The waterfowl report is published each week during the waterfowl hunting season on this site, usually updated on Monday afternoons. We encourage hunters to send photographs and updated information to augment this report. Our goal is to make this report the most comprehensive waterfowl hunting report available for Southern California hunters -- with all of the information in a single place. Updates, photographs, and comments should be e-mailed to Jim Matthews at odwriter@charter.net.
 

March 28, 2008

California Waterfowl Association secures $1 million in
funding for San Jacinto, San Diego Bay habitat efforts

The California Waterfowl Association received a $1 million federal grant for wetland habitat restoration and improvements in two important waterfowl and wetland areas in Southern California this month, the state-owned San Jacinto Wildlife Area and the Sweetwater March in the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Work at Sweetwater Marsh in south San Diego Bay will improve tidal marsh conditions and improve breeding habitat for the federally listed California least tern (endangered), light-footed clapper rail (endangered) and the western snowy plover (threatened), and migratory waterfowl, including black brant.
Wetland restoration will occur in the San Jacinto Valley on the wildlife area and three adjacent private duck club properties. The project will increase managed wetland habitats available to wildlife, and a wooded riparian corridor will also be established for the benefit of many local nesting birds. Tens of thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds will benefit thanks to enhanced management capabilities and improved water efficiency at the wildlife area. The work that is planned will make limited water supplies go farther and produce better wetland management results. Similar work will occur on the three duck clubs which have preserved nearly 600 acres of habitat in perpetuity for wildlife.
“California Waterfowl has been working for more than 20 years to restore the state’s wetlands and this grant expands our conservation efforts in Southern California. By increasing and improving overall habitat conditions for all species that rely on wetland and riparian habitats this grant and the partners involved are making a difference for all wildlife,” said Chadd Santerre, the California Waterfowl Association’s senior biologist.
The grant was awarded through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Work on the projects will begin in the spring of 2008 and will continue through the end of 2009. Major contributing partners include the state’s Wildlife Conservation Board, California Department of Fish and Game, the Sonoran Joint Venture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Port of San Diego, and the California Waterfowl Association.
California Waterfowl is a widely respected nonprofit, hunter-supported conservation organization with a mission to conserve the state’s waterfowl, wetlands, and hunting heritage. The association has received numerous awards, including Conservationist of the Year in 2006 from The Wildlife Society. In the last 20 years, the CWA has restored, protected or enhanced more than 300,000 acres, providing habitat for millions of birds and animals, and introduced more than 250,000 children to the outdoors. For more info, log on at www.calwaterfowl.org.

Hunters who would like to contribute information and photographs to this report should e-mail the information to Jim Matthews at odwriter@charter.net.

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