U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Private Wetland Photo USFWS

Tulare Basin

Land Protection Planning Study

Notice of Open House

You are invited to help us identify issues, ask questions, and voice

concerns about the Tulare Basin Land Protection Planning Study. 

The date, times, and locations follow. See details on page 2.

Date: Both meetings will be held on July 11, 2002

Times: 9:30 a.m. - Noon 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Locations: Public Library Beale Branch Library

 200 West Oak St 701 Truxtun Ave.

 Visalia, CA Bakersfield, CA

 

Greetings

This is the first in a series of

Planning Updates you will be

receiving from the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service regarding a

study of the wildlife and plant

habitats in your community.

Through these Updates, we

share information with you and

seek your involvement in our

study. Your input is very

important. It helps us gather

information and identify issues

affecting you, your community,

and the natural resources of the

Tulare Basin. If you do not

wish to receive the Updates

please let us know through one

of the points of contact listed

on page 4.

 

 In This Issue: Page 

What Area is the Service

 Studying?________________2

Why Do These Habitats 

 Need Protection? __________3

What is the Planning Process?___4

What is the NWRS?__________4

How Do I Contact the 

 Service or Provide 

 Comments?_______________4 

Planning Update 1 June 2002

Land Protection Planning Study Kickoff

The Tulare Basin is an important place for migratory birds and local

residents who enjoy the landscape. Protecting wetland dependant

wildlife and restoring their habitat is a high priority for the Service and

its partners involved in the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture. The

Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture is a partnership program focusing

on protecting and restoring important habitats for migratory birds in

California’s Central Valley. The Service is proceeding with this study

to determine if we can help accomplish protection and restoration of

these resources through the National Wildlife Refuge System using

conservation easements or other land protection strategies.
Great blue heron, Jean

Harrison, USFWS

2

The Mission of the 

National Wildlife

Refuge System is to:

Administer a national

network of lands and waters

for the conservation,

management and where

appropriate, restoration of

the fish, wildlife and plant

resources and their habitats

within the United States for

the benefit of present and

future generations of

Americans.

Details: Tulare Basin 

Land Protection Planning Study Open House

To learn more about the planning process come to our Open House. 

You are invited to attend an Open House on July 11, 2002 to learn

about the Service’s Tulare Basin Land Protection Planning Study.

You will have an opportunity to meet representatives from the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service, learn about the National Wildlife Refuge

System, and get involved in the planning process in its earliest stage.

You can ask questions, get answers and comment on the issues and

scope of the study in an informal setting. Service staff will be

available to discuss the planning process, the conservation easement

acquisition program, and the National Wildlife Refuge System. Your

comments and questions will be considered during preparation of the

planning documents.

What Area Is the Service Studying?

The Service initially identified a broad study area within the Tulare Lake

Basin. This area, located in Kern, Tulare and Kings counties, was

identified because of its important wildlife values and high potential for

conserving migratory bird habitats. 

Several specific land protection actions were considered as components of the

initial Service study proposal including, easement acquisitions to protect

existing private wetlands; accept transfer from Bureau of Reclamation of

approximately 8,000 acres of retired farmlands irrigated with CVP water; fee

or easement acquisition of approximately 13,000 acres of to be developed into

wetlands through the USDA Wetland Conservation Reserve Program; and fee

or easement acquisition of 10,000 acres of Valley floor habitat linkages for the

protection of Threatened and Endangered upland species.

After careful consideration, the Service has chosen to limit the current

proposal to protecting existing wetlands and associated high quality

uplands. The current proposal will investigate the acquisition of easements

on up to 12,000 acres of private wetlands and associated uplands located

within a limited focus area. Both the initial study area and the refined

focus area can be found on a map on page 5. 

The Tulare Basin wetlands have historically supported significant numbers

of migratory waterfowl, including ducks, geese, sandhill cranes and

shorebirds. Important habitats include seasonal wetlands, semi-permanent

wetlands, alkali sinks, and associated uplands that are characterized by

shallow open-water ponds featuring alkaline soils, annual plants

(predominantly managed for swamp timothy), and in many cases,

greasewood or iodine bush. Currently, 27 species of waterfowl winter

within the study area and 13 species of ducks breed there. The Tulare

 Basin has been particularly

important in providing

habitat for early migrant

ducks, such as northern

pintail and green-winged teal.

The shallow wetlands 

provide ideal foraging

opportunities for shorebirds

such as dowitchers, dunlin,

yellowlegs, phalaropes and

sandpipers, as well as wading

birds such as white-faced ibis.

Other common wading birds

are great blue heron, common

egret, cattle egret and blackcrowned night heron.
Pintail, Larry

Eiffert, USFWS

Why Do These Habitats Need Protection?

Protection of remaining habitat and restoration of altered habitats is needed

because of the basin’s former historical status and range of importance for

promoting biological diversity on a landscape scale in the San Joaquin Valley.

Tulare, Goose, Buena Vista and Kern Lakes, created by annual runoff from

numerous Sierra Nevada rivers and creeks, were a natural haven for

wildlife. Prior to settlement and diversion of water for agriculture, Tulare

Lake was the largest lake west of the Mississippi. The lake shore wetlands

and later flood irrigated farm fields have supported a significant portion of

the Pacific Flyway waterfowl populations.

