Members of the public are invited to join a local expert on a half-day tour exploring Terminus Dam and two nature preserves that are part of the Kaweah River watershed Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Sponsored by the Sequoia Riverlands Trust, the annual tour is open to the public and provides an opportunity to learn more about a watershed that is directly connected to Tulare County’s agricultural and economic strength. It is also vital to the area’s native plant and animal species.
Retired College of the Sequoias biology professor John Greening has been volunteering with the trust since 2007. He said the tour originally began several years ago as a way to acquaint trust employees with the history and natural history of two Lemon Cove preserves, Dry Creek and Homer Ranch, and how they fit into the Kaweah River watershed.
The tour also includes a stop at Terminus Dam, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Terminus Dam holds the waters of Kaweah Lake, a reservoir built for flood control in 1962.
“Our preserves are located near the Terminus Dam and therefore offer a clear vantage point for observing a large swath of the Kaweah River watershed and the water management infrastructure that harnesses it,” said Aaron Collins, director of investments and partnerships for Sequoia Riverlands Trust.
Greening said all three stops on the tour will emphasize “the influence of droughts and floods that have so shaped this part of Tulare County.”
Greening said the traits of each preserve offer important perspectives. For example, at Homer Ranch he will discuss how native Yokut tribes used the area and the importance of the sycamore alluvial woodland along Dry Creek.
At the neighboring Dry Creek Preserve, Greening will share how the trust acquired the former rock quarry and how it was restored with aid from community groups and other volunteers.
Collins said the tour fulfills an important mission for the trust: conservation and environmental education.
“The better our community understands the vital role of our most precious resources and our local ecosystem, the better,” he said. “Most area residents don’t think of the Kaweah watershed’s impact on their own lives but it has a role in irrigating crops, in tourism, and overall impacts to regional livability and economic vitality.”
The Kaweah River begins as four forks in Sequoia National Park, fed by snowmelt from the Great Western Divide. It is the steepest watershed in the United States, with a vertical drop of more than 2.5 miles. The river and its tributaries form the Kaweah Delta, and meander more than 100 miles to their destination, the old Tulare Lake bed in Kings County. Tulare Lake, which was drained in the late 1800s for farming, was once also fed by the Kern, Tule and Kings rivers.
- Republication or broadcast of SJV Water content is allowed with our reporter’s byline, SJV Water and the following tagline:SJV Water is an independent, nonprofit news site covering water in the San Joaquin Valley,www.sjvwater.org. Email us at sjvwater@sjvwater.org
