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River Issues

Sonoma, Mendocino County grape growers battling new rules designed to reduce sediment, pesticides in local waterways

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, August 2, 2023 [excerpt:] A new program targeting 1,500 commercial grape growers in Sonoma and Mendocino counties and designed to improve water quality in local creeks and rivers is drawing criticism from members of the agricultural community. The draft rules include reporting requirements, annual fees, well and groundwater monitoring, ground cover requirements and restrictions …

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FoGR comments on Sonoma County’s draft Well Ordinance

To:  Nathan QuarlesDeputy Director, Engineering and ConstructionPermit and Resource Management DepartmentCounty of SonomaEmail: Nathan.Quarles@sonoma-county.orgWell Ordinance Public CommentsSubmitted via email: PermitSonoma-Wells-PublicInput@sonoma-county.orgFrom:  Friends of Gualala River Board of DirectorsP.O. Box 1543Gualala, CA. 95445Email info@gualalariver.orgDate:  February 22, 2023Subject:  Friends of Gualala River comments on the proposed draft Well Ordinance_____________________________________________________________________________Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) is a grassroots nonprofit organization that has worked for over …

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Mill Bend Preserve Conservation Plan

In September, the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy (RCLC) unveiled the Conservation Plan for the Mill Bend Preserve at a public meeting and celebration. This was a major achievement and the result of two years of collaboration between the environmental consultant, Prunuske Chatham, Inc., and a dedicated Working Group of RCLC individuals that included FoGR representation. The Abstract to the Conservation …

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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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FoGR urges Regional State of Emergency for the Gualala River watershed

August 16, 2021 To:  California Department of Fish and Wildlife Charlton Bonham Director P.O. Box 944209 Sacramento, CA 94244-2090 From: Friends of Gualala River PO Box 1543 Gualala, CA 95445 info@gualalariver.org and: Forest Unlimited P.O. Box 506 Forestville, CA 95426 info@forestunlimited.org Re:       FoGR requests the following actions be taken immediately: 1) proclaim a Regional State of Emergency for the Gualala River watershed; …

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Gualala Estuary: Native Aquatic Vegetation versus Algal Blooms

Drought Changes in the Gualala River Estuary’s Summer Lagoon: Native Aquatic Vegetation versus Algal Blooms A virtual field trip with questions and answers – (more than you wanted to know) Friends of Gualala River, August 2021 Peter Baye, Ph.D, Coastal Ecologist, Botanist Question: What is all the green stuff in the Gualala River lagoon? Is it one of the “Harmful …

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River mouth opens on Dec. 27, 2020

  The mouth of the Gualala River opened to the ocean on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020 at ~11:30am, reconnecting the important lagoon fish rearing habitat for out-migrating salmonids, synchronized with suitable stream conditions for returning spawners. This is a high tide, high swell, low-energy breach condition in the photos. When the lagoon is full and it breaches on a low …

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Mill Bend in Conservation Hands

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 John Walton   In the fall of 2017, the Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) working group considered a proposal to engage the community in a discussion regarding the 112 acre Mill Bend Properties, including the estuary of the river, that had recently been offered for sale for the first time in nearly 70 years. FoGR’s Board suggested presenting the …

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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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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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Vision for a Gualala River Park

Vision for Gualala River Park

Spanning from bridge to bridge along a wild and scenic river A unique and majestic coastal redwood park with paths wandering along the Gualala River – protected and preserved for this and future generations to visit and enjoy. The park would preserve a seven mile corridor important for wildlife and complete with natural beauty. Public access to world class second …

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Gualala River Watershed Awareness and Protection Project

Wild and Scenic reach of the lower Gualala River on the bank opposite Dogwood THP area, 2016

It is human nature to take what is around us without paying special attention unless some aspect seems awry. Such is the case with the Gualala River estuary as well as the watershed area that extends up the river far out of sight of most of those who routinely enter and leave Gualala over the bridge. Yet the entire watershed …

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Conservationist bids on Mill Bend

Mill Bend, photo by Bill Oxford

by W.W. Keller news@mendonoma.com © copyright 2018, Independent Coast Observer reprinted with permission The Redwood Coast Land Conservancy and the Mendocino Land Trust announced on Thursday, Nov. 8, that an offer to buy the Mill Bend property in Gualala by an unidentified conservation buyer, has been accepted. The deal includes both the Mill Bend and the Lower Mill Bend parcels. …

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GMAC letter on Dogwood & Apple logging plans

GMAC letter on Apple & Dogwood logging plans

On November 15, 2015, the Gualala Municipal Advisory Council (GMAC) sent a letter to CalFire expressing concerns regarding the proposed “Dogwood” and “Apple” logging plans in and directly adjacent to the environmentally sensitive floodplain of the Gualala River. Download the letter in pdf format: GMAC letter on Apple & Dogwood logging plans

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Tues, April 14: “Russian River: All Rivers” at Arena Theater

The Russian River: All Rivers

Friends of Gualala River is proud to sponsor the new film “Russian River: All Rivers, The Value of an American Watershed” on Tuesday, April 14th, 7:00 PM at the Arena Theater, 214 Main Street, Pt. Arena, CA. Come meet the film makers and hear their story at this showing and be a part of an event that has been co-sponsored …

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Our river runneth over

South Fork Gualala River at Twin Bridges, Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Here are two photos of the South Fork Gualala River at Twin Bridges, taken two days apart: Monday, December 1, 2014 (before the recent rain) and Wednesday, December 3, 2014 (after some much needed rain)

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Protect Threatened Salmon & Steelhead: Support Improved Low-Flow Closures

Action Alert: The native, Endangered Species Act-listed salmon and steelhead of the drought-stricken Gualala River, in California, need your help. Thanks in large part to the pressure that [fishermen] put on the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) a year ago, the CDFW is finally taking action to fix the critically flawed low-flow closure system on the North Central-Coast …

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FoGR Files Lawsuit over Sonoma County’s Vineyard Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance (VESCO)

2014 Reservoir above Haupt Creek

Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), along with Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club, has filed a suit against Sonoma County to close a major regulatory loophole. This time it’s not our typical campaign to stop destruction of redwood forest. It’s to fix a serious problem in a Sonoma County permitting process that is allowing developers to circumvent the California …

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Wine industry resists rising tide to regulate groundwater as California drought deepens

Wheatfield Fork, Gualala River, upstream of the Annapolis Road bridge at Skagg Springs Road, August 17, 2013

State legislation to regulate the depletion of groundwater is moving forward as the current historic drought continues and reservoirs draw precipitously down. State water agencies support legislative proposals to monitor and regulate groundwater in the public interest as the drought threatens both surface and below-ground water supplies. But North Coast grape growers and the wine industry are opposed to this …

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