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

We are very sorry to report that Gualala Redwood Timber (GRT), owned by the Burch family, has decided to resubmit the Timber Harvest Plan called “Dogwood,” the one we have been protesting and fighting for two years. We knew that winning in court didn’t save the Gualala River floodplain. The judge, in essence, told GRT they had to take into …

Friends of Gualala River Forest Unlimited California Native Plant Society MEDIA RELEASE Date: September 26, 2017 The lawsuit to stop logging the Gualala River floodplain redwood forest tract in the “Dogwood” timber harvest plan (THP) is over. CAL FIRE was ordered by Sonoma County Superior Court to vacate (revoke) the Gualala Redwood Timber Company timber harvest plan on April 18, …

Thursday, September 14, 2017 6:30 to 8:00 p.m Gualala Arts Center 46501 Old State Highway Join us for a FREE community presentation by Chris Kelly on The Conservation Fund’s 14,000 acre Gualala River Forest and 21,000 acre Buckeye Forest (formerly “Preservation Ranch”). Discussion Topics Include: Public Access Carbon Credits and California’s Cap-and-Trade Program Sustainable Forestry vs. Conventional Forestry Chris Kelly, …

← Previous: Gualala River in May Next: Gualala River in July (coming soon)→                         All photos used with permission. Our sincere thanks to all of the photographers for sharing their photos with us!

← Previous: Gualala River in April Next: Gualala River in June →                         All photos used with permission. Our sincere thanks to all of the photographers for sharing their photos with us!

← Previous: Gualala River in Winter Next: Gualala River in May → Springtime brings new life in and around the Gualala River by Jeanne A. Jackson After the winter rains, the Gualala River usually is closed off from the Pacific Ocean by a big sandbar. When the river closes, the water backs up into the lagoon and upriver, bringing perfect …

Friends of Gualala River Forest Unlimited California Native Plant Society MEDIA RELEASE Date: June 29, 2017 After halting logging in the environmentally sensitive mature floodplain redwood forest of the lower Gualala River, Judge René Chouteau of Sonoma County Superior Court awarded $162,000 in attorney’s fees to the successful parties in environmental litigation over CAL FIRE’s approval of the Dogwood Timber …

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, June 20, 2017 [excerpt:] A disputed 2-year-old plan to log along several miles of the Gualala River floodplain remains in limbo five months after a Sonoma County judge nullified its approval and sent it back to state forestry officials for revision and additional public review. Acting on a lawsuit brought by environmental groups, Superior …

by J.D. Morris, The Press Democrat, May 7, 2017 [excerpt:] Deep in northwestern Sonoma County’s thickly forested mountains, about 10 miles from the coast and a world away from the bustle of any population center, Mike Young walked beneath a towering canopy of redwood and Douglas fir trees he’s come to know well over the past several decades. He was …

← Previous: Gualala River in Fall (coming soon) Next: Gualala River in April → Winter rains fall on the vast watershed of the Gualala River. When the land can no longer absorb more water, the rain flows into the tributaries of the Gualala River. The river changes daily. Big storms brings churning waters down the river, racing to the ocean. …

by Will Parrish, North Bay Bohemian, February 15, 2017 [excerpt:] Here in the North Bay, a controversy over timber industry damage to the Gualala River in northwestern Sonoma and southeastern Mendocino counties has been raging since 2015. First came the Dogwood plan, a 320-acre timber harvest plan filed by Gualala Redwoods Timber company (GRT). It involves tractor-logging hundreds of stately, …

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Free of charge Gualala Arts Center 46501 Old State Highway Gualala, CA 95445 Sponsored by Friends of Gualala River Friends of Gualala River present a community education program with Dr. Kimberly Rodrigues, Director of the U.C. Hopland Research and Cooperative Extension Center on Tuesday, February 28, 2017, at the Gualala Arts Center, …

Friends of Gualala River Forest Unlimited California Native Plant Society MEDIA RELEASE Date: January 28, 2017 The “Dogwood” Timber Harvest Plan (THP), an environmental review of the first major logging of the mature redwood forest on the sensitive floodplain of the Gualala River, has been sent back to CAL FIRE for a full revision. The plan is bound for a …

by Will Parrish © 2017 Anderson Valley Advertiser January 12, 2017 [excerpt:] First came the “Dogwood” plan: a 320-acre timber harvest plan (THP) filed by Gualala Redwoods Timber (GRT) in 2015. It involves tractor-logging hundreds of stately second-growth redwoods that line the lower Gualala River, which straddles the Sonoma-Mendocino county line on the coast, in areas spared from axes and …

Thursday, October 27, 2016 5 to 7 p.m. Gualala Community Center 47950 Center St., Gualala, CA 95445 Please join host Jeanne Jackson (Mendonoma Sightings) for a one-time informal workshop co-sponsored by Friends of Gualala River, Forest Unlimited and California Native Plant Society – Dorothy King Young Chapter, for updates on the future of the lower Gualala River Riparian Redwood Forest, …

by Mary Callahan, The Press Democrat, September 16, 2016 [excerpt:] A Sonoma County judge has halted logging operations tied to a disputed timber harvest plan in the Gualala River watershed until a court challenge against the project can be resolved. Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday, affirming an earlier tentative ruling in which he said environmentalists …

Friends of Gualala River Forest Unlimited MEDIA RELEASE Date: September 15, 2016 – updated On Wednesday, September 14, Sonoma County Superior Court confirmed a tentative ruling to temporarily halt further logging of the controversial Gualala River floodplain within the “Dogwood” timber harvest plan area while litigation proceeds. Hon. René Auguste Chouteau, Supervising Civil Court Judge, granted a Preliminary Injunction to …

Note: Close of public comment for this plan is Monday, September 12, 2016, at 5 p.m. Cal Fire – Forest Practice Program Manager 135 Ridgeway Ave, Santa Rosa, California 95401 santarosapubliccomments@calfire.ca.gov September 8, 2016 SUBJECT: THP 1-16-047 SON (Gualala Redwoods Timber LLC “German South” THP) Dear CAL FIRE: Friends of the Gualala River submits the following comments and recommendations regarding …

Note: Close of public comment for this plan is Monday, September 12, 2016, at 5 p.m.   September 2, 2016 Cal Fire Resource Management North Coast Regional Office 135 Ridgway Ave Santa Rosa, CA 95401 EPIC Comments on THP 1-16-042SON, “German South,” Gualala Redwood Timber Inc. Dear Santa Rosa CAL FIRE Review Team: The following comments are submitted on behalf …

Comments on the “Dogwood” floodplain logging plan (THP 1-15-042-SON), submitted on behalf of Friends of Gualala River by subject matter experts: Download: Comments by William Russell, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Studies; Comments by Teresa Sholars, emeritus Professor of Biology; Comments by Stuart Siegel, Ph.D., Professional Wetland Scientist. Our sincere thanks to these experts for their efforts on behalf of the …