To All, A comparison of Friends of the Gualala River and Gualala River Watershed Council Two very different organizations Friends of the Gualala River (FoGR) GualalaRiver.org Gualala River Watershed Council (GRWC) GRWC.info FoGR is a leader in environmental advocacy and action dedicated to protection and recovery of the Gualala River and its watershed, defending against threats like: • industrial water diversion and […]
Read MoreCategory: Food Agriculture Impacting Water
Battling Mono
By Alastair Bland Over 90 percent of our cultivated land is vineyards, causing cries of ‘monoculture.’ But what is monoculture, and why is it such a bad thing? In 1974, growing plums was still a viable means of making a living in Sonoma County, but farmer Lou Preston foresaw a better way to harvest an […]
Read MoreAgricultural water Security and Instream Flows for Endangered Species
American Journal of Agricultural Economics Advance Access published July 15, 2011 DAVID A. NEWBURN, NICHOLAS BROZOVIC, AND MARIANO MEZZATESTA Conclusion and Policy Implications We analyze the potential effects of ESA listing on the joint decision of land use and water management using parcel-level data in coastal California. Our empirical results are distinct from the perverse […]
Read MoreAppeal by Environmental Water Caucus
Hi Alan: I’m writing to personally urge you join the Environmental Water Caucus’ detailed comments to the fifth draft of their Delta Plan. This Plan, mandated by the State Legislature, will affect virtually every citizen and largely shape the water landscape in California for decades to come. It will guide the path to restoring one […]
Read MoreThe Great Thirst & The North Coast
Posted By Will Parrish On September 7, 2011 Capital is mired in its greatest slump since the 1930s. The ecological fabric that sustains life throughout much of the world is being brutally eradicated; around 200 species go extinct every day, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. In a saner system, these dire circumstances might […]
Read MoreFrost-pond bill passes; regulators float frost-water rule
By Jeff Quackenbush, Business Journal Staff Reporter The Legislature passed a bill by two North Coast state assemblymen that would streamline permitting of small irrigation ponds that could be tapped for frost prevention, rather than streams deemed habitat for protected fish. Meanwhile, state water regulators released the latest revision to a Russian River basin frost-water regulation […]
Read MoreAnnouncement of Settlement on Felta Creek Fish Kill
Northern California River Watch has worked with the owners of GPV to obtain a commitment for real time monitoring of Felta Creek. The landowners will invest up to $15,000 to set up a real time gage at the down stream portion of their property. Although the property is high speed internet-challenged, cell phone service is […]
Read MoreRedwoods versus red wine
The redwood tree and the wine grapevine are both iconic in Northern California. Two wineries are petitioning the state to let them clear redwoods and Douglas firs to make room for new Pinot Noir vineyards.Environmentalists want the trees protected. Not surprisingly, U.S. winemakers are seeking to capitalize on the public’s renewed interest and hedge their […]
Read MoreJoin Call About Toxic Chemicals that Disrupt Hormones
Please join us on Wednesday, August 24th for a one hour discussion with environmental biologist Dr. Frances Solomon. Dr. Solomon has more than 25 years of experience in state and local environmental agencies, focusing on the biological impacts of toxic water pollutants, pollution prevention and control, and cleanup of contaminated sites. Join this call to learn more about: […]
Read MoreWe all Live Downstream
When it comes to water, we all live downstream. That’s why the vineyard development that is eliminating the redwood forests of Annapolis is so important to the lower reaches of the Gualala River and its estuary. The Gualala River already suffers from water quality problems such as sedimentation, aggradation, increased temperatures, habitat changes, and the […]
Read MoreVineyard Conversion at Pomo Heritage Land in Annapolis
Erasing Forests & History? by Peter Baye Friends of the Gualala River A version of this article appeared in the October issue of the Sonoma County Gazette Sonoma County residents are familiar with environmental impacts of vineyard conversions, but the Artesa project proposed by Codorniu Napa’s Artesa winery adds a new cultural dimension. Another Forest-to-Vineyard […]
Read MorePomo elders speak out about vineyards
Where we used to live, no one can see anything now. It is time we open our mouths. Those vineyard people are interfering with our ancestors’ area. Wherever our villages were, wherever we picked our food, those places are blessed places. When we had to live in two worlds, we had to get along with […]
Read MoreComment on Groundwater Deplection Detected From Space
Some great research and data is evolving on mapping groundwater depletion. Unfortunately, ACWA’s (Assoc. of Calif. Water Agencies) response to groundwater depletion is totally misguided – ‘if you look too closely at it, someone will want to regulate it. In the meantime, let’s pump like there’s no tomorrow.’ I suspect that a similar response would […]
Read MoreNews Blackout on Clearing Redwoods for Vineyards
I thought I would share a letter sent to the Press Democrat who blatantly had a story blackout on a crucial issue for Sonoma County–clearcutting hundreds of acres of redwoods to put in more grapes for wine making while the rest of the state and country had the story covered. Shameless. –Larry Dear Editor: Newspapers […]
Read MoreStatement on Hobbs’ Clearcutting for Vineyards
To All, Here is a statement made by John Roberts to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on June 6 regarding the activities of Paul Hobbs to convert forest to vineyards in the county. Good Afternoon. I’m John Roberts. I have lived out Green Valley Rd. for forty years and am a board member of […]
