California's San Joaquin Valley, known as the nation's salad bowl, is the state's leading agricultural region. Lying in the foothills between the Sierra Nevada Range and the Coastal Mountains, the valley's summer days are dry and hot. The majority of the area's grassland and arid plains have been converted to farmland. In keeping up with demand, the 330 mile long San Joaquin River and its eight tributaries are tapped to irrigate 1,500 square miles of rich farmland. In most years, 60 miles of the San Joaquin below Friant Dam, run dry. Most of the river's water has been diverted to be used in agriculture and urban needs, and most of the old timers have given up on the idea of a clean San Joaquin River and its yearly salmon runs.
     This view looks onto a misty San Joaquin River near Stevinsin, California. This picturesque view presents a symbol of hope that the river may flow again as it once had, sixty years ago. The NRDC and a broad coalition of fisherman and conservationists have used the courts in an effort to save the imperiled river. In 2006, the NRDC announced an agreement to restore water-flow and life to California's second longest river.