More than just

Feeding the birds

Farmers leave grains behind for waterfowl to forage Two-thirds of crops are harvested, one-third left for birds

By JILL AHO
H&N Staff Writer

March 19, 2009

H&N photo by Andrew Mariman - The Tule Lake walking wetlands have proven to be beneficial for both farmers and migratory birds, like these White-fronted geese landing in open water adjacent to farmland near the refuge.

Throughout the winter, birds at the TuleLake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges have foraged for grains left behind by farmers.

These crops weren’t accidentally left behind after the fall harvest. They were left as part of an agreement between the refuges and farmers to provide food for different species of birds that temporarily call the refuge home. The idea, refuge manager Ron Cole said, came from a necessity to leave the farming to farmers.

“The idea to have crop sharing stems from many, many years ago when the refuge grew a certain number of acres of crops for food for wildlife,” Cole said. “It’s pretty common for refuges to grow crops to augment large populations of wildlife.”

Over time, the government began seeking more cost-effective ways to provide that food.

Contracts with refuge

Now farmers enter into contracts with the refuges to care for all aspects of production. Farmers harvest two-thirds of their crop for themselves and leave one-third for the animals.

Typically, the cooperative agreements are for five years. Cole had another idea that caught on: Farmers who enter into the agreements now also create a wetland on private property of equal acreage.

“The refuges saw a wetland increase, and we were still meeting our food needs,” Cole said.

Incorporating wetlands through the crop share agreement helped Cole spread the idea through the Klamath Basin agricultural community. The program, referred to as “walking wetlands,” floods agricultural lands for up to three years, after which the land is put back into production and the wetland “walks” to another agricultural field. After three years, the farmer’s land can be certified for organic crop production.

These wetlands benefit both the refuges, by providing additional habitat, and the farmer, through organic certification, a reduced need for pesticides in a newly recovered field.

Local farmer Luther Horsley said the greatest benefit is getting to farm the lands.

“I do like farming on the refuges,” he said. “There’s the secondary benefit of watching the wildlife and watching the wildlife enjoy what we do.”

Once, the wetlands of Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake were vast and expansive, providing habitat for birds using the Pacific Flyway to migrate.

“Most of those wetlands are now gone,” Cole said.

If the birds did not have the refuges to stop at, refuge biologist Dave Mauser said they would likely be crowded into the central valley of California.

“The central valley of California has lost 90 to 95 percent of its wetlands,” Mauser said. “There aren’t very many other places where birds can go. There’s a benefit of spreading the birds throughout the flyway.”

Cole said the partnership with farmers is almost natural, considering where the birds choose to go on their own.

“The highest number of migrating waterfowl is found around very active and innovative agriculture,” Cole said. “What the birds do have is wings. They don’t care about boundaries or land ownership. They’re hungry.”

And providing food helps keep the hungry birds and deer away from farmers’ crops and on the refuge.

Horsley said he can tell the work he does makes a difference to the wildlife.

“When you do something they like, they show up,” he said.

Grains necessary part of birds’ diet

Biologist says geese are benefiting from crop-sharing

— Jill Aho

Producing mostly small grains such as barley and wheat, the crop-sharing program between farmers and the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath wildlife refuges provides a necessary staple in the diets of both waterfowl and Sandhill cranes.

These foods become especially important to the Sandhill cranes in spring, said refuge manager Ron Cole, as they prepare to journey to their nesting grounds.

Refuge survey

A survey of the refuges on March 10 found about 460,000 waterfowl on the Lower Klamath refuge and 135,000 on Tule Lake, said refuge biologist Dave Mauser. Geese are benefiting from the crop-sharing agreements as well.

“A lot of the geese are still eating grains, but they start to shift this time of year to green forage,” he said. “Those newly sprouting grasses have a lot of energy and protein in them, particularly for the geese.”

Currently there are 3,859 acres in the crop-sharing program on the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath refuges. Of that amount, 2,731 acres are harvested and 1,128 acres are left standing to feed the birds. Additionally, the program has created 2,490 acres of wetland on private lands.

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