Early news article on efforts to save the Stanislaus River in 1971 (downloadable PDF)

This is likely one of the very first news articles on efforts to save the Stanislaus River from flooding by New Melones Dam. The article is based on a trip with noted river chronicler and UC Professor Rod Nash and others and highlights the Sierra Club’s effort to gather thousands of signatures on a petition, an effort joined by river outfitters on the Stanislaus – an effort likely driven by Jerry Meral, who was active then in the Club’s River Touring Section and would go on to co-found Friends of the River.  The signature gathering reached 100,000 signatures in 1972.