RiverWatch April: A River Runs Through It
El Capitan Flows Into El Monte Valley
On March 20, El Capitan Reservoir started releasing water flows to ensure the safe operation of the dam, which means that the San Diego River has been flowing in El Monte Valley. Atmospheric river storms have broken daily rainfall records and given us more rainfall to date than all of last year. At Lakeside's River Park, we are watching to see what happens as the area becomes more saturated and water heads our way. The greenery and wildflower blooms in the surrounding hills and mountains are spectacular this year, and a quick visit to the El Cap recreation area showed us a busy flock of swallows nesting under the park structure roof. We hope this lush spring continues to be good for plants and animals, as we are also working out our summer plan of attack to keep invasive species at bay in our east county waterways.
A flock of nesting swallows at El Capitan.
Tax Deductible Gifts
As we are in the crunch of tax time, please consider a tax-deductible donation to Lakeside's River Park Conservancy! Unlike state agencies, we are a private 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which means we need to raise our own funds for operations. Project grants are wonderful and allow us to do the work that fulfills our mission. You can see the big projects as they develop - Field Station construction, for example, and new plantings along the trail. But those grants pay only for project costs and so we depend on the community for staffing, maintenance, overhead, and emergency funding. Your gifts literally help to keep the lights on, so thank you in advance for your support!
Happy Trails
Last week we were delighted to attend the annual California Trails & Greenways Conference in Palm Springs. Highlights included hands-on workshops to assess trail design and hikes in the surrounding hills - this is a group that likes to be outside! It was wonderful to learn from so many professionals from around the state and country who are deeply invested in both protecting habitat and bringing multi-use trails and access to nature to everyone who wants to enjoy it. The trail below is chuckwalla-approved.
Contact Us: Julie Turko, Executive Director Julie@lakesideriverpark.org Robin Rierdan, Grants & Special Projects Robin@lakesideriverpark.org Robert Doty, Field Superintendent Robert@lakesideriverpark.org Karen Beshirs, Office Manager Karen@lakesideriverpark.org For general information: www.lakesideriverpark.org
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