Over the past two hundred years, 90% of native wetland habitat has been lost in California. Audubon California will work to create seasonal wetland habitat in the Sacramento Valley to sustain healthy migratory shorebird populations. They do this by ensuring water stays on the right land at the right time and at the right depth during shorebird migration. By 2023 Audubon hopes to have provided 3,500 acres of seasonal wetland habitat where land would otherwise have been dry, helping to support shorebird populations, improve water quality and encourage groundwater recharge. 

“Audubon California works with private landowners in the Sacramento Valley to flood wetlands at critical spring and fall time periods when habitat is most limited and when habitat is most needed by shorebirds migrating up and down the Pacific Flyway. Shorebirds populations have declined 37% over the past 50 years, largely as a result of inadequate, suitable habitat for nesting, feeding, and resting along their migratory journeys. This effort brings partners together to address gaps in shorebird habitat to buffer the expected impacts of climate change on a very special group of migratory birds.” – Samantha Arthur, Working Lands Program Director, Audubon California