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The American West at Risk summarizes the dominant human-generated environmental challenges in the 11 contiguous arid western United States – America’s legendary, even mythical, frontier. When discovered by European explorers and later settlers, the west boasted rich soils, bountiful fisheries, immense, dense forests, sparkling streams, untapped ore deposits, and oil bonanzas. It now faces depletion of many of these resources, …

Sonoma County Regional Parks, in partnership with California Native Plant Society – Dorothy King Young and Milo Baker Chapters, and Friends of the Gualala River, is embarking on a wild land weed control project at Gualala Point’s coastal bluff and sand spit. The target is bush lupine, one of the most troublesome wildland weeds of the North Coast’s dunes, bluffs, and sandy …

Thursday, May 15, 2008, 7:00 p.m. Gualala Community Center 47950 Center St., Gualala Friends of the Gualala River presents a public program featuring Matthew Deitch, Ph.D. from the Center for Ecosystem Management and Restoration. “If the steelhead and coho that were once abundant in coastal California are to have any chance of recovering in the 21st Century, agencies and stakeholders …

Advice puts Eel River diversion plan on shelf by Glenda Anderson The Press Democrat March 12, 2008 [excerpt:] A recently revived proposal to divert water from a protected portion of the Eel River near Dos Rios has been quietly shelved following a negative legal opinion. “For now, we’ve put the whole Dos Rios thing on hold,” Mendocino County Water Agency …

Gualala River Alchemy! Saturday, August 24 1:00 p.m. Annapolis Winery Be there at the first, fun kick-off event in a public campaign to convince the third largest corporate winery in the world to spare 154 acres of Gualala River’s redwood forest from the chainsaw.   Read more → Stop Clearcutting California Thursday, March 21 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Gualala Arts Center Clearcuts behind …

Annapolis (Sonoma County, California) Friends of the Gualala River presented a natural history digital slide show of the Gualala River and its watershed, wildlife, and vegetation, to the kindergarten through fourth grade classes of Horicon School in Annapolis, on Friday, February 8, 2008. The slide show followed the path of a helicopter “field trip” of the lower Gualala River, featuring …

September, 2007 Dear Friends and Neighbors, I am writing on behalf of Friends of the Gualala River (FoGR) to ask for your financial support. Your generous tax-deductible donation will help protect and preserve the Gualala River and its wildlife. Friends of the Gualala River is your local conservation group, made up of hard working neighbors who volunteer their time and …

Friends of the Gualala River (FoGR) sponsored an award at the Art in the Redwoods festival in 2007, for the sixth year in a row. A cash prize of $100 contributed by the Friends of the Gualala River was given to the artist who best captured the ecology of the Gualala River watershed.Congratulations to local artist Bruce Jones for his …

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

Piping spring flow from Dos Rios to reservoir could run afoul of Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by Glenda Anderson The Press Democrat October 12, 2007 [excerpt:] A decade after Mendocino County Supervisor John Pinches first proposed piping water from a protected portion of the Eel River to as far south as Ukiah, the much maligned plan is getting a …

From Manchester School Friends of the Gualala River awarded Manchester School its first grant to help develop a system of nature paths and outdoor classrooms on the school campus. Randy Sinclair presents FoGR’s first ‘Eco-Hero’ award to Cindy Gonzales, principal of Manchester SchoolThe nature trail, with a raised walkway and meeting areas for classes, is a significant component of the …

2006 Environmental Art exhibit Friends of the Gualala River (FoGR) sponsored an award at the Environmental Art exhibit, “Nature Working with Artists,” at the Gualala Arts Center in September 2006. Donna Lane, with Jane Reichhold’s ‘It Pays to Pick Up Litter’Congratulations to local artist Jane Reichhold, whose entry, “It Pays to Pick Up Litter,” was selected as the winner of …

Friends of the Gualala River (FoGR) sponsored an award at the Art in the Redwoods festival in 2006, for the fifth year in a row.A cash prize of $100 contributed by the Friends of the Gualala River was given to the artist who best captured the ecology of the Sonoma-Mendocino coast, as determined by the festival judges. Congratulations to artist …

by Genevieve Bookwalter, Santa Cruz Sentinel staff writer, June 30, 2006 [excerpt:] … The 4-3 decision in favor of Santa Cruz County over Davenport-based Big Creek Lumber grants a local government the power to restrict timber operations to certain areas. Historically, logging was under the purview of the state; the court’s ruling validates Santa Cruz County’s 7-year-old law regulating where …

As part of Friends of the Gualala River’s continuing community outreach efforts, several awards are given each year for student art projects. The most recent award was presented to Horicon School (Annapolis), for their stunning mural entitled “Fish and Their Habitat.” Especially impressive is the fact that the work was done by first and second grade students who studied the …

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

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

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

Letter submitted to the New York Times in response to “Making Wine in a Hostile Climate on Sonoma’s Coast” written by Eric Asimov, and published by the Times on January 18, 2006 January 21, 2006 Eric Asimov’s “Making Wine in a Hostile Climate on Sonoma’s Coast” extolled the passion and swashbuckling spirit of those “not in their right mind” seeking …

1/28/2006   Chris “FoGR’s recent public presentation featuring the talented local photographer Jeanne Gadol drew a large turnout. The crowd was treated to a beautiful collection of photographs accompanied by a muscial score.The result of years of outdoor work in the Gualala watershed, the images were grouped by location, starting on the coast and working through the many ecological niches …