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The latest news on the people, places and wildlife that make California Rice unique.
Join us in celebrating a 2023 CA rice harvest that nourishes communities, supports a rich biodiversity, and stands as a pillar of environmental conservation.
Planted rice fields in the Sacramento Valley provide a year-round benefit to wildlife. Kevin Vella, a regional biologist with California Waterfowl Association, shows us how rice fields are used as nesting habitat by ducks in the summer months with millions more waterbirds arriving in the fall and winter, relying on these rice fields for food and habitat.
California’s planted rice fields are unique, acting as surrogate wetlands for wildlife by mimicking the historic habitat wildlife connected to our region now relies on. Kristin Sesser, Waterbird Ecologist and Conservation Programs Manager for the California Rice Commission, explains how sustaining current waterbird populations means continuing to have scenes like this in the Sacramento Valley, year after year.
“Permanently protecting California ricelands, especially fields that are close to other protected ag lands and habitat areas, means we can provide connectivity for wildlife populations,” Virginia Getz, Director of Conservation Programs for Ducks Unlimited Western Region.
It was a vision, far ahead of the curve. Montna Farms in Sutter County holds the state’s first ever wildlife-friendly agricultural conservation easement. As Nicole Montna Van Vleck explains, it’s a proactive way of protecting both the family farm and the beautiful wildlife habitat, for future generations to enjoy.
“We should all be concerned about sustainable agriculture and wildlife habitat because that’s an indication of a healthy ecosystem, which benefits all of us,” Virginia Getz, Director of Conservation Programs for Ducks Unlimited Western Region.
