area while litigation proceeds. Hon. René Auguste Chouteau, Supervising Civil Court Judge, granted a Preliminary Injunction to …

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Environmentalists file suit over Gualala River logging plan

Wild & scenic Gualala River runs thorough Dogwood - 5416

by Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat, August 9, 2016 [excerpt:] North Coast environmental groups have followed through on their threat to sue Cal Fire over its approval of a 400-acre logging operation within the floodplain of lower Gualala River. The lawsuit, filed last week by Forest Unlimited and Friends of Gualala River, alleges state forestry officials failed to meet mandated …

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CAL FIRE sued over Approval of Gualala River Floodplain Redwood Logging – “Dogwood” Timber Harvest Plan, Sonoma County

Redwood forest targeted for logging in Gualala River floodplain; Dogwood2

Date: August 8, 2016   On Thursday, August 4, 2016, Forest Unlimited and Friends of Gualala River, represented by attorney Edward Yates, filed a lawsuit in Sonoma County Superior Court to compel the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to set aside the agency’s July 1st final approval of the “Dogwood” timber harvest plan in Sonoma County. …

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Jeanne Jackson speaks at the Rally for the River

Jeanne Jackson speaking at the "Rally for the River"; July 16, 2016; photo credit: Anne Mary Schaefer (pawpawrazzipetphotography.com)

Local author and environmentalist Jeanne Jackson speaks out against the “Dogwood” logging plan in the floodplain of the Gualala River. Ms. Jackson writes the popular weekly “Mendonoma Sightings” column in the Independent Coast Observer as well as the blog, MendonomaSightings.com. She is also the author of Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year: The Fascinating World of Nature on the Mendocino/Sonoma Coast, …

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Last Stands: North Coast timber conflict flares up—again

Bohemian: Trouble in Timberland

by Will Parrish, North Bay Bohemian, July 27, 2016 [excerpt:] . . . In this story, we highlight several timber-industry fights playing out in the North Coast. These sorts of struggles will shape the long-term well-being of rural economies, the health of local ecosystems and the well-being of indigenous cultures. . . . LOGGING THE GUALALA FLOODPLAIN Last year, Gualala …

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Photos of “Rally for the River” – July 16, 2016

"Rally for the River" - July 16, 2016; photo credit: Anne Mary Schaefer

We counted 180 – 200 participants, with dozens of spontaneously prepared hand-made signs and artwork. Speakers included Jeanne Jackson, Eric Wilder, Charlie Ivor, Larry Hanson, Peter Baye and Noreen Evans.                     See also, video: Jeanne Jackson speaks at the Rally for the River

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A Plan to Log Century-Old Redwoods Could Set a Bad Precedent

90-100 year old redwood tree marked for cutting in Gualala River floodplain; photo credit: copyright © 2016 Mike Shoys, used with permission

Environmentalists argue a California agency approved a 330-acre logging project that could damage sensitive floodplain habitat. July 15, 2016, by Taylor Hill, copyright © 2016 TakePart [excerpt:] This time, it’s not iconic old-growth redwood groves facing the ax along California’s northern coast, but the trees that are slated for logging are nearly as environmentally important, conservationists contend. Last week, Cal …

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Plan To Log Century-Old Redwood Trees On California Coast Prompts Lawsuit Threat

by Associated Press, Thursday, July 14, 2016 [excerpt:] Opponents of a logging plan that includes century-old redwood trees have notified California forestry officials that they plan to sue unless the state rescinds its approval of the project. . . . The groups says the “Dogwood” timber harvest plan along the lower Gualala River will degrade floodplain habitat for plants and …

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