Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it
Any way you slice it, 2021 was a tough year. While Covid-19 raged across the world, a horrific drought brought the dangers of climate warming home to our watershed as we watched our beloved Gualala River dry up, leaving parched, bleached river beds. Meanwhile, Gualala Redwood Timber (GRT) logged and logged and then logged some more from dawn til dusk while truck after truck left the property laden with all those redwood logs. With all the bad news out there, is there any good news that we can report?
Yes, and plenty of it. This was a year in which Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) reached out to friends and built especially strong alliances. There’s the on-going partnership with the Center for Biological Diversity, co-plaintiff in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) lawsuit we filed against GRT. After some disappointing setbacks, the Dogwood ESA case is still working its way through the courts, and FoGR hopes that it will ultimately be successful in requiring that GRT prevent further take of the affected species and mitigate the harm that FoGR alleges GRT has caused. Our donors have been incredibly generous, enabling us to continue to try to protect the watershed from overharvesting of timber.
At the Gualala Point Regional Park Visitor Center we found a home for two of the Education and Outreach Committee’s innovative projects: the topographical model of the watershed currently in design phase, and a weather station that has just been mounted on top of the center’s roof, part of the weather station network FoGR hopes to build throughout the watershed (see articles below). Thanks to the generosity of Sonoma County Regional Parks, we have a space for both projects and a contribution to the funding of the topo model.
And just across the estuary, at the Mill Bend Preserve, the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy (RCLC) has graciously invited and incorporated input from FoGR into the huge task of planning for public access and protection of the newly acquired property. This collaboration is based upon a shared vision of protection and restoration for this most special part of the watershed (see Education and Outreach Committee Report). FoGR has also pledged funding for a grant that would support citizen science monitoring of water quality in the estuary in association with RCLC.
It’s true that it’s been a tough year, made tougher by the difficulty of getting together in person, but the work to protect the watershed goes on, and we are all strengthened by the help and support of one another. FoGR is grateful to its dedicated volunteers, members and donors who have generously contributed their time and much-needed funds to help advance our work in 2021.
For information about volunteering, contact FoGR via email at info@gualalariver.org. And please consider a donation to FoGR. We are all locals working for you as volunteers, and we welcome your ideas, monetary donations, and willingness to join us. Everyone is welcome, appreciated, and needed!
2021 Newsletter articles
- 2021 President’s Report: Imagine
- Report from FoGR’s Treasurer, Jeanne A. Jackson
- Will the Gualala River Watershed receive the protection it deserves?
- Education and Outreach Committee: Looking Back over the Year
