River enthusiasts are dismayed and alarmed by Kern County’s plan to use riprap – boulders and chunks of rock – to shore up the bank along Kernville’s Riverside Park, which was damaged during the 2023 flood. Dumping riprap on the bank of an otherwise accessible and heavily used section of the Kern River is a huge missed opportunity, according to local boaters and others. It can also be dangerous, they say. … The county’s position is that replacing riprap at Riverside Park is what the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster recovery grant will pay for, so that’s the project it’s going to build.