News

By Chris Poehlmann,October, 2002It’s official. It is open season on the north coast forests. The California Department of Forestry (CDF) has just approved two of the many pending forestland to vineyard conversions in the Annapolis area. Clear cutting is presently taking place on many acres of conversions spearheaded by vineyard entrepreneurs. They hope to profit by permanently scraping an ancient …

Location The Gualala River enters the Pacific Ocean approximately 110 miles north of San Francisco, California. Just past the mouth of the river lies the town of Gualala, a three-hour drive from San Francisco over narrow, twisting roads and stunning ocean and mountain views. Tourism and logging are the primary local industries. Land area The Gualala River watershed covers 298 …

By Chris PoehlmannRecent local events could lend credence to the expression “water flows uphill to money”. Just when we thought we had seen everything as far as environmental threats to our river, two more contenders have surfaced. The wildest is an application with the California Division of Water Rights by an Alaskan based international company to get appropriative rights to …

by Tom Cochrane, President, Friends of the Gualala River, March, 2002 We live in a threatened world with limited natural resources and the concept of sustainability seems far from our grasp. Sustainability involves using our resources with as little harm to our environment as possible, but maintaining a healthy economy while still providing for equity among the potential users. Last …

This article was published in the Independent Coast Observer on February 15, 2002. By Britt BaileyCourtesy Independent Coast Observer, Gualala, CA   In October, 2001, the California Department of Forestry denied the Cassidy Timber Harvest Plan which would have logged Redwoods in the floodplain of two of Gualala River’s tributaries. This decision was based on the recommendation by the National …

18th annual California Coastal Cleanup Saturday, September 21, 2002Saturday, September 21, 2002 is a special day for protecting our beaches, and coastal waterways, the 18th annual California Coastal Cleanup. Teams of cleanup volunteers will remove trash and recyclables from Mendocino and Sonoma County beaches, and in the Gualala area will also cleanup the banks of the Gualala River from the …

Friends of the Gualala River (FoGR) sponsored an award at the Art in the Redwoods festival for the first time in 2002. The 41st annual Art in the Redwoods festival took place on Saturday, August 17 and Sunday, August 18. The event featured more than 400 fine art entries and experienced record crowds. The artwork will remain on display at …

This article was published in the Anderson Valley Advertiser in May, 1991. Reprinted with permission. By Bruce Anderson Courtesy: Anderson Valley Advertiser, Boonville, CA A horrendously damaging vineyard project is underway in the hills east of Boonville. A man named William Hill is scalping the hilltops of its vegetation to plant grapes. He owns about a thousand acres of land …