October 30, 2024Dear Friends,
California’s riverways are vital biodiversity hotspots, and essential to our bold climate resilience plans. Yet, I was shocked to learn that some still refer to our Central Valley as an environmental “sacrifice zone.” It’s easy to forget that the Central Valley was ever one of the largest and most vibrant wetland ecosystems on Earth.
In the past 200 years, we harnessed the power of rivers to create one of the world’s most productive agricultural regions. The rivers that once supported wildlife populations of global importance and millions of Native Californians now supply the nation’s most populous and prosperous state by modern economic measurements.
And we’ve pushed our rivers to the brink. Caught in the climate crosshairs, each drought, flood, heat wave, and wildfire is teaching us how dire the consequences of our “sacrifice” are for people and wildlife.
But here’s what we know: nature is resilient. Nearly three decades of restoring California’s most threatened rivers has shown us that when given the opportunity, wildlife, ecosystems, and people rebound with remarkable strength.
River Partners’ 2024 Impact Report: Confluence
Discover the transformative impact River Partners is making across California in River Partners 2024 Impact Report: Confluence. From expanding wildlife habitat to supporting a new vision of California’s water resources, Confluence illustrates the power and promise of river restoration for communities and ecosystems.
Please consider supporting our work with a donation.
We rely on support from individuals like you to fill a 20% gap in public funding and help us deliver every high-impact restoration project.
A generous donor has offered $20,000 to match gifts before year-end—meaning every dollar you give will go twice as far.
This year we have reached an unprecedented confluence of milestones that give me hope:
- Dos Rios Ranch opened as California’s newest state park, showcasing the Valley’s beauty and vitality, and empowering its communities to take part in charting a hopeful future;
- We acquired nearly 3,000 acres in critical restoration areas—more land than ever before in our 26-year history—including the 1,600-acre Dos Rios Notre at the confluence of the Sacramento and Feather rivers;
- State and federal agencies awarded River Partners major funding and partnered to accelerate large scale river recovery;
- We secured new private sector support from forward-looking individuals, corporations, and foundations;
- We deepened partnerships with Tribal nations and Native Californians to expand linkages between ecological and cultural revival;
- Heritage Growers, our native seed farm, expanded to provide essential seeds and plants for the growing restoration sector in California;
- We strengthened science partnerships, advancing cutting-edge research and collaborating with top experts to improve restoration techniques and outcomes;
- Our team has grown to over 100 passionate experts motivated by our commitment to on the ground action to address the climate and biodiversity crises.
And we’re just getting started. River Partners is setting our sights on an ambitious growth target: 5,000 acres of multi-benefit floodplain restoration per year by 2030. This target is supported by California natural resources leaders and decades of science-driven planning.
Our collective task is to harness the confluence of support, opportunity and partnerships and get the work done. We don’t just talk about change here at River Partners—we make it happen. When you invest your time and resources with us, you are joining a movement working to secure a healthier, more diverse, and more resilient future for our rivers, and the countless species who depend on them, including ourselves.
Together, we can bring about the change that’s needed. Because if not us, then who?
Julie Rentner
President
