Celebrating 10 Years of Restoration at Dos Rios Ranch
From a dairy farm to a thriving riparian floodplain – Dos Rios Ranch is an environmental success story that will go down in history. One where diverse groups of people came together to center nature as a solution to the challenges we face in the wake of climate change.
Located at the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers, the 2,100-acre Dos Rios Ranch is part of the largest floodplain restoration project in California's history.
The success of the Dos Rios Ranch project is thanks to the farmers, environmental groups, and local governments that found common ground in creating this multi-benefit park. This project is a fantastic reminder that with intentional collaboration, dedicated effort, and time – fragile habitats and damaged landscapes can be restored to flourishing ecosystems.
A success like this doesn’t happen overnight. This story begins 20 years ago in 2002 when TRT conducted outreach to landowners along the lower Tuolumne River and first took a tour of the Lyons family’s original Dos Rios Ranch. A year later, the family agreed to partner with TRT to advance this ambitious conservation project.
In 2005 TRT led the Tuolumne River Coalition to complete a guiding vision for the Tuolumne River, The Lower Tuolumne River Parkway: A Framework for the Future, with the Dos Rios Ranch as a keystone project.
We then secured initial funding for the Dos Rios Ranch acquisition from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to fund planning and due diligence.
In 2006, we partnered with River Partners to complete a restoration plan. Six years later, in 2012, we completed the acquisition of the ranch, with River Partners taking the fee title and TRT taking a conservation easement.
In the years following, we hosted many Community Restoration Days, where volunteers worked to restore riparian habitat through tree planting, seed collection, invasive species removal, and trail maintenance. These efforts now provide a thriving habitat to threatened species such as the Riparian brush rabbit, Riparian woodrat, Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle, Western Monarch Butterfly, and native fish like Central Valley Steelhead and fall-run Chinook Salmon.
Restoration of the land is not only doing right by the wildlife that calls it home, but it's doing right by communities that are at risk of floods down the river; it's integrating tribal partnerships, it’s recharging our groundwater basins, and it is providing residents from the San Joaquin valley with access to healthy recreation space in a region that is void of public parks.
At the 10-year Anniversary Celebration hosted by River Partners on October 14th, our Executive Director Patrick Koepele received an award in recognition of his vision and dedication to the restoration of the Tuolumne River and his tremendous accomplishment in the delivery of the Dos Rios Ranch Acquisition Project. Patrick has forever changed the Tuolumne Watershed and has demonstrated inspiring perseverance and collaboration.
There is much to celebrate as we reach this 10-year milestone. This summer, California State Parks chose Dos Rios Ranch for inclusion in the state parks system. Dos Rios Ranch becoming a state park is exactly what our diverse alliance of public and private partners dreamed of when we started this project a decade ago. Our vision was to return the ranch to its native condition and give the property back to the public to enjoy, and that is exactly what is unfolding. We are elated that California State Parks is considering this beautiful landscape as California's first new state park in 13 years.
We believe that this project serves as a model for future restoration that produces tangible wins for struggling wildlife, flood safety, climate resiliency, water conservation, healthy communities, and strong local economies. We believe in creating a future where we protect both human and ecological communities for generations to come.
