Environment

A historic Valley grasslands area aims to reconnect with the past

KVPR | By Israel Cardona Hernandez

Published December 17, 2025 at 4:39 PM PST

Using heavy equipment, River Partners has been strategically punching holes into and removing sections of an old and unused levee system to restore a long-disconnected section of the San Joaquin River’s floodplain. After the levee breaches are complete, the San Joaquin River will rise during periods of heavy rain to flood the restored area.

This story is produced from an episode of KVPR’s Central Valley Daily podcast. Listen to all episodes here, and wherever you get your podcasts. Central Valley Daily is supported by the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. If you have a story idea, email podcast@kvpr.org.

FRESNO, Calif. – 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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The levee was built for cattle grazing but has not been used since 1982, when the land was purchased by California State Parks.

The Director of the Central California Program at American Rivers, Sarah Puckett, says that this park is important because it provides a glimpse of what the Central Valley once was like.

"We like to describe it as going back into a time machine," Puckett said. "This is what the land used to look like in California."

The initiative plans to bring back native grasslands and wetland habitat as part of one of the last remaining large grassland ecosystems in California, according to Puckett.

In addition, the organizations are seeking to improve habitat for wildlife, especially Chinook salmon, a threatened species that once had a large population in California.

Their goal is to restore floodplains that provide nutrients and safe rearing areas. The groups say that will allow juvenile salmon to grow stronger and have a better chance of survival on their journey to the Pacific Ocean, Puckett told KVPR.