A state survey shows a 30-percent drop in the population of breeding waterfowl in California in one year due to drought and poor habitat, says the Sacramento Bee. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife used airplanes to take the waterfowl census in the Central Valley and northeastern California. The steepest declines, 40 percent, were in the northeast; losses ran at 19 percent in the Sacramento Valley. About 4 million birds fly into the Central Valley in the fall and winter during their annual migrations.
“Rice fields represent one key type of shrinking wetland,” said the Bee. Growers often flood their fields during the winter, providing habitat for waterfowl. “The drought has curtailed rice cultivation, especially in the Sacramento Valley, where almost all of the rice is grown in California.” Growers planted 434,000 acres of rice last year, compared to 567,000 acres in 2013, according to the California Rice Commission.
California “continues to experience a severe drought,” said the USDA in estimating rice plantings at 385,000 acres this year, down 9 percent from last year and by one-third over the last two years. Nationwide, rice plantings are down by 6 percent from 2014 due to low prices. California is the U.S. leader in short- and medium-grain rice. Short-grain rice is used in sushi and other dishes needing a sticky and clumpy rice. Medium-grain rice also is sticky and is used in risotto and paella.