In California’s Sacramento Valley, water resources managers are actively managing the region’s precious water resources to support the rich mosaic of inter-dependent farmlands, refuges and managed wetlands, meandering rivers that support fisheries and wildlife, and the cities and rural communities sprinkled throughout the region.

One of the great debates (at least among water issues) over the last few decades has been the value of water storage. Do we build more storage, re-operate existing facilities, or do we take down existing dams? Well, this winter is proving to be a very good reason why we have storage in California and in certain places would benefit from more. Here is what I mean; December of last year brought a torrent of both rain and snow to California with much of that water simply running off the hills and into the creeks, streams and rivers and through the Delta out to the ocean. While we need water flowing through the Delta to maintain water quality, it is those storm flows that create an opportunity to even out the winter peaks (and valleys) with the summer (very dry) valleys.

Sometimes we are lucky to live surrounded by nature’s beauty and creatures, most of the time we take it for granted until it smacks us in the face!  Since childhood, I have lived in the Sacramento Valley; through high school the rice fields were just obstacles on my way from Willows to Chico to have … Continue reading “Nature’s Beauty for You to View”

Now that we have transitioned from fall into winter, the Sacramento Valley is welcoming incredible numbers of migratory and wintering birds to the region every day. The habitat these species are now benefiting from is the result of months of deliberate water and land management activities, as well as decades of work to establish the varied land uses that make up this habitat, including flooded rice fields, the establishment of privately managed wetlands as well as the creation of National Wildlife Refuges and State Wildlife Areas. All of this habitat is dependent upon the availability of high quality water supplies throughout the year.