What once was one of the largest freshwater lakes in the U.S. has all but disappeared for more than a century. But after a massive amount of snowmelt and heavy rains triggered the lake's return in 2023, community leaders continue efforts to restore it to its former glory.
Located in California's San Joaquin Valley, Tulare Lake, also known to the Yokut tribe as Pa'ashi, once covered more than 690 square miles. However, it was originally drained and diverted to irrigation channels to support the agriculture industry in the late 19th century, similar to what happened to Sumas Lake in British Columbia.
Since then, farmlands have dominated the landscape.
As the Los Angeles Times reported, the lake has briefly returned after occasional flooding, causing significant damage. But it was the most recent occurrence in 2023 that triggered discussions on a long-term, managed restoration to ease flood risks and restore the lake's habitat.
Robert Jeff, vice chairman of the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi Yokut Tribe, is one of the leading voices in support of the lake's return. Jeff and other community leaders have pushed a proposal to restore a 24,000-acre lake and wetlands in the region.
"Water brings life," Jeff told the Los Angeles Times. "Putting that water back on the land is going to benefit everybody and everything."
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Vivian Underhill, a postdoctoral research fellow at Northeastern University, authored a post on Open Rivers in 2023 that detailed the benefits of the return of Tulare Lake. She argued that restoring the lake would not only be a major step in Indigenous land management but would also revitalize the region's wildlife habitat.
Underhill spoke to Northeastern Global News regarding the events surrounding the lake's reappearance.
"Most of the news coverage about this time talked about it as catastrophic flooding," Underhill told NGN. "And I don't want to disregard the personal and property losses that people experienced, but what was not talked about so much is that it wasn't only an experience of loss, it was also an experience of resurgence."
According to Underhill, paving the way for the permanent return of Tulare Lake provides an economic benefit to the state of California. She explained that the "current irrigated agriculture is just a century-long blip in this larger geologic history," pointing to the region's long history of lakes and wetlands.
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"This was not actually a flood. This is a lake returning," Underhill added.
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