Historical Ecology of the Area

Imagine standing here 300 years ago. You’d be surrounded by dense riverside forests of cottonwoods, willows, and sycamores, with valley oaks rising on higher ground. Tule elk, grizzly bears, and mountain lions roamed freely. There was a vast and intricate web that wove together all manners of species interacting from the river to the sky, each with a role in the interactions. Wildlife thrived everywhere you looked.

If we go back even further — about 10 million years — the landscape was even wilder. Mastodons and gomphotheres (both four-tusked elephant ancestors) once roamed here. Even the salmon back then were giants, weighing up to 400 pounds with spiked teeth! Fossils of these ancient creatures, uncovered in 2021 at Camanche Reservoir, offer a glimpse into a world long before us.

Lodi’s transformation began in the mid-1800's, when colonists cleared forests for farmland and diverted river flows for irrigation. Hunting and habitat loss took a heavy toll — Tule elk were reduced to one breeding pair, and predators, like bears and mountain lions, were hunted out and slaughtered entirely. River otters and beavers, once abundant in this river, were heavily trapped for their dense fur. Over time, pesticides and fertilizers seeped into the water, further disrupting the ecosystem. The intricate web was fractured and broken, leaving the species still present to reweave their connections, with many holes unfillable. As such, this ecosystem has been heavily impacted and is a shadow of its former self.

Standing here today, we’re witnessing just a small moment in Lodi Lake’s long history. What will this land look like in the future?