The San Joaquin River Restoration Program is a comprehensive long-term effort to restore flows to the San Joaquin River in California’s Central Valley from Friant Dam to the confluence of the Merced River. The goal is to restore a self-sustaining Chinook salmon fishery in the river while reducing or avoiding adverse water supply impacts from restoration flows. Reclamation continues to investigate and develop remote-sensing-based methods to map and monitor vegetation and its response to flow restoration on the river. Current and future activities include the acquisition and use of hyperspectral imagery and light detection and ranging (lidar) data to aid in this effort.
Lidar point cloud cross section showing shrub and tree height (feet).