News

by Shirley Brice Heath What follows here is a series of videos that help answer this and other questions. More inquiries that easily come to mind when folks hear the name “Friends of Gualala River” may be obvious. Some ask: “So why does a river need ‘friends?’” And others ask: “And why, in particular, does Gualala River need ‘friends?’” This …

Chris Poehlmann, a long-time active member and President Emeritus of Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), will be recognized as an “Environmentalist of the Year” by the Sonoma County Conservation Council (SCCC) and the Sierra Club Sonoma Group at their annual awards event on December 4, 2020 (held via Zoom this year). Congratulations, Chris! In announcing the awards, SCCC said, “2020 …

Thank you donors! We’ve raised over half the funds needed for our Endangered Species Act lawsuit. Help us reach our funding goal and save the Gualala River, its redwood forest and its threatened and endangered species. “As Mother Earth faces climate change and growing numbers of species are going extinct, FoGR has a responsibility to speak for the threatened and …

by Chris Poehlmann, October, 2020 Two new plans have just been submitted to log the forest along Annapolis Road that will degrade large areas of the viewshed of one of our most treasured scenic roads. The view of the hills from Annapolis Road and adjacent to The Sea Ranch before and after “Twin Bridges” will be an eyesore for decades …

by Tempra Board Sea Ranch Soundings, Fall, 2020 © copyright 2020, The Sea Ranch Association reprinted with permission Editor’s note: On September 18, 2020, as this edition of Soundings was going to press, FoGR and the Center for Biological Diversity filed their federal lawsuit. On July 7, 2020, Friends of the Gualala River (FoGR) joined forces with the Center for …

by Lana Cohen, The Mendocino Voice, September 25, 2020 [excerpt:] Two conservation groups, Friends of Gualala River, and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed a lawsuit in federal court against Gualala Redwood Timber Company. They claim the timber company’s planned timber harvest project in the Gualala River watershed violates the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The suit was filed …

By Scott Thomas Anderson, Sacramento News & Review, September 23, 2020 [excerpt:] Conservation groups sue massive logging project as violation of Endangered Species Act For many, the lush, towering redwoods along Sonoma County’s Gualala River are vestiges of a once-unspoiled Golden State, the verdant vanguard of a century-old forest that cradles an undammed stream spilling from the coastal mountains into …

For Immediate Release, September 15, 2020 Contact: Peter Galvin, Center for Biological Diversity, (707) 986-2600, pgalvin@biologicaldiversity.org Charles Ivor, Friends of Gualala River, (707) 337-0147, cfifish@mac.com GUALALA, Calif.— Conservation groups filed an Endangered Species Act lawsuit today against the Gualala Redwood Timber Company to protect threatened and endangered fish, birds and frogs from a logging project in a redwood forest near …

“We Speak for the River” That is our motto for the effort to raise $175K for an Endangered Species Act (ESA) lawsuit to stop the current, reckless Dogwood timber harvest plan, and other floodplain logging plans, in the Gualala River. It’s a daunting amount to raise for our small, but mighty, all volunteer non-profit. FoGR has received a $25,000 matching challenge …

By Lana Cohen, The Mendocino Voice, August 1, 2020 [excerpt:] MENDOCINO Co., 8/1/20 — Friends of Gualala River, a local nonprofit, plans to move their five-year conflict over logging in the Gualala River floodplain from Sonoma County Superior Court to federal court. The local conservation group is teaming up with the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting …

by Guy Kovner, The Press Democrat, July 14, 2020 [excerpt:] A five-year battle over plans to log in the remote Gualala River flood plain has taken a big step up with a powerhouse environmental group’s declaration to take the case to federal court, alleging the commercial tree harvest would harm protected fish, frogs and birds. Friends of Gualala River, a …

From July 10, 2020 Independent Coast Observer Reprinted by permission © Copyright Independent Coast Observer, Inc. www.mendonoma.com Two weeks after the California appeals court enjoined Gualala Redwood Timber LLC from logging the proposed Dogwood timber harvest plan in the floodplain of the Gualala River, a federal lawsuit has been brought against the Dogwood logging plan as well. The Center for …

For Immediate Release, July 9, 2020 Contact: Peter Galvin, Center for Biological Diversity, (707) 986-2600, pgalvin@biologicaldiversity.org Charles Ivor, Friends of Gualala River, (707) 337-0147, cfifish@mac.com GUALALA, Calif.— Conservation groups today filed a formal notice of intent to sue the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and a timber company for failing to protect threatened and endangered fish, birds and …

Video: Presentation by Annapolis naturalist and artist, Liam Ericson, with photographic slides and woodblock prints of his explorations of the eastern portion of the Gualala River watershed. Wandering up steep slopes and distant canyons, Liam discovered and photographed hidden groves of old growth redwoods, giant oaks, yews, and other trees as well as many species of wildlife. He will focus …

Excerpt from press release by Sonoma County Ag + Open Space Wild and Scenic Gloeckner-Turner Ranch to be Protected Forever 3,364-acre ranch boasts significant natural resources and scenic values, offers climate change resilience SANTA ROSA, CA (May 29, 2020) – Sonoma County Ag + Open Space is pleased to announce the upcoming conservation of Gloeckner-Turner Ranch – a sprawling 3,364-acre …

Sunday, June 7, 2020, 4-5:15 p.m. via Zoom* Please join Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) online for a program by Annapolis naturalist and artist, Liam Ericson, as he presents photographic slides and woodblock prints of his explorations of the eastern portion of the Gualala River watershed. Wandering up steep slopes and distant canyons, Liam discovered and photographed hidden groves of …

News from: Redwood Coast Land Conservancy May 21, 2020 Sometimes it does take a small group of passionate locals to conserve a river estuary forever. In 2017, 113 acres of scenic and environmentally sensitive coastal wetlands and adjacent uplands surrounding the Gualala River went up for sale for the first time in over 70 years. The community came together, signaled …

by Guy Kovner, The Press Democrat, May 4, 2020 [excerpt:] . . . Throughout their lives, the world’s tallest trees — Sequoia sempervirens, meaning “always flourishing” — absorb carbon dioxide, the most prolific heat-trapping gas, and permanently lock it up in their durable heartwood. Coast redwoods are “a critical ingredient in the fight against climate change,” said Sam Hodder, president …

Gualala, CA. (April 13, 2020) – Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) recently took legal action to appeal the decision on the Dogwood timber harvest plan (THP) to the State Appellate Court. In addition, FoGR sought an injunction on logging until the appeal could be heard. The court granted the injunction last week which temporarily suspends logging of Dogwood. Gualala Redwood …

Thanks to the new Gualala River watershed signs, travelers on local roads will now know when they enter the watershed, one that spans 300 square miles of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), a non-profit dedicated to the protection of the river and its watershed, coordinated installation of nine road signs marking the outer boundaries of this …