Fireworks

Update: June, 2010 The California Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the Coastal Commission’s jurisdiction over coastal fireworks, in a case involving the Gualala Festivals Committee (GFC). In 2008, the California Coastal Commission told the GFC that they would need to apply for a permit to set off fireworks over the Gualala River estuary. Gualala Point Island The …

For information on more recent events, see: Fireworks over the Gualala River estuary? Update: June 25, 2008 Today, the 1st District Court of Appeals rejected the appeal by the Gualala Festivals Committee. The Coastal Commission’s order stands: no fireworks over the Gualala River estuary without a permit. Update: June 19, 2008 The Gualala Festivals Committee canceled their controversial plans to …

For information on more recent events, see: Fireworks over the Gualala River estuary? Update: October, 2007 The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a preliminary joint report on seabird and marine mammal monitoring conducted under its direction at Gualala Point Island, which is part of the California Coastal National Monument: Seabird and Marine Mammal Monitoring on Offshore Rock Islands …

Independence Day event stalls after complaints over impact on seabirds by Bob Norberg The Press Democrat June 27, 2007 [excerpt:] A quarter-acre rock 100 yards from shore, where thousands of seabirds nest, has become the front line in Gualala’s war over an Independence Day fireworks celebration. “It is the Fourth of July, we are celebrating our Independence Day like thousands …

Two separate reports by Residents of The Sea Ranch Report No. 1 Several of us walked to the bluff next to Gualala Point Island rookery to monitor the fireworks’ effect on rookery residents, not knowing WHAT to expect – IF anything. We were amazed and troubled by how immediate and extensive the effect was. Alarm cries from the seabirds began …