Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it
by Laura Baker, Board Member
Three years ago the non-profit, The Stream Team, landed a Whale Tail grant from the State Coastal Conservancy, to monitor water quality in the Gualala estuary.
Friends of Gualala River and the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy have partnered with The Stream Team to teach local citizens how to collect and test water from 4 different sites in the estuary for various conditions such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and other variables. Meeting once a month between May and October, the group has developed 18 months of data that will be logged and available at CEDEN (California Environmental Data Exchange Network).
The project teaches citizens proper monitoring protocols so that they can continue tracking estuary conditions to add to background information. When there is an episode of a large scale change in the river—such as a large landslide or a chemical spill—the baseline monitoring information can be compared for impacts. The program is part of FoGR’s commitment to documenting and improving the water quality in the river.
