In the Sacramento Valley, a growing coalition of rice farmers, water districts and conservation groups have been flooding harvested rice fields in winter to create bug-rich shallow water that juvenile Chinook feed on as they head for the ocean. The practice, which repurposes post-harvest fields as short-term wetland habitat, is being hailed by participants as a low-tech boost for both fish and birds while keeping working farmland productive. Supporters say it’s a pragmatic, local solution to an old problem: rivers cut off from their historic floodplains have become food deserts for young salmon.
A 2017 peer‑reviewed study found that winter flooding of rice fields produces dense zooplankton and can deliver some of the fastest freshwater growth rates recorded for juvenile Chinook, with fish showing rapid growth and robust condition over a six‑week trial, according to PLOS ONE. That science has informed a string of pilot projects in the valley aimed at mimicking natural floodplain feeding opportunities on working lands. Lead authors from California Trout and UC Davis concluded that managed winter flooding can help recover native salmon while keeping summer crops in production.
The work has been organized under the Floodplain Forward coalition, which brings together conservation groups, growers, water suppliers and researchers to reconnect rivers with seasonal floodplain habitat. Tim Johnson, president and CEO of the California Rice Commission, told Comstock’s that “the magic of Floodplain Forward is the collaboration,” and that rice growers increasingly see themselves as part of the solution rather than opponents in water fights. Proponents say that collaboration — pairing farms and habitat projects — is what makes short‑term, fish‑friendly floods politically and economically feasible.
Willow Bend: A working model near Colusa
River Partners’ 175‑acre Willow Bend Preserve, near Colusa, has become the poster child for these experiments: engineers installed a fish gate and deliberately reconnected the site so floodwaters can carry tiny salmon onto the floodplain and back out when water levels drop. Monitoring at the site showed juvenile Chinook using the restored floodplain and feeding on the abundant invertebrates that bloom when fields stay wet for weeks, according to River Partners. River Partners and partner scientists say the design — which aims to flood, hold water and then drain slowly — avoids trapping fish while maximizing feeding time.
Bird habitat and payments on working farms
Bird habitat programs run alongside fish projects. A market-style program called BirdReturns, run by conservation partners including Audubon, The Nature Conservancy and Point Blue, has paid growers to flood fields for migrating birds and has partnered with hundreds of landowners while directing millions in payments to keep water on the landscape, per The Nature Conservancy. Floodplain Forward organizers say that layering bird incentives, floodplain restorations and targeted water releases helps create a mosaic of wet spots that benefit multiple species while sharing costs and risks across the valley, as described by CalTrout.
A statewide plan, and a fight over how much water is enough
The Newsom administration has pushed a broader Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program into the State Water Board’s draft Sacramento River watershed plan, emphasizing habitat projects plus adaptive flow management rather than flow‑only rules, according to a July statement from the governor’s office. Supporters say the approach can deliver habitat at scale and spur on‑the‑ground projects, while critics — including salmon groups, tribes and conservation coalitions — warn the negotiated agreements may not leave enough instream flow for fish in drier years, as reported by Maven’s Notebook. The draft will move through public hearings and stakeholder review before the State Water Board considers final adoption, per state planning documents.
Why Floodplain Forward matters locally
For valley towns and farms, the appeal is practical: managed winter flooding can produce real ecological benefits without forcing large tracts out of production, and past budget actions have put money behind the concept. Backers point to state funding actions that helped restore support for the Agreements and related projects, which proponents say bridges financing gaps for habitat work on working lands, according to ACWA. Still, scientists and advocates caution that sustained funding, rigorous monitoring and clear compliance rules are necessary to translate pilots into measurable recovery for salmon runs.
Early work on flooded rice fields — from controlled experiments to sites like Willow Bend — shows a promising, locally grounded path for helping birds and fish at the same time. Whether that promise scales will depend on the details of the statewide plan, federal permitting and whether the coalition keeps enough water, money and political will in the system to keep fields wet long enough for the food web to form. The coming months of hearings and monitoring should tell whether this cooperative model becomes a durable part of Sacramento Valley conservation.
