Did you know Panorama Vista Preserve has many miles of equestrian, walking, hiking and non-motorized bicycle trails throughout the Preserve?  Most trails have trail posts with each trail name on it, some have the GPS designation in case of need.  Our new brochure has a map of the Preserve listing all those trails and their corresponding names.

One trail has twelve educational interpretative signs about the Preserve’s history, plants, animals and endangered species.  This two-mile circle trail begins on Bobcat Pass, just southeast of the Preserve Parking/Equestrian Staging lot on East Roberts Lane.  One can see the first sign entitled “Where Once There Was a Sea” from the road adjacent to the Parking Lot.  Each sign has a bench beside it for stopping and resting.  Each bench can be converted into a small table if one would like to stop and have a snack.
 

Can you imagine seeing water in the Kern River every Spring, maybe even into the summer? Some of us are old enough to remember when that was a frequent occurrence. And most of us would like to see it again. Thanks to a reinvigorated effort by the City of Bakersfield and a new coalition of nonprofit groups, that might become a reality.
The Kern River Corridor Endowment- the non-profit group that owns and operates the Panorama Vista Preserve- has joined with other non-profits including the Kern River Parkway Foundation, Bring Back the Kern, the Kern Audubon Society, and the Kern-Kaweah chapter of the Sierra Club, to form the “Flowing Kern Coalition.” This coalition, along with a statewide environmental advocacy group called California Trout and the national Center for Biological Diversity, intends to represent the public’s interest in getting water back into the Kern River again.
This effort has taken on a new intensity recently, after more than a decade of legal stagnation. In 2007, a judge ruled that a local agricultural water district had forfeited water rights due to non-use. Rather than deciding who would own the forfeited water, the judge deferred the decision to the California State Water Board, who has let more than a decade lapse without making any decision. Now, after more than 13 years, the State Water Board held a hearing last month to begin the process of sorting out the complex issues surrounding this case. First of all, the state has to determine whether there is any extra water that can be reallocated, and if there is, how much. Only after that has been determined will the state then decide which of several interested parties should receive the extra water. Of the half-dozen or so interested parties, only the City of Bakersfield has committed to flowing the allocated water down the Kern River through the City of Bakersfield.
The key to the argument being made by the city and the Flowing Kern Coalition is the “public trust doctrine,” which, according to Lois Henry in her SJV Water newsletter, is the idea that the public has a right to natural resources, and the state holds that right in trust on behalf of the public. The attorney hired by the FKC reiterated that point repeatedly during last month’s hearing.
At this point, it’s impossible to know how much of an impact this will have on the parched Kern River Parkway. But even a small amount of water, flowing for only part of the year, could have a huge impact. The riparian habitat that has largely died off on both banks of the river downstream of the Panorama Vista Preserve could begin to recover, providing a much improved view along Truxtun Avenue, or from the many bridges that cross over the river. Water in the hot months would provide recreation and respite from the heat for many of our citizens who don’t have the luxury of a backyard swimming pool. And more specific to the Panorama Vista Preserve, the additional water in the river would help recharge the underground water table, which according to Carolyn Belli, the President of the Panorama Vista Preserve, “would be a huge plus for the Preserve as the survival of the trees during drought would be guaranteed.”
What happens next is not at all clear. The rules that govern the Kern River are different than just about every other river in California, and the process is likely to take a substantial amount of time. The Hearing Officer in charge of the case needs time for additional research, and will announce a schedule of hearings at a later date.