Environmentalists file suit over Gualala River logging plan

Glenda Anderson, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
North Coast environmental groups have followed through on their threat to sue Cal Fire over its approval of a 400-acre logging operation within the floodplain of lower Gualala River.
The lawsuit, filed last week by Forest Unlimited and Friends of Gualala River, alleges state forestry officials failed to meet mandated safeguards and follow state environmental laws when they gave the go-ahead last month to the so-called “Dogwood” project, near the coast along the Sonoma-Mendocino county line.
The groups called out planned road building in the river floodplain, claiming such plans were exempted from state logging rules without adequate explanation from Cal Fire.
“Normally it (floodplain) would be protected,” said Peter Baye, with Friends of the Gualala River. The group is considering seeking an injunction to halt the harvest, which began more than a week ago.
Cal Fire officials were not available to comment, but Henry Alden, forest manager for Gualala Redwood Timber LLC, which owns the land, said the environmental groups misconstrued details of the harvest. The new forestry rules, adopted last year, don’t prohibit roads in floodplains, but rather limit their use, he said.
Read more at: Environmentalists file suit over Gualala River logging plan | The Press Democrat