Revive the San Joaquin Blog

This was a great event thanks to all the volunteers, partners

, and sponsors who helped make it happen.

Join us for the
San Joaquin River Faire
At Lost Lake Park
August 21, 2010

A FREE community festival celebrating the restoration of the San Joaquin River and the eventual return of the native Chinook salmon.

Revive the San Joaquin is hosting the San Joaquin River Faire at Lost Lake Park on Saturday, August 21st.  The event will have live music, food, fishing, canoeing, environmental education booths, and other river-friendly recreational opportunities.  Your participation will help to promote a new spirit of connection and interaction with our wonderful river.  Event partners will showcase healthy living, river recreation, and local environmental activities going on in your community.

The event will feature live music from local, salmon-friendly bands.  Canoe safety training will be provided for those who wish to paddle the river. Come learn about the progress of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, the Lost Lake Master Plan, and other major issues affecting the river. It will be hot so bring a swimsuit and chairs to enjoy the music under the trees on the banks of the San Joaquin River. Dogs must be leashed and camping is available through reservations with Fresno County.

The event is FREE with your admission to the park, and we are currently seeking sponsors to help offset costs for the event.  If you or your organization is interested in sponsoring or participating with a booth please contact Revive the San Joaquin at (559) 226-0733 for more details.  Check our website for updates on the river faire at www.revivethesanjoaquin.org.

Tentative schedule, Check back for regular updates.
Sunday August 15th Lost Lake volunteer cleanup and service day 8:00am-12:00pm. Join us for a quick cleanup of the park in preparation for our river faire. Call 226-0733 for details.
Saturday August 21st
8am -  Canoe Safety Training.  Safety certificate training course with instructor Steve Starcher.
9am – Organizational booth and vendor setup.
10am – Salmon celebration begins, totem and prayer, children’s "calling back the salmon" art project 10:30am and throughout day.
11:00am -12:30 – Lance Canales 
1:00pm- 2:30 – Cerro Negro
3:00pm – 4:00– Thea Rae and Friends
4:30pm – 6:00- Espacio
6:00pm – 7:00– Brazilian Jazz Collective

LOST LAKE RECREATION AREA was established in 1959 with the signing of a lease agreement with the State Wildlife conservation Board for 76 acres.  An additional 229 acres was subsequently purchased, bringing the total acquisition of this popular San Joaquin River Park to 305 acres.  Among the attractions to the river area, located 19 miles north of Fresno below Friant Dam, is a 70-acre primitive nature study area and 38-acre lake.  Fishing, hiking, picnicking, bird watching and nature study activities combine to make Lost Lake Park one of the most popular areas in the parks system.  A 42-site campground is available.  In the day-use area there are picnic facilities, including group areas and a beach volleyball complex.

From downtown Fresno, drive north on Freeway 41, 7.7 miles to Friant Road, exit right.  Drive 9.5 miles on Friant Road to the park entrance on the left.

What is behind Greenpeace’s “Oh-no-Costco” campaign and the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program’s recent decision to avoid California and Oregon caught salmon.  Read our blog on buying salmon to learn more….

Go Wild! Vote with your fork!  I recently bought several pounds of Alaskan wild salmon at Costco for about $7.00 a pound, the same price or cheaper than farmed salmon in other local supermarkets.  What a deal, I was giddy at the thought of the cheap and compassionate salmon purchase. We cooked it, we smoked it, we shared it, and we ate it for weeks. I felt good about the purchase because I advocate eating wild salmon, as opposed to the farmed salmon we

Not in the mood to read, sit back and enjoy our many entertaining YouTube video favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ReviveSJR

Mark your Calendars for the

San Joaquin River Faire

August 21, Lost Lake Park

                      (pending permit)

Call for sponsors, vendors, organizational partners, and volunteers.

Revive the San Joaquin Board member Sean Walker and myself set out on Sunday evening for two days of paddling on the Lower San Joaquin River. Walt Shubin, another Revive Board member, joined us on Tuesday morning as we moved downriver ultimately meeting up with a group of canoes from the Tuolumne River Trust as part of their Paddle to the Sea event at the confluence of the Tuolumne River. Special thanks to Sean's brother Mikey for shuttling both cars upstream, a four-hour journey as we couldn't leave our boats unattended. Next time we will try to get both boats on one car and find better, safer overnight parking at the takeout.

Does this bother anyone else but me?  How are we ever going to make headway for water supply protections in the Valley unless we come to grips with LA's plans for our water supply.  This has all played out before in the Owen's River Valley.  What are we going to do to ensure fair delivery and County of Origin protections for our dwindling water supplies.  I will say it again, this is not "Smelt vs.

**UPDATE: Interim Flows will be reduced as of 5/10/10 due to seepage impacts.  Please call to confirm dates for canoeing.***

Join Revive the San Joaquin for canoe trips on the river.  See stretches of the river that have been dry for over 60 years and watch the river come to life first-hand.  Revive the San Joaquin has limited seats available on member donated canoes so let us know ASAP if you are interested in joining us.  These events are BYOC (Bring Your Own Canoe), we welcome anyone with their own canoes or rentals to join in.  Our goal is to paddle or boat the entire river from Friant to the confluence of the Merced River this Spring. 

Call our staff at (559) 226-0733 to sign up or coordinate a trip.  Our scheduled trips include:

May 15^th  Shields Ave. to San Mateo Ave.   This is a 12 miles paddle down a previously dry section of river.  See once barren shores springing back to life with vibrant Lupine bushes and a

Revive the San Joaquin is initiating its Adopt-a-Highway Program beginning Sunday May 16, 2010.  Volunteers will meet at 8:30am at the Starbuck's in Riverpark next to Kinko's (7658 North Blackstone Ave.).  You should schedule several hours for the cleanup, although they generally should be no longer than one hour of work.  Revive will provide all the cleanup supplies and training for interested volunteers.