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
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 …
Read More »Gualala River in Winter – Photo Calendar
← 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. …
Read More »Downstream: Logging and an industry-friendly state agency imperil . . . California waterways
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, …
Read More »Shaping the Future of the Gualala River Watershed
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, …
Read More »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
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 …
Read More »That Old Maxxam Band Again
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 …
Read More »Dogwood THP lawsuit update & Gualala River riparian forest conservation workshop
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, …
Read More »Gualala River logging project suspended by Sonoma County judge
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 …
Read More »Preliminary Injunction halts Gualala River Floodplain Redwood Logging – “Dogwood” Timber Harvest Plan, Sonoma County
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 …
Read More »FoGR comments on THP 1-16-047 SON “German South” floodplain logging plan
Note: Close of public comment for this plan is Monday, September 12, 2016, at 5 p.m. Cal Fire – Forest Practice Program Manager 135 Ridgeway Ave, Santa Rosa, California 95401 santarosapubliccomments@calfire.ca.gov September 8, 2016 SUBJECT: THP 1-16-047 SON (Gualala Redwoods Timber LLC “German South” THP) Dear CAL FIRE: Friends of the Gualala River submits the following comments and recommendations regarding …
Read More »“German South” floodplain logging plan – comments by Rob DiPerna
Note: Close of public comment for this plan is Monday, September 12, 2016, at 5 p.m. September 2, 2016 Cal Fire Resource Management North Coast Regional Office 135 Ridgway Ave Santa Rosa, CA 95401 EPIC Comments on THP 1-16-042SON, “German South,” Gualala Redwood Timber Inc. Dear Santa Rosa CAL FIRE Review Team: The following comments are submitted on behalf …
Read More »2016 Experts’ comments on “Dogwood” THP
Comments on the “Dogwood” floodplain logging plan (THP 1-15-042-SON), submitted on behalf of Friends of Gualala River by subject matter experts: Download: Comments by William Russell, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Studies; Comments by Teresa Sholars, emeritus Professor of Biology; Comments by Stuart Siegel, Ph.D., Professional Wetland Scientist. Our sincere thanks to these experts for their efforts on behalf of the …
Read More »Environmentalists file suit over Gualala River logging plan
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 …
Read More »CAL FIRE sued over Approval of Gualala River Floodplain Redwood Logging – “Dogwood” Timber Harvest Plan, Sonoma County
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. …
Read More »Jeanne Jackson speaks at the Rally for the River
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, …
Read More »Last Stands: North Coast timber conflict flares up—again
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 …
Read More »Photos of “Rally for the River” – July 16, 2016
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
Read More »A Plan to Log Century-Old Redwoods Could Set a Bad Precedent
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 …
Read More »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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