Opinion: Drought will imperil wildlife and people along the Pacific Flyway
The Central Valley’s rice fields and wetlands are widely heralded as key rest and refuel stops for millions of migratory birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway. The rice fields provide more than 50% of the diet for the ducks and geese during their fall and winter migration. To view rafts of waterfowl feeding on public wildlife areas or seeing thousands of geese taking flight from a rice field are indicators of a healthy environment and visual examples of how vital the Central Valley is to the Flyway.
-Written by Jeff McCreary, director of operations for the Western Region, Ducks Unlimited, and Tim Johnson, president and CEO of the California Rice Commission.Related articles:
- Western Farm Press: Wildlife to benefit from rice incentive program
- Outdoor Life: Two Historic Public Waterfowl Meccas See Water Management Changes This Fall