… [P]ublic awareness and appreciation for the San Joaquin River and the assemblage of properties that form the river parkway have significantly grown. More people are helping to conserve the parkway than ever before, volunteering with nonprofits such as the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, RiverTree Volunteers and Fresno Canoe and Kayak Club to pick up trash or remove invasive Parrot’s feather from the river. … Another significant development: The San Joaquin River Conservancy, the locally controlled state agency created to develop the parkway, finally has the funding and staff to start acting like an actual state agency. … The point here is that in many measurable, tangible metrics, the San Joaquin River Parkway is in a much better place.
–Written by Fresno Bee columnist Marek Warszawski.