Home » River Issues (page 4)

River Issues

Muddy River Meets Blue Ocean

3/15/2006   Harmony “New rains have recently joined the Gualala River taking with them all sorts of dirt and debris. As the river flows into the ocean you can vividly see how it is not an instant union.” “The colors of the ocean show just how far the river water stays together. Over time it will assimilate and the two …

Read More »

North Fork After the Winter Storms

3/7/2006   Britt “A break in the weather provided an opportunity to check out the stability of the soils along the North Fork and Little North Fork of the Gualala River.” “A hill slide onto the main haul road which runs alongside the North Fork.” “At the convergence of the North Fork and Little North Fork, the haul road is …

Read More »

Mud Season

3/6/2006   John “Old-timers say that Annapolis has two seasons… dust and mud. Well, with several days of non-stop heavy rain, I have to say we are definitely still in the mud season.” “Here’s a mudslide that closed Annapolis Road during yesterday’s storm. The Gualala River is down in the canyon to the left.” “A small muddy stream is flowing …

Read More »

After the Storm

2/20/2006   Peter “The river mouth has formed a double sand spit, an atypical configuration — a small ‘counter-spit’, growing in the reverse (south) direction of the main spit’s growth, overlaps the ocean side of the spit, and deflects the shrunken mouth southward about a hundred feet. It partially chokes the mouth, so the lagoon stands above the low tide.” …

Read More »

Year-end storm: Gualala Point / Mouth

12/31/2005   Peter “Soon after noon, the northern 2/3 of the sand spit was almost completely eroded from the river side, leaving 4 evenly spaced mounds (beach cusps) with vertical scarps facing the river, and low washover troughs between them. The above-tide mounds were less than 5 m wide by 1:30, and it’s likely that most of it will be …

Read More »

Storm on Gualala Point Beach

1/26/2006   Jeanne 1/26/06 Storm on Gualala Point Beach; photo credit, Jeanne Gadol“I was driving south from Gualala towards the bridge around noon on a very stormy January 26th when I noticed the waves flowing over the sandbar. I grabbed my camera and settled in along the bank just below the pullout south of the Breakers. There was a small …

Read More »

Gualala River gets national attention

1/21/2006   Chris “An Associated Press article, ‘Environmentalists Fight Vineyards’ Spread,’ published in the Washington Post, LA Times and dozens of other newspapers in January, 2006, focuses attention on the destruction of forestland to plant vineyards in the Gualala River watershed.”

Read More »

Friends of the Gualala River Weblog

FoGR BLoG Friends of the Gualala River’s web log of river sightings and commentary on the Gualala River watershed. FoGRBLoG is open to everyone in our community. Send your photos and observations to:blog@GualalaRiver.org. Please keep comments and photos focused on the Gualala River watershed and its natural environment . Click on the individual entries below Willows hold their ground 6/13/2006   …

Read More »

Willows hold their ground

“The South Fork of the Gualala River at the confluence with the Wheatfield Fork, at Valley Crossing, has changed configuration of its channel and bar.” June 2006 March 2006 “The lowered bar was “split” during winter and spring high flood flows, and now the main low-flow channel has stabilized in the middle of the broad gravel bar (above left). It …

Read More »

Year-end storm: Valley Crossing

“Here also the entire riparian zone was submerged and part of the channel, with rapid currents among alders. The high water level (mud with ripples, debris lines) went up to the edge of the loggingroad parallel with the river on the N side….highest I’ve ever seen. A thick deposit of silt (over 20 cm deep) covered the extensive ground that …

Read More »

I Have Never Seen the River Flowing With Such Power

 12/31/2005   Britt “In the hours after we received our second significant storm of the ’05/’06 winter, I made my way to the main stem of the Gualala River to photograph the full and flooding river in conjunction with the 6.9 foot high tide. I first attempted to reach the green bridge where the North Forks join the main stem. …

Read More »

Winter is beautiful on the Gualala River

 12/2/2005   Jim “Hiking in Gualala Point County Park gives a fine view of the Estuary. It is especially fine as the sun is setting and the shadows lengthen, heightening the peaceful colors of a clear early December afternoon.”

Read More »

North Coast Watershed Assessment Program: Vineyards

Section 1.1. (p. 1-9), Introduction and Overview, Continuing Challenges to RecoverySome areas of the North Coast have seen rapidly increasing agricultural activity, particularly conversion of grasslands or woodlands to vineyards. Such agricultural activities have typically been subject to little agency review or regulation and can pose significant risk of chronic sediment inputs to streams. Associated with development and increased agriculture, …

Read More »

Pesticide use in the Gualala River watershed

The Critical Habitat Project of the Center for Ethics and Toxics (CETOS) has completed the first-ever inventory of pesticide usage in the Gualala River watershed.Using the most current data available from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, researchers at CETOS discovered 1,250 pounds of pesticide active ingredients were used in forestry and vineyard operations within the Gualala River watershed during …

Read More »

Gualala River protected by the California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

Governor Gray Davis signed Assembly Bill 1168 on July 23, 2003, adding segments of the Gualala and Albion Rivers to the California Wild and Scenic River system as “recreational” rivers.Wild & Scenic Gualala River, estuary photo credit: PT Nunn, 2004  Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka) introduced the bill to protect the two rivers after Alaska Water Exports, Inc. attempted to divert …

Read More »

Gualala River Park

Historical Proposals 1955 – Sonoma County Planning Commission Revised Beach and Shoreline Master Plan   Priority 1 – F. Gualala Riverbank and coastal shoreline. “This area is proposed for a major park because of its size, its natural beauty of second growth timber and other foliage, and because of its location along the Gualala River and the south fork. There …

Read More »

Gualala River Facts

Location The Gualala River enters the Pacific Ocean approximately 110 miles north of San Francisco, California. Just past the mouth of the river lies the town of Gualala, a three-hour drive from San Francisco over narrow, twisting roads and stunning ocean and mountain views. Tourism and logging are the primary local industries. Gualala River watershed [click to enlarge] Land area …

Read More »

Gualala River Park

Historical Proposals 1999 – Sonoma County Local Coastal Plan Revisions DRAFT revised 6/99 Excerpt: V-15 Gualala River Forest Trail – Proposed Discussion: “A trail paralleling the Gualala River was recommended as part of the Gualala Point County Park Plan. Owners of Gualala Redwoods proposed to make available to County Parks the opportunity to construct and operate a loop trail which …

Read More »

Gravel Mining and the Garcia River

Gravel Mining and the Garcia River Sources of Information, Problems and Solutions Prepared for the Implementation Subcommittee of the Garcia WatershedAdvisory Group by Leslie Dahlhoff, May 19, 1996. I.  Sources of Information: Local: Fugro West, Inc. 1994.  Revised Draft Environmental ImpactReport for Gualala Aggregates, Inc Fugro West, Inc. 1995.  FEIR for Gualala Aggregates, Inc. MCRCD (Mendocino County Resource Conservation District). …

Read More »