In a region known for one of California’s most dire, ongoing environmental catastrophes, River Partners will restore approximately 1,500 acres along the Alamo River a few miles upstream of its outlet with the Salton Sea in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Over the next three years, River Partners will remove approximately 45 acres of invasive, water guzzling, and highly flammable tamarisk. Then, we’ll plant native forests of cottonwood, willow, and mesquite to help revive struggling wildlife, enhance recreation opportunities, and build climate change resilience. In total, River Partners will restore about 1,500 acres of native habitat along the Alamo River in the next decade.
So far, our work in the area helped launch Imperial County’s first native plant nursery.
Project Impact
1,500 acres to be restored
180,000 native trees and vegetation to be planted
12 priority species protected
PLUS
A transformed space for wildlife and human visitors, and huge increases in avian variety and abundance
About the Finney-Ramer Habitat Restoration
In 2022, River Partners secured a $1.8 million grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to revive cottonwood, mesquite, and willow forests along the Alamo River and remove invasive tamarisk, or saltcedar, trees.
Restoration is underway for approximately 1,500 acres of the Finney-Ramer Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area. Revegetation activities are devoted to removing invasive non-native species and reducing surface and subsurface soil salt loads to establish native plant associations that will provide habitat for numerous wildlife species. This revegetation plan represents the first phase of wildlife habitat rehabilitation work for the Alamo River. As funding becomes available, more acreage can be developed to maximize wildlife visitation and use.
Senior Wildlife Habitat Supervisor
Project advocates and advisors have included CalEPA Border Affairs Council, Sonoran Joint Venture, California Waterfowl Association, California Audubon, US EPA, Lower Colorado River Regional Water Quality Control Board, Imperial Irrigation District, San Diego Natural History Museum, and the Xerces Society.
Photos top to bottom, left to right:
- Invasive, water-guzzling, and highly-flammable tamarisk.
- Members of the California Conservation Corps plant native vegetation at Finney-Ramer. Credit: Condor Visual Media
- The Alamo River
- Euodynerus pratensis – a species of potter wasp – on Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua)
