From ducks and cranes to giant garter snakes and salmon, flooded rice fields in California’s Central Valley offer important — often vital — habitat to many wildlife species. Yet uncertainties around crop markets, water and climate can prompt some growers to fallow rice fields or change their management practices.

Will today’s rice acreage under current practices be enough to meet key species’ needs? If not, how much rice is needed? Where should it be planted? And what management practices offer the greatest benefit for species of concern?

Scientists from the University of California, Davis, and Point Blue Conservation Science address these questions in a new report, “A Conservation Footprint for California Rice,” written for the California Rice Commission.  [...] Continue reading the press release here. 

• View the Press Release: "California Rice and Wildlife Report Released: Rice Fields Provide Vital Habitat for Snakes, Birds and Fish," by Kat Kerlin. February 27, 2025
• View the project goals and results: "Project details for A Conservation Footprint for California Rice."
• View the Final Report: "PDF of final report for A Conservation Footprint for California Rice."