Since its start two decades ago, the Wetlands Reserve Program
has restored one-fourth of California's wetlands. It pays
farmers and ranchers who voluntarily set aside -- and in some cases
replant -- land that has historically been natural wetland.
Dean Kwasny is with the Natural Resources Conservation Service,
which administers the program. He says it's restored wetlands in
nearly every county in the state.
KWASNY: "So we've done tidal marsh restoration, we've done
mountain meadow restoration projects on these wet meadow habitats,
we've done projects along the San Joaquin river."
Marla DeDomenico-Bleecher and her family recently enrolled
4,500 acres of ranchland south of Sacramento.
The addition of her family land joins together several
protected areas, creating about 32 square miles of grassland vernal
pools -- possibly the largest in the state.
She says not only are they protecting unique habitat and
wildlife but the NRCS program allows them to continue to graze
cattle on the land.
DE DOMENICO-BLEECHER: "Because they discovered that they need
the cattle to graze down the areas in the vernal pool, otherwise
the grasses take over."
The project is a win-win-win, says Mike Conner of the Nature
Conservancy, who also worked on the project. First, it
preserves natural waterways and grasslands, and:
CONNER: "The win for ranching and agriculture, with
the development potential removed, the ranch will always
remain in ranching and ag.
And the win for people is by creating wetlands upstream that
hold water that would otherwise flood residents downstream, during
high flows it's providing flood prevention."