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<br />FRESNO RIVER <br /> <br />Restoration projects don't have to be multimillion <br />dollar engineering efforts that involve several <br />layers of government. They can be modest <br />community-based undertakings to reclaim parts <br />ot degraded water bodies, <br /> <br />The Fresno River is such an example, In 1992, <br />community volunteers decided to build a 10-mile <br />frail for hikers and bicyclists along a stretch of <br />the river where it passes through the Sierra foot- <br />hills town of Oakhurst. <br /> <br />Over the years the river had become a dumping <br />ground for trash and even junk cars. Volunteers <br />have since removed an estimated 16 tons of de~ <br />bris from the river and built a 3,5-mile trail that <br />winds along the river from a public park on the <br />west end at town to fhe local high school on the <br />east end. <br /> <br />The volunteer effort was spearheaded by the <br />locally led Oakhurst River Parkway Committee <br />and helped by $500,000 in grant funds from local <br />and state organizations. Restoration work <br />included building the dirt, sand and gravel trail <br />along the river, planting hundreds of oak trees, <br />and seeding native grasses such as deer grass <br />along the riverbank to discourage erosion. Local <br />businesses have helped build parking spaces; the <br />Boy Scouts built and installed benches and bird- <br />houses; local nurseries donated grasses, trees, <br />and flowers; and local youth groups help repair <br />and maintain fhe trail. <br /> <br />The payoff is a community resource enjoyed by <br />hundreds of local residents each day for walking, <br />bicycling and wildlife viewing, The trail is a popular <br />site for school tield trips, And the volunteer effort <br />has continued with a monthly cleanup day during <br />which 20 to 30 people pick up trash and work on <br />other improvements. <br /> <br />ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB <br /> <br />Rivers and Watershed Management <br />American Rivers www.amrivers.org <br />Calilornia State Water Resources Control Board www.swrcb.ca.gov/htmi/wtrshed.html <br />Center for Watershed Protection www.cwp.org <br />U.S, EPA www,epa.gov/owow/watershed/ <br />River Corridors and Restoration <br />www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore.intro.htm <br />Biodiversity <br />California Resources Agency www.ceres.ca.gov/biodiv <br />Environmental Restoration <br />Calilornia Ecological Restoration Projects Inventory (CERPI) (statewide list of restoration <br />projects with links to additional information on each) www.endeavor.des.ucdavis.edu/cerpi <br />Society for Ecological Restoration www.ser.org <br />Wetlands <br />California Wetlands Information System www.ceres.ca.gov/wetlands <br />California Wildlife Conservation Board www.dfg.ca.gov/wcb.html <br />Organizations <br />The Bay Institute www,bay,org <br />Cosumnes River Preserve www.cosumnes.org <br />The Nature Conservancy www.tnc.org <br />Trust lor Public Land www.tpl.org <br />Water Education Foundation www.water-ed.org <br />Government Agencies <br />CALFED www.calted.ca.gov <br />California Department 01 Fish & Game www.dfg.ca.gov/dfghome.html <br />California Department of Water Resources wwwdwr.water.ca.gov <br />National Marine Fisheries Service www.nmfs.gov <br />U.S. Bureau of Reclamation www.usbr.gov <br />U,S, Fish & Wildlife Service www,fws,gov <br />U.S. EPA www,epa,gov <br /> <br />13 <br />