One that has worked very well, raising funds, helping flood control and the wildlife, a very good thing for everyone.
Splendid sanctuary
Yolo refuge serves multitudes
By Ngoc Nguyen - ngnguyen@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 14, 2007
Farming and wildlife don't always go hand in hand, but at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, waterfowl rest and feed among tules and rice paddies.
Stretching 10 miles south of Interstate 80 and covering 25 square miles, the wildlife refuge is home to 200 species of birds. The fertile and abundant lands also support rice and tomato crops and cattle grazing.
When President Clinton dedicated the wildlife area, he hailed it as an innovative land use project. Today, the bypass area serves a mix of functions and brings together diverse partners, including government officials, farmers, hunters and the public.
Today, state fish and game officials and wildlife advocates will commemorate its 10th anniversary during an invitation-only event. Members of the public can tour the wildlife area by car – the best way to view birds, officials say – when a new auto tour road opens on Saturday.
When the bypass was created in the early part of the 20th century, flood control was the main goal.
"Its purpose is to get the water from the Feather and Sacramento Rivers to the Delta without flooding the city (Sacramento)," said Dave Feliz, who manages the wildlife area for the California Department of Fish and Game.
When the Sacramento River reaches about 37 feet, water spills over the Fremont Weir into the bypass, flowing into the north Delta through Cache Slough. Without the bypass, the city "would have been destroyed by now," Feliz said.
The state purchased some land to create the bypass, but it also paid landowners for the rights to flood their property. Two-thirds of the wetlands are privately held by farmers, ranchers and duck hunters, and a third are public lands.
"We're neighbors and have to work together pretty closely," Feliz said.
The state Reclamation Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintain the levees and supervise the flood control mission of the bypass. The state Department of Fish and Game oversees the wildlife refuge.
Farmers and duck hunters play their part, too, by creating and maintaining levees and irrigation systems, Feliz said.
Robin Kulakow of the Yolo Basin Foundation said the public-private partnership has worked. Founded in 1989, the foundation has raised funds to buy land and helped build the political will to create a wildlife habitat.
