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Partners and Grassroot Support
The Bay Institute recognized early on that success in the courtroom and in the negotiations had to be accompanied by grassroots support in the San Joaquin Valley. The Bay Institute encouraged and helped local activists form Revive the San Joaquin River, a Fresno-based river restoration advocacy group.
In an effort to build local support for the larger river restoration and focus public attention on the river, The Bay Institute partnered with the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust (Parkway Trust) and the California Water Institute at California State University, Fresno to carry out two restoration plantings at Camp Pashayan in Fresno. Located along the San JoaquinRiver, the site is approximately 31 acres with approximately 11 acres owned by the Trust and 20 acres owned by the Wildlife Conservation Board. The Bay Institute’s Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW) Project and the restoration firm Prunuske Chatham, Inc. helped to organize two cottonwood and oak restoration plantings, which were carried out by students from nearby schools. The Water Institute carried out biological monitoring at the site.
The Bay Institute also partnered with the Geology Department at CSU, which engaged students in groundwater monitoring of the Pilot Project environmental water releases from Friant Dam.
October 2002 Restoration Forum
The Bay Institute was a key player in a restoration forum convened by the environmental coalition and the Parkway Trust in Fresno. Several hundred people attended the forum, which included informative panels, with participants from FWUA, the Parkway Trust, the environmental coalition, and other interested parties. The Parkway Trust’s newsletter promoted the event by dedicating the entire issue to restoration topics. Between the Parkway Trust’s newsletter and a separate event mailer sent by NRDC and the Parkway, more than 5,000 residents of Fresno, Madera, and surrounding counties heard about this event and the restoration issues on which it focused.
The Bay Institute was a key player in a restoration forum convened by the environmental coalition and the Parkway Trust in Fresno. Several hundred people attended the forum, which included informative panels, with participants from FWUA, the Parkway Trust, the environmental coalition, and other interested parties. The Parkway Trust’s newsletter promoted the event by dedicating the entire issue to restoration topics. Between the Parkway Trust’s newsletter and a separate event mailer sent by NRDC and the Parkway, more than 5,000 residents of Fresno, Madera, and surrounding counties heard about this event and the restoration issues on which it focused.
Briefings for Colleague Organizations
The Bay Institute and NRDC updated and educated key environmental organizations and agencies and explored synergies and opportunities for collaboration. A briefing with The Nature Conservancy included a special focus on potential water acquisitions and lands in Reaches 2B and 4B where strategic land acquisitions could greatly facilitate restoration. Members of the NRDC/The Bay Institute team helped establish a dialogue with the Stockton East Water District, which led to greater collaboration between the environmental community and Delta farming interests who will benefit greatly from a restored river. Other key outreach efforts included a briefing for the General Managers of the various water agencies served by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a briefing for the General Manager of Grasslands Water District, and Ducks Unlimited
The Bay Institute and NRDC updated and educated key environmental organizations and agencies and explored synergies and opportunities for collaboration. A briefing with The Nature Conservancy included a special focus on potential water acquisitions and lands in Reaches 2B and 4B where strategic land acquisitions could greatly facilitate restoration. Members of the NRDC/The Bay Institute team helped establish a dialogue with the Stockton East Water District, which led to greater collaboration between the environmental community and Delta farming interests who will benefit greatly from a restored river. Other key outreach efforts included a briefing for the General Managers of the various water agencies served by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a briefing for the General Manager of Grasslands Water District, and Ducks Unlimited
In addition to these proactive stakeholder outreach efforts, we also engaged with and monitored activities of local groups that aggressively organized against restoration efforts on the San Joaquin River, and instead promoted a warm water fishery and only partial restoration. Due in large part to our critical comments, which were broadly distributed, scientific and regulatory partners were educated about the huge problems with the alternative proposal and the political agenda that was driving it.
This River Is Our River
The Parkway Trust, in collaboration with The Bay Institute, launched This River Is Our River (TRIOR), a capacity building public outreach program in 2002.
The Parkway Trust, in collaboration with The Bay Institute, launched This River Is Our River (TRIOR), a capacity building public outreach program in 2002.
TRIOR measured public knowledge and awareness of the San Joaquin River watershed; identified and carefully crafted core messages for watershed organizations and agencies to use when communicating about river or watershed issues; determined the best methods and messengers for communicating this information; and trained other organizations and agencies throughout the watershed to work effectively with the media and the public to convey consistent effective messages about the watershed, tailored to their specific issues, over time, in order to build awareness of and appreciation for the San Joaquin River. After two weeks of paid advertising in English and Spanish media, a tracking survey revealed a measurable improvement in public awareness and concern about the river—the first step, we believe, toward building a broad base of local support for restoration.
The project team held a briefing in San Francisco in December 2003 to share project results with colleague organizations, management agency staff, and representatives of the funding community.
Building on the success of these efforts, the second phase of the TRIOR project broadened and deepened the public outreach effort by creating durable communication tools that can be used by agencies and organizations over the long term.
Tales of the San Joaquin Documentary
The Bay Institute and our partners in the environmental coalition provided assistance to Christopher Beaver of the Film Arts Foundation in the development of a documentary about the San JoaquinRiver, Tales of the San Joaquin. The film describes the river and its people, the impact of water diversions, and efforts by the local community to reconnect to the river and by the environmental coalition to restore the river.
The environmental coalition and the Parkway Trust organized premier screenings in the Fresno and Bay Areas for the first quarter of 2004. One of the screenings was held at the Aquarium of the Bay. The screenings became a focal point for interests that did not wish to see the river’s restoration move forward. In addition, Fresno and San Francisco Bay Area networks broadcast the film and ran stories about the controversy in early 2004.
The Bay Institute and our partners in the environmental coalition provided assistance to Christopher Beaver of the Film Arts Foundation in the development of a documentary about the San JoaquinRiver, Tales of the San Joaquin. The film describes the river and its people, the impact of water diversions, and efforts by the local community to reconnect to the river and by the environmental coalition to restore the river.
The environmental coalition and the Parkway Trust organized premier screenings in the Fresno and Bay Areas for the first quarter of 2004. One of the screenings was held at the Aquarium of the Bay. The screenings became a focal point for interests that did not wish to see the river’s restoration move forward. In addition, Fresno and San Francisco Bay Area networks broadcast the film and ran stories about the controversy in early 2004.
Funding Partners
Funding partners over the past 10 years include the CALFED Watershed Program (to the Parkway Trust for TRIOR), the California Wildlife Foundation, the Mary A. Crocker Trust, the Fred Gellert Jr. Family Foundation, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, J.M. Long Foundation (to the Parkway Trust for Camp Pashayan), the Marin Community Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, the state of California (Proposition 13), the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, the Weeden Foundation, and the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) (to the Parkway Trust for Camp Pashayan).
Funding partners over the past 10 years include the CALFED Watershed Program (to the Parkway Trust for TRIOR), the California Wildlife Foundation, the Mary A. Crocker Trust, the Fred Gellert Jr. Family Foundation, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, J.M. Long Foundation (to the Parkway Trust for Camp Pashayan), the Marin Community Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, the state of California (Proposition 13), the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, the Weeden Foundation, and the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) (to the Parkway Trust for Camp Pashayan).
