The Coastal Commission recently awarded a Whale Tail Grant to the CA Urban Streams Alliance – The Stream Team. The grant is to initiate a stewardship engagement and watershed monitoring effort for the impaired, lower reach of the Gualala River and estuary, a habitat for endangered species such as young Coho salmon and steelhead. Redwood Coast Land Conservancy (RCLC) and …

The mouth of the Gualala River opened today, April 15, 2022, after several inches of rain. Note the bald eagle standing on the beach watching the river flow into the ocean, taking steelhead out to sea. Gualala River mouth opens, bald eagle stands watching; photo by Rozanne Rapozo Gualala River mouth opens, bald eagle stands watching; photo by Rozanne Rapozo

Adult Steelhead in the Gualala River lagoon, April, 2022. Photo by Rozanne Rapozo “There was a school of about 5-6 but my lens was too long to get them all in one photograph! No wind that day made for calm (and very clear) water.” – Rozanne Rapozo School of Steelhead in the Gualala River lagoon, April, 2022. Photo by Chris …

Floater freshwater mussel A live freshwater mussel was spotted in the Gualala River this month (March, 2022). Their shells have been seen in the river in some years, but only occasionally. This time a live one was found with its foot out, stranded in a pool off-channel. It’s a floater mussel, genus Anodonta. Species in flux right now – named …

“Broken Top” An Art Exhibit by Local Artist and Naturalist, Liam Ericson Saturday-Sunday, March 19-20, 12-4 pm Birdsong Clinic and Tea Room The Sea Ranch Center, Verdant View off Annapolis Road For years, Annapolis resident, Liam Ericson, has explored the wilds of the Gualala River watershed, seeking out old growth redwood trees to photograph and document. The trees and the …

Any way you slice it, 2021 was a tough year.  While Covid-19 raged across the world, a horrific drought brought the dangers of climate warming home to our watershed as we watched our beloved Gualala River dry up, leaving parched, bleached river beds.  Meanwhile, Gualala Redwood Timber (GRT) logged and logged and then logged some more from dawn til dusk …

For the modern day fly fisher, occasions for the hope of catching a wild steelhead or salmon are still alive. If you hook more than one or two in a day, you are having a great day. There was a time when, if you were wading in the river, you might have fish bumping into you as they navigated up …

As an all-volunteer organization with very little overhead, Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) is able to utilize the donations we receive to further our mission, which is to protect the Gualala River, its watershed and the animals and native plants that live there. As FoGR has had to use legal means to help accomplish these goals, we actively fundraised in …

By: FoGR Vice President, Lynn Walton Adult Steelhead, photo by Peter Baye For nearly a year Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) has been engaged in an effort to prompt the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the State Water Resources Control Board to perform their duty to incorporate the Gualala River’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for sediment …

By Laura Baker, Chair Committee Members: Lynn Walton, Chris Poehlmann, Kenyon Rupnik, Ethan Arutunian, Peter Schmidt, Nathan Ramser, Pat Maxwell As with so many other organizations, Covid has challenged our committee to stay connected to one another as well as to the larger community. For the past year and a half our committee has been meeting virtually via Zoom. The …

Topographic Model – design A green light was recently given to the proposed exhibit after generous private donations were received and the FoGR board and Sonoma County Regional Parks supplied the final lump sums to put the project’s funding drive over the top. The Topographical Model Exhibit will reside in the Gualala Point Regional Park visitors center and will be …

by Kenyon Rupnik Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) and Sonoma County Regional Parks are sponsoring a weather station at the Gualala Point Visitors Center for your enjoyment of Gualala Point and Mill Bend. In our beautiful area, Gualala Point Regional Park is a top destination for outside activities. You can spy whales at Whale Point, enjoy the Visitors Center exhibits …

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 …

by Sonia Waraich, The Mendocino Voice, November 16, 2021 Reprinted by permission Jackson Demonstration State Forest photographed on the morning of Sept. 29, 2021. Photo by Sonia Waraich MENDOCINO Co., 11/16/21 — A debate has been raging for the past few months on whether Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) is being managed in the best way possible in the face …

Are human logging actions affecting the adaptation and survival of this ancient species? by Robin Applegarth, Nov. 7, 2021 Reprinted by permission Redwoods Path, Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash OUR CAR BUMPED DOWN A DIRT ROAD, descending into a canyon of tall redwood trees. The sunlight lessened as deep forest and the canyon walls rose up around us. Thousands …

A letter to California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot, from the Environmental Protection Information Center, October 14, 2021 Dear Secretary Crowfoot, It is imperative that the State of California move to immediately calm tensions in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. The past week has seen multiple threats directed at forest activists and the presence of private paramilitary security within …

Forests of the Pacific Northwest and Southeast Alaska are critical to addressing the climate crisis, but they’re under threat of logging. April 19, 2021 Written and designed by Madeline Cowen & Chandra LeGue As our world faces the ongoing climate crisis, one of the most important things we can do is protect and restore forests in the Pacific Northwest and …

Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) is pleased to publish a new issue of our monthly publication, “FoGR Monthly: September, 2021.”  This month’s feature is Geography and Climate. Click on the image below to download the .pdf file (400 KB)

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 …

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; …