Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it
by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, August 1, 2023
[excerpt:]
Save the Redwoods League has secured a deal to purchase nearly 400 acres of redwood forest above the Russian River near Guerneville, including 224 acres that were targeted for logging under a controversial timber harvest plan long fought by local community groups.
The land includes a mile of river frontage, as well as the treasured Clar Tree, an ancient coast redwood believed to be more than 2,000 years old. It is one of the oldest and tallest trees in Sonoma County, though about 30 feet was lopped off the top during last winter’s severe storms.
. . .
Title to the property, a mix of redwoods and Douglas fir on the steep slopes above Neeley Road, actually is held by RMB Revocable Family Trust. Burch, the trustee, is founder and chief executive officer of Pacific States Industries and its subsidiary, Redwood Empire Wholesale Lumber Products, which planned to mill the timber cut there.
. . .
The land at issue is located about midway between Guerneville and Monte Rio, on the southeast side of the river. It rises above Neeley Road across from Guernewood Park, doglegs around Mays Canyon Road then back toward the river across from the Northwood Golf Club at the edge of Monte Rio.
The property adjoins on its southern edge the Bohemian Grove, privately owned by the exclusive San Francisco-based Bohemian Club. Combined, that acreage amounts to 4,000 acres of contiguous wildlife corridor, according to Save The Redwoods League.
The portion included in the Silver Estates Timber Harvest Plan, first submitted to Cal Fire in 2020, might already have been logged but for opposition from community members and others who opposed its approval on environmental, procedural and other grounds.
Organized mainly as the Guerneville Forest Coalition, they argued the harvest would have affected threatened and endangered species, risked undermining steep, unstable hillsides and harming water quality, among other things.
Cal Fire delayed approval 23 times over three years before finally granting consent to an amended plan last November, prompting the coalition to sue Cal Fire and Redwood Empire in a still-pending case.
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Save the Redwoods League to buy nearly 400 acres
of redwood forest along lower Russian River
For more information, visit
Save the Redwoods League
The Guerneville Forest Coalition said,
We still believe that the antiquated process that allowed such a flawed plan to be approved needs to be revised and we urge lawmakers in Sacramento to review the Forest Practice Act. There is an urgent need to strip CalFire of its forest management role so that it can focus on what it does best – fighting fires. Ironically, we very nearly lost an entire redwood forest and its ecosystem thanks to CalFire.
