Dry Creek Preserve

Dry Creek Preserve is a 152-acre former gravel quarry located just northwest of Lemon Cove. This nature preserve, now fully restored, is the first example of an ecologically-based aggregate mine reclamation in Tulare County.

In 2004, California Portland Cement Company retired their Dry Creek gravel operations and donated the property to Sequoia Riverlands Trust. The 12 years of gravel mining operations significantly altered the Dry Creek streambed and resulted in the loss of numerous mature sycamores and valley oaks. This caused significant damage to one of the largest and last remaining sycamore alluvial woodlands in California.

The combination of biological and environmental conditions necessary to host sycamore alluvial woodland habitat is rare. While the California sycamore is not an uncommon species, the sycamore alluvial woodland community is only found in 17 stands across central California. The community at Dry Creek is ranked third in size and health of all the remaining stands.

Since 2004, Sequoia Riverlands Trust has partnered with community members, educational institutions, and other conservation organizations to re-establish natural stream patterns and restore the land’s woodland vegetation with hundreds of oak and sycamore plantings and native grasses. Now, Dry Creek Preserve once again provides critical habitat for an ever-increasing population of resident and migratory birds and supports native species such as the great blue heron, golden eagle and herds of mule deer. The preserve is also a popular site for visitors every spring with its stunning wildflower show.

Dry Creek is also home to Dry Creek Nursery, where native and drought-tolerant plants are grown for both restoration projects at the preserves and the community. Check the Events page for volunteer days and plant sales, whose proceeds help fund numerous conservation projects throughout Central California.

Kaweah Oaks Preserve, a 344-acre nature preserve, protects one of the last remaining valley oak riparian forests in the San Joaquin Valley.

When you walk along the trails at Kaweah Oaks Preserve, you can imagine how this area looked before it was settled over 100 years ago. The preserve provides habitat for over 300 plant and animal species including bobcats, great horned owls, California grapes, willows, and the preserve’s namesake—the majestic Valley Oak.

As a prime piece of land on the floor of the rich and fertile San Joaquin Valley, the preserve could have easily been developed. However, in 1983, concerned local citizens realized the importance of this land and partnered with The Nature Conservancy, who ultimately purchased it for protection. The title for the property was transferred from The Nature Conservancy to a local conservation organization, Four Creeks Land Trust, and was eventually transferred to Sequoia Riverlands Trust through a series of mergers and changes. Sequoia Riverlands Trust uses sustainable land-management techniques focused on restoration ecology to manage the preserve for research, livestock grazing, environmental education, and public enjoyment.