The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (2011) defines a riparian ecosystem as tapered strip of land, which is adjoining a river, pond, lake, wetland or a stream. The riparian ecosystem, however, is more than just a strip of land that is adjacent to these bodies of water. In fact, a riparian ecosystem aid in supporting numerous critically important ecosystem functions, especially within the western region of the United States (Goodwin, Hawkins, & Kershner, 1997) . Unfortunately, amidst the benefits and value of the riparian ecosystem, these areas had been greatly abused and degraded by irresponsible human disturbances. The purpose of the restoration campaign is to aid in bringing the ecosystem back to its original condition prior to its degradation. This paper would discuss the riparian restoration of the Central Valley rivers, particularly the San Joaquin River and by covering this ecosystem means extending the scope to the preservation and restoration of the riparian vegetation and inhabitants, particularly the Chinook Salmon.
San Joaquin River, Riparian Vegetation, and the Chinook Salmon
The Central Valley is a large valley that lays in the heart of California. Also known as the Great Central Valley, its measures about 42,000 square miles, which is almost about the size of the state of Tennessee (Garone, 2011) . There are two great rivers that runs along the Central Valley—(a) Sacramento River, which flows through the northern section of the Valley, and the (b) San Joaquin River, which flows through the southern section of the Central Valley (Garone, 2011) . Both rivers serve as the most important water supply that caters to 22-23 million residents of California.
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Profiling the San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the second longest river in California. Prior to human disturbances, this river used to be the richest ecosystem in the state. However, 97 kilometers of the river has been reported to have dried out except during flood season. The people who are responsible in the restoration campaign attributed to the problem with irrigation because of a lot of the water that was taken from the river had been used for irrigation.
Profiling of the Chinook Salmon
The Chinook Salmon, also known as the King Salmon, is listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as one of the endangered and threatened species. Being considered as an endangered species, it means that the population of the Chinook Salmon is at risk of extinction especially in selected areas which included Sacramento River winter-run (NOAA Fisheries, 2004) . However, the same riparian inhabitant is also classified as “threatened”, which means that the risk of soon becoming extinct. The Chinook Salmon population in the Coast of California and Central Valley spring-run were identified under the Endangered Species Act as threatened (NOAA Fisheries, 2004) .
The Overexploitation of the Central Valley Riparian Ecosystem
The California Gold Rush which took place in 1849 was the reason why the San Joaquin River was used as a navigation channel (Goodwin, Hawkins, & Kershner, 1997) . Boats and vessels carried people and gold within a span of 320 km. These navigations contributed to the formation of sediments, which has blocked channels that prevented big ships from advancing. Later in 1942, the local government of the Central Valley built the Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River. The dam took a lot of the water from the river to use it to irrigate the fields, provide electricity and water to the people of California. These problems resulted to an 18-year campaign to restore the ecosystem particularly the water and the population of Chinook Salmon in San Joaquin River. While both exploitations significantly improved certain aspects of life, like trade and agriculture, it also compromised the ecosystem particularly the habitats living in the river especially the salmon, along with the creation of wetlands which would come after the flooding in the area.
Efforts to Restore of the Central Valley Riparian Ecosystem
There are several campaigns launched by both public and private outfits to address the issue of restoring the San Joaquin River at Central Valley, California. One of these campaigns is advocated by a nonprofit public corporation called the River Partners (River Partners, 2013) . The goal of the Riparian Restoration advocated by the group is targeting the Chinook Salmon in the San Joaquin Valley (Small & Griggs, 2008) . The goal of the campaign is to restore and preserve the population of the Chinook Salmon who inhabits the Central Valley ecosystem. According to Small and Griggs (2008), the floodplains and the riparian habitat are very important to the breeding, outmigration and rearing of the salmons.
Furthermore, salmons are very adaptive to the distinct features of valley rivers particularly the geomorphic and hydrologic features. Thus, restoration and cultivation of riparian vegetation is another focus of the River Partners. The riparian vegetation also aids in the process of cultivating these habitats. To achieve the goals and objectives of the riparian vegetation restoration, the group supports the findings noted in 2007 on the need to “ improve channel geomorphology and increase streambed complexity” (Opperman & Merenlender) because this is believed to improve the condition of the habitat which is conducive for the survival and proliferation of the salmons.
Among these efforts, the priority should be on restoration of the riparian vegetation. By restoring the environment first and ensuring that it will help promote and cultivate the salmon population, restorative efforts to grow and increase the numbers of the Chinook Salmon in the San Joaquin River. In lieu with this, at least the local government of Central Valley California should set strict laws in place that would prohibit the build up of sediments in the San Joaquin River. There should also be strict management of how the dam can help in conserving the resources from the river and prevent from over exhaustion of the water resources.
Conclusion
Overall, this paper was able to establish the reason why the richest ecosystem in California had been compromised. In the effort to improve trade and the lifestyle of the people, building the dam that helps in providing electricity, water supply and irrigation, and by promoting trade and using the river as a navigation system, that put the risk on the San Joaquin River. Efforts to restore the riparian vegetation and preserve the Chinook Salmon population are crucial to restoring the Central Valley ecosystem.
References
Goodwin, C. N., Hawkins, C. P., & Kershner, J. L. (1997). Riparian Restoration in the Western United States: Overview and Perspectives. Restoration Ecology, 5 (4s), 4-14.
Opperman, J., & Merenlender, A. (2007). Living trees provide stable large wood in streams. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 32 (1), 1229–1238.
River Partners. (2013, January 1). About Us: River Partners . Retrieved August 4, 2018, from River Partners Website: http://www.riverpartners.org/about/facts.html
Small, S., & Griggs, T. (2008, June 25). Chinook Salmon in the San Joaquin Valley: What are the Benefits of Riparian Restoration? Retrieved August 4, 2018, from River Partners Website: http://www.riverpartners.org/news-and-events/newsletters/200806_ChinookSalmon.html
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. (2011, September 14). Why are Riparian Areas Important? Retrieved from The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Website: http://deq.wyoming.gov/wqd/non-point-source/resources/why-are-riparian-areas-important/
