Forestry

Update: August 6 Thanks to efforts by Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, Mendocino County Supervisor Dan Hamburg, State Senator Mike McGuire, Congressman Jared Huffman and others, the deadline for public comments on THP 1-15-042 “Dogwood” has been extended for at least 30 days on grounds that CAL FIRE found “discrepancies” in the plan. Dear Friends of the Gualala River, You …

Friends of Gualala River An affiliate of the Redwood Coast Watersheds Alliance P.O. Box 1543, Gualala, CA 95445  GualalaRiver.org July 20, 2015 Cal Fire – Forest Practice Program Manager 135 Ridgeway Ave. Santa Rosa, California 95401 santarosapubliccomments@calfire.ca.gov SUBJECT: THP 1-15-042 SON (Gualala Redwoods Inc. “Dogwood” THP) THP 1-15-033 SON (Gualala Redwoods Inc. “Apple” THP) Dear CAL FIRE: Friends of the …

by Peter Baye, Friends of Gualala River The lower Gualala River has a wide meandering floodplain rich in wetlands, mature productive riparian redwood forests and highly diverse riparian habitats supporting many special-status plant, fish, and wildlife species. “Flood prone” redwood forests are supposed to be protected by avoidance of logging disturbances under special salmonid protection rules under the Forest Practices …

Comment letters from Dr. John W. Cruz, Forest Unlimited Logging Review Program Manager, regarding the “Dogwood” and “Apple” logging plans: Click on the image above to download a pdf version of the letter.     Click on the image above to download a pdf version of the letter.

Comment letter from coastal ecologist & botanist Peter Baye regarding the “Dogwood” and “Apple” logging plans, with emphasis on timber harvest activities in flood-prone timberlands and wetlands: Click on the image above to download a pdf version of the letter.

Gualala Redwoods, Inc. (GRI) said Tuesday it signed a definitive purchase and sale agreement to transfer the majority of its timberland holdings in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties to the Burch family of San Jose. According to Henry Alden, senior vice president of GRI, under the terms of the agreement, GRI will sell approximately 29,000 acres to the Burch family, representing …

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, November 25, 2014 [excerpt:] Nearly 30,000 acres timberland straddling the Sonoma-Mendocino county border and stretching across the mouth of the Gualala River have been put on the auction block, creating what conservationists are calling a prime opportunity for a landmark preservation deal that could permanently protect and restore a giant swath of forest, allow …

The Ghost Forest — Radicals and Real Estate in the California Redwoods A Personal History of the Ancient Redwood Ecosystem and the Struggles to Protect It Historical Presentation by Humboldt Author-Activist Greg King Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. Gualala Arts Center 46501 Gualala Rd Gualala, CA 95445 Greg King is an award-winning and nationally published Humboldt County writer …

by Kimberly Burr October, 2013 Redwood Needles Sierra Club Redwood Chapter newsletter “Exporting Wine to China” was the title of a recent conference in Napa, one of many promoting sales of California wine to virtually unlimited markets. This is an indication that the making of local wines is being overtaken by big business with its characteristic disregard for the web …

by Matt Brown August 14, 2013 Santa Rosa Press Democrat [excerpt:] There is finally some good news from environmental scientists studying climate change: as the earth gets warmer, ancient redwood trees are thriving. The huge trees that dot the California coast and the Sierra Nevada mountains soak up carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, keeping the potentially harmful greenhouse gas …

by Laird Harrison June 4, 2013 KQED [excerpt:] Can you preserve a forest by logging it? A land conservation group thinks so. The Conservation Fund announced Monday that, along with some partners, it had acquired 19,645 acres of forest in Sonoma County. The land had been slated for planting vineyards. Preservation Ranch will become part of a larger swath of …

by Louis Sahagun June 4, 2013 Los Angeles Times [excerpt:] . . . Opponents organized under the banner Friends of the Gualala River mounted a campaign against the CalPERS-funded company that included street theater tactics and an online petition signed by 90,000 critics of the development project. Chris Poehlmann, an environmental activist and specialist in designing interactive museum exhibits, appeared …

Thursday, March 21 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Gualala Arts Center Friends of the Gualala River hosts Karen Maki of the Sierra Club, with a presentation, “End Clearcutting in California,” on Thursday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Gualala Arts Center. Clearcutting threatens California communities and environment All Californians deserve clean air and water, healthy forests and a sustainable economy. …

“Clearcutting in California”  a video production by Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center (CSERC) Clearcuts – More than Ugly Clearcutting harms the forest ecosystem in numerous ways. Clearcutting first removes all the profitable sawlog-sized trees on a clearcut site. Then most clearcuts are bulldozed after logging to strip the site of bushes, young trees, or other plants that might compete with …

by Rob DiPerna Environmental Protection Information Center January, 2013 [excerpt:] Throughout the north and central California coast, Coho salmon are teetering on the brink of oblivion. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, 85-90 percent of remaining Coho population in the Central California Coast ESU occurs in watersheds with privately managed forestlands. The 2011 Central California Coast Coho Recovery Plan …

The Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) approved the proposed $19M conservation easement for the Gualala River Forest at its meeting on September 13, 2011 in Sacramento. The easement will be held by The Conservation Fund, which already holds similar easements protecting large parcels in the nearby Garcia River, Big River & Salmon Creek watersheds and the Usal Redwood Forest. click to …

Conservation easement to protect 14,000 acres of Gualala River Forest The Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) has scheduled consideration of the proposed $19M conservation easement for the Gualala River Forest for its meeting on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 in Sacramento. The easements will be held by The Conservation Fund, which already holds similar easements protecting large parcels in the nearby Garcia …

[excerpt:] Klamath, CA — A large land acquisition project was completed today on California’s Redwood Coast to conserve habitat, restore water quality and reestablish indigenous territory along the lower Klamath River. The Yurok Tribe, working with the nonprofit Western Rivers Conservancy, completed purchase of 22,237 acres from Green Diamond Resource Company in Humboldt County. The land, part of the Yurok’s …

Friends of the Gualala River protects the Gualala River watershed in Northern California and the species living within it.

For Immediate Release. February 8, 2010Contacts: Friends of the Gualala River John Holland, 707-886-5355Center for Biological Diversity Justin Augustine, 415-436-9682 x302Coast Action Group Alan Levine, 707-542-4408 Lawsuit Filed to Protect Old Growth Redwoods on the Gualala River San Francisco – Three conservation groups, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Gualala River and Coast Action Group, filed suit against …