A key provision of Proposition 1 could provide tens of millions of dollars for the state’s legal obligations to support 19 Central Valley wildlife refuges that provide critically important wetland habitat for ducks, geese and other migratory birds. Federal law requires California to pay 25 percent of the cost to provide sufficient water to meet the conservation needs of these refuges, but in the 22 years since the law passed, those refuges have only received their promised water once.

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Proposition 1 designates $475 million for California to meet its obligations under federal and state laws, interstate agreements, and legal obligations. Funds would be used on restoration projects, water delivery infrastructure, and conservation efforts at the 19 Central Valley Refuges, as well as at the Salton Sea, along the San Joaquin River, and in the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta.

 “We’ve made a promise to support these vitally important habitat areas in the Central Valley and the millions of birds that depend on them for survival,” said Brigid McCormack, executive director of Audubon California. “Through Proposition 1, we can finally keep that promise, and secure a future for these amazing birds.”

A century ago, Central Valley wetlands supported 40 million migrating waterfowl along the Pacific Flyway. By the 1980s, however, 95 percent of those wetlands had been lost to the creation of the great agricultural engine and communities that make up the Valley today. The 19 Central Valley wetland refuges are the last vestiges of that habitat, and millions of birds depend on them for survival.

Acknowledging the massive impacts to wildlife from federal irrigation, Congress in 1992 passed the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) to support habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife in the Central Valley. This legislation mandated minimum allocations of water to the network of federal wildlife refuges, state wildlife areas and private wetlands in the Central Valley.

This summer, the refuges were hit hard by the drought, with water deliveries just a fraction of what the law requires. Moreover, there were several legislative attempts to redirect what little water the refuges were actually slated to receive.

“It’s almost always a drought for birds,” added McCormack. “While the current drought has highlighted the problems that migratory birds face at the refuges, the state’s inability to meet its legal obligations to support the refuges means that every year is a hard one for birds in California.”

(photo of ducks at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge from USFWS)