Ensuring full water deliveries to refuges under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) and other wetland areas requires monitoring and surveying bird populations and conditions and working closely with great partners.  

The Grasslands Ecological Area is one example of a place we work hard to protect through partnerships with Grasslands Water District and our chapters.  

Grasslands Ecological Area includes the largest remaining contiguous wetland on the west coast and is designated as a place of hemispheric importance for shorebirds. In sum it includes two national wildlife refuges and four state wildlife areas, comprising over 160,000 acres, in the San Joaquin Valley . This area is used by a huge diversity of shorebirds, waterfowl, cranes and more species including Tule Elk and Giant Garter Snake.   

We work hard to ensure that these habitats continue to get needed water by working closely with the Grasslands Water District which provides water deliveries to these vital habitats. During the drought Chapters helped survey these areas to record species numbers, habitat conditions and look out for disease outbreaks.   

We could not do this work to protect habitat for a half-million individual ducks, geese and swans each year as well as American White Pelicans, Sandhill Cranes and breeding Tricolored Blackbirds without partnerships with our chapters and entities like the Grasslands Water District. 

#Gratitude