The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is committed to conserving the floodplains of the Sacramento Valley. Photo courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is committed to restoring, protecting and conserving vulnerable species and habitats in the floodplains of the Sacramento Valley.

The Sacramento River Basin and its floodplains span from Sacramento to Chico, a coverage area of approximately 1,100 square miles, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. Floodplains, low-lying areas of land around a river or stream that when flooded, fills the area with nutrients and provides precious habitat for native fish, including salmon. 

In October, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife joined federal and State of California government agencies, overseeing water, agriculture, fish and wildlife, public lands and flood control, to enter into the Floodplain Forward agreement to enhance collaboration on floodplain water projects in the Sacramento River Basin.

This agreement supports existing efforts and paves new paths forward to streamline planning, design, implementation, monitoring, funding, and information sharing of projects located on the floodplains. This memorandum of understanding also aligns with California’s Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future, which aims to restore and expand habitat for salmon spawning and rearing. 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is focused on science-based efforts in the Floodplain Forward agreement to reconnect rivers to their historical floodplains and enhance flood protection, restore fish and wildlife habitat, improve groundwater aquifer recharge, and create better water flow and reliability.

This agreement also builds on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s decades of work to conserve Sacramento Valley floodplains, including important investments in research and pilot projects such as Knaggs Ranch, California Rice Commission’s Salmon Project and the North Delta Food Action to support salmon growth and diversity; leading restoration projects to support salmon in the Yolo and Sutter bypasses; helping to design important projects including the Fremont Weir, agricultural crossing removals, Weir 1 and Giusti Weir in Yolo and Sutter bypasses to enhance salmon and sturgeon fish passage; funding and managing initiatives in the Sutter Yolo bypasses to improve flow and water quality; developing projects such as the Elkhorn Basin Levee Setback and Sacramento Weir Widening to improve flood control and grow habitats for juvenile salmon in the Yolo Bypass; conducting fish rescues in Yolo and Sutter Bypasses since 1954; studied and monitored salmon in Yolo and Sutter Bypasses since the 1990s, including tagging more than 1.7 million juvenile salmon from 2006 to 2007 in Sutter Bypass; and managing 16,000 acres of rice, managed wetlands and tidal habitat in the Yolo Bypass.

California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crofoot said it best: “Restoring seasonal floodplains across California is a win-win-win.”

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife remains committed to working with state, local, federal and tribal partners to ensure better conditions and quality of life for native fish and wildlife in the Sacramento River Basin and beyond.