After 12 years of planning, gathering funding then completing and redoing 鈥 and redoing again 鈥 environmental studies, the city of 优蜜传媒 has finally gone out to bid for the northern extension of the Kern River Parkway Trail.

鈥淚鈥檓 very excited, it鈥檚 been a long time coming,鈥 City Councilman Bob Smith said of the 6-mile-long addition to the nearly 40-mile-long path that runs the length of the Kern River from Gordon鈥檚 Ferry in the east all the way to the Buena Vista Lake Aquatic Recreational Area to the west.

Lois Henry is the CEO and editor of SJV Water, a nonprofit, independent online news publication dedicated to covering water issues in the San Joaquin Valley. She can be reached at lois.henry@sjvwater.org. The website is .