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Ms. Wilson is a sitting board member with the Rubidoux Community Services District in Jurupa Valley. She is serving her fourth term. She has been a voice for water conservation and environmental concerns since moving to Riverside in 1954. Ruth Anderson Wilson, Martha Mclean, and Kay Black started the Tri County Conservation League covering San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside counties, the Santa Ana River watershed from the mountains to the ocean. “We were successful in organizing public opinion to SAVE THE SANTA ANA RIVER from the Army Corps’ plans to build the same ugly concrete box for it they did for the Los Angeles River.” There is a lovely river park in the city named the Martha McLean Park.
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Biological Resources
Ruth Wilson formed the Tri-County Conservation League with Martha McLean in 1966 to save the Santa Ana River from the same fate as the Los Angeles River, being lined with concrete by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Her experience as a founding member and President of the league of Women Voters gave her the tools to form a multi-county group to lobby in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties for the river’s preservation. Her work with the Riverside County Parks Commission went hand in hand with her efforts to save the river and as a result, the soft river bottom is home to miles of trails, nature preserves, and park land.Open Space and Parks
Ruth Wilson formed the Tri-County Conservation League with Martha McLean in 1966 to save the Santa Ana River from the same fate as the Los Angeles River, being lined with concrete by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Her experience as a founding member and President of the league of Women Voters gave her the tools to form a multi-county group to lobby in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties for the river’s preservation. Her work with the Riverside County Parks Commission went hand in hand with her efforts to save the river and as a result, the soft river bottom is home to miles of trails, nature preserves, and park land.Water Resources
Ruth Wilson worked to prevent development in the Santa Ana Canyon in the flood plain of the river near Prado Dam. Later she was active providing environmental input to studies examining the raising of Prado Dam. Ms. Wilson’s experience with the formation of Riverside’s chapter of the League of Women Voters led her to conclude that representation on boards and commissions provided a means to implement policies that could change things. Her interest in water conservation and water supply issues is expressed through her activities as a board member of the Rubidoux Community Services District and her role on the Water Shed Council, a 10-county organization focused on wildlands fire protection. She also worked to protect water quality through her multi-year service on the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Ruth Wilson formed the Tri-County Conservation League with Martha McLean in 1966 to save the Santa Ana River from the same fate as the Los Angeles River, being lined with concrete by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Her experience as a founding member and President of the league of Women Voters gave her the tools to form a multi-county group to lobby in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties for the river’s preservation. Her work with the Riverside County Parks Commission went hand in hand with her efforts to save the river and as a result, the soft river bottom is home to miles of trails, nature preserves, and park land.Air Quality and Pollution
Ms. Wilson was a founding member of Clean Air Now in the 1970s, which began with a letter writing campaign about the increasingly poor air quality in the Inland Empire.