Tag Archives: best-of-fogr

Re-posting this vital message from the summer of 2012, by Jeanne Jackson and Peter Baye Friends don’t let friends drive in the Gualala River. The Gualala River, now closed to the Pacific Ocean by a huge sandbar, is a coastal treasure. Creatures big and small make it their home. Care must be taken to protect them and this beautiful wild …

by Dylan Freebairn-Smith, Conservation Analyst One of the first projects that Dylan has tackled is analyzing the TMDL program for the Gualala. Summary The Gualala River has been listed as impaired under the federal Clean Water Act due to elevated sediment levels since 1993 and has exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of sediment since 2001. …

by Laura Baker, Board Member In 2020 FoGR learned of a chemical found in tire grit that pollutes stormwater and kills a number of different aquatic species. It is especially toxic to coho salmon— 40 parts per trillion in a quart of stormwater kills juvenile coho. Information has been pouring out of the State of Washington where the effects of …

For Immediate Release, August 5, 2023 Contact: Ethan Arutunian, Friends of the South Fork Gualala, info@fosfg.org, 206-353-3487Daniel Garrett-Steinman, Garrett-Steinman Law Offices, dan@dpgslaw.com, 415-996-7823   SANTA ROSA, CA – In a legal victory for the Gualala River watershed, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Bradford DeMeo has ordered the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to annul and set …

Friends of Gualala River invite coastal residents and visitors to visit our website and explore microclimates and wildfire camera views on our new Map of Real-time Weather Stations & Wildfire Cameras in the Gualala River Watershed: gualalariver.org/weather-wildfire. Click on the diamond icons to see individual weather station data including temperature, wind, rainfall and humidity. The stations are maintained by a …

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 …

Friends of Gualala River (FoGR) is pleased to announce that the Sonoma County Conservation Council (SCCC) has recognized Chris Poehlmann, FoGR president emeritus, with the 2020 Ernestine I. Smith Environmentalist of the Year award in the category of Forest Champion. Chris was one of three recipients of this year’s award, along with Rick Coates, director of Forest Unlimited and wildlife …

Thanks to the new Gualala River watershed signs, travelers on local roads will now know when they enter the watershed, one that spans 300 square miles of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Friends of Gualala River (FoGR), a non-profit dedicated to the protection of the river and its watershed, coordinated installation of nine road signs marking the outer boundaries of this …

Presented at Friends of Gualala River’s Public Forum on March 5, 2019. Download: Download a pdf version (4 MB) of the presentation: Importance of the Gualala River Floodplain: Presentation by Dr. Peter Baye Audio excerpts: 1. Peter Baye describes Gualala River floodplain: 2. Peter Baye describes the evolution of the floodplain: 3. Peter Baye explains which agencies are responsible for …

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 …

We counted 180 – 200 participants, with dozens of spontaneously prepared hand-made signs and artwork. Speakers included Jeanne Jackson, Eric Wilder, Charlie Ivor, Larry Hanson, Peter Baye and Noreen Evans.                     See also, video: Jeanne Jackson speaks at the Rally for the River

by Peter Baye, Friends of Gualala River The lower Gualala River has a wide meandering floodplain rich in wetlands, mature productive riparian redwood forests and highly diverse riparian habitats supporting many special-status plant, fish, and wildlife species. “Flood prone” redwood forests are supposed to be protected by avoidance of logging disturbances under special salmonid protection rules under the Forest Practices …

For Immediate Release: December 6, 2013 Contact: Chris Poehlmann, Friends of the Gualala River, (707) 886-5182 Victoria Brandon, Sierra Club Redwood Chapter, (707) 994-1931 Justin Augustine, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 436-9682 x 302 SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Elliot Daum has rejected a plan to clearcut 154 acres of Northern California redwoods to plant vineyards …

Excerpts from Eric Wilder, Starhawk speeches Annapolis Winery, August 24, 2013 Eric Wilder, Kashaya Pomo artist, grandson of Kashaya tribal spiritual leader Essie Parrish I knew that I was walking on the land my people have been walking on for thousands of years. That is a feeling not everyone can experience. It’s a source of pride. We have village sites …

by Larry Hanson May, 2013 Sonoma County Gazette Now that the coastal forest area called Preservation Ranch has been officially saved, there will be some backslapping and congratulating going on over this success. And there should. The effort of changing some twenty thousand acres from a land development project into conservation status takes the work and love of many individuals …

Friends of the Gualala River and supporters protested and presented the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors with an 18 foot long copy of the 90,000-signature petition opposing the giant redwood forest destroying vineyard conversion projects,Preservation Ranch and Artesa Winery / Annapolis, at the supervisors’ public meeting on Tuesday, February 7, 2012. An 8 foot high walking “Chainsaw Wine” bottle complete with chainsaw, …

Preservation Ranch saved in record deal A giant redwood forest in Sonoma County that was on the verge of being divvied up and plowed over into a patchwork of vineyards has been preserved by a public-private partnership that engineered what is being touted as the largest land conservation deal in California history. June, 2013, SF Chronicle Sonoma County redwood forest …

Governor Gray Davis signed Assembly Bill 1168 on July 23, 2003, adding segments of the Gualala and Albion Rivers to the California Wild and Scenic River system as “recreational” rivers.Wild & Scenic Gualala River, estuary photo credit: PT Nunn, 2004  Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka) introduced the bill to protect the two rivers after Alaska Water Exports, Inc. attempted to divert …

Información en Español Davidge withdraws waterbag applications!December 13, 2002: After the Coastal Commission votes to oppose his waterbag scheme, Ric Davidge announces that he is withdrawing his applications to bag water from the Gualala and Albion Rivers. For information about the campaign that stopped Davidge, and about his new proposal to export water from the Mad River, see below. Gualala …