Planned restoration activities include lowering or removing select sections of agricultural berms to reconnect the river with its historic floodplain. Photo courtesy of Sacramento Valley Conservancy
SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – A critical stretch of the Cosumnes River – the only undammed river on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada – is now permanently protected and slated for ecological restoration. Sacramento Valley Conservancy and Westervelt Ecological Services are celebrating the acquisition of the 204-acre Johnson Cosumnes Mitigation Bank, which fills an important gap in river frontage within the more than 51,000-acre Cosumnes River Preserve near Galt and south of Elk Grove. The preserve contains some of the finest remaining floodplain and riparian habitat in California’s Central Valley.
Westervelt will own and manage the property, restoring former agricultural land into a thriving floodplain ecosystem. Planned restoration activities include lowering or removing select sections of agricultural berms to reconnect the river with its historic floodplain, creating pilot channels that support natural flow patterns, and establishing native vegetation across wetlands and riparian habitats…