Restoration Projects
The San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust is committed to restoring, enhancing, and maintaining all public and private Parkway lands for the benefit of plants, animals, and humans alike. With the help of partner organizations and volunteers, our habitat restoration projects have taken on many forms depending on each property’s needs. From cleaning up litter, managing invasive weeds, and replanting streamside forests; all the way up to engineering new floodplains, stabilizing stream banks and improving river flow. Whether big or small, each project plays an important role in restoring the natural processes vital to our ecosystem.
Jensen River Ranch Habitat Enhancement
Habitat enhancement at the 190-acre Jensen River Ranch has been our most visible project to date. Over the last 15 years, spanning a multi-year and inter-agency technical study of the site and 3 subsequent phases of revegetation, this former agricultural site has been transformed into a free and publicly accessible, environmental interpretive and recreation space next to Woodward Park. Work on this project involved many public access improvements including the 2.5-mile Thomas MacMichael Sr. Loop trail, construction of 2 oxbow lakes and other wetlands, invasive plant management, and the installation of over 8,600 native trees and shrubs.
Spano River Ranch
Our latest revegetation project is taking place around the H-shaped pond at Spano River Ranch.
Why is restoration important?
The San Joaquin River Parkway is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, along with many migrating species, that depend on a healthy and functioning environment. Some species such as the Valley elderberry longhorn beetle, spring-run Chinook salmon, and Swainson's hawks have become threatened or endangered due to habitat degradation and loss. With the help of partner organizations and volunteers, the River Parkway Trust's Land & Trails Program strives to enhance and restore the natural processes vital to our ecosystem.
What kind of restoration activities are taking place?
The River Parkway Trust conducts habitat restoration work throughout the San Joaquin River Parkway. Projects often involve removing troublesome invasive plants and re-establishing native species to increase biodiversity and enhance altered habitat.
The larger San Joaquin River Restoration Program involves releasing more water down the river channel to recreate a salmon fishery; and carefully managing water supply in order to continue providing irrigation water to farmers. The River Parkway Trust is not one of the signatories to the restoration program agreement but works closely with all of the agencies and organizations involved in the restoration effort. We expect to participate in the channel restoration projects that take place in the Parkway reach of the San Joaquin River - from Friant Dam to Highway 145. For more information about the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, please visit the program website at www.restoresjr.net.
The larger San Joaquin River Restoration Program involves releasing more water down the river channel to recreate a salmon fishery; and carefully managing water supply in order to continue providing irrigation water to farmers. The River Parkway Trust is not one of the signatories to the restoration program agreement but works closely with all of the agencies and organizations involved in the restoration effort. We expect to participate in the channel restoration projects that take place in the Parkway reach of the San Joaquin River - from Friant Dam to Highway 145. For more information about the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, please visit the program website at www.restoresjr.net.