Guest Lecture: John Eadie

John Eadie of UC Davis came in to give us a talk about a pressing issue in the Central Valley. An area that we learned is critical for many waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway, approximately 4-6 million waterfowl winter there. During the winter time, the main need for waterfowl is food. So managers need to assess how much habitat is necessary in order to take care of the waterfowl and provide enough food. It is a simple calculation (maybe too simple)



Area needed = # of birds + energy/bird
                       ___________________
                         energy available/acre


This is a case of supply and demand; however, in the Central Valley the food has been running out to early and there is not enough supply to meet the demand. Assessments were done on various wetlands to see how good habitat was. There was a wide range of results, but John said all of the managers of the habitat believed their land was managed effectively to take care of the waterfowl. This was not the case as some habitat was really poor. This means we need to enhance habitat so that by chance we will not need to have so much habitat in the end, and raising awareness to managers about what good habitat is will in the end, create more supply for the waterfowl during their wintering times.
A recent study showed that the Central Valley Joint Venture establishment has been correlated with lipid reserves in some waterfowl, potentially due to the increase in land saved and the creation of optimal habitat.
Another study is being conducted currently to determine what the best way is to create optimal habitat for the waterfowl. The independent variables are the water given to the areas. This included the length of time a place was getting irrigated and how often. From this, a feasible way was found to irrigate the wetlands and just how often. Unfortunately, this method corresponded with an increase in mosquito numbers, which could be expensive to control (and it is regulated by law that it is controlled). This begs the question: how do we please everyone? Adaptive management strategies must be created for nearly everything, including how to best manage habitat for the waterfowl in the Central Valley. New methods must be implemented to find a balance between optimal waterfowl habitat, reduction in mosquitoes, public approval as well as something that is feasible. Being a manager seems a lot more difficult than I previously anticipated and many factors need to be taken into consideration. We will see what types of methods this study will present to manage for the waterfowl.