A historic Valley grasslands area aims to reconnect with the past
A new project in the Central Valley is aiming to restore hundreds of acres of grasslands to reconnect the San Joaquin River. The initiative is part of a larger effort to preserve the Great Valley Grasslands State Park, and involves removing levees to reconnect the river with its historic floodplain. Great Valley Grasslands in Merced County spans more than 2,800 acres of a broader 160,000-acre ecological zone. It’s one of California’s largest continuous wetland areas. The nonprofits American Rivers, River Partners, FlowWest and several local tribes have supported the project dating back to 2009. The project will reconnect the San Joaquin River with 220 acres of historic floodplain by removing a defunct levee built in the 1950s.
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