TBWA Statement of Purpose
(Approved by the TBWA Board of Directors on March 16, 1996)

Preface
The San Joaquin Valley used to have abundant wetland areas; now it has virtually none.  Tulare Lake, formerly one of America's great inland bodies of water, Buena Vista Lake and the marshlands of the Kern River delta are gone, converted to agriculture.  Indeed, the principal remaining wetlands in the San Joaquin Valley are those operated as game refuges and those flooded by private hunting clubs.

The Tulare Basin Wetlands Association
In 1992, representatives from many prominent groups, interested in preserving and expanding wetland habitat in northwestern Kern and southwestern Tulare counties, assembled to discuss ways and means of replenishing wetlands in the southern San Joaquin Valley.  Central to this effort is the development of relatively cheap water and its delivery to selected locations.  Should the project succeed, the entire spectrum of biological and botanical life in this region would be renewed or materially enhanced.  Thus, the Tulare Basin Wetlands Association was formed.

The TBWA was incorporated as a non-profit, public benefit corporation in November 1994, under the laws of the State of California.  Its specific purposes are to provide funding for habitat evaluation, research and acquisition, public education, restoration and enhancement programs aimed at ensuring the conservation and protection of the unique wetlands habitat found within the Tulare Basin of Kern, Kings and Tulare counties.  To attain these goals, the corporation proposes to study land use impacts and alternate water delivery systems.  The corporation will cooperate with governmental agencies and private parties in seeking these goals.

Work has already begun on the first of TBWA's projects, a canal from Poso Creek in Kern County for water delivery northeasterly.  The California Wildlife Conservation Board and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the U.S. Department of Interior have provided funding for this work in equal amounts.