From the east flowed the Tuolumne River, from the south the San Joaquin, as about 200 people celebrated a milestone in conservation Monday.
They welcomed the acquisition of Dos Rios Ranch, a 1,603-acre parcel west of Modesto that will be used for wildlife habitat and flood management.
Government and private sources provided $21.8 million to buy the land from the Lyons family, who owns the adjacent Mape's Ranch.
"This is a little glimmer of what the Central Valley used to look like," said John Carlon, president of River Partners, an environmental group.
California has lost all but 3 percent of this kind of habitat, said Carlon, whose group now owns the property. About 6,500 of the remaining acres are in the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, just downstream from Dos Rios. Read the full story at modbee.com.
