Topographic Model – design A green light was recently given to the proposed exhibit after generous private donations were received and the FoGR board and Sonoma County Regional Parks supplied the final lump sums to put the project’s funding drive over the top. The Topographical Model Exhibit will reside in the Gualala Point Regional Park visitors center and will be …
Read More »The Latest from FoGR
A Weather Station for Gualala Point Visitors
by Kenyon Rupnik Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) and Sonoma County Regional Parks are sponsoring a weather station at the Gualala Point Visitors Center for your enjoyment of Gualala Point and Mill Bend. In our beautiful area, Gualala Point Regional Park is a top destination for outside activities. You can spy whales at Whale Point, enjoy the Visitors Center exhibits …
Read More »Friends of Gualala River say they’ll sue to block approved ‘Little’ timber harvest plan
By J. Stephen McLaughlin November 19, 2021 © Copyright 2021 Independent Coast Observer Reprinted with permission www.mendonoma.com The local environmental advocacy group Friends of Gualala River on Monday notified federal and state agencies, in addition to Gualala Redwood Timber, LLC, that it intends to sue in U.S. District Court to block the so-called “Little” Timber Harvest Plan, alleging violations of …
Read More »County supervisors urge state to review Jackson Demonstration State Forest’s management
by Sonia Waraich, The Mendocino Voice, November 16, 2021 Reprinted by permission Jackson Demonstration State Forest photographed on the morning of Sept. 29, 2021. Photo by Sonia Waraich MENDOCINO Co., 11/16/21 — A debate has been raging for the past few months on whether Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) is being managed in the best way possible in the face …
Read More »Redwoods Rising to the Sky
Are human logging actions affecting the adaptation and survival of this ancient species? by Robin Applegarth, Nov. 7, 2021 Reprinted by permission Redwoods Path, Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash OUR CAR BUMPED DOWN A DIRT ROAD, descending into a canyon of tall redwood trees. The sunlight lessened as deep forest and the canyon walls rose up around us. Thousands …
Read More »Threats Made Against Protestors in
Jackson Demonstration State Forest
A letter to California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot, from the Environmental Protection Information Center, October 14, 2021 Dear Secretary Crowfoot, It is imperative that the State of California move to immediately calm tensions in the Jackson Demonstration State Forest. The past week has seen multiple threats directed at forest activists and the presence of private paramilitary security within …
Read More »Climate Solution at Risk: The Endangered Forests of the Pacific Northwest
Forests of the Pacific Northwest and Southeast Alaska are critical to addressing the climate crisis, but they’re under threat of logging. April 19, 2021 Written and designed by Madeline Cowen & Chandra LeGue As our world faces the ongoing climate crisis, one of the most important things we can do is protect and restore forests in the Pacific Northwest and …
Read More »FoGR Monthly: September, 2021
Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) is pleased to publish a new issue of our monthly publication, “FoGR Monthly: September, 2021.” This month’s feature is Geography and Climate. Click on the image below to download the .pdf file (400 KB)
Read More »Local environmental groups ask for emergency protections for Gualala River; halt to water drafting
by Chris McManus Independent Coast Observer August 20, 2021 Reprinted by permission © Copyright Independent Coast Observer, Inc. www.mendonoma.com Friends of Gualala River, along with Forest Unlimited in Forestville, on Monday sent a request to state and local officials asking that a regional state of emergency for the Gualala River watershed be proclaimed. This aerial view of the Gualala River …
Read More »FoGR urges Regional State of Emergency for the Gualala River watershed
August 16, 2021 To: California Department of Fish and Wildlife Charlton Bonham Director P.O. Box 944209 Sacramento, CA 94244-2090 From: Friends of Gualala River PO Box 1543 Gualala, CA 95445 info@gualalariver.org and: Forest Unlimited P.O. Box 506 Forestville, CA 95426 info@forestunlimited.org Re: FoGR requests the following actions be taken immediately: 1) proclaim a Regional State of Emergency for the Gualala River watershed; …
Read More »Gualala Estuary: Native Aquatic Vegetation versus Algal Blooms
Drought Changes in the Gualala River Estuary’s Summer Lagoon: Native Aquatic Vegetation versus Algal Blooms A virtual field trip with questions and answers – (more than you wanted to know) Friends of Gualala River, August 2021 Peter Baye, Ph.D, Coastal Ecologist, Botanist Question: What is all the green stuff in the Gualala River lagoon? Is it one of the “Harmful …
Read More »Dogwood THP Update
from FoGR Board of Directors
