Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it

Letter to the Editor, published in the Independent Coast Observer November 16, 2018 With the exciting news of the Mill Bend property in escrow to a conservation buyer, we see a golden opportunity to further protect the Gualala River for the benefit of everyone. The vast stretch of flat land along the south side of the river, from Gualala Point …

Media Release October 19, 2018 Sonoma County Superior Court once again has ruled in favor of Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) in its lawsuit against CAL FIRE’s approval of logging of coastal floodplain redwood forest in hundreds of acres of the Wild and Scenic Gualala River. The controversial “Dogwood” timber harvest plan (THP) proposed by Gualala Redwoods Timber LLC has …

Action Network is partnering with Coastwalk California for the 34th Annual Coastal Clean Up Day: Saturday, September 15, 2018 9 am – 12 noon Volunteer Appreciation Picnic  1 – 3 pm Please contact Sienna Lampi at Action Network: info@actionnetwork.info or 707-884-541

Family PINACEAE Sometimes the most interesting thing about a species of tree is where it occurs or, more precisely, where its occurrence ends. Such is the case with western hemlock, which reaches the southernmost limit of its 2000-mile range from north in Alaska to right here in the Gualala River watershed. Populations living at the end of a species’ range …

Family’s legendary grove of old-growth redwoods preserved by Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, June 26, 2018 [excerpt:] A sprawling forest of ancient coastal redwoods in Sonoma County — a grove so magnificent it matches the majesty of Muir Woods National Monument — is being acquired under a land deal that will ensure its protection and allow the public to walk …

Media Release June 7, 2018 Sonoma County Superior Court has once again granted a preliminary injunction to put the start of logging on hold in the 100-year-old redwood forest of the Gualala River floodplain, located in northwest Sonoma County and southwest Mendocino County. On June 5, 2018, Judge René Chouteau issued a tentative order granting a motion for preliminary injunction …

Family SAPINDACEAE Life Cycle In the merry month of May the California Buckeye puts on its most magnificent display with candle-like white spires of flowers that fill the air with fragrance and make the trees impossible to miss even when they are tucked away in creek drainages and canyons and the edge of chaparral—their preferred habitats. [Photo: 1].   Like …

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gualala Community Center See hundreds of beautiful local wildflowers! Botanists and other plant lovers available to answer questions. Plants, books, posters for sale. FREE Dorothy King Young Chapter California Native Plant Society

Listen to hydrologist Greg Kamman, who was interviewed by Hope McKenney on KZYX on May 15, 2018. “A controversial plan to log miles of the Gualala River floodplain, is back on track, after being on hold for a number of years. Opponents of the plan previously thwarted attempts to log the area by convincing a judge the timber harvest plan …

by Guy Kovner, The Press Democrat, May 1, 2018 [excerpt:] . . . At Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve near Guerneville, the 308-foot Colonel Armstrong tree stands so tall that earthbound admirers can’t see the behemoth’s uppermost 100 feet. But it and the other old-growth redwoods of equal majesty are essentially relics, comprising a mere 7 percent of the 1.6 …

Community members who are interested in the future of the Gualala River will want to hear hydrologist, Greg Kamman, speak on the current state of water flows in the river at his presentation: “Water is Life! A Hydrologist’s Eye on the Gualala River” Thursday, May 3, 2018 5:30 to 7:00 pm Gualala Arts Center   Greg Kamman started studying the …

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, April 19, 2018 [excerpt:] A controversial plan to log miles of Gualala River floodplain, including nearly century-old redwood trees just outside Gualala Point Regional Park, is back on track, setting the stage for a showdown in court or perhaps among the trees themselves. Charll Stoneman, forest manager for Gualala Redwood Timber, which owns the …

Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), along with Forest Unlimited, is taking legal action against the resubmitted Timber Harvest Plan “Dogwood,” the THP that would log in the floodplain of the Gualala River. CAL FIRE approved this THP on March 30, 2018. Dogwood contains the largest tracts of mature redwoods in floodplains, beginning at the boundary of Gualala Point Regional Park’s …

Red Alder, Pacific Coast Alder, Oregon Alder, Western Alder (Alnus rubra) Family BETULACEAE The red alder is one of two species of alder common to the Gualala River watershed’s riparian corridors. [Photo: 1] It occurs in the western portion where it grows along the lower reaches of the river and its tributaries. Further east in the higher elevations, red alder …

Like the closely related red alder, white alder is a species that grows along the riparian corridor and shares many of its adaptations to streamside conditions. [Photo: 1a, 1b]     In general it occurs more inland from the coast and in more upland areas than the red alder whose occurrence tapers off farther east in the watershed. According to …

Tongass is the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest, with trees more than 1,000 years old. But a pro-logging effort could uproot them by Brendan Jones in Sitka, Alaska Published by The Guardian, March 22, 2018   [Excerpt:] At south-east Alaska’s last industrial-scale sawmill, wheel loaders stack debarked logs two storeys high on the frozen ground. A bumper sticker on a …

Here are some events sponsored by the California Native Plant Society’s Dorothy King Young Chapter, which are focused on the wealth of local native plants, taking place in the Gualala River watershed during California Native Plant Week (April 15-22, 2018). Wednesday, April 18 at 1 pm Riparian walk (river bed and banks) on the Gualala River Wheatfield Fork near Haupt …

California Bay Laurel, Bay, Pepperwood, Oregon Myrtle, California Olive, Spice Tree, Headache Tree (Umbellularia californica) Family LAURACEAE February is an excellent time to see flowering California Bay Laurel, though it can bloom as early as November and well on into spring. One of the more commonly occurring trees throughout the Gualala River watershed [Photo 1.], this evergreen hardwood species has …

genus  Sequoia, family Cupressaceae (cypress) An Unparalleled Species The most iconic tree species in our region is the Coast Redwood. [Photo 1.] Its presence in the Gualala River watershed is deeply historic, it is a species central to the ecology and economy here, and it is perhaps the most remarkable tree species on earth. Redwoods are the tallest beings on …

INTRODUCTION TO A NEW FEATURE: NATIVE TREES OF THE GUALALA RIVER WATERSHED January, 2018 Trees are the predominant terrestrial feature of the Gualala River watershed. They account for the largest biomass in the watershed and cover a third of its nearly 300 square miles. How we think about them–their beauty, their importance to the natural systems of the planet, and …