Why?

The Tule River is a beautiful river that needs your help. Heavy visitor use and the actions of a few people have caused serious problems that all river users now face:

• Accumulation of garbage is affecting water quality and each person’s river experience. Volunteers removed 1000′s of bags of garbage and hundreds of tagged sites since 2008 and the job continues
• Graffiti and gang activity at popular swimming areas detract from the river’s scenic beauty and decrease our right to have a safe and fun experience.
• Fire danger from mismanaged or illegal cooking fires places river users, mountain communities and local electricity providers (SCE and PG&E) at risk.
• Traffic congestion, limited parking, and gang activity lead to access and law enforcement issues.
• Sanitary conditions along the river are affected by improper land use ethics and practices.
• Local economy - Collectively these impacts negatively affect our local businesses, community and economy.

Watershed-wide focus

Watershed-wide focus – WildPlaces is taking a watershed wide approach to improve the Tule River and has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service, Visalia’s CSET and others to plan and gather resource a long term management program. This program is now meeting several desperate needs:

Río Limpio: Tule River Outreach and Cleanups

Río Limpio: Tule River Outreach and Cleanups provide a unified effort to keep the Tule River beautiful, clean, safe and open for all to enjoy. Volunteers clear garbage and remove graffiti from the river while reaching out to river users to teach the importance of good stewardship practices.

Cleanups: From 2008 until 2011

Cleanups: In 2008-11 volunteer driven events took place throughout the spring and summer to address the immediate need for clean and sanitary river conditions. When looking at the pictures, where would you rather play? Research shows keeping areas clean fosters better care. Our short term goal is to help with this need. Our long-term goal is to change the mindset of river users to become more responsible and value our important river resources.

Education

Education is critical to long term success of this project. No one wants to do river cleanups forever, and by educating river users on how to be A Good River Steward, we can reduce the amount of garbage that is left. Youth and youth leaders are the key to the future success of the project – join Río Limpio today!

Río Limpio’s partners

Río Limpio’s partners include WildPlaces, CSET, U.S. F.S., Sierra Nevada Conservancy, Boy Scouts of America, California Land Management, Consolidated Waste Management Authority, Tulare County Office of Education, Keep California Beautiful, the Dolores Huerta Foundation, Army Corps of Engineers, Tulare County Parks and Recreation, Visalia Breakfast Rotary, Porterville Rotary, and the list continues to grow…

Be an agent of change – Be part of Río Limpio!

Spend a rejuvenating day on the Tule River with us! Community outreach, garbage pick-up, graffiti removal, cooling off in the river, free lunch, games, educational presentations…there is something for everyone.