Click here to purchase the VHS of this program for $19.95

Cosumnes: A River's Song

The song the Cosumnes sings is one of steady rhythm and unchecked progress. It is the only river in the state without a major dam restraining its flow and that makes it a valuable living laboratory for those looking at how we manage our waterways, and how we can sustain wild habitat and serve the needs of a growing state. Mount has been listening to the music of the river for over five years and has developed a keen ear for the subtle changes the river undergoes as it wends its way from the Sierra to the great valley.

Coming to life in Leek Springs Meadows on the western slope of the Sierra, the Cosumnes River is a meager waterway compared to other more notable Sierra born rivers in California. But despite its small imprint the Cosumnes helps sustain a growing region of the state as it makes its way into the Central Valley and merges with the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

As the region races to keep pace with an exploding population the more tension the watershed feels. The growth of agricultural areas in the Sierra and the valley has a direct impact on rivers and streams. The Nature Conservancy has taken the lead in turning the 12-hundred square mile Cosumnes watershed into a center for scientific research. The heart of the project is the Cosumnes River Preserve.

The Cosumnes offers up a myriad of habitats; ecosystems that harbor a wide variety of plant and animal species thriving in tandem with the river as it wends its way down the slopes of the Sierra the river.

Forming alliances is what the Cosumnes Preserve is all about; partnerships in land preservation, coalitions for wildlife protection and habitat reconstruction Cosumnes: A River's Song documents the findings of Mount and his team and watches as the river, in its free flowing path toward the delta, overflows its banks, adding yet another verse to the song of the Cosumnes; a perpetually unfinished symphony.