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Friends of Gualala River say they’ll sue to block approved ‘Little’ timber harvest plan

Gualala River floodplain

By J. Stephen McLaughlin November 19, 2021 © Copyright 2021 Independent Coast Observer Reprinted with permission www.mendonoma.com The local environmental advocacy group Friends of Gualala River on Monday notified federal and state agencies, in addition to Gualala Redwood Timber, LLC, that it intends to sue in U.S. District Court to block the so-called “Little” Timber Harvest Plan, alleging violations of …

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Local environmental groups ask for emergency protections for Gualala River; halt to water drafting

by Chris McManus Independent Coast Observer August 20, 2021 Reprinted by permission © Copyright Independent Coast Observer, Inc. www.mendonoma.com Friends of Gualala River, along with Forest Unlimited in Forestville, on Monday sent a request to state and local officials asking that a regional state of emergency for the Gualala River watershed be proclaimed. This aerial view of the Gualala River …

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Friends of Gualala River launch new lawsuit targeting logging on North Fork

by Chris McManus Independent Coast Observer July 23, 2021 Reprinted by permission © Copyright Independent Coast Observer, Inc. www.mendonoma.com As part of its Salmonid and Watershed Restoration Project, Friends of Gualala River has launched a new lawsuit, this one focused on the Gualala River’s North Fork in the watershed’s northwest corner, the only hydrologic area of the watershed that is …

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Won’t back down – Friends of Gualala River continue protection efforts

by Tempra BoardThe Sea Ranch Soundings • Summer 2021 © copyright 2021, The Sea Ranch Associationreprinted with permission Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), our area’s grassroots watershed protection non-profit, continues its hard work defending the Gualala River from the threat of floodplain logging. On May 20, FoGR filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt logging of Gualala Redwood Timber …

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Local and national conservation groups join forces, sue timber company over logging project

by Lana Cohen, The Mendocino Voice, September 25, 2020 [excerpt:] Two conservation groups, Friends of Gualala River, and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed a lawsuit in federal court against Gualala Redwood Timber Company. They claim the timber company’s planned timber harvest project in the Gualala River watershed violates the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The suit was filed …

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Battle begins to save rare redwood forest in Northern California

Wild & scenic Gualala River runs thorough Dogwood - 5416

By Scott Thomas Anderson, Sacramento News & Review, September 23, 2020 [excerpt:] Conservation groups sue massive logging project as violation of Endangered Species Act For many, the lush, towering redwoods along Sonoma County’s Gualala River are vestiges of a once-unspoiled Golden State, the verdant vanguard of a century-old forest that cradles an undammed stream spilling from the coastal mountains into …

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Conservationists escalate legal battle over logging plan in Gualala floodplain

Redwood tree marked for logging in Dogwood THP, photo by Chris Poehlmann

By Lana Cohen, The Mendocino Voice, August 1, 2020 [excerpt:] MENDOCINO Co., 8/1/20 — Friends of Gualala River, a local nonprofit, plans to move their five-year conflict over logging in the Gualala River floodplain from Sonoma County Superior Court to federal court. The local conservation group is teaming up with the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting …

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Fight over Gualala River logging plan heads to federal court

Wild & scenic Gualala River runs thorough Dogwood - 5416

by Guy Kovner, The Press Democrat, July 14, 2020 [excerpt:] A five-year battle over plans to log in the remote Gualala River flood plain has taken a big step up with a powerhouse environmental group’s declaration to take the case to federal court, alleging the commercial tree harvest would harm protected fish, frogs and birds. Friends of Gualala River, a …

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Center for Bio-Diversity joins suit

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

From July 10, 2020 Independent Coast Observer Reprinted by permission © Copyright Independent Coast Observer, Inc. www.mendonoma.com Two weeks after the California appeals court enjoined Gualala Redwood Timber LLC from logging the proposed Dogwood timber harvest plan in the floodplain of the Gualala River, a federal lawsuit has been brought against the Dogwood logging plan as well. The Center for …

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Wine Moguls Destroy Land And Pay Small Fines As Cost Of Business, Say Activists

by Alastair Bland, Nation Public Radio’s “The Salt,” November 18, 2019 [excerpt:] After California wine industry mogul Hugh Reimers illegally destroyed at least 140 acres of forest, meadow and stream in part to make way for new vineyards sometime last winter, according to a report from state investigators, state officials ordered the Krasilsa Pacific Farms manager to repair and mitigate …

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Redwood Coast Land Conservancy buying 112 acres near Gualala River and regional park

The yellow lines in this photo show the approximate boundaries of the Mill Bend (lower left) and Lower Mill Bend properties. Photo courtesy the Mill Bend Coalition.

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, November 4, 2019 [excerpt:] A 112-acre swath of land just inside the mouth of the Gualala River, including 13 acres of river frontage adjacent to Gualala Point Regional Park, is on its way to permanent preservation for public recreation and habitat conservation. Long sought by the community to improve public access to the river …

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CalFire approves third Dogwood THP; legal fight continues

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

by W. W. Keller August 9, 2019 © copyright 2019, Independent Coast Observer, Gualala, CA reprinted with permission In a letter dated July 31, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or CalFire approved the third controversial Dogwood timber harvest plan stating, “You may begin timber operations proposed in the plan.” But while the letter says that property owner …

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Our local watershed protection organization: Friends of Gualala River

Gualala Point Regional Park - view of lagoon, by Bob Rutemoeller

by Tempra Board Soundings, Summer, 2019 © copyright 2019, The Sea Ranch Association reprinted with permission Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) has been in the news lately for its efforts to compel state agencies to protect sensitive Gualala River watershed habitat from the latest in a series of Timber Harvest Plans (THPs) proposed by the Gualala Redwood Timber (GRT) company. Get …

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Gualala River park idea garners 1,100 signatures

Redwood tree marked for logging in Dogwood THP, photo by Chris Poehlmann

and 3,000 signatures oppose third Dogwood logging plan by W. W. Keller news@mendonoma.com May 31, 2019 © copyright 2019, Independent Coast Observer, Gualala, CA reprinted with permission The Gualala River Park Coalition, a grassroots environmental organization, has collected more than 1,100 signatures from people who would rather turn the Gualala River floodplain into a public park than see its redwoods …

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Opponents of logging plan along Gualala River dream of expanding park

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

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, April 25, 2019 [excerpt:] Provoked by a new round of scrutiny over hard-fought plans to harvest timber in the Gualala River floodplain, a contingent of North Coast residents has launched a petition drive to use the land for expansion of a public park instead. It’s the stuff of fantasy for the moment, given the …

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A Christmas Wish

California Red-legged frog, by Roberta Chan

Letter to the Editor, published in the Independent Coast Observer December 21, 2018 I have always regarded California as being in the forefront of environmental awareness and protection. However, after moving to Gualala 5 years ago and seeing the repeated attempts at logging in the floodplain of the Gualala River, I have been saddened by this disregard for the health …

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Magic Forest

Gualala River floodplain

Letter to the Editor, published in the Independent Coast Observer December 7, 2018 We would like to add our voices to those who are calling for the expansion of the regional park into the Magic Forest along the Gualala floodplain. There are so many reasons why this visionary plan would create the greatest good for the greatest number. From an …

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Help the River

Gualala River in fog

Letter to the Editor, published in the Independent Coast Observer November 30, 2018 The Gualala River needs our help. The other rivers in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties have their floodplains — and much more — protected. But our Gualala River’s floodplain still could be logged by the Burch family that owns it. Indeed, they have tried twice to log it …

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