Wildlife

Are you ready to learn more about how beaver coexistence can build capacity for land managers and owners in California? Join the California Beaver Coexistence Training and Support Program on June 10, 2026 from 9-11:30am for an informative webinar featuring coexistence experts and practitioners. By the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center – visit their website to register for the webinar …

Beavers, nature’s furry water engineers, are making a comeback on a major Central Coast waterbody with help from the California Water Boards and a group of dedicated educators and volunteers. published by California Water Boards, April 8, 2026 Beavers stand on a lodge they made in Mather Lake. Credit- California Department of Fish and Wildlife Funding from a 2021 settlement …

Video by David Lichtman, October, 2024, used with permission

Yellow-legged Frog in the Gualala River, photo by Amy Ruegg “Down by the Gualala River near the Hot Spot, we enjoyed seeing a variety of small aquatic creatures like water beetles, tiny fish, and a foothill yellow-legged frog! It was just a small one in the water blending in perfectly with the rocks. No more than an inch or so …

By Emma Hall, The Sacramento BeeDecember 14, 2023 [Excerpt:] One of the three yearling beaver kits casually floats in front of attendees while awaiting the rest of the family group to join him in exploring their new home in Plumas County, California on October 18, 2023. (CDFW Photo/Travis VanZant) For the first time in almost 75 years, beavers were released …

Gualala River mouth, with Bald Eagles on the right side. Jan. 30, 2023. Photo by Rick Denniston. Here’s a close-up of the mated pair of Bald Eagles on the sand spit > close-up of the mated pair of Bald Eagles on the sand spit

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

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 …

Photo Contest Winner: March, 2021 — Female Merganser, by Chris Beach

← 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. …

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.

                 “At the tip of the Gualala Point sand spit on March 17, nine small harbor seals were hauled out on the back of the spit, near the edge of the muddly freshwater river outflow. There were no human footprints in the sand because the low beach was overwashed until low tide, barring …