About Bushy Lake
Bushy Lake
Bushy Lake is located within the Cal Expo Area of the 2008 American River Parkway Plan (Sacramento County). The area is part of an ongoing eco cultural restoration project, providing wildlife habitat, culturally significant plants, recreation and education opportunities.
In the American River Parkway Plan, the lake is designated as a Nature Study Area and further protected by the 1976 Bushy Lake Preservation Act. The 86-acre Bushy Lake site provides a vital living laboratory for high-impact faculty-student research, citizen science, and community engagement.
This project seeks to contribute to the conservation of the lower American River Parkway and the development of an inclusive “Sense of Place” for California communities. The Bushy Lake project highlights the value of interconnection between community interests and interdisciplinary research. Together, these elements work to enhance, protect, and preserve the lower American River Parkway as a critical ecological and cultural resource for Sacramento.
The Cal Expo floodplain and Bushy Lake are owned by the California Exposition and State Fair but are managed by Sacramento County Department of Regional Parks through an agreement with Cal Expo consistent with the Parkway Plan and the Bushy Lake Preservation Act of 1976. The Bushy Lake Preservation Act (California Public Resources Code, Chapter 9, beginning with Section 5830) designates the approximately 86-acre site as a State Nature Preserve, with the primary intent of preserving important vegetation and wildlife species and their supporting ecosystems.
Land Acknowledgement Statement
We acknowledge, with respect, the land Bushy Lake is on today was and continues to be the traditional homelands of the Native peoples of this area, the Miwok, Nisenan, and Maidu. Additionally, in the larger Sacramento area the homelands of the Wintun and Patwin. Sacramento State recognizes these lands and riverways as unceded traditional territories of these Native peoples. We further recognize the California Indian Nations as sovereign, and their cultures that are rich with spiritual ties. By offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm the University’s commitment to build relationships and foster a university environment of success to better serve these Nations and communities.