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After travelling south for over 80 miles through Mendocino and Northern Sonoma Counties, the Russian River makes a sharp right turn at Forestville and heads west for about 25 miles where it flows into the ocean at the town of Jenner. Mark West Creek and Laguna de Santa Rosa watersheds converge into the Russian River at the turn in Forestville.
The ambiance of the lower Russian River has changed relatively little in the last forty years. Visitors come here to experience our paradise from all over the world, and our area inevitably leaves an indelible impression on them. Those of us who are fortunate to live here full time are committed to preserving its extraordinary features. Furthermore, when change is inevitable, local devoted protectors want it accommodated with sensitivity to our natural values. The urban approach is not welcome in our rustic setting.
The lower Russian also has a rich history as vacation get-away for the greater Bay Area. The waterway is thickly lined with giant redwoods for most of its westerly course, and summer cabins are hidden on hillsides, riverbanks, and in deep interior canyons. About two thirds of the former cabins have been converted to full time use over the last 25 years. The formerly dilapidated housing stock is rapidly being refined.
The Russian River used to be one of the three greatest Steelhead fisheries on the North Coast. Fishermen flocked here from far and wide every winter to fish their fill. It is only in the last fifty years, that their numbers have been decimated, and the Endangered Species Act has stepped in to play a major role in river management. It is one of RRWPC’s major concerns however, that proposed projects to save the fish may be too little, too late, and may cause more harm to the watershed than bring protections for the fish.
The river also serves as a water supply source for about 600,000 urban dwellers in Sonoma County and Marin, as well as providing a source of water for extensive grape growing activities throughout the region. Balancing all of the water needs in the area calls for sophisticated management of the resource. This has led to more focus on improved conservation, wastewater reuse, and better management of groundwater resources, to name a few. There is still much to be done.
But there is a dark side to all this. This area of extraordinary natural beauty and extensive natural resources is also extremely fragile. It is subject to large floods, massive slides, falling trees, high water tables, water quality problems, etc. It is concern for this fragility that has motivated RRWPC to devote our life’s work over the last 32 years to preservation of the lower Russian River watershed. This website is testimony to that concern and represents our work to preserve it from the influences that would turn it into something other than what it is.