Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it
The Gualala River Stream Team will be heading out into the watershed and I hope you will join us!
When: Saturday, June 17th, 9:00 a.m. sharp! to 11:00 a.m.
Where: Meet at the Redwood Coast Land Conservancy (RCLC) Mill Bend, 46902 Old Stage Rd., Gualala (take the gravel road 400ft from Highway 1).
When you arrive, we will divide into four teams (each with a team leader to provide support and refresher training as needed). Each team will monitor one of the four sites. You can decide which site you would like to work depending on how much time you have and if you would like to walk, drive or paddle! Our goal is to get started quickly and finish up by 11.
FYI: Last month, we observed Lamprey redds, which are round and about the size of a dinner plate, that had been recently constructed in the South Fork just upstream of the confluence with the North Fork. Sure hope the trucks I’ve observed driving up the river channel do not disturb these!
Here is a brief description of the Lamprey life cycle: Lamprey adults spend 1-3 years in the ocean (similar to Coho salmon), and then migrate back into the Gualala River to spawn and die (leaving important marine nutrients behind). The eggs take about a month to hatch and the larvae (juveniles) remain in the river for up to 7 years before migrating back to the ocean. The optimal water temperature for spawning ranges between 10-18 ⁰ C, which our data confirmed (our results ranged between 15-17 ⁰ C). Here is a link to a more complete description: Pacific Lamprey
If you can make it this month, please RSVP and sign up on our Gualala River Stream Team Facebook
See you soon, and thanks again for your important dedication,
Timmarie
530 342-6620 (office)
530 519-2826 (cell)
Here is a photo of one of our hard working teams (welcome Jenner!), who collected samples and brought them up from the river to work at a comfortable picnic table, where they enjoyed the intoxicating smell of California Bay trees as they worked.
