Kern River Conservancy was founded in the summer of 2013 when Los Angeles resident, Gary Ananian decided it was time for someone to stand up and care for the Kern River. After spending many summer adventures with his friends on the Kern, Gary grew impatient and frustrated with all the trash and vandalism that was impacting the river. After several discussions with his close friends and the Forest Service, Kern River Conservancy was born. Gary’s background was hospitality management in Hollywood’s bar and nightclub industry. Gary had absolutely no education or experience in environmental conservation, but he had the skills to communicate with anyone and his social media experience was strong from promoting nightclubs and events in Hollywood.

We’re not gonna lie, in the first four years of our organization’s life, things didn’t look too promising. Donations and volunteers were difficult to find as no one knew who Kern River Conservancy was or who was this guy named Gary from Los Angeles trying to protect the Kern River. Finally in 2018 things changed for the best. After attending Americas largest river conservation conference in Lake Tahoe, River Rally, we came back with a new vision and how we planned on doing business. In just one summer, our volunteer force grew from a few dozen to over 600. Our fundraising efforts went from Gary spending his personal savings to money flooding in from donors, sponsors and grants. The Kern River Conservancy just hit prime time with over 10,000 social media followers from all over the world. Our tiny grassroots group was on the map as a major player in river conservation.

Read about Kern River Conservancy and River Rally

For the 50 year anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, Gary and the Kern River Conservancy were named one of two people making a difference in America’s Rivers.(Read more) That same year, we received ACA’s River Paddle Hero award for our efforts of combining paddle sports and conservation. In 2018, Gary made the life changing decision to leave his exciting job in Hollywood and relocate to Kernville, and officially call the Kern River his home. Making the move was extremely crucial as our little organization was not so little anymore and with the success and exposure from River Rally, we had to keep the momentum in high gear. Today, our partnerships have grown with government agencies and private businesses. In 2019 we launched a massive media presence with our partners from 23abc in Bakersfield. We developed a first of its kind PSA videos focused on two important issues that plagued our river community, River Safety and Wildfires. We also built and released our very own mobile app giving users and visitors direct access to everything and anything related to responsible public land use and recreation.

As we enter a new decade, social trends and economic impacts change too. Social media, travel shows and easy public access have turned the Kern River into a destination hot spot for the nearly 20 million Californian’s who live within a quick 3 hour drive to Sequoia National Forest. Today, over 500,000 people visit our river and with that comes impact. Our volunteers work alongside with the U.S. Forest Service in the summer visiting campgrounds and teaching Leave No Trace and River Stewardship to the thousands of people recreating on the Kern each summer weekend.