Bird Habitat Program Continues and Expands

Author: Paul Spraycar, The Nature Conservancy 

• BirdReturns is a new program from the Nature Conservancy (TNC), organized in cooperation with the California Rice Commission
• BirdReturns compensates growers to provide shorebird habitat – manage your straw and maintain at least 2” of water for 2-8 weeks in fall 2014 or spring 2015
• To apply, farmers submit a competitive bid – name your price
• Deadline to apply: August 1^st

The hot, long days of summer have arrived, and that means rice growers are tending their crop, preparing for harvest, and praying for a decent winter. Harvest will be here in no time, but before then growers should consider a shorebird habitat incentive available for fall 2014 and spring 2015.

The program – known as BirdReturns – is being offered by TNC in cooperation with the California Rice Commission. BirdReturns compensates growers to perform straw management and water management of their rice fields. These field conditions, provided at the right times of year, provide critical benefits to shorebirds traveling the Pacific Flyway. The implementation of the program will be as follows:

The pilot BirdReturns program, which took place in February-March 2014, included 10,000 acres of rice fields and several dozen growers. The strong interest and participation demonstrated the significant value of bird-friendly management practices on rice fields. By comparing the participating fields with a collection of other ‘control' fields throughout the valley, TNC scientists were able to determine the value of the participating growers' efforts. Here are the results:

Learn more

Visit our website: http://www.birdreturns.org

Email us: birds@tnc.org

Call us: (916) 642-8055

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