As a new riverfront parkway consisting of woodlands, wetlands and trails is planned along the Feather River in Sutter County, officials are encouraging the community not to wait, but to head over the levee now.

The Sutter Country Resource Conservation District has just received a second technical planning grant from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation District Assistance program to plan a 231-acre parkway along three miles of the Feather River shoreline. Momentum for the parkway is growing. Community participation continues to be sought in shaping the future of the park. Surveys indicate more than 85 percent of the community favors developing a parkway along the river, but at the same time 85 percent also feel disinclined to visit the river bottoms themselves, largely because of illegal encampments and perceptions that it is unsafe. Officials are encouraging the public to reconsider their relationship to the river; to visit the river’s edge themselves to enjoy the natural beauty and to see how much the area has been cleaned up in recent months due to County initiatives and in collaboration with other local government and community volunteer partners.

The Sutter County Resource Conservation District, which initiated the creation of a river parkway on the east bank of the Feather River at Yuba City north of the 10th Street Bridge more than a decade ago, is attempting the same from the Yuba City Boat Dock south for a distance of some three miles. After acquiring an initial technical assistance grant from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation District Assistance program in 2021, the Sutter County Conservation District has spent the last year surveying the community about interest in a parkway and amenities to be included. It has completed an interim parkway development plan with this vision:

“The Feather River Parkway will be a safe, healthy, and welcoming place for the Yuba-Sutter community to enjoy the Feather River and the outdoors. It will offer educational and recreational opportunities and restored riparian habitat along the Feather River, from the Yuba City boat dock south to Shanghai Bend, for the enjoyment of current and future generations.”

In pursuit of this vision, the interim plan calls for creating and sustaining a public space that is welcoming and safe; protecting and improving the riparian landscape and wildlife habitat adaptable to variable water levels and environmental conditions, where people can experience and learn about the river and natural world; and expanding public use of the riverfront through development and maintenance of recreational facilities within the project area, and create connections to existing trails, nearby neighborhoods, and the rest of the Feather River Parkway.

After opening Better Way, the first homeless shelter in Sutter County, and a designated overnight camping area for homeless individuals, the County of Sutter has made significant investments in general fund resources to clear homeless encampments along the river and a road leading to the boat dock. The County has been assisted in this effort by Levee District One, which maintains the levees in the proposed park area, many community groups, including SAYLove, and the City of Yuba City. In addition to lending a hand with the cleanup of encampments, Levee District staff has placed hundreds of cement blocks along the levee to prevent the return of RVs and other vehicles. The environment has dramatically improved, there has been increased use of the area, and officials are encouraging the public to see for themselves.

Due to its location along a major river, public ownership, and restrictions on development within the levee, the proposed parkway area has a mostly natural feel with mature trees and other riparian vegetation, and views of the river. It contains extensive social trails and old roadways, some of which are still used by Levee District One in levee maintenance. The levee top, surfaced in asphalt in some areas and gravel in others, is gated to prohibit use by motorized vehicles, but can be used by pedestrians or bicyclists. Major features within the project area include the Sutter County Boat Dock; Halprin Lagoon; the remnants of a former levee at the north end of Shanghai Bend including an expanse of sparsely vegetated sand along a bend in the river, formerly bounded at the downstream end by a natural rock ledge in the river called The Riffles, which collapsed in the early 2010s.

• Feather River Parkway - Interim Planning Summary
• Media Event Announcing Feather River Parkway Planning
• Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes - Letter of Support

The Feather River may have been called the Yaloo River by native Californians, according to explorer and trapper Jedidiah Smith, who visited this area in the 1820s; it was named Rio de Las Plumas by Spanish speaking visitors, or the Feather River, due to the large number of feathers floating on its surface. Sutter County plays host to an amazing number of migratory birds. The Feather River is one of the main tributaries of the Sacramento River. (Photo by Donna Johnston)

A pelican, with migrating terns, in foreground: migrating Canadian geese on the river bank. (Photo by Donna Johnston)

The Riffles area fishing access at the south edge of Shanghai Bend (Photo by Donna Johnston)