Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it

Here are some photos of the the Gualala River estuary & Highway 1 bridge during the heavy rains of the recent (Feb. 25-26, 2019) ‘atmospheric river’ event. The river is over its banks on both sides — the campgrounds on both sides of the river are flooded, as is Mill Bend and the Gualala Point Regional Park land across from …

Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) and our allies once again recently prevailed in court. The timber harvest plan called Dogwood has been found twice to fail to meet California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements for failing to evaluate project alternatives with less environmental impacts. FoGR also won on the lack of a Cumulative Impact study. Dogwood III is just as …

February 14, 2019 After the heavy rains of the recent ‘atmospheric river’ event, the Gualala River floodplain (threatened by the Dogwood logging plan) is doing its job.       South Fork bridge (Twin Bridges, Annapolis Road):  Large log and debris jams on the upstream side, and downstream to the confluence with Wheatfield Fork. The willows on the opposite bank …

Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) would appreciate your continued, or perhaps new, enthusiastic support. Please aid our efforts to protect the river and its forests, speed their recovery, fight global warming impacts, and thus, most important, help preserve wild places for future generations. A good introduction starts with our mission statement: FoGR’s goal is to protect the Gualala River watershed …

This December, 2018 update details where FoGR is at the end of a tumultuous year of persistence. Everyone involved in the legal battles to protect the Gualala River floodplain should heave a sigh of relief, but not too deeply, for the struggles continue. Here we learn what may be next and why FoGR folks have to remain steady and vigilant. …

Charles Ivor, President of Friends of Gualala River and a long-time observer of our river, entreats us to take time to visit, relish, and understand all the action taking place in the estuary of the Gualala River. As you drive into or through Gualala, check to see if the river mouth is open or closed, and take time on the …

If we have ever taken a walk anywhere in our area and come back home without being able to name or describe a single tree, this article will make you think anew about the trees that surround us. Here, as well as on the Gualala River website, we learn why attending to trees and their differences makes us ever aware …

A message from Larry Hanson, president of Forest Unlimited, an environmental organization based in Sonoma County, which has worked closely with Friends of Gualala River for many years. Forest Unlimited has been interested in the Gualala River watershed since its inception as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 1995. When we were forming our organization for forest protection, we noted that …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A sonnet, included in a letter to the Editor, published in the Independent Coast Observer November 30, 2018 And were you there two hundred years ago, small green island set in wide mouth of our Gualala River that now is shallow and slow? “No,” answer those slim young redwoods that tower above its banks. “This river then was mighty, a …

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. …

Letter to the Editor, published in the Independent Coast Observer November 16, 2018 With the exciting news of the Mill Bend property in escrow to a conservation buyer, we see a golden opportunity to further protect the Gualala River for the benefit of everyone. The vast stretch of flat land along the south side of the river, from Gualala Point …

Media Release October 19, 2018 Sonoma County Superior Court once again has ruled in favor of Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) in its lawsuit against CAL FIRE’s approval of logging of coastal floodplain redwood forest in hundreds of acres of the Wild and Scenic Gualala River. The controversial “Dogwood” timber harvest plan (THP) proposed by Gualala Redwoods Timber LLC has …

Action Network is partnering with Coastwalk California for the 34th Annual Coastal Clean Up Day: Saturday, September 15, 2018 9 am – 12 noon Volunteer Appreciation Picnic  1 – 3 pm Please contact Sienna Lampi at Action Network: info@actionnetwork.info or 707-884-541

Family PINACEAE Sometimes the most interesting thing about a species of tree is where it occurs or, more precisely, where its occurrence ends. Such is the case with western hemlock, which reaches the southernmost limit of its 2000-mile range from north in Alaska to right here in the Gualala River watershed. Populations living at the end of a species’ range …

Family’s legendary grove of old-growth redwoods preserved by Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 2018 [excerpt:] A sprawling forest of ancient coastal redwoods in Sonoma County — a grove so magnificent it matches the majesty of Muir Woods National Monument — is being acquired under a land deal that will ensure its protection and allow the public to walk …

Media Release June 7, 2018 Sonoma County Superior Court has once again granted a preliminary injunction to put the start of logging on hold in the 100-year-old redwood forest of the Gualala River floodplain, located in northwest Sonoma County and southwest Mendocino County. On June 5, 2018, Judge René Chouteau issued a tentative order granting a motion for preliminary injunction …