Vineyards & Water

by Guy Kovner Santa Rosa Press Democrat August 12, 2015 [excerpt] Environmentalists are mobilizing in protest of a would-be bill backed by the local wine industry that would create an irrigation district intended to protect the water rights of about 1,000 grape growers in the Russian River region. . . . The move comes in fourth year of California’s historic …

[excerpt] …California’s ongoing drought has hit the region hard, reducing grape yields and depleting the vast aquifer that most of the area’s vineyards and rural residents rely on as their sole source of water other than rain. Across the region, residential and vineyard wells have gone dry. Those who can afford to — including a number of large wineries and …

Download pdf version:  2014-FoGR-fundraising-letter.pdf Support Friends of Gualala River

Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), along with Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club, has filed a suit against Sonoma County to close a major regulatory loophole. This time it’s not our typical campaign to stop destruction of redwood forest. It’s to fix a serious problem in a Sonoma County permitting process that is allowing developers to circumvent the California …

State legislation to regulate the depletion of groundwater is moving forward as the current historic drought continues and reservoirs draw precipitously down. State water agencies support legislative proposals to monitor and regulate groundwater in the public interest as the drought threatens both surface and below-ground water supplies. But North Coast grape growers and the wine industry are opposed to this …

Friends of Gualalal River (FoGR) is a member of the North Coast Stream Flow Coalition, which supports rational management and regulation of groundwater to protect streamflows. FoGR endorses Chris Malan’s policy analysis and recommendations in her op-ed essay, below. Protect state’s groundwater and the public interest now! by Chris Malan Chair, North Coast Stream Flow Coalition Op-ed published in the …

by Guy Kovner,  The Press Democrat,  June 13, 2014 [excerpt:] Three environmental groups are challenging Sonoma County’s approval of a 54-acre Annapolis vineyard in a case that reflects long-standing conflict over expansion of the county’s $600 million a year grape industry. If the lawsuit were to succeed, it would wipe out the county’s vineyard development law, itself born amid controversy …

The Press Democrat analyzed land records on 3,171 vineyard properties obtained from the Sonoma County Assessor’s Office, which were updated in August 2013. The locations of the vineyard parcels were mapped using GIS data from the Sonoma County Information Systems Department. Click on the image below to visit the interactive map on the Press Democrat’s website: Interactive map of Sonoma …

At a recent Friends of the Gualala River event, we satirically change Artesa wine back into water and put it back into the ground from which it came. For additional information, see: Artesa Sonoma forest-to-vineyard conversion CAL FIRE has approved the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Artesa Winery’s controversial plan to clear-cut 154 acres of coastal redwood forest to plant …

April 8, 2013 Environmental Defense Fund [excerpt:] Could your merlot be growing near the moose, grizzly or elk of Yellowstone National Park soon or in prime panda habitat in China? A new study by a team of international researchers and led by Conservation International suggests that it could. Their key finding: climate change will dramatically impact many of the most …

Understanding and Managing the Effects of Groundwater Pumping on Streamflow by Paul M. Barlow and Stanley A. Leake November, 2012, U.S. Geological Survey Introduction Groundwater is an important source of water for many human needs, including public supply, agriculture, and industry. With the development of any natural resource, however, adverse consequences may be associated with its use. One of 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.

Thursday, March 3, 2011 7:00 p.m. Gualala Arts Center Investigative reporter Will Parrish will discuss his controversial recent series for the Anderson Valley Advertiser on the ecological toll of California’s wine industry, with a special emphasis on rapacious vineyard development in the Gualala River watershed. Summary In the past two decades, as the regional economies of the North Bay, North …

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.

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.