The battle for the return of the Kern River isn't an anomaly in the landscape of California and its many rivers. Many other rivers have been overallocated and diverted, leaving nothing left in the riverbed to sustain plants and animals or to give recreational opportunities to people.

California has begun to reverse that trend. There have been big wins for several CA bodies of water with clear benefits nearby residents/visitors, native ecosystems, and desperately needed groundwater recharge.

-Mono Lake, with all the water being diverted from this ecologically and culturally unique lake, it was starting to dry up. Grassroots activism raised awareness and won a landmark 1983 case to force some water to go back to the lake

-The Owens River (see photo), sucked dry for decades by LA Dept of Water and Power, was finally given year round water back in the mid 2000s, helping to restore many forms of river recreation and a legendary trout fishery

-The San Joaquin River, dry in sections for parts of the year over decades, won a key case in the last 5 years to have year-round flow restored

With all of these victories elsewhere, why is the Kern still dry? In the case of the San Joaquin, year-round flow means more water goes out to the ocean, which means there's less water for agriculture or other municipal uses. In the case of Mono Lake or Owen's Lake, both are brackish, meaning the water is no longer usable after it enters the lake - it's too salty.

In Kern County, all of the water "lost" while flowing down the riverbed will later be used as groundwater. This isn't a zero sum game; a comprimise needs to be reached or the Kern will have to be restored via court decree, like in these other cases.

Help us raise awareness about the Kern River by sharing this petition with others and asking them to sign. We need more signatures to ensure our collective voices are heard. By keeping attention on this issue, we can help force a much quicker resolution.