Nature

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gualala Community Center See hundreds of beautiful local wildflowers! Botanists and other plant lovers available to answer questions. Plants, books, posters for sale. FREE Dorothy King Young Chapter California Native Plant Society

by Guy Kovner, The Press Democrat, May 1, 2018 [excerpt:] . . . At Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve near Guerneville, the 308-foot Colonel Armstrong tree stands so tall that earthbound admirers can’t see the behemoth’s uppermost 100 feet. But it and the other old-growth redwoods of equal majesty are essentially relics, comprising a mere 7 percent of the 1.6 …

Red Alder, Pacific Coast Alder, Oregon Alder, Western Alder (Alnus rubra) Family BETULACEAE by Laura Baker The red alder is one of two species of alder common to the Gualala River watershed’s riparian corridors. [Photo: 1] It occurs in the western portion where it grows along the lower reaches of the river and its tributaries. Further east in the higher …

by Laura Baker Like the closely related red alder, white alder is a species that grows along the riparian corridor and shares many of its adaptations to streamside conditions. [Photo: 1a, 1b] In general it occurs more inland from the coast and in more upland areas than the red alder whose occurrence tapers off farther east in the watershed. According …

California Bay Laurel, Bay, Pepperwood, Oregon Myrtle, California Olive, Spice Tree, Headache Tree (Umbellularia californica) Family LAURACEAE by Laura Baker February is an excellent time to see flowering California Bay Laurel, though it can bloom as early as November and well on into spring. One of the more commonly occurring trees throughout the Gualala River watershed [Photo 1.], this evergreen …

genus  Sequoia, family Cupressaceae (cypress) by Laura Baker An Unparalleled Species The most iconic tree species in our region is the Coast Redwood. [Photo 1.] Its presence in the Gualala River watershed is deeply historic, it is a species central to the ecology and economy here, and it is perhaps the most remarkable tree species on earth. Redwoods are the …

INTRODUCTION TO A NEW FEATURE: NATIVE TREES OF THE GUALALA RIVER WATERSHED January, 2018 Trees are the predominant terrestrial feature of the Gualala River watershed. They account for the largest biomass in the watershed and cover a third of its nearly 300 square miles. How we think about them–their beauty, their importance to the natural systems of the planet, and …

← Previous: Gualala River in May Next: Gualala River in July (coming soon)→                         All photos used with permission. Our sincere thanks to all of the photographers for sharing their photos with us!

← Previous: Gualala River in April Next: Gualala River in June →                         All photos used with permission. Our sincere thanks to all of the photographers for sharing their photos with us!

← Previous: Gualala River in Winter Next: Gualala River in May → Springtime brings new life in and around the Gualala River by Jeanne A. Jackson After the winter rains, the Gualala River usually is closed off from the Pacific Ocean by a big sandbar. When the river closes, the water backs up into the lagoon and upriver, bringing perfect …

← 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. …

Action Alert: The native, Endangered Species Act-listed salmon and steelhead of the drought-stricken Gualala River, in California, need your help. Thanks in large part to the pressure that [fishermen] put on the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) a year ago, the CDFW is finally taking action to fix the critically flawed low-flow closure system on the North Central-Coast …

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 …

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

A fish and wildlife biologist, retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has been conducting systematic studies of the population status of steelhead in the Gualala River since 2001. Annual spawning surveys focus on an 18 mile reach of the Wheatfield Fork selected as a population-indexing reach. Gualala River Steelhead Studies Over the years, he has compiled a wealth …

River otter in the Gualala River Short video taken by a friend of the Gualala River, just west of the Green Bridge, near the confluence of the North & South Forks, in July 2009.

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

QUEST on KQED Public Media. Duration: 10:58 Original Air Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Because of a sharp decline in their numbers, the entire salmon fishing season in the ocean off California and Oregon was canceled in both 2008 and 2009. At no other time in history has this salmon fishery been closed. The species in the most danger is …

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 7:00 p.m. Gualala Community Center 47950 Center St., Gualala John McKeon, staff fish biologist with National Marine Fisheries Service, will discuss how steelhead and coho conservation occurs through the federal permit process – including its limitations and assumptions – using the Gualala River instream gravel mining permit as a recent example. John will provide background on …

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