Our Conservation Effort: Aiding Fish, Birds, and Wildlife Up from the Basin to Redding
Sutter Mutual Water Company and its landowners work with conservation organizations and state and federal agencies on enhancing habitat for wildlife. After rice harvest concludes in late fall, landowners flood their fields to create waterfowl and shorebird habitat during a critical time in the birds’ migratory journey. We also take part in efforts to drain the fields during specific times to provide much-needed fish food into the Sacramento River.
As member of the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors, the Sutter Mutual Water Company plays a role in critical fish habitat enhancement projects throughout the Sacramento River Basin. For endangered salmon, the settlement contractors are actively working on projects located in the headwaters and the main stem of the Sacramento River.
“We believe what happens to wildlife at the top of the river system has a direct impact on our communities located in the heart of the Sacramento Valley.”
Supporting Migratory Bird Habitat
Left over rice straw after harvest was once burned, but since the rice industry began flooding fields for decomposition, migratory bird populations have soared once again. By inundating the fields in the winter months with water, thus replicating the historic floodplain, we are now able to provide food (leftover rice grain) and refugia habitat as waterfowl travel along the Pacific Flyway. The heart of the Sacramento Valley here in the Sutter Basin has been recognized as a key stopover site for ducks, geese and swans and is also proving to be valuable habitat for shorebirds during the early fall and late winter months.
Fish Food on Flooded Farm Fields
SMWC members work with scientists and conservationists to prove how rice fields can play a critical role in boosting salmon populations. With so much valuable food on the floodplain available, we believe we can help reconnect the fish with the food.
When rice fields are flooded post-harvest, the remaining rice straw decomposes, that then generates the production of billions of bugs which are the perfect food for fish to bulk up on as they head to the Pacific Ocean. California Trout and UC Davis studies reveal bigger fish have a better chance of surviving in the river and ultimately are more likely to return and spawn as adults.
Floodplain Forward Coalition Member
Sutter Mutual Water Company is actively participating in the groundbreaking Floodplain Forward Coalition - a group of 27 organizations in agriculture, water management, public governance (local, state and federal) and wildlife conservation. The coalition works on projects on the historical floodplain in the Sacramento Valley that support people, fish and wildlife.