River Issues

1/26/2006   Jeanne 1/26/06 Storm on Gualala Point Beach; photo credit, Jeanne Gadol“I was driving south from Gualala towards the bridge around noon on a very stormy January 26th when I noticed the waves flowing over the sandbar. I grabbed my camera and settled in along the bank just below the pullout south of the Breakers. There was a small …

1/21/2006   Chris “An Associated Press article, ‘Environmentalists Fight Vineyards’ Spread,’ published in the Washington Post, LA Times and dozens of other newspapers in January, 2006, focuses attention on the destruction of forestland to plant vineyards in the Gualala River watershed.”

FoGR BLoG Friends of the Gualala River’s web log of river sightings and commentary on the Gualala River watershed. FoGRBLoG is open to everyone in our community. Send your photos and observations to:blog@GualalaRiver.org. Please keep comments and photos focused on the Gualala River watershed and its natural environment . Click on the individual entries below Willows hold their ground 6/13/2006   …

“The South Fork of the Gualala River at the confluence with the Wheatfield Fork, at Valley Crossing, has changed configuration of its channel and bar.” June 2006 March 2006 “The lowered bar was “split” during winter and spring high flood flows, and now the main low-flow channel has stabilized in the middle of the broad gravel bar (above left). It …

“Here also the entire riparian zone was submerged and part of the channel, with rapid currents among alders. The high water level (mud with ripples, debris lines) went up to the edge of the loggingroad parallel with the river on the N side….highest I’ve ever seen. A thick deposit of silt (over 20 cm deep) covered the extensive ground that …

 12/31/2005   Britt “In the hours after we received our second significant storm of the ’05/’06 winter, I made my way to the main stem of the Gualala River to photograph the full and flooding river in conjunction with the 6.9 foot high tide. I first attempted to reach the green bridge where the North Forks join the main stem. …

 12/2/2005   Jim “Hiking in Gualala Point County Park gives a fine view of the Estuary. It is especially fine as the sun is setting and the shadows lengthen, heightening the peaceful colors of a clear early December afternoon.”

Section 1.1. (p. 1-9), Introduction and Overview, Continuing Challenges to RecoverySome areas of the North Coast have seen rapidly increasing agricultural activity, particularly conversion of grasslands or woodlands to vineyards. Such agricultural activities have typically been subject to little agency review or regulation and can pose significant risk of chronic sediment inputs to streams. Associated with development and increased agriculture, …

Eureka Times-Standard The pulp web By John Driscoll The Times-Standard Monday, November 29, 2004 – The Samoa pulp mill’s key investors and management have been recycled and replaced since it was bought from Louisiana-Pacific Corp. in 2001. Reorganized several times, each time unshouldering massive debt, the companies that have owned the mill have changed names, but many of the faces …

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

Mad River water belongs in the Mad River

The Critical Habitat Project of the Center for Ethics and Toxics (CETOS) has completed the first-ever inventory of pesticide usage in the Gualala River watershed.Using the most current data available from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, researchers at CETOS discovered 1,250 pounds of pesticide active ingredients were used in forestry and vineyard operations within the Gualala River watershed during …

Governor Gray Davis signed Assembly Bill 1168 on July 23, 2003, adding segments of the Gualala and Albion Rivers to the California Wild and Scenic River system as “recreational” rivers.Wild & Scenic Gualala River, estuary photo credit: PT Nunn, 2004  Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka) introduced the bill to protect the two rivers after Alaska Water Exports, Inc. attempted to divert …

North Coast Watershed Assessment Program (NCWAP) for Salmon Recovery and Watershed Protection The North Coast Watershed Assessment Program (NCWAP) was an interagency effort between the California Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), established to provide scientifically credible, interdisciplinary assessments that will facilitate watershed management and restoration, recovery of threatened and endangered salmonid species, and protection of water …

Eureka Times-Standard At least for now, water bag idea bagged By John Driscoll The Times-Standard Saturday, March 15, 2003 – EUREKA — The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District Board took a recommendation to put a proposal to ship water from the Mad River on the back burner. The unanimous vote followed the recommendation of the district’s manager, Carol Rische, who …

Eureka Times-Standard Water bags a good lesson for Humboldt Thursday, March 6, 2003 There isn’t much else that’ll stir the pot so thoroughly these days as a bid to move the rain from here to somewhere else. We saw that clearly when Alaska-based Aqueous Corp. was sent packing after pitching a plan to ship Mad River water to points south …

Mad River water belongs in the Mad River

Mad River water belongs in the Mad River

Eureka Times-Standard Water district meets Friday on Mad River water bagging proposal By The Times-Standard Thursday, February 20, 2003 – The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District will meet Friday to discuss the response it has gotten to a proposal to ship Mad River water south in giant ocean-going bags. The district has been investigating a proposal from the Alaska-based Aqueous …

Eureka Times-Standard Fortuna council likes water bag idea By James Faulk The Times-Standard Thursday, February 20, 2003 – FORTUNA — The City Council heard a summary of the proposed plan to export Mad River water and gave its unanimous support to the idea in concept Tuesday night. The city has no official input on the subject because it is not …