Our Historical Roots

In the spring of 2003, a group of individuals representing public agencies, private organizations, and other land and water interests met to discuss concerns about conservation, agriculture, economic development, and quality of life in the Tulare Basin.

From this initial meeting, more than 70 partners now gather under the auspices of the Tulare Basin Working Group, including representatives from local, state, and federal agencies, business, industry, non-profits, universities, ranchers, farmers, and private citizens. This alliance meets twice a year to share information, coordinate new opportunities, and collaborate on conservation projects led by the participant organizations.

In 2005, members of the Tulare Basin Working Group participated in a visioning and leadership workshop to determine how to most effectively achieve conservation goals in the Tulare Basin. This resulted in a consensus agreement to form a private, non-profit organization to coordinate existing and future projects among agencies and conservation organizations.

To that end, the Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners (TBWP) was established in May 2005 to serve as a catalyst for protecting and restoring natural communities. TBWP  is a 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable organization that acts as the 'action arm' of the Tulare Basin Working Group. TBWP is the only organization solely focused on creating integrated land and water management solutions in the Tulare Basin. Now since 2022, TBWP has transitioned to become the Tulare Basin Watershed Network, emphasizing collaboration across the Kings, Kaweah, Tule and Kern River watersheds — headwaters to groundwater.