After years of trying, and succeeding, to stop the Timber Harvest Plan (THP) called “Dogwood,” the fight was lost this past week. Those of us who have put so much effort into stopping this terrible logging plan are so very disheartened by this. We mourn the loss of the Redwood trees, the damage to the floodplain of the river, and …
Read More »CalFire’s Problematic Practice Violates CEQA
by Matt Simmons, August 3, 2021 Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) reprinted with permission Two weeks ago, we [EPIC] reported a troubling trend in timber harvest plan approvals. CalFire has been approving THPs prior to conducting necessary biological surveys for endangered, rare, and sensitive species. This practice prevents the public and state agencies like the Department of Fish and Wildlife …
Read More »FoGR Monthly: August, 2021
Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) is pleased to publish a new issue of our monthly publication, “FoGR Monthly: August, 2021.” This month’s feature is Sequoia Sempervirens – Coast Redwoods. Click on the image below to download the .pdf file (480 KB)
Read More »Friends of Gualala River launch new lawsuit targeting logging on North Fork
by Chris McManus Independent Coast Observer July 23, 2021 Reprinted by permission © Copyright Independent Coast Observer, Inc. www.mendonoma.com As part of its Salmonid and Watershed Restoration Project, Friends of Gualala River has launched a new lawsuit, this one focused on the Gualala River’s North Fork in the watershed’s northwest corner, the only hydrologic area of the watershed that is …
Read More »The Garcia: A River in Strong Recovery After a 30-Year Effort
by Craig Bell Forest & River News July 16, 2021 Craig Bell is a Garcia River watershed planner, as well as past President of the Salmonid Restoration Federation, former logger, commercial fisherman, and river guide. [excerpt:] The strong recovery we are witnessing today in the Garcia River is thanks to a 30-year effort that began in 1991 when Mendocino County …
Read More »Won’t back down – Friends of Gualala River continue protection efforts
by Tempra BoardThe Sea Ranch Soundings • Summer 2021 © copyright 2021, The Sea Ranch Associationreprinted with permission Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), our area’s grassroots watershed protection non-profit, continues its hard work defending the Gualala River from the threat of floodplain logging. On May 20, FoGR filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt logging of Gualala Redwood Timber …
Read More »FoGR Monthly: July, 2021
Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) is pleased to publish a new issue of our monthly publication, “FoGR Monthly: July, 2021,” detailing different places along the Gualala River to visit. This month’s feature is Mill Bend. Each month will have a participation feature like a contest or list an upcoming event. It will feature different types of outdoor activities and where …
Read More »Video: The Gualala River watershed is in danger from proposed logging
The Gualala River watershed and the species that live within it are in danger from proposed logging of redwoods. Friends of Gualala River has produced an informative short video about the challenge our river now faces and how you can help. Please enjoy and share with your friends.
Read More »FoGR Monthly: June, 2021
Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) is pleased to publish a new issue of our monthly publication, “FoGR Monthly,” detailing different places along the Gualala River to visit. This month’s feature is the Haupt Creek Bridge area. Each month will have a participation feature like a contest or list an upcoming event. It will feature different types of outdoor activities and …
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Won’t back down – Friends of Gualala River continue protection efforts
by Tempra BoardThe Sea Ranch Soundings • Summer 2021 © copyright 2021, The Sea Ranch Associationreprinted with permission Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), our area’s grassroots watershed protection non-profit, continues its hard work defending the Gualala River from the threat of floodplain logging. On May 20, FoGR filed a motion for …
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Protecting Endangered Species:
The Case for a Preliminary Injunction -
Gualala River logging project clears hurdle in state court as federal case ramps up
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Under California cap-and-trade program, North Coast forests turn carbon uptake into cash
by Guy Kovner, The Press Democrat, January 3, 2016 [excerpt:] They say money doesn’t grow on trees, but a nearly 75,000-acre swath of redwood and fir forests blanketing the wildlands of Sonoma and Mendocino counties is generating millions of dollars as it contributes to California’s ambitious campaign to curb greenhouse …
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Preservation Ranch saved in record deal – June, 2013, San Francisco Chronicle
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Sonoma Deal Aims to Combine Logging and Preservation
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Sonoma County redwood forest spared from conversion into vineyards