By the 1880s, inflow to Tulare Lake was reduced to the point that the

permanence of the lake was altered. Except for wet years, nearly all of the

water that previously sustained the natural lake was diverted for human use.

Currently, water diversions use 100% of the historic inflow in all but the very

wettest years. Wetland habitats have been greatly diminished and riparian

forest wetlands with considerable natural biological diversity have essentially

vanished from the San Joaquin Valley floor. 

Changes in agricultural irrigation practices, the increasing cost of pumping

water for remnant wetlands, and competing land uses, have all resulted in

decreases in available habitats. Researchers believe that existing wetlands

may be inadequate to support current populations, because most pintails

leave the area early in the season. Radiotelemetry and aerial survey data

indicate that pintails and other waterfowl wintering and breeding in Tulare

Basin serve as an important source of birds for other northern California

habitats. Premature exodus of birds from the southern San Joaquin Valley

may explain why pintail populations in the Grasslands Ecological Area

(northern San Joaquin Valley) during mid and late winter have declined

during the last 20 years. 

Protecting and restoring additional wetlands in the southern San Joaquin

Valley, may reduce the threat of habitat degradation in the northern San

Joaquin Valley, and conversely if waterfowl populations in the southern

San Joaquin Valley continue to decline, private wetland managers may

reduce their effort and funding. 

Landowners are keenly interested in increasing waterfowl habitat diversity

by managing for more semi-permanent wetlands to benefit local breeding

by mallard, gadwall, cinnamon teal, American avocets and black-necked

stilt. This is only possible if the cost of available water supplies can be

kept reasonable. Finding new water supply allocations or assisting private

landowners with facilities necessary for redistributing existing water

sources will be necessary to conserve existing wetlands and increasing

wetland habitat diversity. Through the land protection planning process the

Service will examine a number of protection options, including habitat

protection by means of conservation easements as part of the National

Wildlife Refuge System.

3

Mallard hen and chicks ©

Ducks Unlimited Canada
4

What is the National Wildlife Refuge System?

The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world’s largest and most

diverse collection of public lands set aside specifically for the conservation

of fish, wildlife, and plants. More than 530 refuges have been established

from the Arctic Ocean to the South Pacific, from Maine to the Caribbean.

This system of lands encompasses more than 93 million acres of land and

water and at least one national wildlife refuge can be found in every state.

What is the Land Protection Planning Process?

The Service initiates the land protection planning process to study habitat

protection proposals. Proposals must demonstrate that adding habitat or

lands to the National Wildlife Refuge System is the best way to achieve

protection. The process is then carried out as follows.

• The planning process integrates three components–detailed study and

planning, extensive public involvement, and environmental compliance. 

• The documentation that evolves from the process includes an

environmental compliance document, a land protection plan and a

conceptual management plan. 

• These draft documents are provided to the public for review and

comment to ensure the interested public is informed about Service

proposals. Comments are considered in final documents.

• Based on the refuge boundary alternatives presented in the final

documents Service decision-makers choose an appropriate course of

action. The alternatives can range from no action to including all or part

of the study area lands within a refuge boundary. 

• If part or all of the lands are approved for inclusion, a refuge boundary

is established and the planning process is complete.

A refuge boundary defines an area where the Service can acquire land or

interest in land. It is Service policy to acquire land only from landowners who

are willing sellers. Acquisitions are subject to funding availability.

How Do I Contact the Service or Provide Comments?

Your participation is encouraged throughout the process. We would like to

meet with you, listen to your ideas, and learn about your issues. The

information gathering or scoping phase of this project begins with this kickoff. 

It is a good time for you to get involved early in the process. 

We would love to hear your ideas and discuss them at the Open House

scheduled for July 11th. If you cannot attend, but still wish to share your ideas,

concerns, and questions, please send them by August 30, 2002, for

consideration during the development of the planning documents. Please send

your written comments to Scott Frazer . . . 

. . . via mail: Scott Frazer, Refuge Operations Specialist

 Kern National Wildlife Refuge

 P.O. Box 670 

 Delano, CA 93216 continued on page 6
5
6

For Information on the

National Wildlife Refuge

System Contact:

Dave Hardt, Project Leader

Kern NWR

P.O. Box 670

Delano, CA 93216

Phone: (661) 725-2767

Fax: (661) 725-6041

U.S. Department of the Interior

Fish and Wildlife Service

Attn: NWRS/RPL

911 NE 11th Avenue

Portland, Oregon 97232-4181

Address correction requested

Tulare Basin Land Protection Planning Study Schedule

Planning Step Target Date

Study Kickoff, Issue Identification, Information Gathering, Begin Scoping . . . . . July 11, 2002

Reviewing Public Comments Begins, send your Issues and Comments by this date. August 30, 2002

Planning Documents Available for Public Review and Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 2002

Public Comments on Planning Documents Due . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . February 2003

Issue Notice of Decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .April 2003

Dates are tentative and may change as the study progresses.

continued from page 4 or to 

 Richard Smith, Natural Resource Specialist

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

 CA/NV Refuge Planning office

 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-1916

 Sacramento, CA 95825

 . . . via fax: (661) 725-6041

 . . . or via e-mail: FW1PlanningComments@fws.gov

 (Please refer to “Tulare Lake” in the subject line.) 

Richard can also provide information on the planning process. 

Call him at (916) 414-6502, if you have any questions.