Read MoreWine Industry in Sonoma County
At a recent Praxis event featuring John Perkins where Perkins spoke in enthusiastic terms about movements in various regions of the globe, especially Central and South America, towards anticorporate, antiglobalization, sustainable forms of social, economic and political organization, I made a critical comment about the reluctance of local Sonomans to acknowledge the unsustainable practices and […]
Read MorePlan to Cut Forest for Vineyards Faces Opposition
JASON DEAREN, Associated Press June 12, 2011 ANNAPOLIS, Calif.—The ocean fog and cool climate of California’s rugged northern coast allow redwood trees to thrive and help give wine grapes a distinctive flavor. But in the village of Annapolis in Sonoma County’s coastal mountains, a quiet battle is pitting trees against vineyards. Here, where many homes […]
Read MoreStatement on Hobbs’ Clearcutting for Vineyards
To All, Here is a statement made by John Roberts to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on June 6 regarding the activities of Paul Hobbs to convert forest to vineyards in the county. Good Afternoon. I’m John Roberts. I have lived out Green Valley Rd. for forty years and am a board member of […]
Read MoreOutcry over clear-cutting
PAUL PAYNE THE PRESS DEMOCRAT May 31, 2011 A long-running land battle between a winemaker and his irksome neighbor has escalated into Sebastopol-area ire over the clear-cutting of eight acres along Gravenstein Highway. The neighbor, political gadfly John Jenkel, said that within days of an auction in which part of his ranch was sold […]
Read MorePaul Hobbs LP, Clearcutting, and Vineyards
In the last few weeks Paul Hobbs LP has been clearcutting the former properties of John Jenkel along Highway 116 near Graton Road in order to put in more vineyards. The clearcutting along 116 in Graton has shocked and outraged many West County residents. Paul Hobbs LP has also clearcut 10 acres of ridge top […]
Read MoreLetter to Supervisor Carrillo on Hobbs’ Clearcuts
Dear Mr Carrillo, As a 40 year resident, landowner and voter in Sonoma County I am deeply disturbed at the recent destruction of trees by Mr Paul Hobbs and his associates in the Highway 116 corridor. His actions show that he has little respect for the well-being of our landscape and water supply, the opinions […]
Read MoreUrgent Action on EPA Stormwater-Send by Monday, May 16
Dear Partners for Clean Water, As partners in a statewide effort to secure protections for polluted waterways, we ask for your help in letting U.S. EPA know that Californians support strong federal leadership on reducing storm water pollution and restoring the health of polluted lakes, rivers, streams, estuaries and coastal waters. In November 2010, EPA […]
Read MoreFinal Ruling on our Scott/Shasta Rivers ITP Lawsuit
Colleagues, Attached are a final ruling on our Scott/Shasta Rivers ITP lawsuit and a press release about the ruling. Please circulate as you see fit and let me know if you have any questions. We have a lot of work to do still in the Scott and Shasta Rivers of Northern California, but this judgement […]
Read MoreBoard’s plan to improve water quality proves a hard sell in California
Richard Cornett, Director of Communications Western Plant Health Association, Apr. 27, 2011 The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is finding it rough sledding when it comes to gaining the approval of a long-term plan to clean up surface and groundwater discharges from 7 million acres of farmland in California’s agricultural heartland. The Water […]
Read MoreAction on Ending Methyl Iodide
Environmental groups have been working hard the past five years to stop the use of cancer-causing methyl iodide, called by scientists “one of the most toxic chemicals on earth.” Now, that work is beginning to pay off. The EPA is currently reconsidering its decision to keep methyl iodide on the market, despite intense pressure from […]
Read MoreProposed Russian River Frost Protection Regulation Public Workshop
The State Water Resources Control Board will hold a Public Workshop to consider comments on a Proposed Russian River Frost Protection Regulation The Public Workshop will commence on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 No earlier than 11:00 a.m. Coastal Hearing Room Joe Serna, Jr./Cal-EPA Building 1001 I Street, Second Floor Sacramento, CA see attached docs, or linked at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/hearings/russian_river_frost/ […]
Read MoreAction to Save the Bees!
Hi, Easy and important action request! Thank you. (Sorry to be a bit off topic on water… but food is essential too.) Veronica Since 2006, U.S. honey bee populations have been in precipitous decline, with some estimates suggesting losses as high as 30% per year. While that’s terrible, the problem is far greater than just […]
Read MorePsst… Groundwater and Surface Water Do Mix
FELICITY BARRINGER An article published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters this week describes a new and simple way of measuring groundwater’s contribution to small streams on the surface. Sinking land levels in the San Joaquin Valley in California. By taking snapshots of streams with a device designed to capture, through infrared radiation images, the […]
Read MoreWhen They Came For The Navarro
Will Parrish on Feb 11, 2011 The North Coast wine industry has long acted out a pathological conviction that it is entitled to virtually every single drop of water in every watershed it touches. As in the case of Sonoma County’s recent frost protec tion ordinance, which I detailed in the December 14 Anderson Valley […]
Read MoreThe Wrath of Grapes
How a Goldman Sachs executive is helping to kill Mark West Creek — and what the county isn’t doing about it By Alastair Bland For decades, Sonoma County’s wine industry has been thriving. The county’s salmon and steelhead, meanwhile, are vanishing, and some fisheries biologists, attorneys and conservationists assure that the wine industry’s gain is […]
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