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Strips and Patches of Natural Habitats Between Fields
Hedgerow Farms, Winters, California
In an industrial agricultural region of California's Central Valley, a
county-wide movement is under way to reverse decades of "clean" farming
practices. Yolo County's conservation-based agriculture movement began like many
initiatives around the country, with the efforts of a few brave individuals.
Twenty years ago, unsatisfied with a landscape devoid of native habitat along
ditch banks, between fields, and along roads, John and Marsha Anderson began
bringing the edges of their 500-acre Hedgerow Farms back to life.
"A weed-free farmscape doesn't have to mean vegetation-free," explains Anderson, a long-time outdoorsman and now retired veterinarian.
Anderson devoted himself to studying California's original oak savanna
ecosystems. In low-lying areas along the slough that runs through the property
he established seasonal wetlands. He built tailwater ponds at the bottom of
furrow-irrigated fields to filter water and runoff. Eventually, some 50 species
of native perennial grasses, forbs, rushes, shrubs, and trees were planted
around field borders, roadsides, riparian areas, and other unused strips of the
farm. Two decades later, beavers, predators, dozens of bird species including
three types of owls, and up to ten threatened or endangered species find haven
at Hedgerow Farms.
Hedgerows planted between fields provide a succession of nectar and pollen sources for beneficial insects and pollinators. Research scientists from the University of California found that the native hedgerows contributed positively to the farm's output. The Yolo County Resource Conservation District also took notice of the important habitat restoration underway and began developing both expertise and cost-share funds to support regional landowners. Eventually the Willow Slough Watershed Integrated Resources Management Plan was generated to identify measures to prevent biodiversity loss and the degradation of water quality in the Putah-Cache Creek bioregion.
Go to Hedgerow Farms.
Audubon California's Yolo County Landowner Stewardship Program
Inspired by the efforts at Hedgerow Farms, more of the county's farmers and ranchers initiated restoration projects on their properties. With grants from CALFED (the state and federally financed watershed enhancement program), Audubon California, and the Yolo County Resource Conservation District, over 20 projects are completed or are underway. Partnering with land owners, local agencies, and other groups, the county now has an ambitious plan to create habitat linkages on both public and private lands throughout this largely rural area on the boundaries of urban expansion. These efforts will protect riparian areas and link critical upper rangeland habitats as well.
Throughout the county, many cost-share programs use restoration projects as opportunities for hands-on learning as well as field visits for students with limited access to rural areas. Plantings of perennial grasses, prescribed burns for weed and vegetation control, installation of riparian corridors, tailwater ponds and stock ponds, and revegetation of irrigation canals and waterways are becoming standard practices throughout the region. The Student and Landowner Educational Watershed Stewardship (SLEWS) project brings students from local schools to participate in habitat plantings and monitoring efforts up to 50 days per year. These are hosted by the Audubon California Landowner Stewardship Program.
Go to Audubon California Landowner Stewardship Program.
In this section. . .
Inspiring stories and replicable models of conservation-based agriculture.
The Malpai Borderlands Group consists of approximately two dozen landowners whose ranches span nearly a million acres in New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico.
Threemile Canyon Farms in Oregon's Columbia Basin features undisturbed shrub-steppe habitat critical to a number of imperiled species, including ferruginous hawks, loggerhead shrikes, sage sparrow and Washington ground squirrel.
Partnering with land owners, local agencies, and other groups, Yolo County, California has an ambitious plan to create habitat linkages on public and private lands throughout this largely rural area on the boundaries of urban expansion.
Enchanted Acres, in southeastern Minnesota rotates pastures in order to maintain critical breeding habitat for many at-risk songbird species, such as meadowlarks, bobolinks, dickcissels, and savanna and vesper sparrows.
The Methow Valley Conservancy of northeastern Washington has negotiated more than 30 easements protecting over 3,000 acres of land.
The Methow Valley Conservancy of northeastern Washington has negotiated more than 30 easements protecting over 3,000 acres of land.
Lava Lake Land and Livestock ranch in south-central Idaho has also adopted a non-lethal approach to controlling predators, which occasionally cause problems with the flocks.
